“A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is.” (Proverbs 16:21 TEV)

Have you noticed how many difficult people there are in the world? Do you feel like you have to deal with most of them some days?

You know what rude acts bug me the most? People who call me and then say, “Who is this?” People who honk their horns in traffic jams. People who cheat in the 10-items-or-less grocery line. People who steal your parking spot.

The list goes on, and I’m sure you can relate. So, how should we respond in love to difficult people?

Proverbs 16:21 says, “A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is” (TEV).

The more pleasant you are, the more persuasive you are. And, you’re never persuasive when you’re abrasive. Nagging doesn’t work.

The way you say something determines the way it’s received. If you say something offensively, it’s going to be received defensively. That’s why love is all about your words. Love is truthful, but it is also tactful.

Tact and tone always go together. It matters the way you say something, not just whatyou say. You can say something very difficult for someone to hear, but if you say it in the right tone — a loving tone — it will be received much better.

A loving response to a difficult person requires you to be pleasant and tactful. If you want to be below that difficult person, attack him. If you want to be even with him, get even with him. But if you want to respond the way Jesus would, show that person love with the words you say and the way you say them.

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/why-nagging-never-works.html

Knowledge is critical to restoration. Below are 7 'F's that support this:


Faith:
Before a long awaited heir was born, his father became doubtful (Genesis 17:17-19). But his faith was restored, having been based on the knowledge of God's ability (Romans 4:19-21).
Under different circumstances, a prodigal seemed to regain confidence in his father's welfare capabilities. As he acted in faith, based on what he knew, he was restored beyond his expectations (Luke 15:17-24).

Finances:
Have you lost money? “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” That was the knowledge provided to a king who seemed to have lost some wealth (2 Chronicles 25:9).
Years later, a rich tax collector was willing to restore wealth he had acquired wrongly. Why? He had an encounter with the Living Word (Jesus) - the embodiment of all knowledge! (Luke 19:2-10).

Fame:
A true ambassador is equipped with accurate knowledge about the government he or she represents. As God's ambassador, Elijah successfully restored God's fame to a double-minded generation (1 Kings 18:30-39).
In a conflict-ridden generation, an unlikely candidate served as Jesus' ambassador. And through her work, the Lord's fame spread after an intimate knowledge session (John 4:39-42).

Food:
Access to food seemed lost in a nation because of a severe famine. But a wise young leader already foreknew how to restore the access (Genesis 41:33-38).
In part of another nation, food access seemed restricted even without a famine. This time, they had the Maker of leaders who knew how to miraculously restore access (Matthew 15:33-34).

Friends:
The intercession of a godly man restored his friends to God. What made the intercession possible? Revelation knowledge! (Job 42:7-10).
The very first man lost his friendship status with God due to a wrong quest for knowledge (Genesis 3:6-. However, that friendship is now restored to every man through the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus (Romans 10:8-10).

Favor:
A special group of descendants fell out of favor in a foreign land due to the emergence of a new ruler (Exodus 1:8-11). The Ruler of rulers stepped in and restored favor - but not until divine instructions were made known and then followed (Exodus 12:35-36).
Despite denying knowledge of his Master, a prominent disciple was restored to favor. How? The Master had foreknowledge of the sequence of denials and promptly interceded for him (Luke 22:31-34).

Family:
A giant killer's family was restored because He knew how to seek God and leverage divine direction (1 Samuel 30:7-8,18-19).
A dead man whose family was well-connected was brought back to life. But how? His sisters knew how to connect with a certain power Source and were dramatically reunited with their brother! (John 11:1-5,44).

What are you trusting God to restore? May God grant you the knowledge needed to access that restoration!

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/restored-by-knowledge.html

“The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me; he pulled me out of the deep waters.” (Psalm 18:16 TEV)

There are times when we all think, “I’m going under for the last time! I’m about to sink!” No matter how deep you are, God’s love is there. He can pull you out of the deepest waters.

No matter what problem you have, God’s love is deeper than your problem. You may be in deep despair, deep trouble, or under deep stress. You may have deep problems — emotional problems, physical problems, or financial problems.
Yet God’s love is deeper still.

Corrie ten Boom and Betsy ten Boom were Christians who lived in the Netherlands during Word War II. They hid Jews in their home to protect them from the Nazis. When they were discovered, not only were the Jews taken to the concentration camp but Corrie and Betsy were taken as well, and they spent the rest of the war there.

After watching one atrocity after another, Corrie told Betsy, “This place is the pit of Hell!” Betsy replied, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper.”

In the last few months, you may have hit bottom. Perhaps you’re at the bottom financially and you think, “I’m going broke!” Or, you’ve hit bottom emotionally, or your marriage has hit bottom, or you’re having health problems. You’re frustrated, and you think, “I’m going under.”

Where is God when you hit bottom? He’s right there underneath you. He is “your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you” (Deuteronomy 33:27a NLT, second edition).

Drop into his arms of love. Let him catch you and support you when you have nowhere else to go.

Prayer Point: "Because nothing can be compared to your love for me, Lord Jesus I know your love for me is greater than that of any mortal, grant me the grace to help me dwell in your love all the rest of my days."

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/gods-love-is-deeper-than-your-problem.html

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 NIV)

We were created in God’s image to do two things on Earth: learn to love God and learn to love other people. Life is all about love.

But love all started with God. He loved us first, and that gives us the ability to love others. The Bible says in 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us” (NIV).

The only reason you can love God or love anybody else is because God first loved you. And he showed that love by sending Jesus Christ to Earth to die for you. He showed that love by creating you. He showed that love by giving you everything you have in life; it’s all a gift of God’s love.

In order to love others and to become great lovers, we first need to understand and feel how much God loves us. We don’t want to just talk about love, read about love, or discuss love; we need to experience the love of God.

We need to reach a day when we finally, fully understand how God loves us completely and unconditionally. We need to become secure in the truth that we cannot make God stop loving us.

Once we’re secure inside God’s unconditional love, we’ll start cutting people a lot of slack. We won’t be as angry as we were before. And we’ll be able to love others like God loves us.

Prayer point: "Dear Lord, give me the grace to love you unconditionally and reciprocate this unconditional love of yours to everyone else around me. Amen."

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/you-cant-stop-god-from-loving-you.html

seemples:
^^^ how does He reply?

"You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word." Psalms 119:114. To me if we want direction, if we need wisdom (and we all do), then there is only ONE place to put all of our HOPE into and know that we will get an answer, and that place is God's word. It's a promise, but it's a promise with conditions. Slowly read James 1:5-8, read it in several different version, I find it helpful to do that, the Word becomes more clear and it allows me to get a better understanding. Paul is writing this to belivers, those who are following Jesus Christ. First we need to follow Christ, second we need to ask, third we need to believe.

"H.O.P.E - Holding On, Praying Expectantly". That's what we need to do, when we face trials, when our paths are not clear, when we need direction we need not to run, we need to "Hold On" and pray knowing and believing we WILL get an answer. There is lots of great advice in the first chapter of James, if you need to find some direction then this chapter is an excellent place to start!

Two steps to knowing God's will

“If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him.” (James 1:5a NIV)

If you want to know God’s will, you need to do a couple of things:

1. Admit that you need guidance. We don’t really like to admit when we’re confused. Men especially don’t like to do this! It’s not in my nature to say, “Hey! I’m lost!” and stop and ask for directions. That’s why, when it comes to knowing God’s will, it takes some real courage to admit that we’re confused and need direction.
Psalm 25:9 says, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (NIV). If you’re arrogant and think you’ve got it all figured out, God’s going to say, “Be my guest. Go for it!” I’ve had people tell me, “I’ve been a Christian for 20 years, and I’ve never felt God guiding me.” My response? Maybe it’s because you’ve never admitted that you need it.
You go to work assuming that you know what to do without praying about it. You make financial decisions all the time without praying about it. You make vacation plans without praying about them. You make career decisions without praying about it. If you’re single, you ask people out on a date without praying about it. You think you know, but you might want to stop and admit that you need guidance, because it’s the first step in getting God’s will for your life.

2. Ask God in faith for directions. The Bible says in James 1:5-6, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (TLB). Notice there are two keys to knowing God’s wisdom. First, you’ve got to ask the right person: God. You don’t ask your manicurist, your bartender, or some other “reliable” authority like a radio talk show host. You have to ask the right person! Then you ask with the right attitude: expecting God to answer. Have you ever asked God to lead you, but you didn’t really expect him to? Sure you have. That’s why you never got anything from it. You must ask expecting an answer. God honors faith, and he promises wisdom for the next step of your life.

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/two-steps-to-knowing-gods-will.html

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV)

There is no place you can go where God’s love isn’t. You’ll never be separated from God’s love.

Nothing — no circumstance, no situation — can separate you, because God’s love is everywhere: “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39 NIV).

If you want an antidote for loneliness, here it is: You will never be separated from God’s love. The fact is we do lose loved ones. If you’re married, one of you is going to die first. And you will grieve over that.

But if you’re a Christian, you’ll never be lonely, because you can tune into God’s love. I’m not talking about religion; I’m talking about a relationship with Jesus Christ. His love lasts forever, and his love is everywhere.

“Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there. If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me. I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Psalm 139:7-12 TEV).

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/what-is-antidote-for-loneliness.html

One day, one of our church leaders was at our house with his young son who was out playing in our back yard. It was a few weeks after Easter, and as he was running around exploring, he found three plastic Easter eggs that were leftover from our family brunch.

He sat down on the back porch and was so excited to open those eggs and find that they were full of candy! I knew he was going home soon and didn't want to send him to his momma full of sugar. I said, "Denver, let's go inside and see what we have in the pantry for snack. "Here's a granola bar, do you want that?" "No," he said. "We have some peanut butter crackers and other snacks." "No."

He was not interested in anything else but those Easter eggs until finally, I pulled a huge bowl off of the top shelf in the pantry that was full of candy and said, "Here Denver, would you like to choose two pieces?" He got wide eyed, dropped those Easter eggs, came running over and started digging in that bowl. About that time his dad, who had been meeting with Joel, came into the kitchen and said, "C'mon, Denver, it's time to go home and have dinner." Denver chose his two pieces, said good bye, and walked right out the door.

After they left, I turned around to see those Easter eggs full of candy sitting on the counter. Denver walked away and left more than what he had taken with him. He got distracted because he had too many choices. That's what distractions do. They steal from us and cause us to feel confused and overwhelmed.

There's an old saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." I've never really given much thought to that saying until recently. We have to be careful about letting go of the treasure we have in our hands because we see something that looks like it might be better. We need to be faithful with what God has given us today.

If you focus on what you have in your hand, if you tend to it, God will bless it and multiply it. What you have in your hand may seem small, but it has tremendous potential. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Stay focused, hold on to what God has given you, and don't let distractions get you off course!

"The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble." (Proverbs 28:20, NLT)

- Pastor Victoria Osteen

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/dont-let-distractions-get-you-off-course.html

“When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools.” (Ecclesiastes 5:4 NLT)

You already know a lot of things God wants you to do with your life. So why haven’t you done them? God is not obligated to give you step 2 until you’ve already done step 1. Some of you keep saying, “I want to know God’s will for my career/marriage,” and God’s says, “Let’s get to the basics. Are you reading your Bible? Are you in a small group? Are you tithing? Are you talking with me?” You need to start doing what you already know to be the revealed will of God for your life.

So, what do you already know to do but you haven’t done yet? What’s your next step?

Maybe you’ve been attending a church for more than a year and need to take the next step in membership. Maybe you’ve been praying about baptism but still need to put it on the calendar. Maybe you’ve been looking for a group of people to do life with, and you need to start a small group in your home. Maybe God has shown you what your shape is, and you know you should find a way to use it to serve others.
Are you going to make it to the end of another week, another year without doing what God has already told you to do?

What are you waiting for?

Ecclesiastes 5:4 says, “When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools” (NLT). Don’t delay. Do what you already know to do.

Pray this prayer today: “Lord, I need your guidance in my life. I ask in faith that you direct me. Help me to listen for your response, to not get so busy that I can’t hear you. Father, when I don’t understand it, help me to trust you and understand that you have a path that is for my good. God, what’s my next step? Help me to do what I already know I should do. Help me to not get frustrated. Help me to not be fearful but to trust in you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

- Pastor Rick Warren

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/07/why-wont-god-tell-me-next-step.html