A Cheerful Countenance

Proverbs 15:13 says, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."

What’s another word for a cheerful countenance? It’s a smile. Someone said the following and I think it is incredible:

It costs nothing, but creates much good. It enriches those who receive it without impoverishing those who give it away. It happens in a flash, but the memory of it can last forever. No one is so rich that he can get along without it. No one is too poor to feel rich when receiving it. It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business and is the counter sign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and nature’s best anecdote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen. It is something of no earthly good to anyone until it is given away willingly.

I love that. When you dress up in the morning, don’t forget to put on a smile and don’t be ashamed of your sense of humor! Why not try it right now even if you're all by yourself. Now, don't you feel better?

Follow Instructions

It’s easy to think that we have no need for instructions for our lives, only to later realize that we’ve messed things up. Which is exactly why Jesus advised that following His instructions is the way for wise people to build a safe, solid, and significant life (Matt. 7:24-29). He had just told the listening crowd to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to forgive enemies, and to sell treasures so that they could give to the poor (5:39-44). But just getting the instructions isn’t enough. The key is to follow them. “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (7:24).

Those who don’t follow the instructions are, as Jesus put it, “foolish” (v.26). To the world, forgiving your enemies and giving to the poor may seem like a silly way to build a life, but, take it from Jesus, it’s the wise way.

Ed

Willing to Die for Your Wife

Ephesians 4:25-27 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

How many editorials have you read that say that Southern Baptists think a husband ought to be willing to die for his wife? Not many, I'm sure. They probably have focused more on the consensus that women are to submit to their husbands. But, you see, that's only one side of the coin.

Husbands are to lay down their lives for their wives. Now, a husband may never be called to physically die for his wife, but God is calling every husband to die to his ego, pride, ambition, and anything else about himself that he places above his wife.

Now, how is he to love his wife? Passionately. What do I mean by that? Well, I’m not talking about sexual passion, though that certainly is one of the gifts of marriage. But I am talking about a passion that says I am willing to die for you.

When a man loves his wife passionately, there’s nothing too precious for that man to give up for his wife, except his relationship to Almighty God. And most women don’t mind being in submission to a man who loves her enough to die for her and shows it by the way he lives for her.

Adrian Rogers