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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Daily Thoughts

In the Pearl of Great Price we read about how great and powerful the Lord is and how He is willing to pour our wonderful blessings to those who obey Him.  The Lord told Abraham that his seed would be blessed with the priesthood, the gospel, and life eternal. Abraham 2:7-12 "For I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; I stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot; I say to the mountains—Depart hence—and behold, they are taken away by a whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.  My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;  And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.  Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee;"

In the New Testament we're told not to judge each other, for we'll all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  He is the only one who can rightly judge. We'll all have to account to God for ourselves.  So let's stop judging each other and putting stumbling blocks in each other's way.  Romans 14:10-13 "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." 

A verse with a thought booklet tells us to sing of the great mercy and love of the Lord forever and tell other people of His faithfulness.  Think back to the last week or the last month and try to remember times when the Lord has helped you through difficult experiences or answered your prayers or times when you felt close to Him or received insights while reading scriptures.  Reflect on the ways that you've experienced God's amazing love and care.  Then take time to thank and praise Him, and tell others about what God has done for you and what He means in your life. Maybe it's just something simple like praying to find a lost item and the finding it. Or how when you attended church someone said something that was jut what you needed to hear. Or the time you were driving through a terrible blizzard and the Lord helped you reach your destination in safety.  Or the time you were feeling lonely or depressed and a friend felt like they should call you. Or maybe you were having dire financial problems and couldn't see how you were going to pay your bills, but you paid your tithing anyway--only to have things miraculously work out so you had what you needed (I think anybody who pays their tithing has had that happen to them). Think about how you've been blessed with a healthy body or a loving family or a job or a home to live in or even a devoted pet to greet you when you come home.  If you have trouble thinking of anything, ask God to help you, and to open your eyes so that you can more clearly see what He has done for you.  Psalms 89:1 "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations."

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