ONE ANOTHER 1

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.


INTRODUCTION: HOW WE TREAT ONE ANOTHER

As Christians we might not realize it but the world is watching us very closely. Many times they are watching us just hoping that we will mess up and they can say, "See, I knew this Christianity stuff wasn't real."

They watch what what we say, what we do, where we go and how we treat people. It is not just how we treat those who are not Christians but they are watching how we treat one another. The next few devotionals will be based on some things the Bible has to say about how we are to treat one another.

I hope you receive a blessing from these devotionals and I hope you learn a little something along the way that will help you grow in your relationship with the Lord and with one another.

Please feel free to contact me by email at
shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Patience 6

PREPARE TO WAIT

1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, PATIENCE, meekness.


I used to hate waiting. I didn't like to wait in line at the bank or wait for hours in a doctor's office but after years of waiting I have learned to prepare to wait.

I used to go to one doctor who would almost always see me about three or four hours after my scheduled appointment. I learned that if I took my laptop or a good book to keep me occupied while I waited that the time was not wasted.

Now with modern technology what it is I use my phone to text message, check email, or even look for bargains on EBay. I have taken a pad and pen if I had things I wanted to draw or write and I use the waiting time as productive time instead of wasted time.

You know that you are sometimes going to have to wait. Be prepared to use that time productively and the waiting will not be so hard on you. At times it could even give you an opportunity to slow down and do something enjoyable.

Don't pray for patience. Just practice it. Patience will make your life more enjoyable.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Patience 5

BE PATIENT WITH OTHERS WE MEET

1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, PATIENCE, meekness.


Patience is a virtue. It gives you strength and strengthens your position in any endeavor. Losing your temper at a waiter or waitress or store clerk doesn't really accomplish much.

I live in an area where many of the people working in public jobs think that they are doing you a favor by serving you. They fail to smile, they seldom say thank you or have a nice day or actually anything that is friendly.

This is the kind of behavior that used to try my patience. I have developed a new way of dealing with this. One, I try to look at things from their perspective. Most of the time they have been dealing with people with that same attitude all day long and they are tired or in a bad mood anyway. They know that when they go home for the day all they have to look forward to is another day of dealing with the same type people they dealt with today. I try to give them a little something different so that they know that there is something better. I give them a smile, I say thank you and I tell them to have a nice day.

This might not do anything to improve their behavior but by showing them patience, it certainly keeps me from getting stressed out over it. Give it a try. If everyone becomes more patient and has a better attitude it could make all our days more pleasant.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Patience 4

BE PATIENT WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE

1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, PATIENCE, meekness.

As Christians patience is one of the traits we should exhibit. Most importantly we should exercise patience in dealing with our family and friends. Our loved ones are not perfect. We must be patient with them as they grow.

As parents we know that we must be patient with our children. We hope they will eventually grow out of some of their bad habits. We hope they will eventually grow up and become responsible for themselves. Sometimes we expect that to happen way too soon.

One point I want to make is that being patient does not mean we have to tolerate wrong behavior. I just means that we have to deal with it in a loving way that will hopefully bring better results.

We not only have to be patient with our kids but I think it is important for kids to learn to be patient with their parents. Remember, God isn't through with us yet either.

Married people really do need to learn to be patient with their spouses. Impatience can wreck a home as fast as anything else.
Remember the definition of patience in the first devotional. We will all learn to be more patient with others when we realize "it ain't about us."
Our purpose is to glorify God by becoming more Christlike ourselves.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Patience 3

IMPATIENCE GETS YOU NOWHERE

Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience

Have you ever noticed an impatient person pull up to a red light. He will often start patting the steering wheel and racing his engine in hopes to get the light to change sooner. An impatient person will arrive at a business that is supposed to open at a certain time and they will be a few minutes late and he will shake the locked door and rattle it. I suppose he thinks it will magically open and he can then enter. He really looks foolish when the business owner comes up behind him and unlocks the door to let him in.

I have to admit that sometimes preachers do get a little long winded with their sermons. One preacher said he did not mind when people began to look at their watches but it kind of disturbed him when they began to hold them up and shake them. Wouldn't that time be better spent trying to get something from the message.

We are too often like the man who prayed, "Lord, I want patience and I want it now." Remember the first devotional in this series. He could be in for some trials and tribulations...now.

If you are an impatient person you need to ask yourself some questions.

1. Why am I so impatient?
2. Has being impatient helped me to accomplish anything?
3. Do I really want enough trouble in my life to teach me to be patient?
4. How is my impatience hurting me and others around me?
5. Is my impatience hurting my testimony?

There are many more questions you can ask yourself but these will get you started on examining your own patience.



Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Patience 2

GOD IS PATIENT WITH US

Romans 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:


Whenever you are feeling a little (or a lot) impatient remember how patient God is with us. God is all knowing and therefore knows that our process of becoming Christlike is a growing and learning experience. If God was impatient He probably would have destroyed mankind a long time ago.

God does not condone or excuse sin and bad behavior but He is patient with us. He allows us to make some mistakes and helps us to learn from those mistakes. He lovingly chastens and corrects us to try and mold us into intruments of service that glorify Him.

We can see a perfect example of God's patience in Peter. He often spoke and acted without thinking much about it. Jesus responded to Peter's denial of Him with love, understanding and instructions for Peter to move on and do the work that he was chosen to do.

God is much more patient with you and me than we sometimes realize. When you begin to feel impatient just remember how patient God is with you.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Patience 1

Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience

Sometimes people will come to me and ask me to pray that they will have more patience. I have heard people on numerous occasions say that they have been praying for patience.

Here is a word of caution. Patience is not a gift. Patience is a learned craft that comes from dealing with trials and troubles. If you pray for patience you are asking God to send you enough trials and trouble that you will eventually learn to be patient. I don't know about you but I would rather use what I have already learned, or learn from the trials and problems that are sure to come anyway.

Strong's concordance defines patience as the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. When we look at this definition our impatience should embarrass us somewhat.

During the next several devotionals I want to discuss patience and the benefits of being patient and the foolishness of being impatient. I hope you learn something and receive a blessing from these lessons.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.