6/15/2018
"He, who would love life and see good days, let him refrain
his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let
him seek peace and pursue it. For the
eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (I Pet. 3:10-12)
As the writers of the New Testament often quote from the Old Testament, Peter follows this pattern by quoting from Psalms 34 and discussing what it is to live the good life. How do you learn to love life and see good days? The good life is not anything that the world offers. Solomon had it all. He could have competed with anyone in today's world. He had more money, more power, more women, more accomplishments, and in fact more of everything. Ecclesiastes tells us that he hated life on the purely human level. He comes to the end of his life, looks back over the whole thing, and hates it because he lived it for his own indulgence. Then he gives this very important piece of advice in (Ecclesiastes 12:1), "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth; before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them." The good life is the life that is set on God and His divine truth.
Obviously, one must seek to live life with the right attitude rather than having possessions and enjoying the pleasures of sin as the world does. The right attitude is emphasized by Peter beginning in (1 Peter 3:8-9); "Finally, everyone must live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble. Don't pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you, or ridicule those who ridicule you. Instead, bless them, because you were called to inherit a blessing"
Lou Nicholes said, "Words can never adequately express the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live, the more convinced I am that life is 10 percent of what happens to us and 90 percent of how we respond to it. I believe the most significant decision I can make in a single day is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bank account, my success or failures, what other people think of me or say about me. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. When my attitude is right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep or no challenge too great."
KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE
Well there's a dark and a troubled side of life.
There's a bright and a sunny side too.
But if you meet with the darkness and strife,
The sunny side we also may view.
Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life.
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way,
If we keep on the sunny side of life.
Oh, the storm and its fury broke today,
Crushing hopes that we cherish so dear.
Clouds and storms will in time pass away.
The sun again will shine bright and clear.
Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life.
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way,
If we'll keep on the sunny side of life.
Let us greet with a song of hope each day.
Though the moments be cloudy or fair.
Let us trust in our Savior always,
To keep us, every one, in His care.
Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life.
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way,
If we'll keep on the sunny side of life.
If we'll keep on the sunny side of life
"Daily Devotions by Guy Roberson"