Telling Time
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Posted:Jun 21, 2018 3:44 am
Last Updated:May 25, 2024 10:55 am 13617 Views
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Read: Psalm 90:9–17
Bible in a Year: Esther 3–5; Acts 5:22–42
[Make] the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16
“Westerners have watches. Africans have time.” So said Os Guinness, quoting an African proverb in his book Impossible People. That caused me to ponder the times I have responded to a request with, “I don’t have time.” I thought about the tyranny of the urgent and how schedules and deadlines dominate my life.
Moses prayed in Psalm 90, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (v. 12). And Paul wrote, “Be very careful, then, how you live . . . making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil”
(Ephesians 5:15–16).
I suspect that Paul and Moses would agree that our wise use of time isn’t just a matter of clock-watching. The situation may call for us to keep a tight schedule—or it may compel us to give someone an extended gift of our time.
We have but a brief moment to make a difference for Christ in our world, and we need to maximize that opportunity. That may mean ignoring our watches and planners for a while as we show Christ’s patient love to those He brings into our lives.
As we live in the strength and grace of the timeless Christ, we impact our time for eternity.
Father, You have given us all the time we need to accomplish what You have given us to do. May we use our time in ways that honor You.
Time management is not about clock-watching, it’s about making the most of the time we have.
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Every Moment Matters
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Posted:Jun 20, 2018 4:38 am
Last Updated:May 25, 2024 10:55 am 13242 Views
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Read: Philippians 1:12–24
Bible in a Year: Esther 1–2; Acts 5:1–21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
When I met Ada, she had outlived her entire group of friends and family and was living in a nursing home. “It’s the hardest part of getting old,” she told me, “watching everyone else move on and leave you behind.” One day I asked Ada what kept her interest and how she spent her time. She answered me with a Scripture passage from the apostle Paul (Philippians 1:21): “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Then she said, “While I’m still around, I have work to do. On my good days, I get to talk to the people here about Jesus; on the hard days, I can still pray.”
Significantly, Paul wrote Philippians while in prison. And he acknowledged a reality many Christians understand as they face their mortality: Even though heaven seems so inviting, the time we have left on Earth matters to God.
Like Paul, Ada recognized that every breath she took was an opportunity to serve and glorify God. So Ada spent her days loving others and introducing them to her Savior.
Even in our darkest moments, Christians can hold on to the promise of permanent joy in the company of God. And while we live, we enjoy relationship with Him. He fills all our moments with significance.
Lord, grant me the strength to serve You with every breath I take, so that every moment of my remaining days matters to Your Kingdom.
When God comes to call us home, may He find us serving Him.
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IMPAIRED JUDGMENT
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Posted:Jun 19, 2018 4:13 am
Last Updated:Jun 20, 2018 5:13 pm 13136 Views
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Read: Matthew 7:1–6
Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 12–13; Acts 4:23–37
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. Matthew 7:1
I’ve been quick to judge anyone I saw walking in the street while staring at a phone. How could they be so oblivious to the cars about to hit them? I’ve told myself. Don’t they care about their own safety? But one day, while crossing the entrance to an alleyway, I was so engrossed in a text message, that I missed seeing a car at my left. Thankfully, the driver saw me and came to an abrupt stop. But I felt ashamed. All of my self-righteous finger-pointing came back to haunt me. I had judged others, only to do the same thing myself.
My hypocrisy is the kind of thinking that Jesus addressed in the Sermon on the Mount: “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). I had a huge “plank”—a blind spot through which I judged others with my own impaired judgment.
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,” Jesus also said (7:2). Recalling the disgusted look on the driver’s face that day, after having to make an abrupt stop when I walked in front of the car, I’m reminded of the disgusted looks I gave others engrossed in their phones.
None of us is perfect. But sometimes I forget that in my haste to judge others. We’re all in need of God’s grace.
Heavenly Father, please help me be quicker to console or encourage, and slower to judge someone else.
Be slow to judge others.
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Blessing in the Mess
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Posted:Jun 18, 2018 3:29 am
Last Updated:Jun 18, 2018 8:48 am 12923 Views
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Read: Genesis 28:10–22
Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 10–11; Acts 4:1–22
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
I got myself into this mess, so I’d better get myself out, I sometimes find myself thinking. Although I believe in a God of grace, I’m still prone to act as if His help is available only when I deserve it.
God’s first encounter with Jacob is a beautiful illustration of how untrue this is.
Jacob had spent a lifetime trying to alter his destiny. He’d been born second at a time when firstborn sons typically received their father’s blessing—believed to guarantee future prosperity.
So Jacob decided to do whatever it would take to get his father’s blessing anyway. Eventually, he succeeded—through deceit—obtaining the blessing intended for his brother (Genesis 27:19–29).
But the price was a divided family, as Jacob fled from his furious brother
(vv. 41–43). As night descended (28:11), Jacob must have felt as far from a life of blessing as ever.
But it was there, leaving behind a trail of deception, that Jacob met God. God showed him he didn’t need desperate schemes to be blessed; he already was. His destiny—a purpose far greater than material prosperity (v. 14)—was held securely by the One who would never leave him (v. 15).
It was a lesson Jacob would spend his whole life learning.
And so will we. No matter how many regrets we carry or how distant God seems, He is still there—gently guiding us out of our mess into His blessing.
Lord, so often we feel trapped by our mistakes, thinking there’s no future left for us. Remind us that you are the God of Jacob, the God who will never give up on Your purposes for us.
God never gives up on His love and purposes for our lives.
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Our Safe Place
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Posted:Jun 17, 2018 6:12 am
Last Updated:Jun 17, 2018 7:12 pm 12560 Views
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Read: Psalm 91
Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 7–9; Acts 3
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2
My very first job was at a fast-food restaurant. One Saturday evening, a guy kept hanging around, asking when I got out of work. It made me feel uneasy. As the hour grew later, he ordered fries, then a drink, so the manager wouldn’t kick him out. Though I didn’t live far, I was scared to walk home alone through a couple of dark parking lots and a stretch through a sandy field. Finally, at midnight, I went in the office to make a phone call.
And the person who answered—my dad—without a second thought got out of a warm bed and five minutes later was there to take me home.
The kind of certainty I had that my dad would come to help me that night reminds me of the assurance we read about in Psalm 91. Our Father in heaven is always with us, protecting and caring for us when we are confused or afraid or in need. He declares: “When they call on me, I will answer” (Psalm 91:15 nlt). He is not just a place we can run to for safety. He is our shelter (v. 1). He is the Rock we can cling to for refuge (v. 2).
In times of fear, danger, or uncertainty, we can trust God’s promise that when we call on Him, He will hear and be with us in our trouble (vv. 14–15). God is our safe place.
Dear Father, thank You for being my Rock and my safe place.
The living God will always be our shelter.
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As Advertised
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Posted:Jun 16, 2018 2:33 am
Last Updated:May 25, 2024 10:55 am 12315 Views
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Read: John 16:25–33
Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 4–6; Acts 2:22–47
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33
During a vacation, my husband and I signed up for a leisurely rafting tour down Georgia’s Chattahoochee River. Dressed in sandals, a sundress, and a wide brimmed hat, I groaned when we discovered—contrary to the advertisement—that the trip included light rapids. Thankfully, we rode with a couple experienced in whitewater rafting. They taught my husband the basics of paddling and promised to navigate us safely to our destination. Grateful for my life jacket, I screamed and gripped the plastic handle on the raft until we reached the muddy bank downriver. I stepped onto the shore and dumped water from my purse as my husband helped me wring out the hem of my soaked dress. We enjoyed a good laugh, even though the trip had not turned out as advertised.
Unlike the tour brochure, which clearly left out a key detail about the trip, Jesus explicitly warned His disciples that rough waters were ahead. He told them that they’d be persecuted and martyred and that He would die and be resurrected. He also guaranteed His trustworthiness, affirming that He would guide them toward undeniable triumph and everlasting hope (John 16:16–33).
Although it would be nice if life were easier when we follow Jesus, He made it clear that His disciples would have troubles. But He promised to be with us. Trials won’t define, limit, or destroy God’s plan for us, because Jesus’s resurrection has already propelled us to eternal victory.
Lord, thank You for the promises in Your Word that assure us You’ve planned our path and remain with us and for us, no matter what comes.
Jesus promises to be with us through the roughest waters.
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“Lovable”
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Posted:Jun 15, 2018 3:35 am
Last Updated:Jun 16, 2018 9:22 am 12306 Views
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Read: Jeremiah 31:1–6
Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 1–3; Acts 2:1–21
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Jeremiah 31:3
“Lovable!”
That exclamation came from my as she got ready one morning. I didn’t know what she meant. Then she tapped her shirt, a hand-me-down from a cousin. Across the front was that word: “Lovable.” I gave her a big hug, and she smiled with pure joy. “You are lovable!” I echoed. Her smile grew even bigger, if that was possible, as she skipped away, repeating the word over and over again.
I’m hardly a perfect father. But that moment was perfect. In that spontaneous, beautiful interaction, I glimpsed in my girl’s radiant face what receiving unconditional love looked like: It was a portrait of delight. She knew the word on her shirt corresponded completely with how her daddy felt about her.
How many of us know in our hearts that we are loved by a Father whose affection for us is limitless? Sometimes we struggle with this truth. The Israelites did. They wondered if their trials meant God no longer loved them. But in Jeremiah 31:3, the prophet reminds them of what God said in the past: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” We too long for such unconditional love. Yet the wounds, disappointments, and mistakes we experience can make us feel anything but lovable. But God opens His arms—the arms of a perfect Father—and invites us to experience and rest in His love.
Lord, hard things in our lives can tempt us to believe we are unlovable. But You say otherwise. Please help us to receive the life-transforming gift of Your everlasting love for us.
No one loves us like our Father.
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Quieting the Critic
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Posted:Jun 14, 2018 1:36 am
Last Updated:Jun 14, 2018 6:22 pm 12227 Views
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Read: Nehemiah 4:1–6
Bible in a Year: Ezra 9–10; Acts 1
Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Nehemiah 4:4
I work with a team to put on an annual community event. We spend eleven months plotting many details to ensure the event’s success. We choose the date and venue. We set ticket prices. We select everything from food vendors to sound technicians. As the event approaches, we answer public questions and provide directions. Afterward we collect feedback. Some good. Some that is hard to hear. Our team hears excitement from attendees and also fields complaints. The negative feedback can be discouraging and sometimes tempts us to give up.
Nehemiah had critics too as he led a team to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. They actually mocked Nehemiah and those working alongside him saying, “Even a fox climbing up on it would break down [your] wall of stones” (Nehemiah 4:3). His response to the critics helps me handle my own: Instead of feeling dejected or trying to refute their comments, he turned to God for help. Instead of responding directly, he asked God to hear the way His people were being treated and to defend them (v. 4). After entrusting those concerns to God, he and his co-laborers continued to work steadily on the wall “with all their heart” (v. 6).
We can learn from Nehemiah not to be distracted by criticism of our work. When we’re criticized or mocked, instead of responding to our critics out of hurt or anger, we can prayerfully ask God to defend us from discouragement so we can continue with a whole heart.
Help me to evaluate the good and bad in the criticism, to trust You, and to continue in my work wholeheartedly.
God is our best defense against criticism.
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Humble Love
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Posted:Jun 13, 2018 1:35 am
Last Updated:Jun 14, 2018 6:08 am 12331 Views
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Read: Philippians 2:1–11
Bible in a Year: Ezra 6–8; John 21
The greatest among you will be your servant. Matthew 23:11
When Benjamin Franklin was a young man he made a list of twelve virtues he desired to grow in over the course of his life. He showed it to a friend, who suggested he add “humility” to it. Franklin liked the idea. He then added some guidelines to help him with each item on the list. Among Franklin’s thoughts about humility, he held up Jesus as an example to emulate.
Jesus shows us the ultimate example of humility. God’s Word tells us, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:5–7).
Jesus demonstrated the greatest humility of all. Though eternally with the Father, He chose to bend beneath a cross in love so that through His death He might lift any who receive Him into the joy of His presence.
We imitate Jesus’s humility when we seek to serve our heavenly Father by serving others. Jesus’s kindness helps us catch a breathtaking glimpse of the beauty of setting ourselves aside to attend to others’ needs. Aiming for humility isn’t easy in our “me first” world. But as we rest securely in our Savior’s love, He will give us everything we need to follow Him.
Beautiful Savior, I am Your servant. Please help me to live in Your love and be a blessing to someone today.
We can serve because we are loved.
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Called by Name
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Posted:Jun 12, 2018 5:27 am
Last Updated:Jun 13, 2018 1:35 am 12375 Views
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read: John 20:11–18
Bible in a Year: Ezra 3–5; John 20
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” John 20:16
Advertisers have concluded that the most attention-grabbing word that viewers react to is their own name. Thus a television channel in the UK has introduced personalized advertisements with their online streaming services.
We might enjoy hearing our name on television, but it doesn’t mean much without the intimacy that comes when someone who loves us says our name.
Mary Magdalene’s attention was arrested when, at the tomb where Jesus’s body had been laid after He was crucified on the cross, He spoke her name
(John 20:16). With that single word, she turned in recognition to the Teacher whom she loved and followed, I imagine with a rush of disbelief and joy. The familiarity with which He spoke her name confirmed for her beyond a doubt that the One who’d known her perfectly was alive and not dead.
Although Mary shared a unique and special moment with Jesus, we too are personally loved by God. Jesus told Mary that He would ascend to His Father
(v. 17), but He had also told His disciples that He would not leave them alone
(John 14:15–1. God would send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell in His (see Acts 2:1–13).
God’s story doesn’t change. Whether then or now, He knows those whom He loves (see John 10:14–15). He calls us by name.
Loving Father, living Jesus, comforting Holy Spirit, thank You that You know me completely, and that You love me unceasingly.
The God who created the cosmos also made you, and He calls you by name.
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