The Blessings and the Lessons

Father in heaven, look down upon me today with

love and mercy. I'm going through some tough times

lately, and right now I fail to see the light at the end

of the tunnel. God, help me stay focused on the good

that will come out of this, even if I cannot imagine

what that good is at the moment. I have faith that you 

will always help me handle whatever situation I find

myself in and that what you give me has

a purpose for my life. But just for now,

send a little bit of light my way to guide

me through the long, dark night ahead.

Amen.

Sometimes God will send others to help you see your wrong ways. Will you be OK with that?

Proverbs 27:6

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

A True Friend

Imagine you saw a blind man headed for the edge of a cliff. You likely wouldn’t hesitate to go up to him and warn, would you? You’d be uninhibited in going right up to him and trying to tell him that where he’s headed is going to lead to disaster. Why would it be any different than if a friend came up to you and told you that you were headed in the wrong direction and that if you didn’t change your direction, you were going to face something very serious that was going to hurt you? A friend will tell you the truth, but someone who is only pretending to be your friend will hide it from you. Isn’t it better to hear the truth and be somewhat hurt by it than to hear falsehoods and run into more serious trouble later? As painful as it is, I would rather my friend tell me the truth than tell me what I want to hear. Sometimes God sends others to help us see that we’re wrong. So, isn’t that a good thing?

Open Rebuke

In Proverbs 27:5 it says that it’s better to receive open rebuke than pretending they love you by hiding the truth. By open rebuke, I don’t mean that someone tells you your fault in front of a huge, public gathering. I think what Solomon is saying is that it’s better to be told openly, frankly, and honestly before your face than to have something hidden from you that you might not be aware of, walking right into something that does a lot of harm. The psalmist went so far as to say that he’d rather have a righteous person slap him in the face if he needs it because it’s really a kindness to him (Psalm 141:5). In the long run, the person who rebukes someone will gain their favor (Prov. 28:23) because even though the truth hurts, hiding the truth hurts even worse. Judas went up to Jesus and gave Him a kiss, but the kiss of an enemy can end up doing a lot more harm than good (Matt. 26:49), like it did to Jesus.

Does an Enemy Speak the Truth?

Paul asks the rhetorical question of whether he became the enemy of the Galatians because he spoke the truth (Gal. 4:16). The obvious answer is no, of course not, because even the Word of God cuts in order to heal, and the blows of a friend are in our best interest. I don’t mean actual physical blows, of course, but words that hurt can heal in the end. If we see a brother or sister living in serious, grievous sin, it is our Christian duty to try and restore them (Gal. 6:1). The truth can hurt, but silence is not golden; it can prove fatal in some cases. How will you or I react if God sends someone to help us see our wrong? Is that okay with us? Can we see that they only want to help us?

A Closing Prayer

Father, You chastise every son and daughter You love (Heb. 12:6; Rev. 3:19); so, help me to receive it as being done in love, whether it’s directly from Your Word, the Bible, or from someone You send. In the Savior’s precious name I pray.

Amen

If you had one day to live, how would you spend it?

Proverbs 27:1

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

An Appointment With Death

This sounds morbid, and I don’t mean for it to, but no one knows the day of their death. All we know for sure is that we’re all destined to die and then face the judgment (Heb. 9:27), so none of us can take our lives for granted and just rest, relax, eat, and be happy (Luke 12:19) because our very life might end tonight. What would you do differently if you knew you had only one day to live? I have been with some people who were on their deathbed and knocking on heaven’s door, and none had remorse over the lack of money they could have made, their desire to have finer things, or that they’d spent more time at work. Just the opposite is what I found to be true. They wished they had studied the Bible more to know God better, they wished they had spent more time with their family and told them more often how much they loved them, and they wished they would have been better witnesses to their lost friends and family members. I suggest you live like today is your last because you never know–it might be.

Don’t Boast About Tomorrow

How can we ever brag or boast about what we’ll do tomorrow when there is no guarantee that tomorrow will ever come (James 4:13-14)? Life is like a morning fog–it comes and then suddenly is gone. What would you do today if you knew it was your last? Would you go to that friend with whom you’ve been sharing the Gospel and tell them once more about how they might be saved (Acts 4:12)? Would you have one last great meal like they offer those on death row just before their execution? What would be your priority today if you knew it was your very last one? Should we not live like that every day?

Make Today a God’s-Will Day

James said that we shouldn’t brag about doing something tomorrow but rather seek to do God’s will today and tomorrow and say if it’s God’s will then I will do this or I will do that (James 4:15) because if you confidently boast about what you’ll do tomorrow, God sees that as evil (James 4:16). That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t plan things for tomorrow, but your plans should include seeking what God would want you to do. We should live today like there’s no tomorrow because there might not be a tomorrow for us on this earth. Would you be more generous today with your money, with your time, and with your prayers? I believe we should live every day like it could be our last for another reason: Christ could return at any given moment (1 Thess. 4:16-18). So live today like it’s your last on earth and like Christ will return today!

A Closing Prayer

God, You alone know the day of my death, so teach me to number each and every day (Psalm 90:12) like it might be my last because it could be. Let me die with no regrets or remorse if You were to send Your Son back to earth today for His church, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

What area of your life requires courage today?

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Finances

I don’t personally know of anyone who has not struggled at one time or another with fears over their finances and needed the courage to trust God. God has promised in His word that no child of His will suffer from hunger or starve to death (Prov. 10:3), and those who fear God will lack nothing at all, even if they grow weak from hunger (Psalm 34:10). The fear of finances keeps so many people up at night that I lost track of counting them all. Is this an area where you require courage? I suggest you read some of the Proverbs and the Psalms because God promises to never forsake us by reminding us that His own children will not have to go out and beg for bread (Psalm 37:25). If God provides for the birds of the air that don’t even need a job, then why would He not do the same for us, whom He values infinitely more (Matt. 6:26)?

Witnessing

I have done door-to-door and street evangelism and even one-on-one witnessing, and I still tremble at times. My heart starts to pound, my brow grows sweaty, and my voice sometimes gets shaky, but real courage is not being afraid–it is doing what needs to be done despite the fear. Courage is not the elimination of fear; it is acting regardless of fear. Take comfort in the fact that it’s hard for everyone. Ask God to give you the courage to step out and risk for the sake of the kingdom. Ask others to pray for you about this. Great rewards come with great risks, and I can look back on times in my life where I was afraid to share the Gospel with someone but who later placed their trust in Christ. What if I hadn’t gone through with it? Paul frequently asked the church to pray for Him in witnessing boldly for Christ and specifically asked that he might declare it fearlessly, as he should (Eph. 6:19-20). The fear of man is a big obstacle that can trip us up, but trusting God always helps (Prov. 29:25) because if we trust in God, we have no reason to fear anything that man can do to us (Psalm 56:11).

Goliaths

Many of us have our own giants that we face. These might be a disease or illness, a troubled marriage, a dying spouse, unemployment, or whatever else seems to be impossible to you. David had his Goliath, but we have ours, too, and even though David faced a giant about ten times (or more) his size, David trusted in God. David told Goliath that he was certain that God was going to take him down that day (1 Sam. 17:44) because the Lord was going to give Goliath into David’s hands, for the battle is the Lord’s (1 Sam. 17:47). When Moses was near the end of his life, he told Joshua to have courage and be strong because he had no reason to be in fear or dread the future because the Lord promised to go before them in battle when they crossed over into the Promised Land because God was not going to forsake them (Deut. 31:6).

A Closing Prayer

Oh mighty God of the universe, please forgive me when I fall into fearful circumstances and don’t trust You enough, knowing that You will never leave me or forsake me and that You will take care of my every need. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Did you know that God often works in the ordinary?

First Samuel 16:7

Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

God is most glorified when he does extraordinary things through very ordinary people. In that way, people must give God the credit, and when they do, He is glorified by it and not the person who does the amazing things for Him. The amazing things that God does through people are done by our amazing God. God prefers to use the least of all people to do the most unlikely of things. God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11), and He often uses the minority, the smallest or the weakest, to do His work here on earth. In reading the Bible, you’ll frequently discover that God uses the smaller groups or those who are small in their own eyes because He resists the proud of heart (James 4:6). It seems that the majority is wrong most of the time in the pages of the Bible, so just because the majority might think something is good doesn’t guarantee that it is. God can you use, too, even though you and I are both only jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:7).

The Least Likely

When God was having Jesse pass all of his sons before Samuel to find the next King of Israel, Jesse thought that surely the first and then the next several sons would be the right one. They all seemed to have the look of a king but they forgot one thing; God looks at the heart and not at the outward appearance (1 Sam 16:7) because God values what’s inside and not what people see on the outside. God often works in people that we might never imagine He would. Otherwise, why would He use Gideon who essentially called himself the runt of his family and he was in the least of all of the tribes of Israel (Judges 6:12-24)? To put it this way, God loves the underdog so that He receives the glory, therefore we should never underestimate people who we think God would never use because those may be the very ones that He will use the most!

You and Me

Don’t overlook yourself either because God will likely use you if you are small in your own eyes. It’s so amazing that God’s history of working through mankind is His tendency to use those whom most would never even think about being used by God. What about you? Do you consider yourself an unlikely vessel that God could use in a powerful way? If you think it’s impossible that God would use you, then you’re already qualified in God’s eyes and in God’s eyes is all that matters! Don’t sell yourself short, because God won’t. Someone who really thinks a lot of themself is the one whom God cannot likely use. They first must humble themselves. The person who is unseen by human eyes but is doing the very works of God on earth is someone we’ll probably never hear about or read about, but those who do things to not be seen by man are those who may be doing the greatest work on earth for God today.

A Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for using those who seem small in their own eyes because this gives all of us hope, as you have called, for the most part, the weak and what the world calls the foolish things of the world (1 Cor. 1:27) so that You can show Yourself strong and be more glorified. So thank You, God, for doing such a work in those whom most may have little regard for, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Is your view of love based on the world or the Bible?

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

What Is Love?

Love has been described as a feeling, an emotion, or something that is attractive, but really love is not just a noun; love is a verb. Love is what you do more than what you feel. Feelings are fine, but the true measure of love is by what is done, not by what is felt. Has there ever been any greater display of what love really is than what was done on the cross (John 15:13)? That was the most defining moment in human history because it bridged the unbridgeable gap that stood between humans and God due to sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). Is that your view of love? For the longest time, I had confused what love really was from what love really is. Real love is a sacrificial, selfless, giving action that does more than what is felt or said. Talk is cheap, but action is a lot louder than words. When I read about what Christ did for me–and for many others–I had to redefine what love really is. Love is not what is felt but what is done. Love is a verb; it’s what you do.

I Love the …

I have seen a lot of bumper stickers that have read “I love the (name of a football team),” “I love weekends,” they love this and that, but that is not really love to me. That is a very strong like, yes, but that’s not what love is really all about. Is your view of love based upon the world’s view of love? Mine was for the longest time. I had the wrong idea about what love really is. I fixed the word “love” on things and not people or, most of all, God, but God displayed His love for us first before we ever loved Him (1 John 4:19). He made the first move; He was the first to love. We didn’t initiate that love. Even our love for God comes from God Himself by His Spirit. Sometimes we confuse love with lust, but lust is really the exact opposite of love because if often desires something that’s not good for us (except in marriage), and we lust after things that will hurt is. Love never hurts us, if it is, indeed, real love.

God, the Author and Giver of Love

God is love (1 John 4:8), and we can say we love God, but in reality, the Bible says that God poured out His love into us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5), so our own love for God did not even originate with us. But once we are regenerated by the Spirit of God, only then can we truly love God according to the biblical definition. We might think we know what love is, but is it based upon the way the world defines it or the way God’s Word does? Love is patient and kind, doesn’t brag or boast, isn’t arrogant, doesn’t dishonor people, doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, doesn’t delight in sin but always loves truth, has hope, always perseveres, and includes trust (1 Cor. 13:4-7), and when everything else will fail, love never does (1 Cor. 13:8). Love is what love does–it is action-oriented, not a touchy-feely, intangible thing.

A Closing Prayer

Great God in heaven, I thank You that You first loved me, even though I was unlovable. You still reached down out of heaven to save a sinner like me and then sent Your Son to die for me. That is what real love is, and I thank You for Your love. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

What does full surrender mean? Are you working towards this?

Proverbs 21:31

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Victory in Surrender

This goes against the way that mankind thinks, in that there can be victory only when we lay down our arms and that we can gain victory only by surrendering. The Bible is full of such accounts where the battle is said to be the Lord’s. This is how God is more glorified. Today nations depend solely on their armament, but in the ancient days, Israel depended upon God. Sometimes God was their only hope for defeating a far superior army. These ancient kings of Israel, like King David, knew that the battle never depended on horses and chariots but always on the Lord (Psalm 20:7). Despite all the strength of their force, it wasn’t up to them but up to God (Psalm 33:17). Deliverance is always from God (Psalm 3:8) and never from the hand of man. That was the way the nations that were opposed to Israel thought (Isaiah 31:1), but they never truly understood that, until after their defeat, they were actually fighting God, and that is a fruitless attempt.

His Victory for Us

The believer in Jesus Christ never fought for and achieved their own victory over sin and eternal punishment (Eph. 2:8-9). That victory came through only one Man, and He is the God-Man, Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57). Even in ancient Israel, as skilled of a warrior-king that David was, the victory always came from God’s hand (2 Sam. 8:14). The only reason that we can put on immortality and leave our mortality someday is because of Christ’s victory over death (1 Cor. 15:54), as He took the final sting out of death (1 Cor. 15:55). This reminds me of a young boy and father who were driving together and a wasp was flying around inside the car. The boy panicked trying to avoid the wasp, but the father said, “Calm down, son, he can’t sting you anymore.” The boy asked why, and the father said, “Because he had only one stinger and it landed on me, so the wasp can’t sting you anymore because I took the sting out of the wasp.” So it was with Christ for us: He took the sting out of death so ours would no longer be there.

Working for Victory or From Victory

I have counseled a lot of men who battle pornography, and a close friend of mine, who has battled this for many years, finally gave up and said, “Okay, God, I can’t do this. You’re going to have to help me.” It was within a few short days that my friend called me back and said he finally got over his addiction to pornography. I asked him how he did it, and he said, “I gave up. I surrendered it all to Jesus because I just couldn’t do it.” What godly wisdom my friend revealed, so I asked him, “Exactly how did you do it?” He said that God suddenly changed his heart’s desire for it. He found an accountability partner (me!) and started deleting all of the pornographic images on his computer. Next, it was time to put on a filter that was password protected. He finally had victory over pornography but not until he surrendered. Are you trying to overcome a similar type of stronghold? Full surrender to me means begging God for help to do what you can’t do for yourself. That means there victory only in surrendering, surrendering to God, that is.

A Closing Prayer

God, my Father, thank You for showing me by the example of a precious Christian brother of mine that surrender is the only way we can ever have victory because You can fight an enemy for us that we cannot handle and is too strong. In Jesus’ name I thank You and pray.

Amen

What if you worked every day as if you were working for Me?

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

For Whom You Really Work

We might think we work for an employer, but the truth is that we really work for God, just as when we serve people, we’re really serving God (Eph. 6:7). Many years ago, I was working as a janitor and scrubbing the floor of the men’s bathroom at a machine shop. There I was on my hands and knees, sometimes scraping the floor with a razor blade to remove what a mop or a scrub brush couldn’t. It was grueling work, but then I remembered it was God for Whom I was working. Wherever I put my hand, I was determined to do the best job I could because, ultimately, it was God for Whom I worked, so I gave it everything I had (Eccl. 9:10). I still believe that. My wife once said during this difficult time in my life that any honest work is honorable work, and, of course, she was right.

Make Work Your Offering

I think we should thank God for our jobs because a lot of people around the nation and the world don’t even have one. We can pray that God establishes the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17) and that we offer it as a sacrifice to God. The fruit of our labors are blessings from God (Psalm 128:2), so we should give back our thanks to Him. Those who labor diligently will receive all their provisions needed to sustain them (Prov. 12:11). There really isn’t anything better than a good day’s work (Eccl. 3:22), for God has placed us where it pleases Him. But if we slack off, we are robbing our employer, ourselves, others (Prov. 18:9), and really God, Who gave us our jobs in the first place. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, both He and the Father worked (John 5:17), and Jesus was a carpenter for many years. A carpenter back then involved working with heavy stones and timber and not what we think of a carpenter’s job today (although that, too, is very hard work).

God Works

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, both He and the Father worked (John 5:17), and God, although He never needed any rest, rested from His creation (Gen. 2:2) as an example for us to follow. Therefore, we should work every day as if we were working for God because we are, and we also ought to rest as God did on the seventh day of creation. When we were created, we were considered part of His work (Isaiah 64:8). Paul wrote that when we work with our hands, we ought to give because this is what Jesus taught (Acts 20:35). Since God works, we should work with our own hands because our labor is not done in vain; it is for a purpose for which God created us (1 Cor. 15:58), even as God commanded Adam to tend and keep (work) the garden (Gen. 2:15). What if you worked knowing that you were really working for God? Would that change how you thought about work?

A Closing Prayer

God, my Father, You have been so kind to me, giving me a job in order to provide for my family and for helping the work You are doing on earth. I thank You, Lord, that by Your generosity, You have allowed me to have so many blessings so that I might give to others as Jesus said, and it is in His holy name I pray.

Amen

Is there a Bible character you connect with? What can you learn from their story?

Hebrews 11:39-40

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

From Denial to Trial

Peter is one of my favorite characters in the Bible because I am a lot like him. I have denied Christ before others in my failure to speak up for what is right or when given the chance to be Jesus’ witness. Peter denied Jesus only three times (Mark 14:66-72), but I have denied Him countless times. Even though Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus forgave him and restored him. In fact, he became one of the greatest witnesses for Christ in the New Testament. His powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost convicted all who listened that day (Acts 2:14-39), and they were cut to the heart (Acts 2:37). As a result, God added many to the church that day (Acts 2:47), and about three thousand were saved (Acts 2:41). Church history indicates that Peter felt so unworthy to be crucified in the manner in which Jesus was that he insisted on being crucified upside down. I’ve learned that none of us are worthy, and that’s exactly the point!

From Hiding to Hero

Gideon is one of my favorite characters in the Bible, too, and I can relate to him. When God first started moving in my life, I thought there was no way that a man of disaster could ever be a pastor. I still think of myself and often identify myself as the “pastor of disaster,” and even though I’m still sort of a train wreck, God typically sets all of us on the right track. Gideon was basically hiding and considered himself the runt of the litter in his family. He was from the least of the tribes of Israel (Judges 6:15), yet He was called “a mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12). Perhaps that’s why God used him so mightily. God tends to use those who are small in their own eyes. God loves to use weak, small bands of men and women who the world has little regard for, yet Gideon’s small force of 300 took on a force of 135,000 Midianites, who were trained, skilled, and experienced warriors. But when God’s on your side, who can prevail against you (Rom. 8:31)?

I Give Up

Elijah was perhaps one the greatest men of God mentioned in the Bible, but there were times when he felt like giving up, just lying down to die. Right after his great victory over 850 false prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18), he ran for his life after Jezebel threatened him (1 Kings 19:3). He thought, “I’m finished, Lord, just kill me” (1 Kings 19:4). He felt that he was the only one who was actually serving God (1 Kings 19:10, 14), when there were actually over 7000 Israelites who had not yet bent the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Have you ever felt alone as a believer? Like the only one in your neighborhood, at work, or in your family? Elijah also felt this way. Truly, you and I are not alone, even though at times we feel like it and feel like, “Okay, Lord, I’m done.”

A Closing Prayer

Great God in Heaven, You alone know my future. Thank You for these examples in the Bible that give all of us hope (Heb. 11). I have a lot in common with them; I am unworthy, I am nothing of myself, and at times I feel so alone and like giving up. Please give me hope of enduring for Your glory, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Are you content with what you have?

Philippians 4:11

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

Learning Contentment

Paul surely endured some great hardships like hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness, beatings, imprisonment, dangers in rivers, stonings, beatings, being shipwrecked, going without food, storms at sea, flogging, dangers from robbers, sleeplessness, attacks from the Jews, laboring day and night for the Gospel, daily pressure from the churches, being hard-pressed on every side, feeling crushed, and being exposed to death time and time again (2 Cor. 4:8, 11:23-28). He knew how it felt to be crushed, going far beyond his ability to endure it, even to the point of his despairing of life (2 Cor. 1:8), yet Paul never complained. He spoke the truth about all these sufferings. But what did he do about it? He learned to be content (Phil. 4:11), even though more than once he was beaten and presumed dead or dying, yet not killed (2 Cor. 6:9). That’s right … he had to learn how to be content because contentment is not naturally acquired, a gift of God, or a fruit of the Spirit. It is something that Paul learned and we have to learn, and like anything else, learning never seems to come easily.

Without Contentment

We don’t need to look far to find a biblical example of discontentment. The children of Israel grumbled time and time again, and for many it cost them their lives (Ex. 16:2; Num. 14:2). If someone’s not content, they are basically telling God that He hasn’t provided them with enough, but a quick glance around the world should put our life into perspective. Many have no running water or indoor toilets; no refrigerator or even food to put in one; no heating or air-conditioning; no food beyond what they have for the day, if that; no job; no car; no freedom to vote or worship; and perhaps even no shelter.

Content in Hardships

How Paul was able to learn how to be contented amidst such suffering is hard for me to even imagine (2 Cor. 1:8, 11:23-28). Paul said that there is great gain in having godliness and contentment (1 Tim. 6:6), and if he had food and clothing, he would be content with that (1 Tim. 6:8). The author of Hebrews tells us to avoid having a love of money and to just be content with what we have (Heb. 13:5); otherwise, discontentment can rear its ugly head. Discontentment tells God that you are not happy with your lot in life, so my question to you and to myself is this: Are you content with what you have? Am I? Sometimes it just takes a little perspective, and it takes learning to be content.

A Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are so generous to me, I cannot even count all the blessings I have in my life because there are so many. I can never fully express my thanks to You, for You have been more generous to me and to so many others than we truly deserve. For this I thank You, and in the precious name of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, I pray.

Amen

Where are your greatest investments placed? Here on Earth or in Heaven?

Matthew 6:20

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Secured Treasure

Several years ago when I worked for the federal government, I diversified my investments in different areas. Some went to high-risk stocks. Some went to bonds and mutual funds, others to conservative money market funds, but there was always a risk of the stock market crashing. Even though these investments were scattered in many different areas, there was no guarantee that they would be safe at all times. Just before the stock market crashed some years ago, I took out much of it and paid off our house. Then “boom!” the market took a steep dive, and I would have lost about 40% of my portfolio. Since I had used it to pay debt, I didn’t suffer loss like many others did. Even more sure than this is to invest in the kingdom work where not even moth, rust, thieves (Matthew 6:20), and I might add fire could never destroy. I have learned to give to certain ministries and the church, and this money is as good as sent to heaven and will be awaiting me someday in the form of rewards. You can’t take it with you, but you can send it ahead!

What will Remain?

If we invest in helping others and in doing good for them and are generous with what we have, we’ll be storing up the treasures of a rock-solid foundation for the future (1 Timothy 6:18-19). If we spend it all on ourselves, then at the time when our rewards will be received, we’ll lose everything we had because we didn’t share what we had. We need to be careful where we build our foundation for the future (1 Corinthians 3:10) because all our work will have to pass through the fire to see what work of ours will remain (1 Corinthians 3:13). If we’re only doing things that are for self, it’ll all burn up like wood, hay, or stubble even though the person will be saved (1 Corinthians 3:15). Only precious jewels, gold, and silver can pass through the fire and survive (1 Corinthians 3:12). So all that you do for the Lord and His glory will survive the fire that’s coming someday–the fire will reveal what we did for ourselves and what we did for His glory.

Where’s Your Heart?

Jesus said He’ll know where our heart really is. We can say we love the Lord. We can be in church every Sunday. We can sing every church hymn and attend every Sunday school class. But Jesus said that your heart really is where your treasure is (Matthew 6:21). What you treasure is where your heart will be. Where is your heart? Where is mine? If it’s money and things, that’s where your heart really is. If it’s in helping others for Christ, that’s where your heart really is. One old pastor once said that if you really want to know where someone’s heart is, look at their checkbook ledger; see where they spend most of their money. That’ll reveal where their heart truly is.

A Closing Prayer

Father, my own human nature is selfish, only desiring to gratify my flesh. Help me to see that the greatest investments are not here on Earth but in heaven because those things are safe and will remain. Everything else of mine here on Earth will be gone, and in Jesus’ precious name I pray.

Amen

Do you concentrate more on what other people think about you or what I know about you?

John 12:42-43

Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

An Audience of One

The older I get, the more I don’t care what other people think about me. I only know that I want to please God. The reason many didn’t put their trust in Christ was because of what the Pharisees thought and that they’d be put out of the synagogue (John 12:42-43). How sad to let the fear of what others think be the determining factor over what they should or shouldn’t do. The fear or concern of what others think is a huge stumbling block to people (Proverbs 29:25). Who cares what others think–they don’t know your heart anyway. I only care what God knows. We should live for an audience of One, and that is God Himself.

God Plus One

I love what Martin Luther once said, that God plus one is a majority, which is so true. Realize this: If God is for you, why would you ever fear who could be against you (Romans 8:31)? If you know that there’s no condemnation before God (Romans 8:1), you can be at peace about your relationship with Him (Romans 5:1). Isn’t that all we should be concerned about? For those who have repented and put their trust in Christ, they have no need to fear what man can do (Psalm 118:6). At the worst, they can kill the body so all we need fear is that if we’ve never been saved, God can destroy both body and soul (Matt 10:28). If we’ve been born again, we don’t even have to fear death.

The Approval of God

I don’t care if others don’t approve of me. They’re not my ultimate judge anyway. I will stand before God and not before them. Paul asked the rhetorical question of whether he was seeking the approval of man or of God. Was he trying to please man? If he were still trying to please man, he would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10). Paul’s point is that if we are seeking only the approval of man, we are not being a servant of Christ. The Greek word for “slave” is “doulos.” What slave is concerned about what someone who is not their master thinks? Do you concentrate more on what other people think about you or what God knows about you?

A Closing Prayer

God, please forgive me for caving into the pressure of what others think. I know that I truly only need to focus on pleasing You because what You think is important, not what others do. Help me to focus on this, and in Christ’s precious name I pray.

Amen

Do you recognize the consequences of sin countries faced in the Bible? What does this mean for the country you live in?

Second Chronicles 7:14

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Humbleness Exalts

When we were saved, we had to humble ourselves before our Mighty God and confess our sins and ask for forgiveness and He promised to forgive our sins when we confess them (1 John 1:9) and in similar fashion, when we humble ourselves as a nation, that means that we are repentant when we collectively sin only then can God can heal our land or nation (2 Chro 7:14). This is because righteousness exalts a nation but sin disgraces and debases a nation (Prov 14:34). If a nation doesn’t humble itself before God, He will do it for them. I believe the same way as far as we are concerned. We either humble ourselves voluntarily or God will do it for us and guess which one is more painful?

Pride Destroys

Pride comes just before destruction and a haughty spirit happens just before a fall (Prov 16:18). So it is with individuals and nations. God is no respecter of persons or size….to Him, sin is sin. America is losing its blessing and worldwide influence because we have grown more and more corrupt. We have kicked God out of the public square, we have kicked God out of marriage, we have kicked God out of the public schools, we have kicked God out of the government, we have kicked God out of business, and we have kicked God out of our homes and then when tragedy strikes people say “Where was God?” Don’t you remember? You kicked Him out! Nation after nation that became morally bankrupt has fallen…time and time again. The consequences of national sin are that God removes His blessing and when He does, the nation implodes due to the heavy weight of immorality.

Rome’s Fall

When the Roman Empire started to fall, it was due to greed, the mistreatment of slaves, murder, sexual immorality, and a spike in the rate of divorce and remarriage. As Rome fell, so too will any nation that swims in sin and the consequences of national sin are immense. Just ask (if it were possible) Sodom and Gomorrah. The amount of sexual immorality there was unbelievable and because of that, God sent His judgment on them by fire and brimstone. Our nation has had our Christian roots choked out by sin and our roots have been replaced with the weeds of immorality. The Old Testament is full of nation after nation being destroyed due to their lack of repentance and turning to God. Just as with individuals, God will not hold those nations guiltless who break His laws. What about your nation? What does it mean for the country in which you live? There are consequences to every sin because we know that God cannot be mocked…what is sown will be reaped (Gal 6:7).

A Closing Prayer

Father, our nation is in deep trouble. We are getting more sinful day by day and the consequences will be horrendous so please send us a contrite and broken spirit so that we would repent of the direction we are headed…the same direction as Rome and Sodom and Gomorrah and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Have you set intentional godly goals for your future?

Acts 19:21

Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

Setting Goals

We all need to be setting goals in life, but there’s a huge difference between setting godly goals and setting goals for our own purposes. We make plans, but it is really God Who ultimately directs our steps (Prov. 16:9). We seek purposes that we think are best in our hearts, but in the end, God’s purpose will stand. The Lord even determines who the leaders should be (Joshua 7:14; 1 Cor. 14:28; Eph 4:11). Therefore, we should seek God’s will so that our plans for the future will be in alignment with His sovereign will. Setting goals is fine for the secular part of our life, but even in this area, God wants us to submit to Him. So place your goals in God’s hands, and pray for His will to be done in your life with every goal you set.

God’s Plans for Our Future

I want my goals to be godly because I know God has plans for me, as well as He does for you, and they are for our good (Jer. 29:11; 3 John 1:12). One goal I try to pray for each day, which is the immediate future, is to have a divine appointment with someone who has not yet trusted in Christ. It’s amazing–although knowing God, it shouldn’t amaze me–that God does answer this prayer and set before me an opportunity to introduce the Gospel to someone who might be in a position of turning their life over to God. I also know that God seeks to be glorified in me by what I do (Isaiah 42:8, 11), and I should not be seeking my own glory (John 7:18) because even Jesus didn’t seek His own glory alone while on earth but to glorify the Father (John 8:50). That should be our immediate goal from the moment we walk out of the house.

A Godly Goal

We can find out that God does want us to prosper and be in good health (3 John 1:2), but if you read the context of the first chapter of 3 John, you can see that John’s not talking about financial prosperity, although there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Our goals should be to glorify God, to be part of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8), to make our will what God’s will is for us, and to place our future in His sovereign hands. To seek God’s will is to seek the perfect will for our lives, even though it might seem anything but perfect at the time (Rom. 8:28). It’s a matter of trust. This doesn’t mean that we should boast about doing something or going somewhere tomorrow (James 4:13) but that we should plan as if it’s God’s will because we can’t even know what this day or the next year will hold (James 4:15). Set godly goals–write them down in a journal somewhere. Then check back in your journal to see where this wonderful journey called life is taking you.

A Closing Prayer

Great Father God, I know that You hold the future in Your hands because You know the future. My hands and my mind are incapable of knowing and doing either outside of Your will. So please give me the help I need to know what goals You would have me set and then seek to intentionally fulfill them for Your glory, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Are you doing those things the Bible says to do to grow closer to Me?

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Reaching up by Getting Down

The best way to access a God who is high and lifted up is to get down and low–on your knees. Imagine you want to grow closer to a friend of yours. What would you do, humanly speaking, to grow closer in friendship with this person? I would think you would want to communicate with them more often. So why not talk to God more often if you seek to grow closer to Him? Tell Him your struggles, the intimate details of your life, and that you seek to grow into a closer relationship with Him. He already knows these things, anyway, so why not confess it to Him? You will never grow closer to a human friend than when you share the private things of your life, so how much more important is it if you want to grow closer to God than to talk to Him every moment you can? If we seek to do this in our earthly relationships, then how can we not recognize the fact that talking with Him every day is essential? Maybe that’s why Paul said that we are to pray without stopping (1 Thess. 5:17) and why Jesus said we should always pray (Luke 18:1).

Abiding in His Word

We cannot abide in something that we are not into. In other words, I might want to abide in my home during the harsh cold or intense heat, but if I’m not in the house, I’m never going to be abiding in the house. Bad analogy, I know, but Jesus said that unless you abide in Him and in His Word, you and I cannot possibly bear any godly fruit (John 15:4-5), and shouldn’t that be one of our goals in life? Jesus doesn’t recommend this, He commands us to abide in Him because our prayer requests depend on this (John 15:7). To be seeking to be doing those things the Bible says we need to be doing to grow closer to God means we ought to be living in obedience to His commands, and by doing this we can abide or dwell in His love (John 15:10). The Greek word for abide is “menō” and means “to remain in, to stay in one place” and “not to depart from” or “to continue in.” So if we are abiding in Him, and since Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14), then this means if we abide daily and consistently in the Word of God, the Bible, then we will grow closer to God.

Loving God is Obeying God

I touched on this briefly in the paragraph above when I wrote about staying in the Word of God, but this paragraph focuses on growing closer to God by obeying God. I ran an errand for my sick wife the other day. I didn’t do it out of obligation or because she asked me to (which she didn’t); I did it because I love her and want to please her because she is precious to me. In the same way, we should seek to please the Father by living in obedience to what He commands because we love Him. Jesus always sought to please the Father (John 5:30) and not do what He wanted. Jesus consistently did those things that would please the Father (John 8:29). If we want to do those things that God says through His Word to grow closer to Him, that is what we will do, too–love Him with every bit of our heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30)–because that will not only please the Father, it will help us grow closer to Him, and that’s what I desire to do.

A Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, I want to grow closer to You, and Your Word tells me that I need to be abiding or dwelling in Your Word daily, I need to be talking (praying) to you daily, and I need to be obeying You, which pleases You, so that I can grow closer to You. In Jesus’ name I pray for these things.

Amen

Do you still trust Me when it seems your dreams have failed?

Hebrews 13:5

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Shattered Pieces

Sometimes our dreams can be like a Chinese vase that is dropped on the floor and shattered into a hundred different pieces, which makes it impossible to ever put back together again, but God can take a shattered dream of ours and assemble the pieces into a much different and far better way. Have you ever had a dream shattered before your eyes? Isn’t it hard to trust God when that happens? Sometimes the hardest part of trusting God is when our dreams are shattered because what we thought was part of our future can suddenly be taken away. What do you do when your dreams have been shattered? Do you try and pick up the pieces yourself and try to glue them back together to begin again? Maybe you just give up on dreaming altogether, but don’t you do that.

The Brokenhearted

The irony is that God cannot fix what is first not broken. In other words, until a person sees their sinful state and then runs to the cross of Christ, God cannot help them. God is near the brokenhearted and promises to save all who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). In fact, God ensures us that He will never despise anyone who is broken and has a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). The Hebrew word for “contrite” is “dakah” and means “to be crushed, to be broken,” so for those of us who have had our dreams crushed, God promises to not despise us for this. He is kind to the poor in spirit (the humbled) and reaches out to the needy (Psalm 109:16). So what can we do when our dreams have been shattered? We can do much.

Picking up the Pieces

When our dreams have been shattered, we have to trust God enough to realize He knows what He’s doing. If one dream is shattered, then He likely has something different, likely something better, for us. If one is taken, then He can replace it with another that is best for us. We cannot see around the corner of time like God, so perhaps the dreams we sought after that failed would have in the end done us more harm than good. God always knows that which is best for us, better than we ourselves know. I trust Him even in the storms because He is sovereign over the storms. One storm might bring us into the best harbor of all and better than the one we had originally sought. Our failures are never final. Without failure, we’d never know success. Trust God, obey Him, and leave the consequences of it all to Him, Who alone holds our future. I would rather trust a God that I cannot see than trust in myself with eyes that do.

A Closing Prayer

Great God in heaven, You alone know what is for my best. Help me to trust You and not what I think is best for my life. You know so much better what is best for me, so please help me put all the pieces of my shattered dreams into Your hands so that You can make something better. In the King of kings and Lord of lords’ name, Jesus Christ, I pray.

Amen

Do you remember how great grace felt when you first believed?

Revelation 2:4

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

First Love

I remember the very first kiss in my life. It was with a fellow third-grade girl in the alley behind her home. I shall never forget that first kiss. I thought I was in love, but it was really infatuation more than love. Even so, the first time I fell in love in school was a memorable moment. My feet felt light, my arms felt heavy, and my head swam. That sort of describes what it felt like the moment after I was saved; I was so on fire for the Lord. I was told that I was brainwashed by my family, but I said, “That’s okay because my brain was dirty!” They told me that I went overboard. They would catch me praying to God lying flat on the ground on my face. I still prefer that method today, but do I still have that first love? If not, why not? Do I have a tendency to grow lukewarm? I believe we all do after we’ve been saved for a while. But, wow, those whom I see who have just been saved… They are absolutely on fire for God and have a real zeal for the Lord. Do you remember that? Don’t you want that feeling back again?

More Urgency

I believe Paul, like many believers since that time, felt that Jesus’ return was near, and he told the church at Rome with urgency to wake up, that time is short and our salvation is closer now than ever before (Rom. 13:11). There’s nothing wrong at all with watching for His return because Jesus said that is exactly what we should be doing (Mark 13:37), and even James, Jesus’ half-brother, believed that the Lord’s return was close (James 5:8). I think in God’s wisdom, He knew better than to give us a date because, knowing human nature, we’d likely take it easy and relax until the time of His return grew closer. But because we don’t know, I think God wants us to live with an urgent expectancy that He could return at any second! That should compel us to be more on fire for the Lord, at least I think it should.

Rebuking the Lukewarm

Jesus rebuked the lukewarm church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:16 because they weren’t what they thought they were. They thought that they were rich and prosperous and needed nothing, but in reality they were blind, naked, poor, and wretched (Rev. 3:17). They needed a wake-up call because Jesus was saying, in the Greek, that they were making Him sick to His stomach (Rev. 3:16). That Scripture really speaks to me. Am I lukewarm? Do I recall my first love, which is the grace I felt just after being saved? Have I left my first love (Rev. 2:4)? Try to recall the moments after you were saved. What was it like? Do you remember it? Has anything changed? Food for thought for the both of us, isn’t it?

A Closing Prayer

Oh Mighty God Who saved me, please forgive the times when I take for granted the enormous cost that Your Son paid, Who had to die for me, a wretch, and that I was so undeserving. Please reignite the fire and passion that I felt when grace was first given to me, and in Jesus’ Holy Name I pray.

Amen

When you feel too busy, do you still make prayer or reading the Bible a priority?

John 15:7

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Too Busy for the Word?

I had a bad habit years ago of rushing out of bed at the last possible moment to have just enough time to shower, shave, grab a bite to eat and then try to squeeze in some Bible reading just before I went to work. Being a bi-vocational pastor is hard enough, but to try and short myself in the Word of God was the height of folly. Instead of believing I didn’t have enough time to read my Bible or more of my Bible, I didn’t have enough time in my day not to! In other words, the very fact that my day is jam-packed is the very reason I need to start my day off with reading my Bible. I now get up earlier, and next to praying, the very first thing I do is read my Bible. It has made a huge difference in my day. Not only is my day not as hectic, I have the Word of God in my heart and mind when I start my day. Was I really too busy for God? Yes, for a very long time, but not anymore!

Too Busy for the Talk?

What if our boss came up to us and asked a question? Can you conceive of telling him or her that you’re too busy to talk to them? But that’s exactly what we are telling God if we leave no time for prayer. I started a new thing at the same time I started getting up earlier in the morning to allow time for me to read my Bible. I set the alarm clock a bit earlier, and in that time before I get up, I pray. The first thing I do is pray, followed by reading the Bible. I say, “No prayer, no coffee, no Bible, no breakfast,” and I am sticking to that, as tempting as it is to cut corners, but if I cut out these vital things in my day, my day ends up typically much worse than if I started my day off with prayer and with the Word of God. If I am too busy to pray, then I am too busy! That means that I have to start cutting things out of my day that are not as important as prayer and Bible reading. We don’t treat our friends or our boss that way, do we? By shorting them when they want to talk to us? But that’s exactly what we do when God is speaking to us in His Word and when we are speaking to God in prayer but have no time for these. Jesus ties our time spent in abiding in Him with answered prayer (John 15:7).

Prioritizing the Day

If you wrote down and kept a journal of everything you did in a week’s time, from the time you got up until the time you went to bed, what would your journal look like? Where is the most time devoted to? Of course, work, family, or school may well take the vast majority of the day because Jesus said that He worked (John 5:17), so there’s nothing wrong with that, but, of course, Jesus’ work and ours are a lot different. He worked solely for the Father, and even though we do, too, we must work a secular job to support ourselves and our family. If you had the list before you right now and started ranking these items, which would you put as #1, then as #2, and so on? Something to think about, isn’t it?

A Closing Prayer

Great Creator God, thank You for giving me Your Word to grow by, and thank You for lending me Your ear to listen to me in prayer. Please help me to learn to prioritize my life so that I can never be too busy for You, and forgive me when I have so often done just that. In Jesus Christ’ Holy Name I pray.

Amen

Which of God’s promises do you cherish most?

Second Peter 1:4

by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

The Promise of Eternal Life

Is there any promise greater than being forgiven and then justified by the blood of the Lamb of God (John 3:16)? The promise of having eternal life at the expense of Jesus’ own life is just too much to comprehend. We have been born again (John 3:3), and whoever will or has believed in Jesus Christ has eternal life (John 3:36a). Is there any promise more precious than this? I can’t think of anything that compares with the glory that is going to be revealed someday (Rom. 8:18). Through Jesus’ perfection, we can be made perfect (2 Cor. 5:21).

The Removal of Wrath

Before any of us were saved, we had the wrath of God resting on us (John 3:36b), but once we were born again, God made peace with us (Rom. 5:1), and the condemnation that was previously on us was removed (Rom. 8:1). Our past of being an enemy of God (Rom. 5:10) as wicked sinners (Rom. 5:8) doesn’t matter anymore. Stop and think about that for a moment. Imagine that our forces had captured an enemy who had been killing and destroying our troops. Then that same person who was our natural enemy was forgiven, even though they were not innocent. After this, they were made part of the forces that they once were trying to kill. We were much like this natural enemy in every way. The promise of God’s wrath being removed means that our hell debt was paid in full by Christ.

The Death of Death

When Jesus was raised to life, this meant that we could also be raised to eternal life in Christ. Jesus defeated death at its own game. This ensured our victory over death. Jesus swallowed up death (1 Cor. 15:54), took the sting out of death (1 Cor. 15:55), and brought us from mortality to secure our immortality (1 Cor. 15:53-54). Even though we were born in Adam and headed for death, in Christ we will be made alive at His return (1 Cor. 15:22). So God’s greatest promise, in my opinion, is that we can be forgiven and granted eternal life in Christ. Next is Jesus taking upon Himself the wrath that we deserved. Finally, since He conquered the grave, the grave can no longer hold us. These truly are exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Pet. 1:4).

A Closing Prayer

Holy, righteous Father, thank You for allowing me to be forgiven through Your Son and His death so that the wrath I deserved would be removed from me and that the grave cannot keep me any longer because of Jesus’ victory over death. In His precious name I pray.

Amen

Does the society you live in affect your acting in gentleness towards others?

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

In the World, Not of the World

It is so easy to have the world rub off on us, isn’t it? I mean that we can grow just as cynical as the world and respond to the world in the way that they treat us. Today, Christian bashing is a popular thing on television comedies, on the news media, and even at the water cooler at work. How do we respond to living in the world and still not being like the world (1 John 2:15)? If we were part of the world, the world would love us, but since we’re not, let’s face it: they’re going to hate us (John 15:19). But that’s okay because they hated Jesus, too. It could be that our Christian lifestyle convicts their conscience. We must respond with gentleness because if not for the grace of God, we would be treating Christians the same way that they treat us. Knowing this, we are in no way superior to them; we just have a superior God Who saved us. That’s the only difference between us and the world.

Conformed to His Image

I recently spoke with a very hostile nonbeliever, who was very antagonistic toward Christianity, who said that she cannot believe in God. She kept criticizing Christians over various issues, and she was right on some of the things, but I told her that none of us are perfect. We’ve only been forgiven by a perfect God and made perfect in His sight because of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), and that’s all that matters. I told her that what a person believes doesn’t change what is true. Hundreds of years ago, most people believed that the world was flat, and to the naked eye, it sure looked like it, but their belief didn’t change the world from being spherical to flat. Truth is never affected by what someone believes. Even so, I responded with a rational explanation for a Creator but did so out of gentleness and respect, as we are commanded to do (1 Pet. 3:15). That’s all we can do and pray that God would grant them repentance (2 Tim. 2:25).

Pursuing His Righteousness

It is a constant battle between our old man or woman and our being new creatures in Christ. Paul struggled with this even after conversion (Rom. 7:15). No matter how the world treats us, we must continue to seek godliness and respond with love and gentleness, even while fleeing the sinful pulls of the flesh (1 Tim. 6:11). Remember that God’s wrath was upon us at one time (John 3:36b), but He treated us with gentleness (Psalm 18:35), knowing that we had not yet been changed into new people in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), so we ought to treat the nonbelieving world with the same gentleness that we ourselves were treated by God. Does the world affect the way we act in gentleness or the lack thereof? If most of us were honest, I believe we’d have to say yes, but if we have perspective, maybe it’ll make us respond in a much different way.

A Closing Prayer

Great, righteous God in heaven, You are so kind to me and didn’t give me what I deserved but instead sent Your Spirit to make me a new man in Christ. So help me gain perspective so that I can treat others with gentleness and respect and not treat them as they so often treat me, and in Jesus Christ’s holy name I pray.

Amen

The Blessings and the Lessons (7-24-17)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,

whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

-JAMES 1:2-4 NIV

The Blessings and the Lessons (7-23-17)

No testing has overtaken you that is not common
to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you
be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing
he will also provide the way out so that you may be
able to endure it.

- 1 Corinthians 10:13

As I look around and count my blessings, I am surprised by how many things in my life came to me through trials and tribulations. People, objects, and experiences I once wished would go away, that vexed and angered me, even caused me great pain, are now miracles I would never imagine doing without. Yes, good things have come my way in a positive fashion, but I really appreciate all that has come to me in times of darkness and despair. I see the good now in everything and how it has all fit together to make my life complete and whole.

The Blessings and the Lessons (7-22-17)

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

-PHILIPPIANS 4:7

How much do I have left to learn, God, before I can rest and relax? I feel like every day brings a new problem to be solved, lesson to be mastered, or situation to be dealt with. I often feel I can't catch my breath! But I do admit that each time I solve a new problem, master a new lesson, or deal with a new situation, I feel more confident, more grown up, and more capable. I know I won't stop complaining, God, and I know you won't stop delivering the daily lessons, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the clarity to see how blessed I am each time I overcome my fears and move forward in faith. I get this thing called life, even if it is harder at times than I'd like it to be.