Redeeming the Time

I was thinking about things a while back and these words came to mind: Organizing, details, unexpected and redeeming the time.  At the time I got those words I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do with them.  A few days after that, I heard a teaching at church on Ephesians 5:15-21 and those same words were mentioned.  Ephesians 5:15-16: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  I have written in my Bible that circumspectly means “attending to detail”.  That takes care of the words “details” and “redeeming the time.”  But what about “organizing” and “unexpected”?

Have you read the book of Numbers?  Not a very exciting book.  But I noticed right away that God is very organized.  It starts out with a census - naming all the tribes, and the leaders of the tribes and the number of men in the tribes, right down to the very last one.  Now that’s detail!  By nature, I am a very organized and detail-oriented person.  I have always been this way - even as a child.  I enjoy the kind of paperwork that most people find boring.  Reading Numbers can be boring.  But God put it in there for a reason.  It could have been because God wanted the Israelites to see how He had been blessing them - increasing their numbers and providing for all their needs.  We can easily miss God’s blessings if we aren’t paying attention.  God had Moses write it down so that it would not be forgotten.  If I want to remember something, for me it is best if I write it down.  However, that only works if I remember to read what I have written.  That is also true for reading God’s word.  It only works when we read it.  There is no way to remember everything that is written in the Bible, but reading it consistently will help. There are lots of organized Bible reading charts available.  I don’t use a chart - mainly because it is hard for me to keep up with the chart - I get behind and I get discouraged and I give up.  Instead, I read the Bible, starting with Genesis, and work my way through to Revelation.  I don’t give myself a quota for how many chapters to read.  I simply read until I stop reading.  No, I won’t finish the whole Bible in one year, but I don’t really have too either!  Things happen in life and sometimes I can’t read as much as I would like to. 

That’s where the word “unexpected” comes in.  Life happens.  We can plan all we want but we don’t really have any control over what happens.  We can plan for hurricane season and never have a hurricane.  It doesn’t hurt to make preparations - that is part of being organized.  But we must never put our faith in our preparations.  Accidents can happen, or we get sick at the most inopportune time - or is it an inopportune time?  According to God’s plan, it is exactly what is supposed to happen.  So then, God is in control - do we just give up and not do anything?  Of course not - we all know that.  We still need to live life and make decisions and prepare for our future.  For me, I try to have extra groceries and batteries during the hurricane season.  Many years ago, I went out and bought a generator.  That same year we had Hurricane Dennis and a tree fell in the yard where the generator was and I never got a chance to use it. So much for being prepared!  I had to borrow one from a friend for 2 days.  I was prepared but God had another plan.  I will still get prepared but I will also allow God to have a different plan.

No matter what happens in our lives, we should always be conscious of redeeming the time.  What do I do with my time?  I try to keep my activities under control.  I don’t like to be so booked up that I can’t even find time to breathe.  If I am stressed out, I am probably not going to be very good at redeeming the time.  I know that I have missed out on a lot of opportunities this way.  But when I slow down my pace and God puts an opportunity in front of me, that makes it so much easier to respond with a “yes” to God.  When I am too busy for God, that’s a red flag that something is out of whack in my life.  We never know when we are going to get “that” phone call - that something is wrong with a family member.  We never know when that “something” will happen to us - making it impossible to do the things that we have always done.  We can’t even predict what will happen one minute from now.  Thankfully God knows. 

We can organize our day so that our responsibilities and priorities are taken care of.  We can keep our schedule flexible so that God can use us to minister to a friend or family member when the unexpected happens.  We can pay attention to detail and remember the ways that God has provided for us.  And we can redeem the time for His glory. 

Mary, did you know? 

I think we all know the song “Mary did you know”.  But did she know?  Let’s look at the Christmas story in Luke 1:26-38. 

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!  But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.  Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.  “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”  Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.  “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.  “For with God nothing will be impossible.”  Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

So, Mary did you know?  When the angel told Mary she would have a baby that would be the Son of God, did the angel tell her everything that would eventually happen?  Nope.  All he told her was that she would give birth to a Son and call Him Jesus and that He would be the Son of the Highest.  The only question she had was “How is this going to happen since I haven’t been with a man?”  If that had been me, I would have had a whole slew of questions.  Like, “What will Joseph think?  Will he think I was unfaithful?  What will my parents think?  Will they think I was a bad girl and disobeyed them?  What about my friends?  Are they gonna talk trash behind my back?  What about my reputation?”  I don’t know about this Angel . . . But Mary didn’t do that.  Her question was answered, she submitted to God, and she conceived and gave birth to Jesus. 

I don’t think she had any idea of what that would entail.  Remember when Jesus was lost for 2 days.  If Mary knew that she would “lose” Jesus when He was 12 years old, would she have done something different?  Maybe she would have insisted that He stay by her side.  If she did that, He would not have been in the temple listening to the teachers and asking questions.  That time in the temple may have been very important in God’s plan.  Could be why the angel didn’t mention it to her.

I am sure that Mary knew the scriptures and how they foretold of the Messiah.  Maybe she put 2 and 2 together.  But did she really understand that she would be watching her baby get crucified?  If the angel told that to her at the beginning, do you think she would have hesitated?  Would she have worried about it for the next 33 years until it happened?  If so, then her focus would not have been where it needed to be.  Obviously, we have no way of knowing that.  God doesn’t give us all the details up front, and I can certainly understand why.  He has a plan, and it always works out. 

Which reminds me of Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Mary loved God and she was called for His purpose.  God worked out the plan for Mary and it was good.

Back to Mary - Do you think that Mary had any idea that 2000 years later, people would still be celebrating the birth of her baby?  Over time, the holiday has gotten off track.  It has become commercialized, and a lot of people leave Jesus out of it.  Can you imagine celebrating your child’s birthday without having the child included?  My aunt started a tradition many years ago – probably 50+ years.  After we eat Christmas dinner, my aunt would bring out a birthday cake and we would all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  This was something new to my family – we had never done that before.  It began after my aunt got married and started her family.  She wanted her kids to know what the day was really about.  It was her way of putting Christ back into Christmas. And it was a reminder to the rest of us as well.   I don’t think that everyone around that table was really into singing the birthday song – but they did it anyway.  Maybe it planted a seed.  Maybe it planted a seed in me . . . it took about 20 years for that seed to grow but it did grow.  So don’t lose hope if your “seeds” aren’t sprouting right away.

So, Mary did you know?  No, she probably didn’t.  Just like we don’t know.  But we do know the One who does know!  And the best gift we can give to someone is Jesus.  This time of year, people are more open to hearing the Christmas story.   Take advantage of the season – tell the story (you never know who is listening) and spread joy – as much as you can to everyone you can.  Sing happy birthday to Jesus.  You just might plant some seeds . . .

What are you thankful for?

If the only things you had today were the things you thanked God for yesterday, what would you have?  Ouch!  Now that is something to think about.  Have I thanked God for the roof over my head, the clothes on my back or the food on my table?  Did I thank him for my spouse, my kids, my friends?  Did I thank him for waking me up this morning?  If I didn’t thank Him for those things yesterday, then I would not have any of it today.  So many people think that we only need to thank God for the “extra” stuff, not the everyday stuff.  God provides both – extra and everyday.

1 Thessalonians 5:18:  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In EVERYTHING give thanks.  Not just some things, but everything.

1 Chronicles 16:34:  Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.

Ephesians 5:20:  giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Giving thanks ALWAYS for ALL things.  At the end of our day, we should be thinking about all that we have received.  We woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, drove to work (if not retired), picked up supplies on the way home . . . did we give thanks for any of that?  If we got a great parking spot, did we give thanks for that?  If we found a great sale on the items we needed – did we give thanks?  God is the God of the ordinary and the extraordinary.  And He blesses us in so many ways that we may miss some of it if we aren’t paying attention.

Most people will say “thank you” when they are given a gift or when someone gives them a compliment or holds the door open for them.  But it shouldn’t stop there.  We are to be thankful for everything, everyday.  So back to the question:  If the only things you had today were the things you thanked God for yesterday, what would you have?  

 

 Proverbs 31 Woman

Before we get started, let’s take a look at all 31 verses.  (Go ahead and read them, I’ll wait)

In verses 1 through 9, we see the mom telling her son how to be a king.  In verses 10 through 31, we see the mom telling her son what to look for in a wife and it takes her 22 verses to do that! This mom had more to say on finding a wife than on being a king.  Apparently, it doesn’t take much to run a country, but finding a wife is a huge undertaking!  But she didn’t want him to find just a wife – she wanted him to find a virtuous wife.

Verse 10 says:  Who can find a virtuous wife?  For her worth is far above rubies.

Being a virtuous woman is valuable – above the worth of rubies.  I didn’t know what a ruby was worth so I did a little googling.  Basically, I learned that rubies are twice as valuable as diamonds because diamonds are more common than rubies.  It is harder to find a ruby than it is to find a diamond.  This mom must have known that it would be harder to find a virtuous wife.   We are also told in the Bible that having wisdom is better than rubies.   Job 28:18 says:   No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, for the price of wisdom is above rubies.   And Proverbs 3:15 speaks about wisdom this way:  She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

So, we see that a virtuous wife is worth more than rubies – similar to wisdom.  It is no wonder that the mom of Proverbs 31 would instruct her son to find a virtuous wife.   However, regardless of whether you are a wife or not, it is still wise to be virtuous.

Ruth was a single woman, a widow.  Ruth was also a virtuous woman – Ruth 3:11 says:  And now, my daughter, do not fear.  I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.   Boaz knew it and all the townsfolk knew it.  Ruth behaved herself.  She didn’t go running after everything in trousers trying to find a husband.  She respected her elders and followed the advice given to her by Naomi.  Ruth had a good reputation.  This made her very desirable as a wife.  No one wants a spouse that they are ashamed of.  Boaz was confident that he would not have to worry about that with Ruth.  The mom of Proverbs 31 is instructing her son to find a wife that will not cause him embarrassment.   People are always watching and our behavior speaks volumes about us. 

For all you single ladies, I want to encourage you to focus on the things that are of value to God and let God handle your marital status.   I heard this little saying on the radio one morning and it has been stuck in my head: “In His time, not mine - for He has a plan for me.”  We must believe that God knows our needs and we must trust God to provide for those needs.  You are precious in His sight.  Remember, even if you do not have a husband while on this earth, you have a heavenly bridegroom that is just crazy about you!   

On to verse 11:  The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.

Her husband trusts her.  He can safely trust her.  There is no fear that she will dishonor him or violate that trust.  For some of us, it can be hard to safely trust anyone.  There may be a little shred of doubt that holds us back.  Maybe we have been hurt before and we are afraid to take the chance.  Maybe we are afraid that someone will make a fool out of us if we trust them.  What about trusting God?  Do we trust Him totally or do we hold back a little?  The Bible has a lot to say about trusting the Lord.  Some examples are:

Psalm 37:3: Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.   Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Proverbs 3:5-6:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

When we don’t understand, can we still trust God?  When things don’t go the way we planned, can we still trust?   Trust is fundamental in relationships.  A marriage is built on trust.  Friendships are built on trust.  Without trust, relationships will crumble.  That includes our relationship with the Lord. 

Let’s continue on to the last part of verse 11 which says that this husband also has no lack of gain.  I imagine that this husband trusts his wife to be a good steward with their resources and his heart.  She isn’t frivolous with the household money, or his love.   She is trustworthy and he isn’t left lacking in his marriage.

But there is more to this wife.  Verse 12 says:    She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.  What does that look like?  We find our answer in God’s Word.

Proverbs 14:1:  The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands. 

Proverbs 21:9:  Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

Proverbs 21:19:  Better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman.

Proverbs 25:24:  It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

Proverbs 27:15:  A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

Whew!  Do we get the picture?  God has made it clear in His word the kind of wife we are not to be.  Our attitude sets the tone of the home.   Have we created a sanctuary or a stressful place for our family?  Over and over in the word, God tells us that it is not good to live with a contentious (angry, quarrelsome) woman.  When God repeats Himself, it means we should pay extra attention.   If we were to look back over our day would most of our words be pleasant or could we be considered “contentious”?  How do we get to that point where we can do good and not evil?   Psalm 51:10 tells us how:   Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We can’t do it but God can.  If we try to do it in our own strength, we will fail because our flesh has other plans.  We want others to “do good and not evil” to us.  We want to be treated kindly and with respect.  We want to be encouraged and uplifted.  Only God can give us the ability to “do good and not evil” to those around us.

The mom of our Proverbs 31 lady could have taught her these truths.  Or, she could have learned them at church.  Or she could have learned them the hard way – like most of us – through bad choices we made in the past.  In whatever school she learned these lessons, it took.  Our Proverbs 31 lady relies on the Lord for her ability to do good and not evil.   Are you married?  Have you failed in the “do good and not evil” area?  Welcome to the club!  But we don’t have to keep our club membership current.  God is ready to forgive our past mistakes and put us on His path to “do good and not evil” all the days of our life.  We can safely trust God completely.   

I know that the Proverbs 31 woman is pretty intimidating for a lot of us.  But let’s think about this for a minute.  What is it about this woman that intimidates us?  Is she a “supermom”?   Does she bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan?  We are really no different than this woman when it comes to the things that she does.   The Proverbs 31 lady made clothes for her family (verse 13, 19, 21), it was part of her culture.  In our culture, we typically “make” a trip to the store to clothe our families.  End result is that our families are clothed.   Our Proverbs 31 lady fed her family (verse 14-15).  Do we feed our families?   Of course we do.  The way we get our food and prepare it is different because of our cultural differences, but again the end result is the same – our families are fed.  The similarities go on – she serves in her community (verse 20), and she tries to find the best deal she can in providing for the family’s needs.  It appears that she may have worked outside the home (verse 16, 24), as well as inside the home.  Her days are long – she gets up early and goes to bed late just so that she can get it all done (verse 17-18).  Sound familiar?   So, let’s put away any intimidation that we may have felt and move onto what characteristics this woman had that made her special. 

Verse 25 - Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.

Verse 26 – She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. 

For the 1^st characteristic, let’s look at verse 26.  She opens her mouth with wisdom.   Proverbs 4:7 says this:  Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom.  Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?  If you want wisdom, just get it!  But, you may ask, how do we get it?  Ahhh, the answer is in James 1:5:  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  Also in Proverbs 2:6:   For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.    If you want wisdom, ask for it.  God has promised to give it to all who ask.

The question then is have we really asked God for wisdom?  Or do we only want information concerning a certain situation?  So many times I ask God for wisdom concerning something but I don’t use it when He gives it to me.  Praying for wisdom is of no use unless we use it.  God will give us wisdom – His word says so.  But are we using it?  We can have all the wisdom there is, but it is nothing if we don’t use it. 

Some of you may have seen that TV show called Hoarders.  People hoard all types of stuff.  Can you imagine hoarding wisdom?  Afraid to use it because you don’t want to run out?  So, we keep asking God for wisdom and He gives it to us and we pile it on top of the wisdom we already have.  We save it for a rainy day.  We save it for a really big decision.  But we don’t use it daily.  Use wisdom – squeeze out every last drop of it.  God will give us more. 

Proverbs 2:10 says:  When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you, understanding will keep you.

There is another woman in the Bible that wanted wisdom.  Eve wanted wisdom – she wanted to be as wise as God - but she went about getting it the wrong way.  What she got was knowledge – she ended up knowing that she did not make a wise choice.

Verse 30 – Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

The 2^nd characteristic of our Proverbs 31 lady is that she “feared the Lord”.  When I was much younger, long before I got saved, I thought that “fearing the Lord” meant that you were supposed to be afraid of Him.  No one explained to me what that meant.  So, as I grew up, I was afraid of God.  It is hard to love someone that you are afraid of.   I grew up with the attitude that I better watch out or “God will get me”.  I better not sin or God is going to send me to hell.  I was afraid.  I can’t even imagine how grieved God must have been knowing that I was afraid of Him for reasons that were not true.  Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to be afraid of God. 

So, let’s look at some verses that describe fearing the Lord.

Psalm 25:12 – Who is the man that fears the Lord?  Him shall he teach in the way he chooses.

Psalm 112:1 – Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments

Psalm 128:1 – Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways

Psalm 128:4 – Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord

How can a man be blessed if he is “afraid” of God.  So, to “fear” the Lord isn’t talking about being afraid.  It is talking about realizing just how awesome and powerful and glorious He is.  When we realize that, we will be in awe of Him, which is basically what “fearing” the Lord is.  We will want to please God because He is so awesome.  We will want to do what His Word tells us.  We will delight in Him.  We will be in awe of Him.  That makes it a lot easier to understand how we can be blessed by simply being in awe of Him.  

The Bible also speaks about a man who feared the Lord and how much God bragged on him.  It is found in Job 1:8 – Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”  Now we all know what happened to Job.  God allowed Satan to take his health, his possessions, his children and his wealth.  But Job did what it says in Psalm 112:1 – Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.   And in Psalm 128:1 – Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways.

Job never wavered.  He was still in awe of God and continued to be a blameless and upright man. And God blessed him with more than he ever had.  The Bible is true – as stated in Psalm 128:4 – Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.

Our Proverbs 31 lady had wisdom and she feared the Lord.  You can labor all day long trying to do the right thing – but if you don’t fear the Lord, if you don’t have wisdom – your efforts will be in vain and you will not achieve the end result that you desire.  The Proverbs 31 lady feared the Lord and had wisdom.  And so can we.

What were you thinking? 

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Oh boy . . . Sometimes the area where God wants to work is a sensitive one.  Our thoughts.  There are times when my thoughts are not exactly noble, or pure or even nice.  But how did those thoughts get in our minds to begin with?

Thoughts enter into our heads in many ways.  The movies or TV shows we watch.  The music we listen to.  The people we hang out with.  The books we read.  I think you get the picture.  Did we watch a movie with inappropriate sexual behavior?  Could be why we have racy dreams or thoughts.  Did we listen to the latest music video that was loaded with profanity?  Could be why we use foul language – we may not say it but we think it.  Even when we just use the initials of a foul phrase, it is still using foul language. I am not going to list them here – I think everyone knows what they are.  But what about OMG which is Oh My God?  Are we really involving God in our speech?  Somehow, I don’t think that is always the case. 

Are we thinking about a better house, a different spouse, winning the lottery?  Sounds like we are not satisfied with what we have been given.  Do we live in a fantasy world because the real world is not working out the way we want it to?  Is that because we think we want what someone else has?  We fantasize and think about what life would be like if we had  . . . what?  What do we do?  We change our focus.  Instead of thinking about what we don’t have or what we think we should have, we focus on God and what He has already given us.  We fill our minds with thanksgiving.

When we load our heads with garbage, then that’s what we are going to continue to think about.  It’s like hearing a song and then the rest of the day, we keep singing that song over and over in our head.  So how do we get the garbage out of our thoughts?

We replace the garbage with holy.  We watch movies and TV shows that are family friendly.  If we hear any kind of profanity or see indecent behavior, we turn the movie/TV show off.  We draw a line in the sand – no more inappropriate movies or TV shows.  That is hard to do today but it is not impossible.  If we can’t find something decent to watch, then we turn the TV off. 

We can change the radio station to Christian music.  Get a worship song stuck in your head!  We can get rid of the racy romance books and replace them with books written by Christian writers.  Better yet, dust off the Bible and memorize scriptures.  Fill our minds with verses! 

Here’s a hard one . . . what kind of friends do we have?  Do they tell dirty jokes, use sexual innuendoes, or encourage inappropriate behavior . . .  We can’t change the behavior of our friends, but we can be a good influence.  But if their behavior is rubbing off on us, then we need to make a change.  We have to come to a decision about what is important – is a relationship with Jesus important or is keeping our old friends who are causing a break in that relationship more important?  It’s all about choices.  I pray that we would all choose Jesus as the most important person in our lives.  Then our thoughts will be more in line with Philippians 4:8.  Our thought life is important - thoughts can become actions.  God's thoughts are good towards us, so let's turn our thoughts to God.  

Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  

Guilt or Conviction? 

A while back I was wondering what to do a devotion on.  The words guilt or conviction were running through my mind.  But is that what God wanted me to share?  God answered me - as He always does.  When I was working, I would drive pass a church on the way and there was usually a catchy saying or verse on their sign.  That day, I didn’t know that they had changed the sign so I wasn’t expecting to see anything new when I drove past.  But I was wrong.  The sign read “God is greater than any guilt” 1 John 3:20.  That verse says: “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”  And the next verse is: “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.”

So, what that says to me is that God doesn’t give us guilt.  Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?”  Our heart gives us the guilt but God is greater than our heart.  The problem that presents itself next is this - is it guilt or conviction?  We know that the Holy Spirit convicts us.  But how can we tell if we are condemning ourselves or being convicted by the Holy Spirit?

Good question!  I don’t claim to know the answer.  But I can share how I determine if it is guilt or conviction.  In the beginning of my Christian walk I did not know the difference between the two.  As an example, when I first got saved one of the first convictions I had was the amount of shoes that I owned.  When I counted them, it was over 75 pairs.  I went through all the shoes and got rid of the ones that I didn’t “need”.  Was it guilt or conviction?  Did I feel guilty because I had so many shoes or was it conviction because my focus was on stuff?  I believe it may have been conviction because I was focused on stuff.  I found security in stuff.  Every time I saw a pair of shoes that I didn’t have, I bought them.   Someone told me once that people at K-Mart stay up all night figuring out what new shoes to sell because they know I will buy them!    I thought I could weather any storm as long as I had enough stuff.  I wasn’t leaning on God to provide for all my needs, I was gathering stuff to provide for myself. 

Owning lots of shoes is not a sin and God may not convict anyone else about it - unless we are taking our focus off Him and putting it on stuff.  I still buy shoes (just ask my husband) but I do limit myself to buying what I really will use or really need.  I don’t want to fall back into the trap of focusing on stuff to provide for me.

One of the things I have discovered is that God loves to bless me.  When He gives me good things there is no reason that I should feel guilty. God chooses whom He will bless.  But let’s say that God provides a way for me to have a beautiful pair of new shoes.  He just might use my new shoes as a way to witness to someone that I may not have had a chance to before.  Maybe a woman will see me somewhere and notice my new shoes.  Maybe she will want to know where I got them.  Maybe the Holy Spirit will use that exact moment to create a divine appointment for me and that woman. Or maybe God just wanted to bless me because He loves me.

Guilt or conviction?  The next time you feel guilty about something, take a good look at it.  Is there a reason to feel guilty?  Take a good look at the reason if there is one.  Does it have any biblical basis?  If it doesn’t have a biblical basis, then praise God for the blessing and move on.  But if there is something there, then maybe it is a conviction.  Ask God to show you more.  Ask Him to confirm it to you. When Gideon needed confirmation, God gave it to him (see Judges 6:36-40). If God is convicting you about something, you can be sure that He will answer your prayer.  If you have walked away from a blessing because you felt you didn’t deserve it, then you just allowed yourself to be robbed.   Open your hands wide and allow God to bless you!

Are You Hospitable? 

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.  (Romans 12:10-13)

When I was thinking about what to write, God put these verses on my mind.  The part that stuck out was the “distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality”. God is a “giver”, He is the ultimate “Giver” of all things.   But what about us?  Are we hospitable?

Have you had a service person come to your house to fix an appliance?  How about county workers doing maintenance on your road?  It’s hot here in Florida and offering a cup of cold water to someone that’s been working out in the heat would be very hospitable. 

But these verses also speak about being kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.  As a child, my mother taught me that if I break a candy bar in 2 pieces to share, I am supposed to give the larger piece to the other person.  That’s one example of giving preference to one another.  Throughout my life I have done this and it is totally subconscious that I would automatically give the larger piece to the other person.  Now, it’s one thing to give the larger piece to your best friend but how about your husband, or your child?

Sometimes we miss ministry opportunities even though they are right under our nose – in our own homes.  If we see a need, do we take care of it or do we wait until we are asked to take care of it?  My hubby is a servant.  When I make myself coffee in the morning, I will sit in my recliner while I wait for it to be done.  If hubby sees that it is done, he will get it and bring it to me.  I have never asked him to do that – he just does it.

There are lots of little things that we can do for each other if we simply keep our eyes open around us.  God gives us plenty of opportunities to serve the people in our lives.  When we serve others, we are also serving Him.  

Whatever You Do . . . 

Colossians 3:23-24

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ”.

Think about that for a minute.  Whatever we do.  That doesn’t just apply to ministry opportunities or serving the Lord at church.  It says whatever we do.  Does it apply when I am changing a baby’s diaper, cooking dinner, doing the laundry, mowing the yard, writing a report?  Absolutely.

Sometimes I am in a hurry, and I just want to get things done.  I do a good job but it probably isn’t my best job.  It is good enough.  Good enough for who?  For the person I am doing the job for?  For myself?  What if I was doing that exact thing for the Lord?  Would I do a better job?  Absolutely.

We want to do a good job for Jesus.  But what about doing a good job for our families, friends, co-workers?  When we are cleaning the house for our families, writing a report for our boss or helping a friend out, it should be like we are doing it for Jesus.  Sounds good in theory.  But what happens when we put it into practice.  Well, God gave me a chance one day at my job (years ago when I was still working).  I answered the phones for 8 hours a day - 8am till 5pm.  At 5pm I would take off my wireless headset and go home.  Well, there was this one day at 5pm, I saw that there was a call waiting in the cue for the fraud line. I was the only one available after 4pm to take fraud calls.  I could have ignored it.  It is very unusual for a call to even come thru at that time.  Usually, the phone system starts diverting calls a few minutes before 5.  I had a choice to make.  Do I just go home - after all I had already put in my 8 hours and I am not required to work later than 5.  Or, do I do my job heartily as to the Lord?  I took the call and ended up being at work until 5:15pm.  I didn’t get anything extra for staying late and that particular call could have waited another day.  It wasn’t an emergency or anything earth-shattering.  But that’s not the point.  Am I willing to give my boss the same attention to detail that I would give Jesus?  Am I willing to work just as hard when no one is looking as I am when I am being monitored?  God is not a slave driver.  He isn’t standing over us making sure we do everything perfect.  He simply wants our best.  Am I doing my best or just doing enough to get by.

I wish I could say that I work heartily as to the Lord all the time.  But that wouldn’t be the truth.  There are many times when I let it be “good enough”.  After all, who is going to see me?  But people are always watching - even if we don’t think they are.  Am I being a good witness - being a good employee or friend or whoever?  I want to challenge and encourage you to work heartily as to the Lord so that anyone who sees you will know exactly who you are working for.

Where are you God?

I looked around my house, but I couldn’t find you.  I went to school, but you weren’t there either.  You weren’t at my job or at the movies or at the stadium.  I even went to church!  Where are you God?

Did God move?  No.  We threw him out of our schools – no more prayer there.  People are offended if prayer is done in a public place and movies are full of foul language.  Our bibles sit on the bookshelf collecting dust.  There are even churches that have become like country clubs.  Everywhere we go we are met with darkness.  What happened?  Who turned the light off?

We did.  We went along with “them” when “they” took prayer out of school.  We got offended when someone prayed before a meeting, and we can’t wait to see the next “R” rated movie.  We started worshipping celebrities and athletes – didn’t matter what they believed.  We follow influencers on YouTube and TikTok regardless of where they stand.  We believe the lies we are told and get offended by the truth.

But all is not lost.  There is still hope!  God didn’t move, but we did, and we can move back.  We will never be too far away for God to reach.  “But I don’t know how to get back!”  If that is you, boy do I have good news for you.  Call out to God.  He will hear you and show you the way back to Him.  Remember the prodigal son?

Luke 15:11-24

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.  “And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.  “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  “Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  “And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, “and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’  “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  ‘And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ‘for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

Let’s get that light turned back on!   Can you imagine how great our country would be if everyone called out to God?  What if everyone realized that they had drifted off the right path and asked for His forgiveness?    God is waiting for us to call out to Him.  We are always welcomed back home – God will never say no to someone that wants to return to Him.  Why wait?  If you have drifted away call out to God.  There is no better time than right now! 

PS:  If you don't know God, seek Him.  Those who truly seek Him will always find Him.

 Unresolved Conflicts

When I sit down to write a devotion, I don’t always have an idea of what to write.  But then life happens and God shows me what to share as He teaches me thru my own quiet time.  Have you ever been in a position where there was a misunderstanding and for some reason you were not able to resolve it?  I hate that.  I’m the kind of person that needs closure.  I need a resolution - doesn’t matter if it is a good ending or a bad ending - I just need an ending.  Many times I have found myself in that exact situation. 

God calls us to live peaceably with others.  Romans 12:18 says “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”  We are to do what we can to resolve a situation.  But there comes a time when we have done everything and still there is no closure.  That’s when God does the rest.  Romans 12:19 goes on to say: “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give peace to wrath; for it is written. ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” If someone has wronged us and we have done all we can to make it right between us and we haven’t succeeded, then God will take care of it.  We may never see the outcome, but we have to trust that He will do what He says.

But there are also times when it isn’t a serious matter- maybe it is just a little misunderstanding between friends.  You will still be friends regardless of the outcome.  But there is still something inside that picks at you.  Time and time again you recall the misunderstanding and it annoys you because there is no resolution.  These are the times that probably bother us the most. 

Another verse, Ecclesiastes 3:1 which is “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”.  I realized that when I am having unresolved situations, that it is just for a time. Eventually I will either forget about it and move on or it will get resolved.  If it can’t be resolved because my efforts have failed, then I go to Jesus.  He will comfort me while I am dealing with the situation.  There are times when the other person will come to me and the situation will get resolved.  Other times, I have no closure but God has given me comfort and peace and even though the situation isn’t resolved I have the peace as if it was.  Also in Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”.  “Vanity of vanities” – What will all this matter in the future?  It will not matter at all.

Psalm 46:10 - “Be still and know that I am God.”  Can I be still and allow God to fight my battles?  Can I trust that He has my best interest at heart?  Absolutely.  I have a responsibility to do my part but I must leave the rest to God and allow Him to resolve the conflict.  The hardest part of doing is when we are told to do nothing.  Remember - “if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” and then after that “be still and know that He is God”.

 Mercy & Forgiveness

Matthew 18:23-35

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  ‘Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

Do you lend money?  What happens if they cannot repay you?  Do you owe money?  Are you able to repay?  How do you want to be treated?

We all have a huge debt that can only be paid by Jesus.  The servant owed a huge debt and begged for mercy from the master.  The master had compassion on the servant and released him from the debt.  He was totally debt free!  How wonderful that must have felt.  Are you burdened by a lot of debt?  Imagine what it would feel like if your debtors canceled your debt – would you rejoice? 

If someone shows you mercy, are you able to pay it forward and show mercy to someone else?  Are we selfish with the mercy we receive?

The servant in these verses was selfish with his mercy.  He would not extend it to his fellow servant who owed him a much smaller amount.

Verse 23:  The kingdom of God is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  One day God will “settle” accounts with humanity.  It will be judgment day for those who don’t have Jesus as their Savior.  If you are a born-again Christian, all your debts (sins) have been paid.  Your account is settled and forgiven.  Just as Jesus has shown mercy and grace to us, we are to show it to others.  Just as Jesus forgave us, we are to forgive others.  If we do not forgive others, we will not be forgiven.

Matthew 6:14-15  

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

When we cry out to God to save us, are we crying from the heart?  Or are we just trying to get out of the current situation we are in?  When God saves us from our current circumstances, does it change us?  Or do we slide right back into our old ways?

Back to our servant.  In verse 24 the servant owes his master 10,000 talents.  10,000 talents is about a billion days' worth of peasant wages.  This was more money than was even in circulation at the time.  10,000 is the highest single number that can be expressed in Greek.  How did he amass such a huge debt?  What did he buy? Couldn’t those things have been sold to pay the debt?  The servant’s situation was hopeless.  Even if he and his family and things were sold, it would not cover the debt.

The punishment for this huge debt was to be sold as slaves.  And not just for the servant but also his wife and children.  The wife may have had a part in accumulating the debt, but most likely his children did not.  Chances are they could have ended up with different “owners” – maybe never seeing each other again.  The servant couldn’t bear that and he begged for mercy.

Verse 28:  100 denarii is equal to about a day’s wage.  For the price of a day’s wage, the 2^nd servant was thrown into prison.  His debt could have been paid if he was given some time.  Whereas the 1^st servant would never be able to pay his debt no matter how much time he was given.

The moral of the story is that our debt to God is huge.  There is no way we can pay it.  And yet God has mercy on us and sent His Son to pay our debt.

Imagine someone owes you a debt.  Most likely it is payable if given time.  Yet, are we merciful to those who owe us?  It doesn’t have to be money . . .

Mercy should freely flow from us to others.  We are no better than any other person on this planet.  God has given us the best example possible.  We should be able to forgive others no matter how they have wronged us.  When we don’t forgive, we put ourselves in a position higher than God – and that position doesn’t exist.

Psalm 37:21

The wicked borrows and does not repay,

But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture verses are from the New King James Version of the Bible.

 

 

What would Jesus do?  So many times, when something happens, I think just like Rose.  What would Rose do?  What Rose would do isn’t usually the same thing that Jesus would do.  

As an example, something happened at my job many years ago.  I had gotten a call earlier that day from a secretary and the basic conversation was about her boss (an attorney) who had not gotten notification from my office about a neutral evaluation - which is our sinkhole mediation program.  I told the secretary that we had no knowledge about the consumer being represented but that I would fax over a copy of the letter to her.  I faxed it within 15 minutes of the phone call.  Later that afternoon I received a fax from the attorney and in the body he stated that he had received the copy of the letter that I had just faxed and then it said “it puzzles me as to why you did not see fit to copy me on this correspondence”.  Well, when I read that I was livid.  I had already told his office that we didn’t know he was involved.  I had faxed the copy right away to him.  What nerve this lawyer had!  Right away I wanted to do what Rose wanted to do - call him and give him a piece of my mind.  At no time did I think WWJD?  I knew better than to call him so I decided to wait a little while until I cooled down some.  Later, I decided to send him a fax.  I gave the facts and then I said, “Frankly I am surprised by the remarks in your letter”.  I then faxed it to him.  Once it was faxed, I thought - oh my, should I have said that?  I then went to the Lord in prayer.  I knew that I shouldn’t ask God to bless my mess.  So, I simply asked God for forgiveness for not asking Him first what I should do. 

If I had asked Jesus first, I bet He would have said to be kind.  Proverbs 25:21-22 says:  “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.”  And in Matthew 5:43-45 it says: ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

What a difference a prayer would have made.  I would have received the comfort of the Lord and been able to respond in a kind manner.  "What would Jesus do" came to my mind about 10 seconds too late in this particular incidence.  I am hoping that I have learned my lesson and that I will be 10 seconds quicker when (not if) it happens again..  But the only way that is going to happen is if I transform my mind to think like Jesus.  Each time something occurs - whether it is bad or even good - I need to take a moment to ask myself “what would Jesus do now?”  Sometimes that is all it takes to check our emotions and put ourselves back on the right track.  I may not know what Jesus would do in every single instance but I can read His word and know His character and that would help me to know what He would do.

My encouragement is this:  when we make mistakes - like acting before thinking, or thinking of what we should do instead of what Jesus would do - know that we are forgiven and we will in all likelihood be given another chance, in another situation to do the things we have learned.  Jesus isn’t teaching us stuff for nothing!  Try it this week. 

Taste & See! 

Psalm 34:8 says: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

But there are other areas in the Bible that also speak about tasting - in both a physical and spiritual sense.  Our first encounter with tasting is in Genesis - chapter 3, verse 6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”  Eve had gotten word that there was something good to eat.  She didn’t consider the source of the information.  She just decided that she liked what she saw and she wanted to taste it.  Unfortunately, it left a bitter taste in her mouth.  It wasn’t what she expected.  Have you ever seen food that looked absolutely delicious but when you tasted it, you wanted to spit it right out?  Well, I have a feeling that Eve might have wanted to do that very thing.  She had the choice to believe God - taste Him and see how good He is, or rely on her eyes and taste what the world had to offer.  She quickly discovered that she had tasted the wrong thing.

There is another verse about tasting.  It is in John chapter 2.  Jesus and His mom are at a wedding and they run out of wine.  Jesus tells the servants to fill some water pots with water and then He turns the water into wine.  Then the master of the feast tastes the wine and discovers it is the best wine he has had.  Usually, the good wine is put out first and when everyone has had enough to make them unaware of what they are tasting, then they put out the inferior stuff.  But here, at the end of the wedding feast, when most people couldn’t tell if they were drinking wine or vinegar, the best wine is being poured out.  Jesus didn’t skimp on the wine.  He could have made the inferior stuff - no one would have noticed.  But God is good and He gives us good gifts.  And there was that one man at the feast who did notice how good the wine was and the servants who knew how the wine got in the water pots. Jesus’ first miracle happened at a time when almost no one would have noticed it.  I am thinking that the master of the feast and the servants must have been pretty special to Jesus because it looks like He did it just for them.

The last verse I have is from Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”  God’s Word never leaves us with a bitter taste.  But there is just something within us that makes us want to taste what the world has. It looks so good and we have no idea how rotten it is inside.  There are times when we are so hungry we can eat a horse.  We should approach the Bible as if we can’t get enough.  We can eat His Word and never be too full.  There will never be a time when we have feasted on too much of God.

We need to know that there is only one taste that is sweet - sweeter than honey to our mouth - the taste of God’s Word.  Are we tasting of the Lord or are we trying all the different flavors of the world?  The world will entice us to eat and eat and eat.  We stuff ourselves and then we have a stomach ache or indigestion.  We have regrets and remorse.  We will never be sorry we partook in feasting on God’s Word.  

My encouragement is this: Taste the Lord - get a really good bite - and see how sweet it is!

Encouragement 

Philippians 1:3-11

Verses: 3-6     This letter is from Paul and Timothy - they are serving together in ministry.  Paul is in prison but Timothy is not.  It is possible that Timothy may be the one who is writing down what Paul is saying.  Paul is thanking the people for their support - how they have continued since day one to be faithful.  He prays for them daily and encourages them in their walk - that Jesus will continue to do a work in them until they see Him face to face.  We can have confidence in that very same thing. Jesus will continue to do a work in us for the rest of our lives.  He doesn’t quit halfway thru - He finishes what He starts.

Verses 7-11       As we go on, we see that Paul is continuing to encourage the Philippians - making mention that they have been with him in the good times and the bad.  They have shared his ministry and their love for each other is mutual.  He encourages them to continue doing what they have been doing - such as reading, studying and meditating on the Word.  It is only thru the Word that we will know what is excellent.  We will be able to discern what is of God and what isn’t.

Encouragement.  I want to encourage you to study the word.  And you don’t have to do it by yourselves.  Get a study partner.  You don’t have to be a bible scholar to do a bible study together.  If you don’t understand something, look it up.  There are many resources available online, as well as commentaries and bible dictionaries.  Many bibles have study notes that help explain things.  Read other versions of the bible to see how they word something - sometimes that is all that it takes to clear up what the passage is saying.  Last, but not least, let the Holy Spirit reveal things to you.  Practice meditating on the passage and then write down what you feel it means.  God wants us to grow in the knowledge of Him, so He is going to help us do just that.

 

So think about who you would like to do a bible study with - maybe your best friend, or maybe your mother or family member.  A bible is all you need, and I can probably say with confidence, that everyone probably owns a bible.  I encourage you to make this the year for growing.