A Matter of Time
Father, as I sit with You this morning, the world is just flying by! Everyone is in so much of a hurry to get to who knows where. May my mind settle on You, Father. Quiet my spirit. At this moment there is nothing more important than You. Amen.
Revelation 4:1 (<<click here to read the passage)
Lord, once again I appreciate the tools You have placed within my hands. My study Bible* gives me an excellent overview as Your word transitions from the “churches” to the future of The Church as a whole.
Verse 1 is the beginning of what John witnessed in the “throne room of heaven.” My study Bible* goes on to say, “God is on the throne and orchestrating all the events that John will record. The world is not spinning out of control; the God of creation will carry out his plans as Christ initiates the final battle with the forces of evil. John shows us heaven before showing us earth so that we will not be frightened by future events.”
Lord, one of the biggest struggles we have, as we see the evil that is so prominent in our world, is the feeling that evil is winning. I have not watched a full news program on TV in years! For me, for the most part, it is a synopsis of evil. It is composed mainly of pain and loss and violence and hatred…I don’t need that filling my heart and mind. I realize that, to some degree, I need to be aware of what’s going on in the world (and to pray for those caught up in it all) but there is no reason to immerse myself in it, soaking up every tidbit that is thrown my way.
Evil is not winning! As the old Christian cliché goes, the war has already been won! You, Lord, are the victor! Battles may still be raging, skirmishes still abound but You are the King and everything will be brought under Your control, in Your time.
May I be faithful, Lord. May I keep everything in its proper perspective. You are on the throne and, again, there will come a day, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 It’s just a matter of time.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Aug 7th, 2017, Mon, 6:41 am
Pray for Us
Good morning, Father! I am so glad to see You and to have You with me. No matter how much wrong there is in this crazy world, it does not deter from the fact that Your will will ultimately be done “on earth, as it is in heaven.” And even out of the worst of circumstances, You can bring joy and peace. You and You alone are worthy of my Praise!
Hebrews 13:17-19 (<<click here to read the passage)
As You well know, Lord, spiritual leadership is a challenge. Proclaiming Your word and leading Your people is a heavy burden to bear. It is a very weighty responsibility. It would be so much easier if we were perfect…but we are not. Hence, the great importance of verse 18.
“Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do.”
I’m sure I speak for most spiritual leaders when I say that we covet people’s prayers. We need the strength to carry through the task at hand – there’s a lot to get together every week to feed the flock. We need discernment to weed through all that comes across our path – sometimes the loudest or brightest things clamoring for our attention are the least important and it’s the quiet and thoughtful things that we need to focus on. We need love to flavor everything we see and do – sometimes mean people are really just hurting people. We need the Holy Spirit to direct us and enable us to do His will – quite often it’s not about my agenda or our agenda but it is always about His agenda. May we listen and act.
Lord Jesus, I know people pray for me. I realize that even when we don’t know what to pray that Your Holy Spirit helps us and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26). May I trust You, Lord, with my all. I give You everything that I am. Amen.
July 22nd, 2016. Fri, 6:40 am
Obedience in the Little Things
A quiet morning to sit with You Father is definitely the best way to start my day!
Revelation 3:8-11 (<<click here to read the passage)
Lord, in the big picture of Your kingdom so often we feel small and weak. There are some big players out there and here we are in our little corner, doing our little thing. Do we make a difference? Yes, we do!
Too often we think of spiritual things in a worldly framework. We are tempted to compare size and numbers and money and results. But as You spoke to the Philadelphians You realized that they had “little strength” but You commended them for their obedience and not denying You
We cannot measure our success in Your kingdom with earthly measurements. We cannot always see what You see. What we may deem as small and insignificant, You may see as having a great eternal impact. An old song comes to mind and it is still as applicable today. The third verse and refrain of Little Is Much When God Is in It by Kittie L. Suffield go like this,
Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.
We are not called to bring about great results according to our definitions; we are called to obey. “Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.” v11 Oh, Lord, may it be so.
July 25th, 2017, Tues, 6:41 am
Harmony
Father, it has been a full day but a good day. As I am winding down, may this time with You be sweet and linger in my mind as I lay down to sleep. Amen.
Matthew 18:19-20 (<<click here to read the passage)
“Again I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.“ AMP
Harmony… What couldn’t we accomplish with harmony? Think of music. One of the many groups I enjoy is Home Free. Of all things, they are an acapella country group. If you want to hear some beautiful vocal harmony, listen to their rendition of How Great Thou Art (click to listen).
A few years back I was a part of a mixed trio and when we sang it was not a matter of seeing who could sing the loudest. In the middle of a song, we didn’t just belt out another song we liked. We joined our efforts. We blended our voices so that the melody would be clearly heard. We worked hard at singing in such a way that the full sound of harmony-filled every nook and cranny!
Harmony is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? And not just in music. Jesus goes on to say in this passage, “For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”
If we could just learn to work together, oh what we could do! As we come together with fellow believers our goal should be to work in harmony, blending our strengths and weaknesses to fill in all the nooks and crannies with the harmony of love. And at the head of every body of believers is Christ – blending, shaping, guiding, directing –so that every one of us reaches our full potential and impacts the world for His Kingdom – not ours. Lord Jesus, unite us!
July 30th, 2018, Mon, 8:45 pm
Maintenance Required
Father, yesterday was a little unusual but thank You for the opportunities given. The day did not pan out as I had planned but Your will was done and that is all the better!
One home project I was able to see to completion was to clear out some brush that had been encroaching onto our driveway. I had done it some time ago but it had grown a good four feet into where we park (see picture above – darker limestone is where the brush had grown over!). The maintenance was a long time coming.
Lord, as we examine our spiritual lives we realize that kind of laxity can have a lot more impact than a loss of parking space. It is easy to let things begin to encroach upon our time with You – things that are not bad in and of themselves but take up space and time that are more effectively used otherwise.
Prayer is an essential part of our relationship with You but so often we crave that 30 more minutes of shut-eye or we get caught up in the latest Facebook posts from friends and families. What is more important?
Reading and thinking on Your Word gives us a depth and understanding to carry us through the many ups and downs of life but to carve out one more slot of time in the morning seems to be an insurmountable challenge. And forget about trying to do it before bed, we’re worn out and ready to drop. But again…what is more important?
Lord, we require maintenance. To accomplish what You need of us, we must keep communication lines open. The clutter of the non-essentials of life can not only slow it down but it can sometimes bring it to a grinding halt.
May we take our cues from You. I am reminded of the many times when You took time out to spend in prayer with Your Father.
After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Matthew 14:23 NLT
Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35 NLT
After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Mark 6:46 NLT
But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. Luke 5:16 NLT
One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. Luke 6:12 NLT
Help me, Lord, to clear out the obstructions. Help me to create the most needed time in my schedule for time with You – not just quantity but quality time. Give me a burning desire for what is truly important. Amen.
July 30th, 2017, Sun, 6:32 am