Tag Archives: daily walk

November 6 – 15 Minutes!

Leave a reply

Mark 13

My mom was a stay-at-home mom until I was in the seventh grade. She got a full time job when all of us girls were finally in school. Every day she’d leave us with the expectation that we were not supposed to sit in front of the TV when we got home. Beds were to be made, dishes done, clothes picked up, homework completed, and whatever chores she left for us to do were to be done before she got home from work at 4:20.

I wish I could say we were diligent in our chores. We’d usually find ourselves in front of the TV, or playing Barbies, or reading,  instead of doing what we knew we should be doing. Until one or another of us would notice the time and shout:

“15 minutes!”

On cue, the TV would be turned off, and we’d all go into stealth mode. Dishes would get done, beds made, clothes put away, dusting or sweeping done. We got pretty good at rapid housecleaning.

I thought of that today when I read this chapter in Mark. Jesus tells us to be ready when He returns. We don’t know when that will be. He just wants us to be diligently doing what He’s asked us to.

And we won’t get a fifteen minute warning. Some people act like they’ve got all the time in the world. After all, He hasn’t come back in 2,000 years, they rationalize. The chances are He won’t come back today. So they put off surrendering to Him. They don’t obey His voice to speak to that friend about their need of a Savior. They figure they’ve got time to live like they want to live. They’ll do the “Christian” thing when they get older.

Jesus doesn’t seem to take too well to that idea. He tells us God could come back at any time. Any. Time. The only one who knows when that will be is God Himself. And when He comes, it’ll be too late to obey Him.

Our Savior tells us to live today like this is the day He’s coming back. Live today with the same focus and determination my sisters and I had those 15 minutes before Mom came home. He’s left us with some instructions, some chores to do before He gets back.

Will He find us faithful? Or will we be caught unprepared?

October 28 – In Praise of a Dishonest Steward

Leave a reply

Luke 16-17:10

The first part of chapter 16 is subtitled, “The Unrighteous Steward” in my NASB. At first glance it might appear that God is congratulating the dishonest man for his ingenuity, then telling us to be more like him. (8-9) Is God really saying it’s ok to cheat people if our intentions are good?

I read several commentaries this morning trying to get a handle on this parable, and the interpretations are widely varied. So I’ve sat here for a few minutes considering all the opinions, and asking God to show me what He wants me to know today. This is my take-away:

God has entrusted His people with the riches of His glory. He gave us His only Son, gave us access to the Throne Room, and has opened the doors of Paradise to us. He has given us Himself. The riches we hold cannot even be counted.

But we, like the dishonest steward, have squandered God’s riches. We continue to sin. We don’t always obey Him or share Him with unsaved friends and loved ones. We don’t always represent Him well in the workplace or at the ballgame. We take our salvation for granted, even though we know what it cost Jesus to give it to us.

I think God would have us consider the fact that, whenever we squander an opportunity to use the riches of His glory, we have lost that opportunity forever. We will never get yesterday back.

The steward in the parable didn’t continue to squander the master’s riches. In fact, he made opportunities to serve his master. The steward didn’t wait for the people to come to him. He sought them out.

And that’s my take-away. I stand here before you a dishonest steward. I have to admit that there have been way too many times I have not protected or used that which God has entrusted to me.

I stand before God and ask Him to forgive me, to show me opportunities to serve Him. I don’t want to sit in my recliner today when there are people I know and love who need to see Him in me. Maybe I need to have lunch with one of them this afternoon, or pick up the phone to reconnect with another.

I hold in my heart the riches of God’s glory. Am I going to waste it, or use it for His sake? I can beat myself up about lost opportunities, or I can forget what is behind and press on toward the goal of being a good steward of God’s riches.

I know that there is more to this parable than what I’ve shared today. There are more lessons to learn from these verses. But that dishonest steward has convicted me today. If he can get on the ball and work for his master, I have so many more reasons to get out there and work for mine.

 

October 24 – Jesus And Me

Leave a reply

John 9-10:21

Jesus told the healed blind man that He was the Son of Man. Jesus called Himself the door through which a person is saved. He said He was the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. And He said He has the authority to take it up again.

I hope you are reading about Jesus’ last days on earth with me. Hear Him tell you that He is the Savior, the Son of God who died for you. Get to know this One who loves you so. I can’t help but make it personal as I read through His Word. Jesus is my door to salvation, He is my Good Shepherd who cares for me in this life, who died to save me, and who lives today.

If you haven’t accepted what Jesus did for you, I pray you’ll do that today. If Jesus is already your Savior, I pray by reading His Word you’ll love Him more, and serve Him better.

When I read these verses I see my relationship with Jesus, my Door, my Shepherd, my Savior. He’s everything to me.

October 20 – What Are You Waiting For?

Leave a reply

Matthew 16; Mark 9; Luke 9:28-62

“I’ll follow you, Jesus, but I need to wait until my dad dies.” “I’ll follow you, Jesus, but first I need to go home and say goodbye.” (from Luke 9)

Jesus said that no one who follows Him with one eye always looking back is fit for His kingdom.

What is your excuse?

“I need to pay off my student loans before I take on a ministry.” “I need to wait until my kids are grown.” “I’m young. I want to have fun first.” “Just let me get this next promotion at work, then I’ll get involved in church.”

The other day God spoke to me about taking up my cross – His mission – and following Him. I don’t remember Him saying anything about waiting until I’m at a different place in life. I’m pretty sure He meant for me to get busy today.

I want to be fit for the kingdom of God, a warrior in His army, His voice to lost souls. I want to follow Him with a determined focus. No excuses.

If God has laid a person or a ministry on your heart, I only have one question for you:

What are you waiting for?

September 29 – Hidden Chambers

Leave a reply

Nehemiah 11-13, Psalm 126

It seems as though as soon as Nehemiah went back to his job as King Artaxeses’ cupbearer, the people in Jerusalem, with their newly repaired wall, began to do their own thing. The priest even took one of the temple chambers and made it into a hotel room for Tobiah. Yes, THAT Tobiah who had been one of the liars and cheaters trying to stop the Jews from rebuilding the wall. The enemy was allowed to live IN THE TEMPLE!

The Jews began to disrespect the sabbath by farming, buying, and selling on that holy day. And…

wait for it…

a son of Eliashib the high priest married Sanballet’s daughter. The enemy had infiltrated Jerusalem and the temple without firing a shot.

So who’s living in your temple? Are there hidden chambers in your heart where you’ve prepared a place for the enemy? A secret room you think no one sees? Do you hide jealousy, lust, tolerance, unforgivness, internet sites or TV shows, drunkenness or dishonesty?

Have you established relationships with ungodly people, anti-christ and/or politically correct theologies that oppose Scripture? Are you one person at church and another in the workplace or in your home?

God is asking me today to clean out my temple like Nehemiah cleaned out the temple in Jerusalem. Completely. If I am comfortable living with sin in my life, in those hidden chambers of my heart, God is not going to be comfortable living in me.

And more than anything I want God to feel at home and welcome in my heart.

September 26 – Git ‘er Done

Leave a reply

Nehemiah 1-5

Every time I read Nehemiah I am impressed with the unrelenting passion the Jews had for rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. They worked together, supported and protected each other, even in the face of threats and opposition. They had a job to do and they just wanted to get it done!

Wouldn’t it be exciting to be a part of such a fellowship? I pray that your local church has the same kind of focus, the same determination to get God’s Church built one soul at a time. I trust it’s a fellowship that supports and protects each other, that works together and prays together as you share the Gospel.

But if your church isn’t working like that, why not? Is there bickering or jealousy? Blatant sin, or acceptance of sin? Are one or two people carrying the bulk of the load while the rest warm a pew on Sunday morning?

Are you part of the problem? Are there sins you need to confess, people whose forgiveness you need to ask for, responsibilities you need to take on? Your church has the job of spreading the Gospel to your community. Are you doing your part to make that happen, or are you a Sanballat or Tobiah in the midst?

Satan would love to stop your church fellowship from being effective in the work of the Lord. The Jews in Nehemiah didn’t let that happen. Don’t you.

You and your church fellowship have a job to do. May you have that unrelenting passion and together, git ‘er done!

September 23 – Why Today?

Leave a reply

Esther 1-5

Have you ever felt you’d been at the right place at the right time? If you’d waited you’d have missed a great opportunity? If you’d not gone you’d have missed a blessing?

Reading Esther today has me wondering about “such a time as this.” The question I’m asking myself is how much did God’s role play in what happened to Esther, and how important was Esther’s role in it all?

I believe both were necessary. God opened doors. Esther walked through them. She didn’t have to. She could have refused.

Mordecai himself explains that if Esther had kept her nationality secret, if she refused to go to the king on behalf of the Jews, we would be reading about deliverance of the Jews from another source. (4:14). It’s because of Esther’s obedience that her story is included in God’s Word.

It’s not because God orchestrated the matter, that Esther had no choice but to deliver the Jews. She had a choice. She chose to fast and pray, to ask her uncle to do the same, then she chose to walk through the door God had opened for her.

God has a plan He’d like you to be a part of. He’ll open doors. He’ll nudge you. He’ll put a burden on your heart. But if you want to be in on His plan, you’ve got to make that choice to obey. Otherwise, someone else may get the blessing – and you’ll be on the outside, regretfully looking in.

You are where you are today as a result of God’s leading, and your obedience or disobedience. Can He use you today? You bet. Will He open doors? He opens doors all the time. Will you walk through them?

That depends on the choices you make today. God knows what you’ll choose. I pray you’ll choose obedience.

Why today? Because God has given you today, for such a time as this, to glorify Him.

Let’s make it happen.

 

 

September 20 – You Want Me To Live Where?

Leave a reply

Haggai

How much is enough? God, through Haggai, asks us to consider our ways:

You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes. (1:6)

There seems to be two groups of people in our world today. One group works to get ahead, to buy the big houses, to drive the nice cars, to grow a portfolio. The other group wants what the first group has, feels entitled to it, and demands the first group hand it over.

They really aren’t so different, you know. One word can describe them both: MORE.

God told the people in Haggai’s day to rebuild the temple, His home on earth. And they do. But when it was finished God kind of said, “Seriously? Does this come close to the temple that was? You expect me to live here?” (2:3)

Got me to thinking about the temple called Connie. I’m a work in progress. But how much care am I putting into the building of this temple? How choosy am I as to what goes into it? Am I building a temple fit for a king, or a nice little tent that even I wouldn’t want to live in?

I know many of us have obligations and interested that pull us in many directions. We only have 24 hours in a day, right? Family, jobs, school, sports, cooking meals, and cleaning toilets are important things that demand our attention. So where does temple building come in?

Do we read the obligatory psalm at night when our bodies are weary and our thoughts are going in every which direction? Do we fall asleep during our nightly prayer? That’s like using cardboard to erect the frame of our temple. It’s cheap, and it won’t stand.

Building a temple fit for the King of Kings requires making it a priority. That means taking quality time with God every day. That means reading and studying His Word, talking to Him, including Him in every decision no matter how small.

Building a temple means turning off that questionable show on TV, shutting down the computer or phone, controlling our thought lives. It’s a choice to take time each and every day in the quiet Presence of God Himself.

Haggai has me asking myself if I am putting my efforts in things like he described in 1:6? Am I building a flimsy, ugly, neglected temple that I expect God to live in?

I do want the word, “More” to refer to me. But only in the sense that people will recognize I want more of God than I have today, I want to serve Him more, love Him more, spend more time with Him every day. And in doing so, I’ll be building a temple He will be pleased to inhabit.

I want God to live in me, and like it here!

September 15 – Tell It Like It Is

Leave a reply

Daniel 4-6

Every so often you hear about people who honor God in a very public way. A high school athlete who bends a knee after scoring a touchdown, a MLB player who crosses himself before his at-bat, a singer who thanks God after receiving an award, a politician who stands for the Truth of Scripture, or Christians beheaded because they will not denounce Jesus.

Daniel has me asking myself the lengths I’d go to proclaim the God of the Bible. He stood before kings and boldly told them the truth:

“Nebuchadnezzar, you are going to lose your mind.”

“Belshazzar, God is going to rip your kingdom from you.”

“Darius, I will never worship you.”

So how serious am I about taking a stand when someone offers an opinion that is different than what I know to be true according to God’s Word? Do I say something or let it ride? When I have an opportunity to share the Gospel, do I wimp out? Am I tolerant of false doctrine, of anti-Christ policies, of sin? Or can I find the strength to tell it like it is, no matter what others might think of me, or do to me?

God, I want Daniel’s unwavering faith, his boldness to tell the Truth regardless of what it might cost him. Give me a chance to share You with someone today. And may You find me willing to take Your lead, to be Your voice, and to take a stand for the blessing of knowing You.

September 14 – It’s Kinda Hot In Here

Leave a reply

Daniel 1-3

I have a friend from High School who had her second surgery yesterday to remove a tumor wrapped around her spine. Another friend was born with malformed blood vessels in her jaw, resulting in a deformed face and constant ringing in her ears. Yet another friend has a husband fighting for his life, one friend battling an eating disorder, still another recovering from a brutal beating outside his place of business. I know of someone who is belittled and challenged every day by a boss who hates Christianity and Christians.

Health, finances, relationships, prejudice, can make us feel as though we are walking through fire. It’s hard. It’s uncomfortable. It hurts. And sometimes it feels as if there is no way out.

God could have blown out that fire before Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were thrown into it. But He didn’t. Instead, He got right in that fire with them, protected them, until they came out whole.

The fires in our lives might not magically disappear. We might actually have to walk through them until Christ is revealed, and He brings us out on the other side.

Everyone walks through a fire or two in a lifetime. What a comfort it is to know we don’t have to walk alone. Jesus is right there by our side in the heat of it all. I pray that at those times, you will recognize His Presence, lean on His strength, and trust Him to get you through it as only He can.

I’m praying for you who are living in a fiery furnace today.