Do you remember things well? While I have problems remembering where I put something or what my wife said to me 10 minutes ago, I can remember phone numbers and baseball statistics very well. As a kid, I memorized words to songs and scripture verses fairly easily, but I seem to have the hardest time memorizing either today.

If there’s one thing I learned from reading God’s Word it’s that he wants us to remember Him and what His Word has to say.

I really do want to memorize Scripture but I think remembering the promises God has kept and God’s character is just as important. Memorizing the order of the books may have value but remembering how God came through for the people of Israel and for the individuals is invaluable.

Reading and knowing the history of God’s people builds our faith in Him. On a more personal and meaningful level, remembering the history of God in our own lives also helps to build our faith.

What has God done in your life?

Although Psalm 107 is rather obscure and I encourage you to read it. This is last verse:

Psalm 107: ⁴³ Those who are wise will take all this to heart;

they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

If you took a poll I think most people would describe the “God of the Old Testament” as “an angry and vengeful God”, as opposed to the “Loving and caring God” of the New Testament. If this is the case, God is getting a bad rap. Recently I was sharing with someone who was not a believer about reading the Old Testament and all they could say about it was that there was a lot of “blood and guts” in it. That was her impression.

What comes to your mind when you think about the Old Testament?

Let me suggest to you that if the faithful love of the Lord does not come to mind, maybe you should read it again.

You can read in these verses the importance God has for His people to remember. Although they were originally meant for the Israelites, there is much we can learn from these verses today:

Esther 9: ²⁶ …Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, ²⁷ the Jews took it upon themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. ²⁸ These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants.

Can you imagine? The events in Esther took place around 2,500 years ago and Jews still celebrate Purim. Isn’t that incredible?

Joshua 4: ⁵ He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁶ We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ⁷ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

Can you see how important to God it is that we remember?

I love how God had the Israelites build this memorial so that they could remember that God stopped the Jordan river from flowing so that they could cross.

Deuteronomy 4: 9 “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.

What has God done in your life that you can pass down to your children and grandchildren? What miracles or answered prayers can you remember that you can rely on when you need it?

Deuteronomy 4: ³⁹ “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. ⁴⁰ If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.

It’s always good to remember how good your Father in Heaven is

Feel free to replace “land the Lord your God is giving you” with eternal life/heaven. This is very good to remember, maybe I should put it up on my wall somewhere, hmmm…

Deuteronomy 8: 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

If I ever feel prideful, this is a good thing to remember.

The Bible is full of these verses that give life and lead to eternal life. The key is to read it and meditate on it so that it will “come to mind” when we are faced with choices and/or are asked for advice. This is what being a believer in God is all about, knowing who He is and how we can live a life that is pleasing to Him.

This wraps it up for this post. I’ll have more to remember from the New Testament next time.

What will you remember?

“Dear God, I thank you for your Word. I thank you that we can learn about you and that you’ve made a way for us to know you on a personal level. Please help me to know you more and remember what you have to tell us. In Jesus name, Amen.”

Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash

This is the third and final installment regarding the use of your time. For those of you that received the first two messages, I’ve got great news for you. Those two messages cover the three foundations required for spiritual growth. The first message, part 1, addressed spending time alone with God in prayer and reading the Bible. The second message, part 2, addressed spending time in fellowship. I realize that there are many more aspects to Christian living, but I like to keep things simple.

This is simple: reading the Word, prayer, and fellowship. These three activities are foundational and will lead you down His “good, perfect, and pleasing will” if followed wholeheartedly.

This week I want to discuss time in general. The time that is not for the specific purpose of meeting with or serving God and/or His people.

When we have the strong conviction that our master and employer is the person of Jesus Christ, we do all things in an effort to please Him. Meditate on these verses:

Colossians 3: ¹⁷ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
…
²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. ²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. ²⁴ Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

Be the ambassador you are meant to be!

When our “regular work” is seen as a place of service where God has appointed us to be His ambassadors, it changes everything:

2 Corinthians 5: 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Even if you currently loathe your work, this new understanding of Divine appointment will change your attitude. I’m not saying that you will instantly love your work, but you will have found purpose in it, which makes a substantial difference.

Psalm 105: 4 “Search for the Lord and for his strength;  continually seek him.”

Don’t stop seeking Jesus

When you continually seek Him, your purpose and the work He gives you will become more and more clear but it takes time and commitment. Keep in mind that if you truly want to pursue those God-given desires that you have, continue asking Him to lead you in that direction. He will either take you there or change your desires altogether.

If you desire to be in “full-time” ministry act like you already are. God is not looking for “part-timers” anyway. God has put people in each of our lives that we can serve today. Do not wait for that “full-time” ministry position to miraculously appear if you are not already serving with a servants heart to begin with. God works on refining the servant’s heart first, then promotes His people and puts them to work at His perfect timing. Our ministry is right in front of our eyes and our primary and most obvious task is to abide in Him so that we can hear and know His voice.

John 6:29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

Believing in Jesus always comes first and after we’ve believed in Him over a period of time, we get assigned different tasks. Our hearts change because of our deepening relationship with Him, then we have the same burdens that He does such as for the sick and oppressed people, which leads to service. So then it’s no longer a service out of obligation, but out of pure desire and sincere burden.

Learn to be content

Philippians 4: 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

If we can learn this secret our lives and circumstances will be less and less important which will open us up to greater levels of service. At that point it is no longer about “my needs”, but about “their needs”.

I’ll leave you with this:

Matthew 6: ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Are you working full-time?

“God, you are wonderful. You’ve taken care of me in ways that I cannot even express. Thank you for your Word and all that it teaches me. Please change my heart and show me your ways, for I truly desire to serve you with all my heart. I choose to give you my best in my service to others and will strive to put you first in all areas of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen”

Last time, in the post: “How Do You Spend Your Time? part 1“, we discussed giving God our best in regards to our time. I specifically addressed the “quiet time”, or “alone time” with Him. I believe that this “alone time” is the most important and primary element to obeying the greatest commandment:

Matthew 22:  37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

Ideally, it’s also best not to put a limit on this time. When I start reading His Word and I have to keep looking at my watch it becomes a great distraction and I’m not able to focus on what I’m reading. Just like listening to my wife and continually watching a ball game or checking my watch. If it’s disrespectful and dishonors my wife, isn’t it the same for God? Just because the Living God is invisible doesn’t mean we should treat Him any different than a person in the flesh. When we are spending time with Him, take it as seriously as being with someone you deeply respect.

This week I’d like to focus on not only the first but also the second commandment which should not be overlooked:

Matthew 22:  39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Reading the Bible and spending time alone with God is not enough

God has wired us for relationships and the process of spiritual growth is no different.

One practical reason is to learn from a mature believer, read this incredible account:

Acts 8: 30 …Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. [They read from Isaiah]…
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

You see, the eunuch needed instruction (verse 31) and he was obviously eager to learn. God called Philip to meet him so that he could understand and come to know God in the flesh, Jesus. I don’t know how many times that I thought I understood a passage only to find out that I had no understanding when talking to a mature believer. God was gracious enough to put people, mature believers, in my life that I can discuss the scriptures with regularly and this keeps me on a good path. They do not know everything, but they typically understand things more than me. They have been invaluable to my growth.

We teach each other

Colossians 3: 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

I experience this every week on our Bible Team calls, with the exception of singing. The idea is that the individual reads the Bible, God will reveal a truth or make it plain to the reader, then they will share that truth with their brother or sister (in Christ) and there can be an even exchange between two people regarding what they have been reading and what they received from it. Two people will read the same verse, yet have two different perspectives of it, this is very dynamic and is exciting. In effect, everyone is a teacher and/or counselor in some aspect.

Proverbs 27: 17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

As the believer continues to grow, with the acquired knowledge comes responsibility:

Luke 12: 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

I know that this is a general concept, but it certainly applies to wisdom and knowledge gained. You may be just starting out in studying the Scriptures and not much is required of you. Your assignment is to continue learning (Josh. 1:8). As the learning progresses there is a time to apply it or teach it.

Personal/informal beats impersonal/formal every time

Maybe it’s not teaching in a formal sense, but when discussing the Scriptures with others, this knowledge can be shared to encourage and equip the saints. I believe just like we love God through the investment/offering of our time, we also love each other by giving our time. This blesses the teacher even more than the student:

Acts 20: 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Another element of these special, godly relationships, other than getting to know God, is getting to know each other. In that process, we learn about each other’s fears, weaknesses, strengths, desires, and backgrounds. This is true fellowship where we can build each other up and pray for each other. These relationships become safe havens where we can discuss things that we can’t share with most other people. Formal Bible studies are great, but I find these types of meetings to be much more fruitful and enjoyable. Where we not only discuss the Bible and what we learn but about each other.

Very small, intimate meetings are essential

If you are not enjoying a relationship or a meeting time with a small group or an individual then you are missing out on a most crucial element of being a believer. Where else can we exercise this command:

Galatians 6: ² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Let’s face it, we all have baggage from abusive relationships, heretical doctrines, past mistakes, etc. These essential relationships which should be regular Divine Appointments are where we truly develop into mature believers, in combination of course, with our “alone time”. These meetings, which God sets up, should be taken as seriously as any meeting scheduled with a client or your boss. If we are truly seeking to please God, we should treat this time as serious as any other time.

Without Discipleship, our service will dry up

I am convinced that this time, spent in regular fellowship, is more important than time spent in ministry. This is where we get our bearings, restoration, and encouragement. If we miss out on this time, then any time in ministry or service becomes less and less effective. The more time in this intimate fellowship the more driven we become to minister to others and that’s the way it should be. The disciples hung out with Jesus and spent time learning about the Kingdom of God before they started ministering to others. Even beyond the three years of Christ’s ministry, the fellowship never stopped.

Here is a great verse that illustrates this beautifully:

Acts 2: 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

If you have no one to spend this time with, feel free to get on our call on Monday evenings. Details are on the theBibleTeam.com. I realize that it is over the phone and we focus mostly on Bible Reading, but it would be a start and for those of you that are isolated, it’s a great start.

Will you spend time with others?

“Dear Lord, I praise your name. Thank you for leading me. Lord, please guide me to the person or small group that you want me to be involved with. Open my heart so that I can receive new friends and see opportunities for friendship. Help me to balance my schedule to that I can figure out how to make the time for fellowship and change my heart in the process. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Let’s talk about time, our most precious commodity. In my last message, “Are You Being Careful?”,  we discussed being careful when it comes to obeying God. When it comes to being a disciple of our risen Lord, if we take the calling seriously, we choose to be more careful when it comes to following Him.

This message will help you learn to be more careful.

The time we decide to spend with God, whether it be reading His Word or praying, it should never be considered “spare time”. I’m sure you know about spare time. That’s time not already allocated. The time in between meetings, maybe the time after eating and before returning to work. Maybe it’s time before going to bed.

Before I go any further, I want to make this clear. The decision to pray or read the Bible during spare time is ALWAYS a good decision, that is a precious use of any extra minutes to get caught up or to pray for a friend, or call a friend to reach out. That will keep us in touch with what really matters. What I am getting at is on a regular basis, schedule time with God, time that is not “left over”.

God desires our best

Gen 4: ³ When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. ⁴ Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, ⁵but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

Why didn’t God accept Cain and his gift? I think that the difference is “Cain presented some of his crops” where “Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock” There was clearly nothing special about Cain’s gift, lackluster “some of his crops”. While Abel brought the “best”.

In the Old Testament…

Leviticus 23: ¹² On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect

And in the New Testament…

Romans 12: ¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

This verse reminds me to put Him first. Not only with the “first fruits” of my wages or profit, but also with my time.

The purpose of this message is to discuss the “quiet time” or “God time” as Jesus modeled:

Luke 5: 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

So if we strive to be like Jesus, let’s learn from this. Where do you think He got His power? And where do you think He got His direction? This is where the action happens. You can only live your life at work, or around family so long before needing to tap into the One that gives us strength and direction. When you daily decide to give Him your most precious gift, which is time, that is what leads to true change.

Never equate time with money.

This belief drastically devalues time. Try telling the life-long workaholic on his deathbed “Time is money, gotta go!” How ridiculous! This idea is one of our cultures greatest lies. Try telling a child that time is money as they wait alone for their mom and dad to come home from work. My point is that time is something we can never get back and until we understand that, life will leave us short changed. For those of you that find yourselves out of work, take this extra, most precious commodity to seek God. For you’d be much better off finding God than just another job that will consume your time. After all, if we are to work at anything:

Luke 13: 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.

and to keep things in perspective:

Matthew 6: ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

God, I really want to know you more

I could never tell you how much time you should spend alone with God. I can tell you a little about my daily time and maybe that will help. When I set out to read through the Bible on January 1, 2007, I did not have a good relationship with God at the time, but that was my desire. Along with trying to read every day, I would start with prayers such as “God, I really want to know you more”, which I still pray, and I would also pray, “God, please reveal yourself to me in your Word today.”

So for me, the Bible reading came first, along with my desire to seek Him. So my prayer life at the beginning was not much to speak of, but my reading kept me in touch with Him and eventually my prayer life began to develop. I have no set amount of time per day, but after seeking Him for a length of time, it is much easier for me to spend quality time with Him daily.

Daily quiet time doesn’t happen overnight.

Please do not compare yourself to me. But consider what you can do and pray that God will lead you in meeting with Him on a daily basis. This is where you will encounter spiritual warfare, this is the LAST thing the devil wants you to do. You’ll think of everything else you could be doing when you want to meet with God. At first, it might feel weird and you might not know what to say to God other than asking Him to take care of your current needs, which is fine. It might also feel like it is out of obligation as if you “have to do it”. But if you want to get to know Him, you do “have to”. There is no other way around it.

Have you ever had a relative or maybe a friend that at first you did not know them real well, and you didn’t know what to say and you did not feel comfortable around them? But later after hanging out with them and getting to know them better, you really enjoyed the time? God is no different. My life is a testimony that we really can get to know God personally. It used to be that I prayed most times just because I knew I needed to pray, but more recently I pray because I strongly desire to pray.

As pleaded from King David, the one who was “a man after God’s own heart”

1 Chronicles 16: 11
“Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.”

It is my prayer that you’ll take God as serious as King David did.

Will you make time for God?

“Dear God, I realize that I haven’t been spending the time with you as I probably should, please forgive me. Lead me to spend more time with you. It is my desire to get to know you more. Thank you for your Word and helping me to understand where my priorities should be. Thank you for your patience with me. In Jesus name, Amen.

I don’t know about you but I like to fit in and I don’t like being a misfit. I never wanted to be the last choice in a pickup football game and at times I’d laugh at jokes even if I didn’t think it was funny, just to “fit in”.

We all belong to groups, even beyond grade school. We are in groups for work, hobbies, Bible studies, church, school, networking and the list goes on. As our relationship with God grows, things start to change. The more we recognize our Lord’s voice the more we desire to change:

John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Deuteronomy 30:6 “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

So the more we love God, the less we love the world.

1 John 2: ¹⁵ Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ¹⁶ For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. ¹⁷ And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

As we continue to remain in Him, transformation happens

Our values change, habits change, friendships change, thoughts change, and desires change. If they’re not changing, then there’s no growth. Habits and long-time desires, of course, do not change overnight, so this is not necessarily evident in some areas but other areas should show it.

For me, I may pray for change in a specific area of my life that never seems to change, but I can see changes in other areas that I hadn’t realized needed changing. What this shows me is that God will change me on His terms, the way He prefers, not mine.

Jeremiah 18:6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.

So what impact does this have on the relationships in our groups? We become a misfit. Simply meaning that we no longer “fit in”. The desire to talk about real estate, work, baseball, TV all the time will change. The desire to hang out with the guys that disparage their wives will disappear. Instead of agreeing with people and sharing in their despair over the poor economy, you’ll want to share the hope we have in God and not participate in the meaningless, unconstructive conversation.

You may see this in your church as well. I remember as a young man there were the “good” kids and the “bad” kids. The bad kids did not take Sunday School seriously, and the good kids enjoyed church and had respect for instruction. So when I’d repent during a revival meeting (remember those?), the next week I’d be hanging around the good kids. I know there are adult versions of these groups as well.

It’s OK to be disliked.

As we change, some people in those groups may start disliking you. Some may keep their distance simply because “you’re not the same anymore” and they’re right. A few may be attracted to the change and may inquire about it.

These are good signs. For me, I remember feeling like going through a second adolescence. I felt weird, uncomfortable and not really sure of myself. Instead of being influenced, we are becoming the influencers:

Jeremiah 15:

¹⁹ This is how the Lord responds:

“If you return to me, I will restore you
so you can continue to serve me.
If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!

This is awesome. Isn’t it great that we can use this ancient passage that was meant originally for Jeremiah and use it for ourselves?

Misfits in the world, at home with God

I discovered that this is all a part of the process of being set apart.

Leviticus 20:26 You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.

I don’t know about you, but I can not relate to being holy, at least I don’t feel holy anyway, but I know that only through the blood of Jesus we are made holy, and that is a wonderful thing to remember. And I most certainly desire to be holy, at least on most days. 🙂

1 Corinthians 1:2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

I love to see New Testament verses that seem to directly relate to Old Testament verses.

And now for one of my favorite verses

Romans 12: 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

How will this transformation happen? Only through “reprogramming” our minds. Replace novels and/or TV with Bible reading, exchange gossip with going out with godly friends, and pleading to God to change your heart on a daily basis. If you truly want to change, seek the Lord with all your heart.

John 6: 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

Will you seek change?

“Dear Lord, I can begin to see the changes in my life and I thank you for putting me on this path. Please keep me from falling away and help me to understand what being set apart really means for me. I praise your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

In my last post: “Who Is Your Master”, I wrote about serving God indirectly as we serve people in our lives. We discussed Joseph and Nehemiah as great examples of servants. So today I’d like to explore our service to others and Jesus a little further.

For the purposes of this message, the terms servant and slave will be used interchangeably so don’t read into it. When I say I was a slave to my job, I know you won’t take that in a literal sense and you shouldn’t.

Slavery comes in many shapes and sizes. People are slaves to their jobs, bosses, hobbies, money, shopping, kids, habits, and the list goes on.

I once knew a lady in real estate that admitted that she would take a phone call while taking a shower! Isn’t that crazy? What did that say about her? The first thing that comes to mind is “fear of loss”. She was afraid that if she did not answer the phone, she wouldn’t get “the deal”. It’s interesting that the little things you know about people can say a lot about them.

I used to be a slave to a job. If I wasn’t working 50-60 hours a week, then I wasn’t doing my job (according to my employer). That job was at times very fulfilling and alluring, but it consumed me, burned me out, and left me empty.

I was a textbook example of a workaholic.

I think to a degree we are slaves/servants, to our jobs/clients, families, ministries and that’s not a bad thing. We have obligations and that is our “cross to bear”. I think it is important to determine for ourselves who we are serving, recognize that God put us there to serve and do it very well.

But before we can be great servants and follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned heroes, let’s see what it takes to be a great servant.

As a committed follower of Jesus I think before we can be great servants, we need to first understand who our master really is.

Matthew 10:³⁷ “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.

This is so crucial to understanding.

If we aim to please a family member more than our Savior, then we can’t serve God effectively. Our loyalty will be torn.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

One great thing about putting God first is that He will enable us to serve others better.

John 15: ⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

So what is the fruit?

Galatians 5: ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Now take some time to apply those attributes to any position of service. Just imagine how much better our service will be if we remain in Jesus.

So what does it take to remain in Him?

Knowing that Jesus was the ultimate servant, let’s take a look at what He did:

Luke 5: 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Luke 6: 12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

If there’s one thing I’d like to improve about my walk with Jesus, is that I don’t spend enough time alone with Him, but every time I do spend time with Him, He never let’s me down.

This is a verse that gives me great comfort. Of all the “masters” there are to serve, which of them offers this?

Matthew 11: 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Are you serving Him?

“Dear Lord, thank you for calling me to service. I long to do your will. You are changing me in more ways than I can imagine. Please teach me how to improve in serving you so that I may do the work you’ve given me and bring glory to you. Thank you for working in my life.”

Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash

What you focus on will determine your destination. The trick is maintaining it!

This is a challenge common to everyone, keeping our focus on the Lord. We all have busy lives and need to keep up with a number of diverse activities. These activities include work, family, church, bills, sickness, sports, hobbies, etc. and they all compete for our attention. But we all need to stay connected with the Source of Life in order to stay grounded and Spirit-filled.

John 15: ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

This is one of my favorite episodes because the message is so clear:

Matthew 14: ²⁸ Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

Can you imagine this?

What happened? He lost his focus when he took his eyes off Jesus. Peter started focusing on the worldly circumstances rather than the One keeping him afloat. He was walking on water and being like Christ, yet He took his eyes off the One that gave him the ability to do the impossible.

Are your bills causing you to sink? Are you out of work? Is someone close to you dying? Is your marriage on the rocks?

I am not without my own troubles, this message is just as much for me as it is for anyone else.

But these verses give me hope:

Romans 5:  ³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 8: ²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Here’s a passage to remember for staying focused…

Colossians 3 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ² Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. ³ For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

Understand this… unless we regularly consume the Word of God, how on earth can we stay focused on Jesus and His love for us?

Visit TheBibleTeam.com today and create your own reading plan, it’s free.

Keep reading, stay focused!

“Dear Lord, you are my hope and my comfort. I take refuge in you. Please forgive me for worrying and focusing on the problems in my life. Please give me peace and thank you in advance for helping me through this difficult time. In Jesus Name, Amen”

We discussed Amos in the last post and I tried to get the point across about the importance of reading the Old Testament (OT). I am convinced that it is just as important to read the OT as it is the New Testament (NT). You can’t have the NT without the OT, they are a package deal and the writers of the NT understood this.

It doesn’t get any more entertaining than the Old Testament

Before I continue, I know that there are endless genealogies, boring census records and repetitive offerings that will make you snore, but the exciting stories and lessons far outweigh the dry parts.

The Old Testament is filled with drama, intrigue, mystery, action, sex, humor and fantastic stories. Some stories make me laugh, and some make me cry. To get the most out of it is to put yourself there, on the scene. When the Shunemite woman is running towards Elisha because of the death of her child, I imagine it taking place. You can’t help but be moved by it. I have come to tears reading it although I’ve read it before! Read 2 Kings 4.

It never gets old

God, our creative Designer, knows how to keep us enthused and interested. He designed the OT to be filled with romance, sex, action, violence, and drama to beat the band. It never gets old.

Now let’s learn from this…

2 Chronicles 36: ²² In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:

²³ “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are the Lord’s people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you!”

This is incredible for two reasons

    1. This was prophesied 150 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 44:

²⁸ When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’
he will certainly do as I say.
He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;
he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

    2. King Cyrus was a Gentile (non-Israeli) and he was happy to oblige!

This demonstrates the  God’s sovereignty and how He uses kings for His purposes.

If you are reading the NT there is clear instruction for us to be reading the OT. So if I cannot convince you, maybe the apostle Paul can…

1 Corinthians 10: 1 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. …

6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, 7 or worship idols as some of them did. …

9 Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

This is just scratching the surface of what there is to learn from the Old Testament and many brothers and sisters are missing out by not reading it.

Will you read the Old Testament with me?

“Dear Lord, as I read through the Old Testament, please reveal yourself to me. Help me know you in a way that I might have a greater reverence for you.”

I suggest that you read 2 Kings 1-4 if you’d like to sample some great stories.

In the last two posts, “Are You Eating His Word? parts 1 & 2”, I wrote about the merits of reading the Bible on a daily basis, which I believe is essential to knowing God.

When it comes to the Old Testament (OT), What impression comes to mind when you first think about it? Is it the miraculous stories of Moses parting the Red Sea, David and Goliath,  and Jonah and the whale? Or do the words God’s wrath, jealous God, and God’s anger come to mind? Do you believe it’s relevant?

Until I read through the Bible for the first time, my view of the OT was very narrow. What I mean by that is I knew about the highlights, you know, the stories like I mentioned. I knew the popular Psalms and enjoyed Proverbs. Most importantly is that I thought the God of the OT worked and acted differently than the God of the New Testament (NT). I thought that in the OT God was in a particularly bad mood, cranky, irritated and did not have the patience that we read about in the NT with Jesus. I also wasn’t convinced that the OT was relevant.

Same God, different perspectives

You know how you meet someone at the office or in a professional setting, but never meet them outside of that? Then one day you see them at a party or informal gathering and you see a completely different side of them. Same person, just two different perspectives.

That’s how I now see the OT and NT. In the OT I see a formal God. A God that is majestic, mysterious, unapproachable, awesome, and sovereign. He is all that! In the NT I see God as very personable, human-like and compassionate. He is all that as well! Most importantly is that I see the same God throughout the entire Bible. There is no longer a disconnect, just different perspectives of the same wonderful, magnificent and beautiful God. I am convinced that a believer cannot understand, appreciate, and love God unless they have a complete perspective of Him. Not that we could fully understand God, but I hope you get my meaning.

 Now let’s meet Amos…

Allow me to introduce to you to a lesser-known person in the Old Testament. His name is Amos and he has his own book!

Amos 7: ¹² Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! ¹³ Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”

¹⁴ But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵ But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ ¹⁶ Now then, listen to this message from the Lord:

Don’t you love it? The man is a farmer/shepherd and God gives him the task of prophesying to the king! The Old Testament is filled with fun stories like this. What’s exciting about this story is learning that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We see this all throughout Scripture and the more we read it, the more our faith increases.

The more Scripture you digest, the more His essence will pour out. The Old Testament gives you the complete Message of God that will help you be the ambassador He needs you to be.

Next time we’ll discuss King Cyrus and the prophecy long before his birth!

My last post, “Are You Eating His Word?”, ended with the question “How hungry are you?“. Have you thought about that? How much do you desire to read God’s Word? You could be someone that really wants to read it but just not setting aside the time. Or, you could be indifferent towards it, just not excited about picking it up.

I promise you this…

As long as you are seeking the Lord in the Spirit…

The more you read the Word, the more you’ll love the Word, the more you love the Word, the more you’ll need the Word. The more you need the Word, the more you’ll value the Word and the more you’ll appreciate and adore its Author.

This is why the Devil does not want you to read the Bible!

When you do read the Bible, do not to read it just to read it, the goal or objective when reading the Bible should always be to know the Lord more, attempt to understand the passage and apply it to your life. What is He saying to you? If you struggle to understand, find someone that can shed light on it. This is where discipleship comes in which I wrote about recently in “Are You Being Discipled?”.

What more can I say? How about this promise for daily scripture reading:

Joshua 1:⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Are you excited now?

Are you ready to get into the Word? “Where do I start?” you ask. That’s a great question! Because it can be difficult in knowing what to read daily, I’ve developed a reading plan creator on TheBibleTeam.com which allows one to pick whatever book or books, determine the date range and it will create a plan for you. You can find that here: Reading Plan Creator

I don’t think it matters where you start, Matthew, John, Genesis or Jonah. What matters is that you start and get the Bible into you so that the Lord can do a mighty work through you!

I’ll close with this:

1 Chronicles 16: ¹¹ Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.

My friends, if you are continually seeking and are committed to being a disciple of Christ, then what better way is there than to develop the habit of daily Bible reading? Do you spend a day without eating food? I believe that if believers got as excited about reading the book of Job as they do about eating a BLT, the Church would be a force to be reckoned with.

Will you eat His Word?

If you are serious about developing a daily reading habit, here is some practical advice from my friend and motivational speaker Chris Widener. This may or may not work for you… “So this is how we can achieve all that we want to: develop those actions into habits! Action Point: Pick the area of your life that you want to change for good. Now put the action into your schedule every day for the next 21 days. Make it at the same time every day. In fact, if you can, connect it with another habit that you have each day. This will force it to become a habit right alongside the other. After doing this for three weeks, every day, you will find yourself naturally doing it from then on. Then you won’t need motivation – you’ll have a habit that will carry you through!”

“Dear Lord, help me to develop a habit of meeting with you and reading your Word daily. I thank you for nudging me in this direction as I continue seeking you.”