Tag: patience

November 10, 2024

November 10th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Job 29-30

Highlight Verse:

“Job continued speaking:”
‭‭Job‬ ‭29‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s the shortest verse in this chapter, but it speaks volumes.

In fact, Job spoke volumes. Six straight chapters going on and on.

Yes, God wants us to bring all our cares to Him.

But Job kept speaking to his so-called friends about how he was treated unfairly.

You would think God would rebuke him for talking about himself so much.

Maybe that’s coming.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

While I do think God wants us to bring all our cares to Him,

I don’t think he wants us to live a life of complaining, especially to those who aren’t interested in listening.

Have you ever caught yourself overly complaining?
What helped you stop?
October 28, 2024

October 28th, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 20

Highlight Verse:

“As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭20‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Our pastor is an excellent speaker.

Despite that, I have the amazing talent of nodding off during his or anyone’s sermons.

I can definitely relate to Eutychus.

I could make a point about God’s amazing healing and even resurrecting power shown after Eutychus’ fall.

But what really stands out to me in this chapter is the great hunger that the people had to listen to Paul for hours on end.

They were desperate to learn everything they could from the man whom God had sent to them.

No matter what his preaching style Paul taught truth that they were eager to here.

That eagerness to learn would help us get a lot more out of sermons (and might help me stay awake through them).

How hungry are you for learning more about God?
What lessons have you heard lately that impact the way you live?
October 9, 2024

October 9th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Nehemiah 1-2

Highlight Verse:

“When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.”
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT

When I read this, I picture Nehemiah praying face down before God for days straight.

Maybe he did.

Maybe he was working and only prayed and fasted while off-duty.

Whatever he did, he did it with passion, giving his all to bring the plight of his country before God.

He waited 6 months to be bold enough to show his sorrow before the king.

I believe he prayed every day during that entire time.

And God answered by giving him favor with the king.

What would happen if we prayed with that same intensity and consistency for our country?
How about we try it and find out?
October 7, 2024

October 7th, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 17

Highlight Verse:

“For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭17‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I once attended a service at a church that reached out to refugees from a certain country I will refrain from naming.

There was a potluck buffet dinner after the service.

It was mayhem.

The culture of that country had no concept of lines.

The pastor, an acquaintance of mine, warned me of this cultural difference ahead of time.

He worked within their cultural norms in order to reach them with the Gospel.

Paul was sensitive to the cultures of the places he wanted to reach with the Gospel.

He did his homework and used his knowledge of the culture to help him reach the people of that culture.

When he got to a point in his preaching that the majority could not grasp, they stopped him.

Nevertheless, he reached several people in Athens.

Those started the trend that, a couple centuries later, brought a majority of Greek people to Christianity.

In what areas do you reach beyond cultural lines?
What are you doing to better understand those cultures?
October 3, 2024

October 3rd, 2024

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Revelations 10

Highlight Verse:

“He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Make no mistake. There will be a day when all this will come to pass.

The people in the early Church thought it would be at any time.

It’s been 2000 years.

More and more of the prophecies leading up to the end times have come true.

Now more than ever, the second coming of Jesus is imminent.

It could be tonight.

It could be another thousand years.

It’s best to live like Jesus could come back any moment while also being prepared to live a long, full life here on Earth.

In other words, live out this life of faith to its fullest and most faithful.

When you think about the second coming of Jesus, are you excited or scared (or both)?
How are you preparing for a long full life on Earth should Jesus delay that long?
September 29, 2024

September 29th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Job 17-18

Highlight Verse:

““How long before you stop talking? Speak sense if you want us to answer!”
‭‭Job‬ ‭18‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These are the words of the shortest man in the Bible – Bildad the “Shoe-height.”

Sorry, I just had to.

Seriously, this friend of Job’s came to “comfort” him and ends up rudely arguing with him.

What was he thinking?

But then, I’ve probably done the same thing.

Maybe not so blatantly.

But it’s not hard to misread a situation and make untrue assumptions.

When we make assumptions, it is very easy to be insensitive.

The solution.

It may be cliché, but it’s true that God gave us two ears and one mouth.

We should listen before we speak.

By listening, I don’t mean letting the other person talk while you formulate a response.

I do mean actually listening to everything they say and asking for clarification if needed.

Then responding when appropriate.

I wish I could say I always do that. I’m still learning. You wanna learn with me?

How well would you say you listen?
How well would your spouse or friends say you listen?
September 24, 2024

September 28th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Deuteronomy 7-8

Highlight Verse:

“Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God blessed the Israelites because He loved them, and He was faithful to His promises to their ancestors.

That’s why He treated Israel so well.

That’s why He treats us so well.

I may not be an Israelite, but I was adopted into the family of God.

I inherited all the rights and responsibilities of an Israelite.

I have no genetic ties to three of my four children. But the moment I married their mother, they became my children. I love them as much as I love my oldest daughter, who does carry my genes.

If I, a far from perfect man, could love all his children that way, how much more could God love all His children, both Hebrew and Gentile?

Do you truly understand the depth of God’s love for you?
Can you believe He is faithful?
September 15, 2024

September 15th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Job 13-14

Highlight Verse:

“If only you could be silent! That’s the wisest thing you could do.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I think everyone in this chapter could stand to follow its advice.

I could too.

How many problems would we avoid if we just kept our mouths shut

instead of spouting out opinions that we didn’t think through all the way.

Job’s friends could have comforted instead of accused.

Job could have accepted his difficulties instead of accusing God of bringing them.

So many of us could have avoided unneeded arguments instead of insisting on being right.

Are you prone to talking too much (like me)?
How would life be different for you if you had kept silent when, instead, you spoke words you wish you could take back?
September 10, 2024

September 10th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Deuteronomy 3-4

Highlight Verse:

“Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭3‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Moses asked to be allowed to enter the promised land.

God said no.

Instead, Moses was to pass the baton of leadership on to Joshua.

You might wonder why God didn’t show mercy to Moses.

I think He did.

He allowed Moses to see the promised land from the top of a mountain.

But the time had come for Joshua to lead.

If Moses had crossed the Jordan, it would have diluted Joshua’s authority.

Remember that Moses was 120 years old by then and did not truly have the health to continue.

You don’t have to be 120 years old for this principle to apply.

At one church I was at, I was a director of children’s church when a new next generation pastor wanted to revamp all of the children’s ministries. People looked to me for leadership, so I moved to another ministry so volunteers would look instead to the new pastor.

Have you had situations where you needed to step out of the way for new leadership?
Have you had someone do that for you?
September 3, 2024

September 3rd, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Deuteronomy 1-2

Highlight Verse:

““Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the Lord our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭41‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A few years ago (okay, almost 30 years ago), I was driving down a freeway in a rainstorm. I rounded a curve at well below the speed limit, but water was running across the pavement so the back end of my little pickup broke loose.

A good driver would have steered into the skid just enough to maintain control.

I steered too far.

The overreaction caused me to lose control long enough to hit the guardrail. Once I had lost control, the opportunity to stay safely on the road was gone.

Israel’s overreaction caused them to be soundly defeated by the Amorites.

That was because they refused to listen to the Lord. (Verse 43)

There are times in our lives when we realize that we are in error. It’s easy to think we can correct that error by going back and doing what we were supposed to do in the first place.

Sometimes that’s the right thing to do.

Sometimes it isn’t.

Instead of jumping right back into a missed opportunity, we need to be sure that opportunity is still there.

Otherwise, we may be jumping right into a face plant (or a guardrail).

Have you ever missed an opportunity only to try to get it back and fail?
What do you do to listen to God’s guidance when you know you’ve missed and opportunity?

Tag: patience

In fact, Job spoke volumes. Six straight chapters going on and on.

You would think God would rebuke him for talking about himself so much.

I don’t think he wants us to live a life of complaining, especially to those who aren’t interested in listening.

But what really stands out to me in this chapter is the great hunger that the people had to listen to Paul for hours on end.

That eagerness to learn would help us get a lot more out of sermons (and might help me stay awake through them).

Whatever he did, he did it with passion, giving his all to bring the plight of his country before God.

I believe he prayed every day during that entire time.

What would happen if we prayed with that same intensity and consistency for our country?How about we try it and find out?

He worked within their cultural norms in order to reach them with the Gospel.

He did his homework and used his knowledge of the culture to help him reach the people of that culture.

Those started the trend that, a couple centuries later, brought a majority of Greek people to Christianity.

Make no mistake. There will be a day when all this will come to pass.

Now more than ever, the second coming of Jesus is imminent.

In other words, live out this life of faith to its fullest and most faithful.

What was he thinking?

We should listen before we speak.

I do mean actually listening to everything they say and asking for clarification if needed.

God blessed the Israelites because He loved them, and He was faithful to His promises to their ancestors.

I may not be an Israelite, but I was adopted into the family of God.

If I, a far from perfect man, could love all his children that way, how much more could God love all His children, both Hebrew and Gentile?

How many problems would we avoid if we just kept our mouths shut

So many of us could have avoided unneeded arguments instead of insisting on being right.

Moses asked to be allowed to enter the promised land.

Instead, Moses was to pass the baton of leadership on to Joshua.

You don’t have to be 120 years old for this principle to apply.

That was because they refused to listen to the Lord. (Verse 43)

Instead of jumping right back into a missed opportunity, we need to be sure that opportunity is still there.

What would happen if we prayed with that same intensity and consistency for our country?
How about we try it and find out?