TIMING

Recently we wondered why some family members always seemed to be late when we headed out the door. We just couldn’t figure out the problem until we realized that the clocks upstairs were five minutes behind those downstairs.

Just think how terrible it would be if God expected us to be somewhere or to represent Him doing something, if our “clocks” weren’t set to His timing of things. He may want a meal delivered to a family in the neighborhood but because our “clock” doesn’t match His, the meal wouldn’t arrive until their bedtime. Or He may want us to visit a friend in the hospital, but our “clock” is off and we don’t get there until after they had been discharged to go home. Or our child or grandchild needs a lap to sit on but our “clock” is off and we don’t realize the need until too late.

At our house, once the problem was discovered, we synchronized all of our clocks so that we were all headed in the same direction at the same time. It would probably be an excellent idea if we would do the same and allow God to synchronize our lives and timing with His master plan.

My times are in Thy hands. Psalm 31:15

Heavenly Father, I desire to live according to Your time frame. Please help . . . . In Jesus’ name. Amen.

LOYAL HEARTS

Once upon a time there was a people who swore allegiance to their King. Every so often they would gather and take turns declaring how special a King he was, how they longed to follow Him wherever He would lead, how they would follow Him to the end of time. They even sang songs to Him.

Yet, these same people, in their hearts, were far from loyal to their King in their everyday lives as evidenced by their disregard for His Words in the Sacred Book. They refused to get along - they always seemed to have a complaint against a neighbor. They neglected to pray for those in authority over them - the overseerers of the land. They didn’t spend the needed time raising the next generation to honor the King. They spent much of their time seeking pleasurable activities, even neglecting to meet personally with the King when He so longed for their presence.

May we be found to be among those who not only follow after God with our words but with our hearts - loyal to Him until the end.

But they followed Him only with their words . . . hearts not loyal. Psalm 78:36

Heavenly Father, please help me to have a loyal heart to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

WHY?

Do you know why you work so hard? Is it to earn money so you can pay the bills, take that special vacation and put your children through college? Or do you work because it is your ambition to climb the career ladder in your chosen profession? Or does your job bring you satisfaction because you are the only one in your family to reach such a goal?

All of the above reasons may be legitimate reasons for working hard. God, however, in His Word, shares with us exactly WHY we should labor at all:

Wherefore we labor that . . . we may be accepted of Him. II Corinthians 10:9

May we find the labor which is directed for us by Him, pleasing to Him and accepted of Him. Then it will be of eternal worth.

Heavenly Father, I thank You that You expect me to work under Your direction. Please help me to clearly see all of the where, when and how. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NOT ALONE

When we lived in a country setting, often the electricity would go out, leaving us without lights, bathroom facilities, a stove and without heat in the winter. To make matters worse, we would often see lights, at a distance, twinkling in our neighbors’ houses. There seemed nothing lonelier than feeling like you were the only one in the entire world suffering such difficulties.

After we moved into the village. A spring storm swept through, shutting off our power for a brief time. As we looked outside at our nearby neighbors, we knew that they, too, were without power. Somehow it was comforting to know that we weren’t the only ones in the universe experiencing problems. There were others without light, heat and all of the modern conveniences. We weren’t alone.

Perhaps that is why the scriptures state about we who believe:

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice.
I Corinthians 12:2

Heavenly Father, thank You that I do not suffer in this world by myself. There are others going through similar difficulties. And, especially, I thank You that You came down onto this earth and know first-hand what difficulties there are here. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

CRISIS

We have all heard the statement, “A crisis reveals our characters.” Is that true? Perhaps, but probably only partially.

Once upon a time, during an emergency room visit with my daughter, I forgot my own address and phone number. I was that shaken. If that statement ‘crisis reveals our character’ were true, what would that say about my character? Would it mean that in a crisis I was no good, a real scatterbrain? No, certainly not!

Another statement we could consider would be: “A crisis builds character.” That, too, is probably only partially true. During a crisis, sometimes circumstances stretch us, causing us to grow and change in ways we never expected. God can certainly build good qualities into our characters at that time - if we are open to Him and the areas He wants to build up within us.

May we exhibit both statements in our lives - if a crisis arises, may that crisis reveal a godly character in us NOW and may our hearts be open to further growth and change.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
II Peter 1:5

Heavenly Father, please help me to be open to further growth in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?

Around the corner at the local elementary school there is a sign out front. Each week the message is changed. One week it may read, “This week we are working on Accuracy.” Another week it may read, “This week we are working on Being Considerate.”

Many of the qualities which the students and teachers are working on for the week can also be found in Scripture and include: perseverance, honesty, integrity, self-control, respect, courage, kindness, compassion, willingness to serve and discipline.

Apparently God desires that we add these character traits to our lives. Let’s make it our aim to please Him by practicing them daily.

. . . make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. II Peter 1:5-7

Heavenly Father, please show me the characteristics You want added to my life today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

DISCERNING IN LOVE

Someone approaches you on the street asking for money. What do you do? Do you give it to him, invite him home, give him the key to your home and invite him to stay?

Your child wants to go somewhere that you know is not a good choice. What do you do? Do you say yes, tell her to phone all her friends and drive her there yourself?

Yes, we are commanded to put love into action. We must be careful, however, to act with discerning love, not sloppy sentimental love without a thought to the consequences of our love.

How can we act with discerning love? By taking each circumstance to our heavenly Father and asking Him for His wisdom before our love is translated into action (or inaction). Our heavenly Father does know best.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. Philippians 1:9

Heavenly Father, please give me clear eyes to discern if and how I should act in each given circumstance I meet with today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.