Month: June 2024

God was speaking to me, but I wasn’t listening. How was He speaking to me? I did not hear His voice in my head. I did not see signs in the sky. He was speaking directly to me through His Word. Although I was reading my Bible every day, through devotional and quiet times of reflection, that was the problem. I was simply reading; I wasn’t listening. How did I arrive at this backslidden state?

I took God’s Word for granted. God’s Word seemed bland to me. Reading it was another task, checking it off each day. It was like brushing my teeth, an important, but rote task. In this lost world where many people are so poor that owning a Bible is a luxury or in other places where owning or even reading a Bible is punishable by prison and death, I should treasure my time reading and listening to God speaking to me through His Word. I should eagerly seek and devour my time to read God’s Word. How shameful and selfish I am. 

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD. 

Proverbs 19:3 (NLT)

I took God for granted. I failed to reflect upon the many blessings of my life. I ignored the many friends and family who have stood by me during difficult times. Instead of looking upward to God, I looked down and inward and attempted to resolve my problems through my efforts. The inevitable result was frustration, despair, and eventually disinterest. I lashed out at God but I have no one to blame. I make excuses and justify my behavior by blaming the circumstances or others. 

I desperately need the grace and mercy of a loving Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

Be considerate of my co-workers. Check.

Don’t get angry at rude drivers on the road. Check.

Be honest in my business dealings. Check.

Be kind to my wife. UNCHECK.

I can keep my promises to be kind, understanding, and patient with nearly everyone I encounter. However, it is the most difficult promise to be kind to my wife. It is one of my most shameful behaviors. I love my wife but when I am with her, I lose my filters. I feel comfortable and I unload all of my frustrations of the day. In my charged emotional state, I yell and grow impatient with her. It should never be this way. I should treat her tenderly and lovingly, never be harsh with her. Instead, she gets my crumbs instead of my best effort to reconnect with her at the end of the day. God is clear about how I should care for my wife.

Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 

Colossians 3:19 (ESV)

Why? Once again, God gives us the answer through His Word.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…

Ephesians 5:25 (ESV)

Marriage is more than a relationship. It is the sacred bond between Jesus Christ and His Church, the Body of Christ. If I treat my wife harshly, it means that I denigrate my relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I lack faith and trust in the power of His Holy Spirit to restore the sanctity of our marriage. My wife should not be an afterthought at the end of the day. My day should begin with her and I should eagerly seek to restore the relationship we were brought together to glorify God.

Amen!

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

My Kamado cooker is one of my main smoking and barbequing tools. I needed to move it from my old house to my new one during my recent move. The problem was it weighed over 500 pounds and the cradle in which it sat was unstable. Although there were wheels to help transport it, the rubber had cracked and worn after nearly 15 years. Moving it on a dolly was the only feasible mode, however, the movers were anxious about moving it. Our new home was two levels with a relatively steep and narrow descent down concrete stairs to the backyard where the Kamado was to be placed. This was more complicated since it was now 2:30 AM; the movers were exhausted, having worked for 17 hours. We all agreed they would return in two days to move it and in the meantime, it would be kept in the garage on the street level.

The next day, my friend and I surveyed the task ahead of us. We agreed that it was too heavy to move, even with a dolly since it would need to descend a flight of stairs. Examining the Kamado, we discovered we could deconstruct it into three parts, allowing us to carry each part down the stairs and reconstruct it. After some effort, the task was completed by breaking the large task into more manageable smaller tasks. God provides a similar blueprint for His people when presenting them with a monumental task. 

Solomon decided to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD, and also a royal palace for himself. He enlisted a force of 70,000 laborers, 80,000 men to quarry stone in the hill country, and 3,600 foremen. 2 Chronicles 2:1-2 (NLT)

The building of the Temple of God, directed by King Solomon, is an excellent example of how God directs His people to break down a monumental task into manageable parts. The Temple was one of the great masterpieces of architecture in the ancient world. It took seven years but would have taken more if God had not given specific instructions to Solomon to manage the project. 

Are you faced with a monumental task in your life? A difficult relationship? Unreasonable co-workers? Financial debt? God will give you the blueprint to manage each task by breaking it down into manageable parts. He did it for King Solomon. He will do it for you. All you need to do is place your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. 

Amen!

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

It was Sunday at 2:30 AM. The movers had been working since Saturday at 9:15 AM…and were still unfinished! While the move from our old home to this new one was completed, there were still several large items that needed to be unloaded from the truck and items that needed to be reassembled. The mover and his men were exhausted. 

“It’s really late and I would like to return the day after tomorrow to complete the job. So, why don’t you pay me for today’s work, let’s just round it off to 17 hours. You can pay the rest when we complete it.”

My wife was skeptical. “Why can’t I pay you when you return to complete the job? How do I know you will return if I pay you.”

The mover was surprised. “Hey, if I don’t return, you can write a nasty review of me on social media.”

I looked at my wife and rolled my eyes. “Tell you what, “ my wife interjected. “What if I withhold some of the payment and I can pay you the rest when you return.”

The mover paused. “How much?”

“Ten percent. I will pay you the rest when you return.”

“Ok. I need to pay my men. I will see you in two days. 

The next day, two of our friends came over to help us unpack and attempt to complete the move of some of the items left in the garage. They were equally skeptical. “They’re not coming back.” One of them dismissively stated. “They’ll take what you paid them and call it a day. It’s not worth their time to return.”

My wife shook her head. “I should have held back more.”

Two days later, we received a text from the mover. “We’ll be there around 230 PM.”

Wow! The mover showed up with another worker and completed the job. I appreciated and respected what the mover did. He kept his word. However, I had doubts that he would; he was a man and all of us have experienced being let down by a false promise. I have also let others down, promising something I didn’t deliver. Is there anyone who will always keep their word?

So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD helped them conquer all their enemies. Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. 

Joshua 21:43-45 (NLT)

God led the Israelites through the desert wilderness for forty years, eventually reaching the promised land. During this time, they were attacked by their enemies and often discouraged, leading to a spiritual, backslide into idolatry and the worship of false gods. During this ordeal and despite the Israelite’s faithlessness, God never failed to keep His promise to preserve and safely lead His people. 

How comforting and reassuring to know that God loves us with His perfect love and always keeps His promises to us. The greatest promise? If we confess and repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will receive salvation and eternal life. God sealed this promise through the death and resurrection of His only Son. 

God always keeps His word!

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.