Make a Habit of Studying the Word

I know I mentioned earlier that I’m reading the bible through this year. I’ve run into a few obstacles, but I’m still pressing forward. For the past few months, I’ve been in a small group studying the book of Romans and I’m teaching family bible study covering the book of Acts. Some might say that’s a lot of studying and time spent in the bible. Depending on the perspective, I guess that could be true. However, the more I study, the more I realize how much I have to learn. No matter how much we study, we’ll never learn it all. But, the more we study, the more we want to learn. 

God’s Word is living and my experience with the Word changes as I do (Heb 4:12). The Word doesn’t change, it just has more meaning than I can fully comprehend at any one time. It’s a process. But in order to excel in the process, I have to spend significant time in the Word. God told Joshua in Josh 1:8 (MSG), don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. 

I’m definitely spending more time in the bible than I have before, but I still have work to do. I’ve haven’t been meditating on the Word day and night like the apostles were after Jesus ascended back to Heaven. I have entirely too many distractions. I get distracted by life, obstacles, TV, social media, etc. There are so many busy things going on around us that we are easily distracted from the most important thing - keeping our eyes, mind, heart and actions aligned with God’s Word. The only way to do that is to know it and practice it (Prov 4:10-13).

The more time we spend in God’s Word, the more we’ll be drawn to Him. With that in mind, we need to make strides to make bible study a habit. The better we know His Word, the better we know His character and His voice. I believe our lack of study and meditation are among the reasons we don’t exhibit the same power the apostles did with the Holy Spirit working through them. If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, we have to get into the Word. What are you going to do?

Who are you leading and where?

I’ve talked about leadership skills in the past. I’ve also mentioned that we never know who may be watching us and the way we live. Many believe you aren’t a leader unless you have a position or a title. This is absolutely not the case. Position and title don’t make a leader – it may make a boss or a supervisor, but not necessarily a leader. 

A leader is someone who inspires passion and motivation in followers. A leader is someone with a vision and the path to realizing it. I’ve heard movie stars and successful athletes demote their role as leaders or role models in communities, but they are, whether they want to be or not. But, what role are they modeling for those around them or their fans? For those of us who love Christ, we pray that our vision comes from Him, so that we are obedient to follow the path He has set for us. We want to do His will and operate like He would. But He gives us skills and talents, we have to work to develop into maturity, that will help us inspire the passion and motivation of others. 

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor 11:1, “imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” He understood that He was nothing without Christ (Rom 7:18), but he also understood that he was a leader of those around him. He wanted to set a good example indicating he was a follower of Christ and that others could follow him because he was going to imitate Christ. To be a good leader, you have to know how to follow well (Matt 20:26-28).

Paul is a good example of one inspiring passion and motivating others. When you think of his story, it is an amazing one. He was originally an enemy of the Church – the followers of Christ. But, even when He was an enemy, He was passionate and action oriented, but he had also done the work since he was a child. He had learned “the law” and he was applying it as he understood. When he was converted, all those skills and talents changed direction based on the changing of His heart. Paul applied all those skills in his preaching, teaching, writing and missionary work. 

Just like Paul, we are born with skills and talents, but they must be developed so that we can apply them to the mission or purpose God has for us (Rom 12:4-8). We have the ability to inspire, influence and motivate others based on what we do with those skills and talents. The question is - what are we doing with them? How are we modeling Christ-like behavior? Do we recognize that there are people watching to see how we live and how we react to certain situations? Are we living a life that can be imitated? These are answers to ponder and pray about. We have to remember we are providing an example for someone – we’re leading them somewhere. Hopefully, we’re leading them to Christ, who is the only way to the Father.

Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus

I realize I’m a day late for an Easter wish, but it’s never the wrong time to celebrate Resurrection Day. When you think about Easter, it’s really easy to get caught up in what society has made it – day to celebrate the Easter Bunny and candy eggs and egg hunts and lots of fun. It’s easy to get caught up in the fun and not the real meaning for which the day was set aside. 

Jesus, the Messiah, who had healed and taught and freed people, had been crucified. He had been beaten beyond recognition and hung from a tree. He had taken on the sin of the whole world. He had endured pain beyond belief, as a man. He, the second part of the Trinity, had sacrificed Himself for His enemies – those of us who were unsaved and rejected Him – so that we would have a path to redemption (Isa 53)…so we would not have to pay for our own sins with death (Rom 6:23). He loved us when we hated Him. The very people He’d walked among planned His demise and manipulated a world system to kill an innocent man and He allowed it to happen so that He could save us (John 19:11). 

Then on the third morning after His death, He rose from the dead with all power (Matt 28:18). He took the power from death and the grave (Rev 1:18) and provided us a way to be adopted by God into His family. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – the only way to the Father. He gave the free gift of salvation to all of us, but many don’t want to accept the salvation or a life surrendered to His will and way. We can’t be the Lord over our lives and expect Him to take second seat, not after He paid the price for us (Col 1:14). 

It’s pretty arrogant to think we can have our cake and eat it, too. In many cases, we are exactly like the Israelites coming out of the land of Egypt. We want what we want and we want God to line up with us as if he is a Fairy Godfather. We were bought with a price, so we belong to Him, not the other way around (1 Cor 6:20). In our desire to be in control, we sometimes forget that we’re not in control of much. The only thing we can learn to control is our reaction to situations (and that only turns out well with the help of the Holy Spirit). 

We are blessed beyond measure by a Father who continues to provide us chance after chance to be transformed into His image (Rom 12:2). Yes, it is a process made available to us through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Why wouldn’t we worship a living, caring, gracious God, who loves us in ways we can’t even comprehend? I challenge you to keep the real celebration alive in your heart and your life. It can only point you and others to Jesus.

Are you a Generous Giver?

Today, my pastor taught on excelling in the grace of giving. I’ve written about giving many times before, but Pastor provided me some new perspective based on some scriptures, I’d never really considered before. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul issues a call to generous giving. What does being generous mean?  Being generous means showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. 

Generosity is a choice to think of someone or something other than yourself – releasing something you have for the betterment of someone else or something bigger than yourself. We are called to be generous givers because God does not give to us only for ourselves. He gives to us to get things through us. Also, for everything we give, God gives back to us as long as we are cheerful givers. 

We cannot give more than He can. However, if our hands are closed around what we have He can’t get things to us. If we give freely, more will come to us (Prov 11:24). According to Proverbs, the generous will prosper (Prov 11:25). If you help others, you will get help. 

So, what happens if I don’t have to give? Like I mentioned earlier, generous giving is a choice. We find the money or time to do what we want to do for ourselves. So, generous giving may require some discipline. How many of us waste? I know that I do. I mean, I give, but I waste. So if I were more disciplined, I could give more….money and time. It’s a matter to making the decision to be generous. If we focus on that, opportunities will afford themselves. 

Like so many things, generous giving requires practice. The more you do it, the easier it gets. No matter what we have been blessed with, we are called to share it with others. Then, when we’re in need, others will share with us. The more cheerfully generous you are, God will generously provide all you need (2 Corin 9:8). If you want God to richly bless you, start blessing others and point them to Christ. But remember, we don’t give to get. We give because God called us to and because He is so good to us. Knowing that God has called us to give, what are you going to do? 

Are You Striving for Peace or Conflict?

The world is in chaos and there is conflict everywhere we look. If you watch the news, you see wars and rumors of wars. You see people attacking each other over what could be considered trivial matters. There are biases due to race and gender and so many other things that lead to conflict. What are we to do about all that? It feels unsurmountable; or at least a significant challenge. 

I took a first step. Today was my first time back in the classroom with middle school ministry and we talked about how we as God’s children are called by Him to bring Shalom or peace or wholeness to the world around us (Heb 12:14). Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He brought peace or shalom or wholeness to our relationship with God when He died on the cross, was buried and rose again. He restored the relationship. He is our peace and has given us the Holy Spirit (John 20:11-22) who continually leads and guides us in how we should live. 

As I taught my students this morning, it’s up to us to use the gifts God has given us to share Him with the world. He is the answer to all the issues I referenced earlier. My students talked about how the world needs Jesus and peace and love. My comment to this was if the world has Jesus, the world has peace and love. He is both of those things. I challenged them to think about the ways we can bring wholeness to situations – how can we bring people together? I challenge you to do the same. 

Is there a relationship that needs mending? Is there someone who lashes out who is in need of a kind word? Is there chaos that needs organization? Is their conflict that needs your intervening touch? If so, work to bring peace or wholeness to the situation (2 Cor 13:11).  Be an agent of peace. 

Do It Today!

I don’t know about you, but over the past two years it has felt like there was a rapid rate of death. Yes, I know we’ve been in a pandemic for the past two years and it has definitely resulted in a large number of deaths. But I don’t mean those. It feels as if there has been an increase in cancer diagnoses. People have died from other illnesses and rather young, too. I don’t know if it’s true or it’s just my perception of it since I’ve been home more than would usually be normal. 

Either way, it has made me think about how I live my life and the need to be present in every moment. I’m sure I’ve said this before, but it bears saying again – none of us know how long we have on earth (Prov 27:1). While we are chasing whatever dream or working long hours, time is passing us by. There is only so much time to spend with children or parents or siblings or friends or so many others who are important parts of our lives. I’m not suggesting that any one should renege on their responsibilities. I’m only recommending that we determine what’s really important. Then spend some time doing that. Don’t put it off (Prov 6:4). 

Of course, our relationship with the Lord should be the most important relationship we nourish (Matt 6:33). When everyone and everything else is gone, He will still never forsake or leave us. But, then, we need to remember the other relationships that are most important to us – and spend time feeding them (Prov 27:23-24). We need to spend time with those closest to us to strengthen those relationships. We need to remember why careers and such are so important – not just to buy stuff or to make a name for ourselves but to take care of those closest to us and to bless others. Nothing we have is for us and us alone – we are here to be a blessing to someone else (Phil 2:4). That includes our time. Sometimes time is much more important that money. 

The blessing we share might look like a phone call or a note in the mail or a text just to let someone know you’re thinking of them. Maybe it’s sending a small gift. That can be the encouragement someone needs to get up. You never know what someone is going through. A small kindness could make all the difference for them. If someone crosses your mind, don’t take it lightly and don’t put it off. Call or text them. Pray for and with them. You never know how that may impact their lives and possibly the lives of others as they imitate our behavior. We have the opportunity to impact the world. What are we going to do with it?

Sister or Brother Friends

Yesterday, I spent several hours at an event designed for women to fellowship and consider the different seasons of life. It was amazing to be in the presence of a group of women (in person) and to share and talk and laugh and eat with them. It’s been such a long time since we were together and I didn’t realize how much I needed it until I was in the room with them. 

What a blessing it was. Yes, it was different than it was before COVID. We were screened and masked and spread out, but what a time we had together. 

As I’ve contemplated it, I realize how much we need friends in our lives.  I mean real friends, not just acquaintances.  I have some wonderful women in my life who share life with me, and I have on a very limited basis spent time with them over the past two years. But, oh, how we need people in our lives who can just be supportive when we need to vent or talk through a situation or just sit with us when we don’t feel like engaging in anything else (Prov 17:17). 

Sometimes, we just need those who we can be vulnerable with and not have to put on faces or masks. We need ones we can trust not to take what we share and attack us with it later (Prov 20:6). God places people in our lives who can fill these roles, but it’s up to us to take full advantage of the opportunities God affords us. We also need to make sure these friends know how much we appreciate them. 

If you have a sister or a brother friend who is always someone you can lean on and just be yourself with, don’t forget to give them love and let them know how much they mean to you (1 Pet 4:8). If the last two years has shown us nothing, it’s that we don’t know how long we have with people. At every opportunity, we need to show love and kindness, because we may not get another chance. Love on someone close to you today. We all need it.