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“A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult”  Proverbs 12:16 (NIV)

As we walk with God, our character will develop. An acid test to see how we are doing would be to examine how we “react” in adverse situations. How do we “react” when someone falsely accuses, lies about, hurts, or insults us? Are we annoyed immediately, or do we keep our composure?

When hard times come, we have been trained to “react” in a harsh way. It’s socially acceptable, and in some cultures, it is expected.

Just knowing how to “act” is respectable, but knowing how to “react” is a reflection of a God that is real. So when an insult comes your way, treat it as a chance to show those around you that your God is alive and working.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, it is impossible for me to “react” right on my own. Please help me to step back from an insult and understand that person may be hurting, needy, or weak. Then I need You to empower me to control my emotions and “react” well. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; for they quickly pass, and we fly away”  Psalm 90:10 (NIV)

This passage is contained in what is considered “a prayer of Moses”.

It seems to me that life goes by faster and faster as I get older. I remember, as a young child, summer was a long three months of swimming, baseball, vacation, and a lot of just hanging out with my buddies. The days were even long and slow. But now, I feel like I need to plan out everything my family does in the summer, because it slips by so quickly.

Last summer I was going to read three books, build a deck, and revamp one of the rooms in our house. Before I knew it August was here and my reading goal turned into completing a couple crossword puzzles. I skimmed through a magazine of decks. And the room renovation turned into cleaning out a couple drawers.

One thing that I do hang on to as I experience this runaway train of life, I can slow things down if I daily sit to pray and think. It helps let off the acceleration pedal of busyness. It allows God to invade my heart with perspective and hope. Stopping to talk to Him helps me to get outside of my self-consumed world, and think of others. It gives God a chance to teach me to have good relationships and to be a good “forgiver”. Most importantly, it allows Him to create in me a person that I will be glad that I have become right before I fly away!

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to get the most out of my days here. Remind me to stop and talk with You daily. Thank You that You can slow life down for me so I can think and make good decisions. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”  Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

There’s a difference between the attitude of  “I guess I should read my bible today and spend some time in prayer”. Verses, “I actually get the privilege of reading God’s words to me, and spending time impacting my life by talking to Him”. “I have to know God better today!”

A classic event that was recorded in the Old Testament, Genesis 32:24-32, helps us understand this ‘hunger’. Jacob wrestled with an angel of God for hours. The angel injured him terribly and told Jacob to let go and give up. Jacob’s response is awesome, and sheds great light on the today’s verse; “I will not let go until you bless me”. Though Jacob limped the rest of his life because of the injury, God did greatly bless him.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, it’s not in me to create this ‘hunger’, I’m asking You to give me that desire. Even when I don’t feel like it, please make me hunger, because I want Your blessing and I want to be ‘filled’ by You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

We all have times when our plans don’t work out. We get delayed, interrupted, and inconvenienced. It’s easy to get frustrated and fight against everything that doesn’t go our way. But I’ve learned that every interruption is not bad. Every closed door doesn’t mean we’re doing something wrong. Every delay doesn’t mean we’re not where we’re supposed to be. There is something called a “divine interruption” where God, on purpose, will delay us to protect us from an accident. On purpose, He will close a door because it’s not His best. Sometimes, God will allow us to be inconvenienced so we can help someone else in need. We have to be willing to press through difficulty so we can be at the right place at the right time. The next time we’re interrupted, delayed, or inconvenienced, don’t start thinking, “this is a pain. This is getting me off schedule.” Get a new perspective. Look for what God wants to do because it could be a divine interruption or divine protection. Trust Him today because He is directing your steps.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me. I surrender every area of my mind, will, and emotions to You. Use me for Your glory today and teach me to discern Your ways. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Solomon paneled the main hall with pine and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs. He adorned the temple with precious stones…” 2 Chronicles 3:5-6 (NIV)

I always thought in was interesting how God wanted specific decorating for the temple that Solomon built for Him. It must have been beautiful.

But does this contradict His New Testament teachings about striving after money and external beauty?  Some may say that it is a reflection of the inner beauty that He can create in those who receive Christ.

I’m not exactly sure how this temple-decorating thing works, but I do know that appearance does effect perception. I’ve walked into big, well built houses in expensive neighborhoods, and it was disorganized with stuff laying around everywhere. I’ve been around guys who have dirty clothes on, smell a little, just disheveled. I know in my heart that the sloppy house and unkempt attire really doesn’t effect how God sees us, but it does effect how those we are trying to encourage and help look at us. I know I secretly don’t like or respect my next door neighbor, and think less of them because the outside of their house and yard is so bad.

When I got out of college, on my own for the first time, I was a growing Christian who wanted be a good influence on others. I had an older, wiser man pull me aside to talk about how my apartment and dress effected how I was perceived. I was overzealously anti-materialistic, and needed to find a balance. I don’t have to have expensive stuff like fine gold lining my apartment hallways, but being clean and organized made me feel better, and helped others not be tempted to discard me and what I stood for.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I don’t want to seek riches over seeking You, but help me to take care of the possessions You have given me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“The high mountain crags are a refuge for the hyrax”  Psalm 104:18

The hyrax is a helpless little badger-like animal that lives off of plants in the Middle East. They are known to appear as if they are chewing their cud like a cow. I personally think they are nervously fidgeting their faces while attempting to survive in the wilderness. One of my sons was like that. I recall his first year of organized baseball. He was alway a fidgety little guy. So put him in right field and watch him chew on his sleeves and ball glove. I literally had to replace leather and restring that glove after games.

The verse today refers to the crags, or rocks, that the hyrax can take refuge in. Larger animals and people hate climbing through those jagged areas. So there is safety for the little hyrax in those rocks. They are wise enough to know that this type of terrain has been provided for them to take advantage of.

In Proverbs 30 it says,“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise… hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags”. Are we wise enough to know where our true refuge is? Are we attempting to find relief in the wrong places of pleasure? Is our place of protection really a false security in another person, group, or activity?

Like the hyrax, we have a refuge from pressures, busyness, and enemies. God wants us to be wise and take refuge and find our security in Him.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, worries, pressures, busyness, and stress surround me. Show me how to get my security in You. Prod me when I get too busy to pray and sit by Your side to hash out all that I am going through. Thank You that You long to take care of me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Obey your earthly masters with respect. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does”  Ephesians 6:5-8

I feel like today’s verse can relate to how we deal with our bosses, coaches, parents, teachers, or anyone we work under. Many times we won’t put our heart into our tasks and labor because we don’t like the person over us. “He doesn’t deserve my best efforts”, is our rationale.

The truth is that we really aren’t playing or working for them, we are doing it for God. He does deserve our best. I know basketball players who don’t want to win because of how poorly they are treated. There are others who find ways to slack off on their responsibilities because they don’t want their boss to look good.

Whatever the case, our real boss isn’t that person. Our ultimate boss is the Lord Himself. This focus can change our whole perspective. We actually can enjoy work in spite of the earthly boss or coach. A peace can fill our insides as we continue to forgive that person for being unfair, a jerk, a power-hungry, or just because we don’t like being told what to do.

The clincher to this passage from the bible is that it promises that the Lord will reward us for our efforts. It is a battle worth entering.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to forgive anyone over me. I want to work for You. Thank You that my efforts will be noticed and rewarded. Remind me to confess and start over when I fail in this struggle. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities… so great is His love… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”  Psalm 103:10-12 (NIV)

God isn’t out to get us, or waiting around the punish us. Some choose to parent or coach with that type of philosophy. But our Lord chooses to give us room to fail and start over. Sure, we can be corrected by Him, or experience the pain and scars of poor choices. Yet He wants us to learn from our mistakes and realize that He won’t hold them against us.

When we confess our wrongful actions and words, He puts them ‘as far as the east is from the west’ (back then I think they still thought the earth was flat). In other words, completely out of sight and mind. Gone!

There are harsh, self-imposed consequences to continual and habitual sinning. But He wants us to break that cycle and begin to confess and ask for His help. Then He won’t ‘treat us as our sins deserve’. He doesn’t expect us to be sinless, but to sin less. Going in the right direction, and not beating ourselves up in guilt.

We confess, He tells us, “okay, that’s gone. Don’t feel guilty, just keep working on it”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for not treating me as my sins deserve. Give me the strength to keep growing. I can’t do this, but You can. I know this battle is so worth it. Thank You for the fulfillment that will follow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”  Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

Having faith doesn’t mean we merely follow a belief system or biblical philosophy of life. Instead, true faith is the belief that God really exists. He is right here. He is “really real”.

Many times we say prayers out of habit, or just going through the motions. True faith means being convinced that God is right here and listening. I once asked a young man what he would do if Jesus walked into the room right now, sat down beside him, and said, “so, what can I do for you today?” How would you talk to Him, what would you talk about?

Those are intriguing questions, but if we think about it, that is the way it is with God. He is looking at us, listening, longing to communicate. When we see it this way, it makes it much easier to “earnestly seek Him”. 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I know You are right here listening to me. Thank You that You will “reward” me for “seeking” You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God”  Genesis 6:9 (NIV)

When Noah was living his pre-ark, normal daily life, he “walked with God”. He did that even when pretty much everyone else wasn’t. As a matter of fact, they weren’t even close, which is why God wanted to do the “Great Start Over” and wipe them all out.

All the people were living for pleasure, lust, greed, hate, sexual perversion, selfish ambition… Yet Noah walked with God. He had no accountability partner, bible study group, Christian counselor, Sunday school class, Pastor of Arking, or any other support in his quest to walk with God.

I guess the everyone-else-is-doing-it excuse gets all shot to heck with the life of Noah.

“Walking with” anyone infers a relationship, a comfort of being together, an intimate communication while moving through the daily routine.

Walking with God is a chance to hang out with the Creator of the universe that just so happens to long to weave into our lives.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, teach me to walk with You as I go through the pressures of life. Give me an intimate communication with You. Guide me, comfort me, strengthen me, especially when it seems, like Noah, that I am all alone in my journey. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.