Who Is Following Who?

I read a devotional tonight that was well worth mentioning.  This is courtesy of Devotionals Daily and is written by Mark Batterson.  In his devotional, he states the following:

"Most people in most churches think they are following Jesus, but I'm not so sure.  They may think they are following Jesus, but the reality is this:  they have invited Jesus to follow them.  They call Him Savior, but they've never surrendered to Him as Lord.  And I was one of them.  Trust me, I didn't want to go anywhere without Jesus right there behind me.  But I wanted Jesus to follow me, to serve my purposes, to do my will."

Now, that was food for thought.  Am I following Jesus or trying to get Jesus to follow me?  Did I want to walk beside Jesus or in front of him?  

I was reminded of what Jesus said in John 15:5 (NLT),  "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing." 

Am I following Jesus or expecting Him to follow me?  Am I giving Him complete control and accepting His plan for my life or am I stubbornly expecting Him to arrange my life to turn out like I want it to?  I Samuel 15:23 (NLT), tell us: "Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols."  

How do I know for sure who is following who?  The first step would be to look at how I spend my time.  Do I spend time with Jesus, or just a minute here and there in prayer - asking for what I want?  Do I go ahead and do whatever I want to and then quickly ask Him to forgive me?  Do I pray over decisions that I need to make or do I just make them and expect Him to have them turn out the way I wanted them to?  Do I worry at all about what His plan for me is - what His will for me is - what His plan for my life is?

How do I know for sure if I am following Jesus?  I john 2:3 (NLT) says:  "And we can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments."  So, if I am truly following Jesus instead of expecting Him to follow me, I will be following His commandments.  I will have a time set aside to spend with Him.  I will ask for His guidance in my decisions.  And, I will praise Him and thank Him for all that is in my life - good and bad.  And, I will humbly ask Him to lead me down the path He has planned for me. 

Who are you following?  How do you make sure you are following Jesus? 

Priorities

I thought about changing the name of the blog from Today's Reading to Today's Thoughts - but I will leave it as it is.  Just be aware that some posts deal with devotional thoughts rather than actual readings.

For today, I read an interesting and eye-opening devotionals this morning.  You know the kind - one of those that just steps all over your toes!  It deals with Priorities.  Now, we all have priorities - I prioritize each day on an individual basis each morning.  I typically seem to have more to do than I have time to do, so I have to prioritize.  For example, Monday morning, when I began work, the system notification said there were 149 assignments to be graded. Also, in looking at the calendar for the day, I saw that I had to hold a virtual class that night from 7 until 8 PM.  Then I had to assist with a virtual class from 8:30 until 10:30 PM.  My thoughts - how in the world am I going to get all this done today?  So, I start prioritizing!

What's wrong with this picture?  We all know that in order to efficiently manage our time, we have to prioritize.  We all do it every day - with work, family, etc.  

I opened this devotional this morning and the opening verse was, indeed, eye opening:  "Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “[a]Consider your ways!"  Haggai 1:5  (NASB)

The devotional goes on to talk about "Priority Living."  Yes, I live by priorities -  but what are my priorities?  Are they based on what I consider important or are they based on what God considers important?  Is God my top priority on a daily basis?  The answer was depressing.

Some time back, I began attempting to spend an hour each morning in Bible reading and prayer.  Also, at least one hour each night.  But what happens when I get up and find I have more to do than I can get done that day?  I start trying to find "things" that I can cut from me schedule of course.  And, unfortunately, that is way too often to "borrow" time from my morning and evening Bible reading and prayer time.  

The devotional makes the following statement:  "Without intentionally living out God’s priorities, we default to reactionary living. Whatever comes our way then becomes our default for living."  I find that too many days, this becomes "my life" and "my priorities."  

This verse is included in the devotional, "Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33 (NLT)  So, this was the "step on my toes" part for sure.  

I need to make God my first priority and he will provide all that is needed for me to accomplish all the other things that I need to accomplish.  This will be my anchor in defining my priorities from now on.  

What are your priorities?

** The devotional discussed here was from Wisdom Hunters, 9-20-13

Amazing Grace

I wanted to share this video -this little guy is absolutely inspiring!

The Blame Game

How easily we tend to play the blame game.  If things aren't going right in our life - if we are experiencing a particularly troubling time or a time of what seems like unusual hardship - what do we do?  Where does our mind and our thinking go?  Most of us look for someone or something to blame, and most of the time, we are looking in all the wrong places.

Consider this:

It is time to pay the monthly bills and you find you don't have enough money in the bank to pay them all. 

Your thoughts:

My job doesn't pay enough - cheap company;
My house payment is too high - mortgage company's fault;
Utilities are too high - power/phone/water company's fault;
My car payment is too high - auto finance company's fault;
Gas is too high - Government/Oil company's fault;
Credit card bills too high - credit card company's fault - they charge too much interest;
The price of everything is just way too high - these companies are just out to make larger and larger profits - crushing folks like me - "the little guy."


Any of this sound familiar?

The truth:  Look in the mirror!

We know how much money we make - we agreed to accept that pay rate when we took the job;

My house payment is too high - did we buy a house we could afford or did we buy one to impress?

My utilities are too high - do we use our utilities wisely and conservatively or do we have lights on in every room of the house - even is there is nobody in the room?  Do we have three televisions playing - and nobody actually watching any of them?  do we have the heat turned up - but are wearing shorts and a t-shirt?

My car payment is too high - Did we buy a car we could afford or one we liked and just plain wanted?

Gas is too high - did we go to the grocery store yesterday, the post office the day before and Wal-Mart the day before that?

Is it just barely possible that the reason we don't have enough money to pay the bills is our own fault?  Is it possible the one we should blame is our self?

But, I am a child of God - why is he allowing me to go through this stress month after month?  Why won't He help me out of this difficult situation?

Question is - did He help you into this situation?  Did you seek his guidance when buying that house - when buying that car - when charging all that stuff on your credit card?  Did you pray about any of these purchases before making them?  Let's be honest here - the answer is almost certainly - NO.

In Psalm 119:67, David says, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray."

OK - you are not the only one to cause yourself hardship through your own bad choices!

God loves us and does not wish hardship for use, not does He cause any hardship for us.  But, He will allow us to go through hardships in order to teach us.  Notice in Psalm 119:71, David goes on to say, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn your statutes."

In our example here - financial hardships - we can learn to seek God's guidance in our stewardship of the financial blessings we receive.  This should apply to all areas of our life - we should be continually seeking God's guidance.

Who are your blaming today?

Testimony - Simple Statement

Yesterday, I spoke about the story of the blind man that is found in John 9.  In verses 12 - 25, we hear how, not only the man himself, but even his parents were questioned about how he gained eyesight.  We see two very different stances here:

First, the man simply stated what had happened to him - how he had gained eyesight and was no longer blind.  Even though questioned more than once, his story remained simple and remained the same.  He did not shy away from answering the questions.  He did not shy away from simply stating what had happened to him and who had done this.

On the other hand, we see some very common behavior these days.  The man's own parents would not answer the questions.  They conceded that he was their son;  they conceded that he had been born blind;  and there was no question that he could now see.  But that is as far as they would go - they would not discuss how this had happened.  When questioned they simply stated - "Ask him - he is old enough to speak for himself." 

Their behavior here was a simple matter of fear.  The fear of the Pharisees and the fear of being exiled from the synagogue.  They didn't "deny" what their son was saying, but they would not "confirm" what he was saying either.  They were neutral.   Far too many people are "neutral" because they are afraid of what somebody else will think or say about them.  This is being "lukewarm". 

This is what the Bible tells us about being "lukewarm":  (in various translations)

King James:
¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
 ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

New American Standard:
¹⁵ ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will ^[a]spit you out of My mouth.

NIV:
¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

NLT:
¹⁵ “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! ¹⁶ But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

I have shown this in various translations to illustrate that the message does not waiver - it is the same regardless of the translation.  We are NOT to be lukewarm.

What do you say when someone asks you about Jesus?  Do you ever take the opportunity to testify to your belief in God?  It is not hard to testify about what God means to you. 

Simply fill in the following statement:  "I was ________ and now I am __________, because of Jesus."  How would you fill in the blanks??  We would love to hear your statement.

Testimony??

In John 9, we read of the story of Jesus encountering a man who had been blind from birth.  He spat on the ground, made a mud and covered the blind man's eyes.  He then instructed the man to go wash himself in the pool of Siloam.  The man did as he was instructed and, once washed, he could see.  his eyes were opened.

Wow!  What a testimony this man had to tell.  In verse 11, we see that he did, indeed, start telling people how his sight had been restored.  Not only was his physical sight restored, but his spiritual sight had also been restored through this miracle.

Now, we don't have this kind of testimony to give - obviously.  But, many of us have had "awakening" experiences.  To give your testimony, you don't have to have an elaborate story - just relate to others how your spiritual sight has been restored. 

Perhaps many people do not "testify" for Jesus because they feel they don't have an awesome story to tell.  Maybe they think that the way God opened their spiritual eyes is not spectacular enough that anyone will listen.  Again, it does not have to be a spectacular story. 

Our lives can be the most powerful testimony we could ever give.  If we strive to live within God's will and make him foremost in our lives, others will see the change in us - they will be able to see Jesus in our lives.  This, in itself, is a very powerful testimony.

Be sure that you are walking the path God has planned for you to walk.  Be kind and considerate to others - treat others the way Jesus would have treated them.  If you get a chance, tell others how God has moved in your life.

Remember - you may be the only "Jesus" someone sees. 

My Prayers Are Not Answered

Do you ever feel that your prayers are not answered?  Most of us do at one time or another in our lives.  We have a decision to make – we have a need – we have a want – we are concerned for a loved one – all these things are common occurrences.  With our economy in the state it is today, many prayers are simply for basic needs.

But, sometimes we feel that our prayers are not answered.  We wonder why – we are told in Matthew 7: 7-11 that our prayers will be answered.  So – where is our answer?

Matthew 7: 7-11 tell us: (KJV)

⁷ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

⁸ For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

⁹ Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

¹⁰ Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

¹¹ If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Matthew 7: 7-11 (NASB)

⁷ “^[a]Ask, and it will be given to you; ^[b]seek, and you will find; ^[c]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you ^[d]who, when his son asks for a loaf, ^[e]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[f]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

We read this and wonder why our prayers are not being answered. I cannot tell you how many times I have faced this same frustration.  This led me to look further than Matthew for answers.  In Micah 3:4 we are told that our prayers will not be answered if we are still purposely sinning.

“Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them;  He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.” (NKJV)

In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells us to pray with humility in His parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the Temple.

And, perhaps my favorite, in James 1:6 we are told to ask in faith.

So, yes we are told to ask and we shall receive.  But, as you can see, there are some conditions attached to this.  Are your prayers not answered because you are continuing to live a sinful life, only praying to God when you have a need?  Are you praying with humility?  Or do you have an attitude of self-importance?  Are you asking in faith?  Or, are you saying to yourself, “this isn’t going to happen, but” and then praying?

Also, the Bible does not tell us that our prayers will not necessarily be answered in the way we want them answered.  We see the world and our lives through a “daily” view, but God sees the “big picture” and wants the best for us.  Therefore, we may need something a bit different than what we prayed for.   It may be that our prayer is actually answered, just in a different way than what we expected.

This is a face paced world.  We cook with convection ovens and microwaves.  We upgrade our computers constantly so that they will be faster.  We buy new cell phones to get the latest speeds.  We are an impatient people.  So, when we pray for something, we want an answer right away.  When we don’t get it, we are frustrated.  It may not be that our prayer will not be answered.  We have to remember that God does thing in His own time and His time is NOT our time.

So, next time you pray, be sure to include praise for God, be sure you are not purposely continuing to engage in sinful activities, be sure you have a humble attitude and be sure you actually believe God can grant your request.  Watch for your answer – don’t try to put a time limit on it – saying I want an answer in two days.  Sit back and rest in the knowledge that God will meet our needs and that he hears our prayers and wait patiently for your answer.  If you don’t receive the answer you expected, rest assured that you received the answer that was in your best interests.