“How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.” (Hebrews 11:32 NLT)
I’m letting you know. I’m going to get personal.
Last week was a tough week for me personally. I saw my job of eight years given to somebody else. I saw my office closed. I saw my friends and co-workers laid off. It was tough. I saw the reality that if I want to continue working, I must transfer to an office in another city.
But the focus is not me. Personally, I would like to focus more on God’s work. I sometimes wonder just how bi-vocational Pastors do it. There is so much work, but not that much time. Frankly, I would rather be a Pastor full time teaching Deaf and hearing how to share Jesus Christ. I would rather do that than anything else, but it’s up to God to prepare me for that.
My goal is to obey God’s call, and let Him work out the details to lead me to what He wants me to do. My responsibility is to be obedient. It is the same for all of us.
God led me in my personal devotion time to the verse in Hebrews and what I realized is that even the writers of Scripture ran out of time. The author of Hebrews 11, who is assumed to be Paul, wanted to list the Old Testament heroes of faith, but by the time he covered the ones in Genesis, he was almost out of space. He snuck in a handful of examples of Godly faith from the early books of the Bible, and then regretted that it would take too long to tell ALL the stories he wanted to tell. Do you have a story to tell?
In heaven, we'll have no limitations; but here on earth we have only so many years, days, hours, and seconds. The Bible tells us to "number our days" and to "redeem the time" because, frankly, life here is short.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. “ (Psalm 90:12 KJV)
“Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” (Ephesians 5:16 NLT)
We can't do everything, so let's ask God to show us day by day the work He has assigned us. A good prayer upon awakening each morning is: "It’s your plan today, Lord!" A good bedtime blessing is: "I have finished the work you gave me to do today."
With my new schedule at work, I regret to say that I will need to cut back the devotions from two times a week to once a week. I am planning to publish the devotions on Mondays, one of my days off. I feel like maybe I am letting down some people or even letting God down in some way.
But I’m not. Satan wants me to think I have let you down or let God down. But I don’t have time to listen to Satan’s lies. I am going to continue teaching and preaching from God’s Word the grace, mercy, and love that God has for all. I will continue reaching people with the Gospel by this devotion. There is so much God has blessed me with and I want to teach and I want to use this devotion to teach as well as teaching at preaching at church. But it’s not about what I want. It’s about what God wants
In the end God is still God, Jesus Christ is still Lord, Savior, and the King of Kings. Keep it that way. Use the time God allows us to glorify Him, expand His Kingdom, spread His Gospel, and tell people about Jesus.
Remember, if you have Jesus, you have the prize. There is a place in heaven for you. Now the goal becomes to bring as many people with us as possible. Use the time to tell friends, family, and those God sends our way about eternal life with Jesus Christ. Get personal with people. Don’t let anyone live another day without Jesus Christ.
How much more do I need to say?
Hello Again!!
7 years ago
