As we see the days becoming increasingly evil, we need to redeem the time. Paul is the perfect example of a person who never wasted his time. Even while in jail, he was found praying, witnessing to the guards, and writing letters to the church. He did not waste time binge-watching shows or checking up on Peter and the boys on Facebook. Paul knew what it meant to use every opportunity for God’s kingdom and His glory; that’s what it means to redeem the time.
You can begin redeeming the time today, by spending time in His word, by praying for people who need to accept Jesus as their Savior, by using your social media as an avenue to share the gospel. If you are like me, this is convicting for you. Rather than getting discouraged by what you have not been doing, be encouraged by all that you can do. Start redeeming the time today!
For the King,
Pastor Daniel Batistelli
Maybe you’ve heard it said, “Don’t get mad, get even!” I can’t say I hadn’t done that before or hadn’t had that mind set. When I think about the times when I got even with people, it either created this chain of people getting even or it was gratifying for one second then left me feeling unsettled.
There will always be this constant battle of our flesh, but that is one of the reasons we have the Word of God. It helps us in the fight against the flesh, a fight that isn’t beneficial for anyone. It gives us direction that leads people to Christ. Next time you are wronged, pursue what will bless someone else and see how the mercy and grace we show will lead many to Jesus.
Resting in Him,
Pastor Sean Boehm
This word “commit” literally means, “to roll toward.” That sets up a great image as Solomon instructs us to roll our works, our plans, and our intentions to the Lord. I get this picture of someone pushing a heavy, bulky cylinder of some kind toward its destination and the more you roll, the bigger it gets.
What I love about this Proverb is the precious promise that if we are willing to bring everything before the Lord BEFORE we do it and wait for His approval, we won’t have to second guess moving forward. We can have the assurance that God will see us through and establish our work.
On a roll toward Him,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
For the first 10 chapters of 1 Chronicles, there are multiple lists of names. It starts here in verse 1 with no explanation, just Adam’s name. Then the lists go on and on. Why would the Holy Spirit put in all of these chapters full of names, chapters we most likely skip over as we read through the Bible.
One thing it shows us is that no one escapes the eye of the Lord. Many of the names listed have no explanation for them and no great feat done in their lives, yet God still notes them. God knows all of our names and everything about us.
Also, since the names start with Adam and will ultimately go through David, it’s a reminder to us the coming Messiah, Jesus, is a man, who came from the first man. A similar list can be found in Luke 3, while a genealogy starting with Abraham is listed in Matthew 1. Jesus is not only a Jewish Messiah, but meant to be the Chosen One for all mankind.
If you’re feeling left out, remember God knows your name and also sent His Son to die for you.
Child of God,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
A few weeks ago, I shared my favorite illustration defining grace with our congregation and I would like to share it with you. Imagine having your car stolen. You report it to the police who tell you about of the low percentages of cars recovered or found intact. To your surprise, a few hours later you receive a call informing you that your car has been found and the thief caught. Arriving to claim your car, the police ask if you would like to press charges. Yes, you respond, he needs to be punished. We would call that justice. If you decided not to press charges believing this may be a valuable lesson, we would call that forgiveness. However if you said to the thief, why don’t you keep the car, I have another one. Also here is my credit card, use it to fill the car with gas and before you go, let’s call my auto insurance agent and place you on my insurance. That would be grace.
Living in and seeking to extend to others His grace,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
In the days of Elijah, God sent a terrible famine that lasted three-and-a-half years. Here, in the days of Elisha, another famine will come – but it will last seven years. That’s the way the Lord works. He slowly but surely increases the pressure in our lives until we bow our knee and say, “Lord, Your will be done.”
When Elisha told this woman whose son he restored to life that famine was coming, he didn’t say, “Here’s a miracle to see you through.” He said, “You better do something practical. Go somewhere the famine is not going to hit.” Sometimes the Lord does something miraculous. Other times, He works very naturally.
The Lord truly loves you and wants to spend time with you. The only difference between a strong believer and a weak one is responsiveness. The times you’ve been wakened in the night or felt a stirring in your heart while you watched TV may have been the Lord calling you to spend a few moments with Him. People who develop and mature in Him are simply those who have said, “I’ll turn off the TV or roll out of bed in response to His call.” And those who heed His call are never disappointed.
Pastor Del Casale
Exodus 8 describes the first of 10 plagues that God inflicted on Egypt in order to induce Pharaoh into letting the Israelites go into the wilderness so that they could hold a feast to God (Exodus 5:1). This particular plague caused all water in streams, rivers, ponds, pools, vessels of wood, and vessels of stone to turn to blood.
The interesting thing about today’s passage is that God, in His grace, provided a way for the Egyptians to obtain water. God, even in exacting His judgment, revealed His grace to the Egyptians. He would have relented after the first plague had Pharaoh acquiesced, but God, knowing the end from the beginning, knew that Pharaoh was not going to comply.
God’s grace is such that He wants all to come to a saving knowledge of Him. He wants all to come to repentance rather than perish (2 Peter 3:9). Praise God for the grace that He has demonstrated in our lives, especially for the ultimate grace of salvation through Jesus (Ephesians 2:7-8).
Jeff Mericle
In the Bible, many similes are used to describe the relationship between God and His people, such as a shepherd and his sheep, a husband and his bride, and vine and branches. No one simile entirely grasps the whole, but the relationship of a Father to an adopted son comes close. Jesus invites us to pray, “Our Father in heaven…”
In the above verse, Paul declares that our adoption flows out of being chosen before the foundation of the world as a valuable benefit for which we are predestined. Though Paul’s language is simple, the concept is almost beyond understanding, yet so precious. Even though each of us has an earthly father and mother from which we were born, spiritually each of us is an orphan desperately in need of redemption. God looks upon our need, chooses us, and predestines us for adoption as a glorious act of grace.
With such a glorious destiny, should not our hearts overflow with thanksgiving and praise? Should we not live in such a way as to display the infinite value of our Savior? What are our small troubles today compared to the exceedingly great treasure of knowing Him as our Father?
Tom Day
Jesus very plainly told His disciples that they would face great persecution for following Him. They would face such persecution because they were to go out into the mission field and preach the Kingdom of God to folks that aren’t always receptive and sometimes even hostile. But mind you, Jesus is telling His followers not to avoid danger at all cost, He’s telling them to use caution and wisdom as you go into dangerous settings.
As life gets more and more unfriendly towards Christianity in the states, we are still called to preach the Gospel. We are to go into “hostile” territory and be lights in both word and deed. Should we exercise caution? Yes. Should we always be solely concerned for our safety? No. If that were true, we would never leave the house. Jesus gave us a job to do and it wasn’t to be safe and comfortable. We are sheep amongst wolves, but amongst some of those wolves are people that need to know truth. That is our job here on this earth, to live and preach truth even if it costs us.
Pastor Jason Witt
There is a reason why you would want to put on the whole armor of God. We are fighting a spiritual enemy and it’s not our wives, our neighbors, or our bosses. Our enemy is Satan. So we need God’s armor to protect us against him and his attacks.
Far too many times, we think we can take on Satan but we’d be foolish to do so. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). It is only by standing behind Jesus and submitting to God that we can overcome the Devil (James 4:7). If we know who the enemy is, we would know how we can overcome him. When we know how big our God is, we will see how small our enemy is.
Joshua Navarro
