Christian Living

I was amused when I read a prediction offered in 1962 that reported by 1985, technology would have made so many advances, that the average workweek would be twenty-two hours, and we would only work twenty-seven weeks a year.

I hope you’ve made time over the past week or so to prayerfully evaluate needed areas of growth in your life and set some goals for this New Year. Setting goals, however, is the easy part; living them out in day-sized pieces over the coming year is the challenge.

We find written in the Word of God the words, “He brought them out that He may bring them in.” This statement refers to the children of Israel. They were delivered from Egyptian bondage. The purpose for their deliverance was not that they might wander in the desert, but that they may enter into the promised land.

There’s nothing like a new year to renew our passion for growth and excellence. I think, however, that in our haste to set new goals sometimes we miss careful evaluation of where we’re really at currently in some of the key areas of life.

Have you ever been invited for a special event, only to find out that there was no space for you to sit at the table? I can remember many times being invited as a guest to a dinner event or speaking conference, but somehow the host did not have a spot for me to sit!

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (where?), down in my heart (where?), down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (where?) down in my heart to stay.” We listen to the children sing this cute song and smile, and often we enjoy the motions and tune out without considering what the words really mean to us.

The Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons can be a combination of great joy and, oddly, some melancholy. They mark the coming and going of not only the literal seasons of fall to winter, but they also mark the passing of seasons in our lives.

The Bible says, “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another,” (Galatians 5:15). Sometimes I hear people say, “I just let so-and-so have it.”

According to statistics from 2018, Americans owe 26 percent of their income to consumer debt with the average American spending 10 percent of his or her monthly income on non-mortgage debts. And although average income is increasing, American consumers are buying more and increasing their debt.

Thanksgiving Day, made a national holiday in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln celebrates the feast the Pilgrims held after their first successful corn harvest in 1621. What many Americans fail to remember is that Thanksgiving is not just about being thankful—it’s about being thankful to the one true God.

I love Thanksgiving for many reasons, but perhaps the greatest is that it helps us schedule a day to do what we should be doing every day of the year—give thanks.

You might call me stingy, but I prefer to think of myself as thrifty. Either way, I’m all about saving pennies where I can… which is exactly what I did some years ago when I salvaged several small pumpkins from being tossed.

It would seem that a ministry devoted to helping preachers would not need to talk to them about having a time of daily devotions and a regular schedule to read the Bible. Unfortunately, my sad experience through the years has taught me otherwise.

The results of an election can reveal the character and heart of a people. And this most recent election, at least in the state of California, didn’t reveal a heart for God or loyalty to Christian values.

Each year, our deacons insist that I go in for a thorough health examination. Usually the doctor will greet me with a statement like, “Deacons sent you again, huh?” He gets it.

Theologically, it is an amazing truth; but to us humans who are limited to occupy only one space at a time, we can find it a bit hard to appreciate. God occupies all places and all times simultaneously—all of heaven and earth, all of the time. Preachers often use that truth to remind themselves and their listeners that God is with us at all times and sees everywhere we go and everything we do.

I have read many books on the subject of leadership. Each book brings a perspective on leadership from someone who has expertly led others and organizations. Each book has one or more valuable take-aways that have helped me in understanding and executing my role as a leader. The book of Proverbs describes many traits of good leadership. One of these traits is diligence: the ability of alert focus.

Every Sunday afternoon, I take time to review the previous week and plan the week ahead. It is a discipline that has been a tremendous help to me over the years in being proactive with my responsibilities.

I remember well the first Bible word study I ever did. It was an easy word. I already knew what it meant…or at least I thought I did. On that day one word opened up one of the greatest principles in Scripture to me. The word is found in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Bible tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I believe this verse speaks of the amazing complexity and intricacy with which God created us. As a former student of anatomy and physiology, I have always seen the creation and creature as evidence of a Creator, and our wonderful Creator has bestowed upon us, not just life, but through our physical bodies, an amazing capacity and ability to enjoy life and the creation He has made.