Boulder City, NV Historic Train
“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:15-16
Hi Men:
I pray this week you have been “making the most of your time.” How do we do that? Possibly by dying to self and living “in” Christ.
I was going to include the artist’s impression of a possible “runaway black hole” that NASA has recently discovered, but will save that for a later date. My son John arrived at our home on Palm Sunday. He, his wife Paige and our grandson Ezra, spent the week with us, then John and Paige departed Easter morning for some R&R (also to celebrate their anniversary) and left us with Ezra. Of course Jane & I have been having a grand time with our grandson Ezra this week. Yet, I have to admit there are moments I have to step back and catch my breath…… after all, he is a “non-stop” 2-year old. It’s amazing how many hours kids of all ages (even adults 😊) will play on sandpiles (photo on left)
What am I leading up to? For the past several weeks I have been thinking a lot about the above verse. How do I make the most of my time? Christ will accept NO competition and based on our required devotion and exaltation of Him, Jesus clearly states in Luke 14:26 and John 12:25 the following:
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”
Yet the Bible states that if we don’t provide for our own family, we are worse than an infidel. As we have said from time to time, the Bible is a book of tension. I could be wrong, but I think God has it that way to keep us perpetually broken and dependent on Him. I might suggest if you haven’t listened to the message that Lee Yih gave at Zion, it could shed some light on how we go about “MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME”
Luke 16:1-15 “Parable of the Unjust Steward” or as Lee Yih titled it at Zion, “My Favorite Sleazebag in the Bible”
Next week I want to give you a few examples to ponder on how the world creeps in to sabotage our walk in Christ……. Until then, let’s not let the flame of Easter die down.
Exceedingly grateful for the Resurrection,
Dan
(Gal 2:20)
PS: Note…… great conversations with several people using Steps To Peace With God
“One of the best indicators that you are His obedient slave is when He asks you to do what appears to be nonsense, and you obey Him, resisting the temptation to modify His specific instructions.”
Men:
Based on the last sentence of this devotional (see above), would you say that “ you are his obedient slave?”
Commitment Leading to Disobedience – Day 103 Red Book
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he
The Resurrection And The Trinity
Men: A new article from our brother, Bill McCurine
What a great follow-up to Easter!
Concerning the Holy Spirit’s role in the resurrection, Paul wrote: “The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)
See attached PDF or click on this link: MIMworldWild.com
Pass it on to your buddies……….
99 Days of Losing
Men: This is really a good word from Paul Tripp. I especially liked his 2nd point:
Easter Sunday motivates us to live with activism: If Christ rose from death, reigns in power, and is returning, we should be the most motivated community on earth, “always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
Wednesday’s Word by Paul Tripp
I live in Philadelphia, and it’s been a tough year for fans of our professional sports. In the span of 99 days, three Philadelphia teams lost in the championship game: soccer, baseball, and football.
But it hasn’t always been so bad. In 2008, the Phillies won the World Series, and in 2018 the Eagles won the Super Bowl. I live on the edge of Center City, and the city went crazy the nights Philadelphia won.
The celebrations were unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. A seemingly endless number of people spilled onto Broad Street late at night to celebrate the team’s victory.
A few days after the celebration, I walked down the very same street. It was shockingly different. I wanted to relive crowds of strangers hugging, high-fiving, and shouting joyfully. But the city was empty, silent, and littered with trash.
Sometimes I wonder if the same is true of the church of Jesus Christ after Easter. We celebrate this Sunday with such passion, as we should, but it seems that just a few days later, we fall back into the same mundane pattern of everyday life.
It’s almost as if Easter hasn’t happened.
Last week, in preparation for Easter Sunday, I wrote about 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
I want to revisit this life-changing verse in the hopes that it might continue, or rekindle, a post-Easter celebration lifestyle.
There are three practical applications of Easter Sunday that should shape the rest of the 364 days of our Christian living:
- Easter Sunday comforts us to live with stability: The unpredictable and unpleasant realities of life in a fallen world are guaranteed, but we can “be steadfast and immovable” even when we don’t understand what’s happening. Our Risen Savior rules over everything that would confuse us!
- Easter Sunday motivates us to live with activism: If Christ rose from death, reigns in power, and is returning, we should be the most motivated community on earth, “always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
- Easter Sunday assures us to live with hope: If the Resurrection guarantees eternity, then we believe that our suffering and ministry “is not in vain.” Of course, life and ministry will get discouraging; it may seem that there is no end in sight and progress is invisible. But a Second Coming is coming, and we will be rewarded for our faith.
Yes, Easter Sunday should be the most celebratory day of the year for Christians. But don’t let your celebration end after Easter Sunday, and don’t wait until next Easter Sunday to remember these promises.
We believe in victory. We believe in transformation. We believe in deliverance. We believe in life—abundant life today and eternal life forevermore.
We believe in the resurrection.
And because we do, let this confidence in the Risen Christ shape your everyday life.
God bless,
Paul David Tripp
An Easter Surprise
Joni Eareckson Tada uploaded this on Easter Sunday. You will like it…… only 1 min.
You Tube – (1 minute)
Men: Below is a short blog by a dear friend of mine from the insurance industry years ago. I thought you might enjoy reading it. He sent it to me on the 8th and many of us can relate to his observations……….
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Fifty years, one week, and one day ago, my wife and I married. While we were not strangers to one another … we really were! You see, we thought we’d fallen in love with one another, but what we’d really done is fallen in love with the person we wanted the other to be. And so, when we planned our impromptu … tiny … self-absorbed … civil ceremony, we made the folk-guitar music, the flowers in the hair, and the wedding poem … all about us! You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here is the preamble to Max Ehrlich’s poem “Desiderata”. We recited a few of the poem’s verses back and forth to one another, with my brother and future sister-in-law standing as our witnesses, plucking the guitar strings and holding the flowers. All the while, the 78 yr old Justice of the Peace who officiated was likely grateful that his career was near an end; and mercifully, so was the ceremony, done in less than 12 minutes!
A lot has happened in the past 5 decades. Two changed hearts … stiff necks broken … two very changed lives … then living for self … now living for Him! The lessons learned (and … oh by the way … we’re still learning!) … is that sanctified desiderata will all be run through the “then Saul / now Paul” filter. [Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.] So let me ask this of you: What is your 2023 “Day between Good Friday & Easter Sunday” desiderata?
desiderata … dih-sid-uh-rah-tuh … plural noun … origin Latin 5th century … things wanted or needed
Have you given any thought lately as to what you are doing has NOTHING to do with Jesus Christ?
[Photo of sunrise taken on Wed]
