Alone With a Purpose

How much alone time do you have in a day?  The answer to this question can be as varied as the types of people who answer it.

Even if you do find time alone, what do you do with it? It’s so easy to interact with our cell phones, turn on the tv, read a book or browse a magazine.

It's good to be around people, but even Jesus sometimes made it a point to be alone. Matthew 14:1-13 tells of the beheading of John the Baptist. It says after John’s disciples buried his body, they came and told Jesus.

When Jesus heard it, He got in a boat to go to a deserted place to be alone. But as often happened, people followed Him, and once again He had a crowd to teach and people to heal (Matthew 14 and John 6).

Luke said that Jesus, after being surrounded by crowds and ministering to them, often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed (Luke 5:15-16 NKJV).

If Jesus needed time to pray alone, what about us? I remember as a child my mother would go into her bedroom to pray. She would leave the door open, kneel by the bed and cover her head. She taught me that was her signal not to bother her unless it was something very important.

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray. He took His disciples with Him and after settling the first group in place, He took Peter, James, and John a little farther, asking them to watch and pray. Then He moved away to a place He could be alone.

He came back from prayer three times to find Peter, James and John sleeping. We are familiar with His teaching on that point: Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38 NKJV).   

There’s nothing automatic about quiet time or prayer. If Jesus made time to be alone to pray, why wouldn’t we need to do the same?

Feeling stressed, burned out, confused, or pressured? Help is available. It’s time to get alone with a purpose - - - and pray!

  

Truth in Its Highest Form

I had a great mother-in-law. Pink was her favorite color. I enjoyed her friendship because she was a great listener and her advice was always sound.

We would have great conversations while out riding around or going shopping. She didn’t do it often, but whenever she said, “Now, listen,” I knew she had something important to share.

Jesus had a way of telling his disciples to listen up, too. I’m doing this study in my New International Version (NIV) study Bible, so Jesus gives a heads up by saying, “I tell you the truth . . . ”

If you happen to use a New Living Translation (NLT), the phrase will be, “But I say . . . ” Just remember, your study will be much easier if you have a red-letter Bible (Jesus’ words in red).

It seems to me when Jesus said, “I tell you the truth,” He taught the principles of God’s Kingdom. It had nothing to do with things they might have previously heard or been taught by men.

I’ll share a few examples from the two Gospels I've studied so far:  Matthew 6:16; Matthew 10:42 and Mark 3:28; Mark 12:43. 

In three years, Jesus shared a lot of information about God’s Eternal Kingdom. “I tell you the truth,” indicated that He was stressing the authority and certainty of His *message.

He understood that people choose what they will believe since we each have free will.

You don’t have to do a deep study . . . here’s the real challenge!

Read the Bible carefully daily. Why? For six specific reasons:

Every part of scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another - - -

showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes,

training us to live God’s way (2 Timothy 3:16, The Message Bible).

 

*Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “Truth as Truth Telling” and “Other Uses of Truth,” p, 1631, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2003.

 

Conflict: You Can Count On It

I look forward to dinner with my Goddaughter on Friday nights. People who work routine hours Monday through Friday seem to take special pleasure at the end of their week. Listen closely. You might overhear, “Thank God, it’s Friday.”

Before retirement, even on jobs I enjoyed, I looked forward to Friday!

We have a little routine. First comes dinner with light conversation. More serious discussions come after we eat. She usually says she’s ready for a movie when I make my nightly cup of tea.

Whether it’s on DVD or DVR it’s fun to make comments while the movie plays out. We know there will always be a crisis or conflict of some kind.  

Conflict is part of life, real or otherwise. Writers know a story without conflict is boring. Movie producers know there’s no punch in a happy ending if there’s no conflict to overcome.

Even peaceful persons cannot avoid conflict. Do any of these words ring a bell? Struggle, strife, disagreement, differences, or misunderstanding? OK, so you have experienced conflict!

Conflict is tricky. Sometimes conflict is with another person or group of persons, but sometimes your conflict is with yourself.

Conflict can be overcome, but you must look it in the eye and not flinch. It requires honesty. It may also require humility, and/or some clarification of communication, especially if it’s in texts or emails. Sometimes it’s a matter of releasing expectations and allowing a fresh start.

Conflict resolved brings peace; God is on the side of peace. In fact, in the “Be-Attitudes,” Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9*). The Amplified Bible explains blessed as being happy and spiritually prosperous.

Psalm 120:7* says, “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” Romans 12:18* says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”  

I hear the call, do you?  “Peace . . . Party of One!”

*All Scriptures are from the New King James Version, Thomas Nelson, Publishers, Nashville, TN, 1982.

 

How to Improve Your Life This Year

Even without formal resolutions, most people hope their life in the new year will be different. If you could see their thoughts, they might hope for different and better.

We can’t help but notice differences in people. You may have heard descriptions like this, or even said them yourself:  1) They’ve got a good handle on life, or 2) They seem to fly off the handle when faced with a challenge.

Over the years, I chose a few mentors. In sharing their approach to life with me, more than one mentioned reading the Book of Proverbs regularly.

One person I admired said his daily Bible reading always included one chapter of Proverbs, no matter what. I followed his example on and off over the years. With thirty-one chapters, it’s easy to match one chapter a day to your calendar.

Wisdom is available in God’s Word. My husband gifted me with Dr. David Jeremiah’s Study Bible* when it first came out. It is filled with a variety of help, including valuable information in the introduction to each book.

I like his contrast between wisdom and foolishness:

       Wisdom is described as the positive outcome (when) knowledge, discernment, and understanding are combined**

·      Foolishness is the result of ignorance, lack of discernment, and limited insight in favor of one’s personal preference or opinion**

The Book of Proverbs promises a payoff if you desire to be wise. The first seven verses of the opening chapter provide reasons to read it. 

Instruction for prudent behavior is mentioned, along with the acquisition of knowledge and discretion, guidance, and a healthy fear, or respect, for the Lord which is deemed the beginning of knowledge.

I want to be wise. How about you? I'm back on my one chapter of Proverbs a day. Feel free to join me.

*The Jeremiah Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah, Worthy Publishing, 2013, available where books are sold.

**Proverbs, Introduction, p. 807, P4. 

And Life Goes On . . .

Happy NEW Year! As I’m resetting my perpetual calendar, my thought is the same every year: It looks like another long year ahead, but by God’s grace here we go!

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, we have probably been forced out of our everyday routines more than we can remember. Now that it’s over, our daily routines might even look enticing.   

You may remember the cartoons of Old Father Time. He is shown exiting the old year with a long white beard and a tattered look. On the other hand, a smiling happy baby is moving in to take his place for the new year.

No matter who we are, challenges are a part of life. A long time ago I heard someone say, “The problem with life is it’s so daily!” They were bored by their daily routines.

I stopped making New Year's resolutions years ago. No matter how good my intentions were, they fell by the wayside because they weren’t really part of me. The real me is shown as I approach my life day after day. Why not make changes or improvements as I go along?

In this season of my life, God’s word opens my day. I have always read my Bible, sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning, sometimes as I arrived early to work, and took time to read before I went in.

Psalm 119 is filled with meditations on the excellence of God’s word. If you are unfamiliar with it, this psalm is divided into small sections. Reading and meditation go hand-in-hand.

Meditation is just a way to mentally “chew things over,” and then “digest them well” by putting them into action in your life.

Become a treasure seeker. Psalm 119:162 says, “I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure.” I find treasures in God’s word daily: hope, love, guidance, peace, comfort, and truth.

Treasures await you there, too.