Your Daily Crossroad
Approaching God
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works. (Psalm 73:28)
A woman desiring to pray grabbed an empty chair and knelt before it. In tears, she said, “My dear heavenly Father, please sit down here; you and I need to talk!” Then, looking directly at the vacant chair, she prayed. She demonstrated confidence in approaching the Lord; she imagined He was sitting on the chair and believed He was listening to her petition.
A time with God is an important moment when we engage the Almighty. God comes near to us as we draw near to Him in a mutual involvement (James 4:8). He has assured us, “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). Our heavenly Father is always waiting for us to come to Him, always ready to listen to us.
There are times when we struggle to pray because we feel tired, sleepy, sick, and weak. But Jesus sympathizes with us when we are weak or face temptations (Heb. 4:15). Therefore we can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (v. 16).
Lord, thank You that I can pray to You in all places at all times. Put the desire to come near to You in my heart. I want to learn to come to You in faith and in confidence. Amen.
When I read this I instantly thought to myself, He is truly as real as the breath I breathe and He longs for us to do just as the dear sweet woman did, grab a chair and ask Him to sit down with you and tell Him, we need to talk. A lot of people think you have to have eloquent words in order to talk to God but you don’t, just be real with Him, all He is wanting is you.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Hebrews 4:14-16
$1,000,000 Debt
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22)
Jesus followed this interaction with Peter by sharing what we now know as, the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35). The situation was this; a king forgave his servant for what would equate to, in our day, a million dollar debt. This was more than any average person, let alone a servant, could produce for repayment. The king, out of compassion, kindness, and beautiful mercy forgave the entire debt, and not on the grounds of repayment either. The king knew this servant would never be able to repay the money owed, yet he forgave him anyway. At this point, the narrative is gracious and wonderful. What a good king!
But here’s the servant’s response: straight away, this forgiven man found a coworker of his who owed him just a fraction of what he had been pardoned from repaying the king. He grabbed him by the throat, and demanded he be repaid the money owed him. When that man begged patience, just as the forgiven servant had, “he refused and…put him in prison”!
The point here was this; we as God’s forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled cannot take the forgiveness of a bottomless debt from God’s hand, and then with our own hands demand repayment from those who owe us, or have wronged us. While this does not mean that we become a doormat for those who would walk all over us, it does mean that we do not live like the unregenerate servant who did not understand and appreciate the debt that had been forgiven of him.
Is there someone who you have not forgiven for the wrong they have done to you? Ask God to remind you of the debt He has forgiven of you.
While I have read this setting of scripture many times before, after reading today’s perspective I seen it in a much different light. What truth! We are at times so quickly to hold unforgiveness in our hearts and lives and in return we are forgetting what we ourselves have been forgiven of. Today let’s take a moments and remind ourselves of the debt He has forgiven of us and then turn around and grant forgiveness to someone you have not forgiven. Forgive others as quickly as you expect God to forgive you and when someone does something wrong, don’t forget all the things they did right. We are to show love and allow God to be there judge.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Ephesians 4:31-32
Follow Me
And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. (Luke 5:27-29)
A tax collector was not an honorable position during Jesus’ time. Tax collectors were known for their shrewd and fraudulent ways. This passage says that Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi. Jesus obviously got his attention as He commissioned Levi to follow Him. It is amazing that the passage says that Levi left all, rose up and followed Him. There is a sense that Levi had immediate action with little thought. He seemed to abandon all for the call of Christ. Think of what it took to go from a tax collector with a negative reputation, to a disciple of Jesus Christ. Questions come to mind such as, “How did Levi do that? Did he just quit his job, sell his house or what? Where did He follow Jesus to?” Levi’s next steps are right there in the next verse. Verse 29 says that Levi followed Jesus to “his own house.” Levi brought Jesus to his own home, so, Levi followed Jesus back home.
The first step to being Jesus’ disciple is by becoming His follower at home. Not only does Jesus meet us right where we are, but also Jesus becomes part of where we are. When we come to know Him and follow Him, Jesus leads us back to our own homes. Home is our training ground. It is in our homes that we first speak out about Jesus, so the change in our lives needs to become evident at home first.
Jesus saw Levi and Jesus sees you. Jesus called Levi and Jesus is calling you. Are you willing to answer His call? Are you following Jesus in your home? Levi gave Jesus a great feast. There was preparation and planning for this party as he made a public profession that he was following Jesus’ ways, starting immediately. For you today, it may be that you stop watching certain shows or stop saying certain words. It also will mean that you start sharing your faith with your family. Levi is an example of someone with the kind of commitment it takes to follow Jesus. Levi became one of the twelve apostles whose name was changed to Matthew. He was the man who wrote the Book of Matthew, leading many others to follow Christ just like he did.
Help us Lord to follow after you not only out in The World but in our homes. Help us to heed to the convictions you place in our lives when no one else is watching. Help us to set the example starting at home. Amen.
When I read this I felt it was vital and needed to be shouted from the roof tops! Take time today to observe what’s happening at home and ask yourself, am I willing to answer His call in my home, am I truly following Jesus in my home and what does my training ground look like?! God may not be asking you to leave behind everything you own and follow Him into a remote country but is He asking you to give up certain things, certain attitudes, certain behaviors. Is He asking you to prioritize church, prayer, tithing, reading your word more? Only you can answer those questions honestly and for everyone the questions and answers will be different but we can all be honest with ourselves and with God, He already knows and He’s right there waiting for you to come to Him and ask for His help. God deserves our very best and it starts at home!!!
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 16:24-26
Are You Being Prepared?
The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:37)
I worked at a fast-food restaurant for over two years in high school. Some aspects of the job were difficult. Customers verbalized their anger while I apologized for the unwanted slice of cheese on the sandwich I didn’t make. Soon after I left, I applied for a computer job at my university. The employers were more interested in my fast-food experience than my computer skills. They wanted to know that I knew how to deal with people. My experience in unpleasant circumstances prepared me for a better job!
Young David persevered through an experience we might well call unpleasant. When Israel was challenged to send someone to fight Goliath, no one was brave enough to step up to the task. No one but David. King Saul was reluctant to send him to fight, but David explained that as a shepherd he had fought and killed a lion and a bear for the sake of the sheep (1 Sam. 17:34–36). Confidently he stated, “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” (v. 37).
Being a shepherd didn’t earn David much respect, but it prepared him to fight Goliath and eventually become Israel’s greatest king. We may be in difficult circumstances, but through them God might be preparing us for something greater!
Lord, help me to hold on during the unpleasant times in my life knowing that You may be preparing me for something greater. Amen.
Over the past few days and weeks I’ve read news stories of difficult circumstances that have unexpectedly come upon good Godly people and I as I’m certain they ask, why. Sometimes we don’t have the answers to the why in our circumstances but we do know The Way Maker and after reading this today it put a peace in my heart that despite difficult circumstances that we all have and will face we must remind ourselves of this very truth, God is preparing you for something greater, you may not see an ounce of it at this very moment but don’t loose hope. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed (Isaiah 50:7). Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1).
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is 1 Samuel 17:8, 32-37, 48-50