The Grace of Time

Have you ever thought of the many different ways the grace of God shows up in our lives? Have you ever taken a moment to reflect on His great gift of time?

Time. Oh, how precious it is. For every second that has passed, there will not be another in its place. Once those moments, hours, days, and years are gone, they are gone.

Time is not a reusable commodity. It’s a use-it-while-you-have-it reality.

Therefore, when I think about time, I think of each precious bit that is doled out to us daily, not only as a gift but as God’s grace at work in our lives once again.

The grace of time can present itself in so many ways. Perhaps, it’s found in just the few extra seconds the light stayed green for you during a hectic morning rush. It could be found in the opportunity to hold a dear one a little bit longer. At one point in the Bible, God even graced Joshua and the army of Israel with more time to advance against their enemies by holding the sun and the moon still (Joshua 10:12-13).

But I think the most precious grace of time is seen in the longsuffering of our Heavenly Father. 2 Peter 3:9 shows us, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” This verse shows us the love in action behind the grace of time. It shows us that our eternal God, who is not bound by the hours on the clock, holding off the final day of judgment for a little while longer to give as many as possible the chance to repent and turn their lives around.

This grace of time isn’t for us to determine when it is done. The judgment of time belongs to the Father. Even Jesus said, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father,” (Mark 13:32).

To that, He adds, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is,” (Mark 13:33).

How wise it would be for us to take a page from David’s story and acknowledge, “For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding,” (1 Chronicles 29:15).

With that being said, Father God, we thank You for this day that you have given us, and we thank You for the grace of time.

“My times are in thy hand . . .” Psalm 31:15

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16

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From the Inside Out

No matter how good we look on the outside, or how well we can talk, or how much we have acquired, if our hearts and minds are not right, it is all in vain. Father God, I want to be right from the inside out. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me,” Galatians 2:20.

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This Was God’s Doing! | God is the Creator of All

Image by Barbara Jackson from Pixabay

“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.” 2 Peter 3:5

We all have a choice in what we choose to believe or not.  God is not going to arm-wrestle someone into faith.  God has blessed every human being with free will.  With that, they choose to follow Him or not.

“Willingly,” as stated above, implies that truth or no truth, those being referenced will not comply.  Their minds are made up to purposely follow their own ideas, their own beliefs, the dictates of their own heart, and a life of sin.  Their ignorance will not allow them to believe in the order of Creation as it was written in the Bible.  For too long man has opposed God’s grand truth and has tried to whittle it down to his own finite theories and ideas on how the world came to be.

But we read in Scripture, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  All of creation begins with God:  “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

Before God stepped in there was just chaos.  He is the one “who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain” (Psalm 104:2).  Can a man even fathom catching one star that falls from the sky, let alone stretching out the “heavens” with galaxy upon galaxy and universe upon universe?

God can.

In the beginning, all He had to do was speak a word and creation obeyed and came into existence.  All that is in the sky, that looks like a cosmic “curtain” twinkling above our heads is because God is the one who made it to be so.

Peter addressed this truth in a rebuttal against the voice of scoffers and those who refuse to believe that by the very “word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.”  

This was God’s doing, he insisted!   Nothing that we see in this world today existed, nor did it evolve from some microscopic species.  But on the third day of creation, referencing Peter’s point above, God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let dry land appear: and it was so.  And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering of together of the waters called he seas: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:9-10).

Although the order of creation is apparent and evident some still choose to disbelieve and remain ignorant.  But, the apostle Paul comes in and says this doesn’t excuse them.  “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20).

In the book of Genesis, we read the day-by-day detailed account of the story of Creation. All life begins and ends with God.  Acts 17:24, 28 says, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands . . . For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”  He has the power to give breath (Genesis 2:7) and He has the power to take away breath (Psalm 104:29).

All of creation, man and beast, land, and those things that are in the sea and sky, are here because God made it so.  Many may try to refute this truth and remain ignorant of the fact, but this was God’s doing and His creative credit cannot be attributed to any other, nor can it be ignored.

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Welcome!

Image by Brigitte Ferauge from Pixabay 

Open, dear one.  Open up and receive.  So many of our days are spent pouring out for others.  But, it’s okay to accept goodness in your life when you serve a God who is nothing but good.

If there is a fence built due to hesitation, tear it down.  Let it not lay a siege around your heart and your life.  Our Father is wonderful, and He does wonderful things for His children: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11). 

The epistle reminds us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). 

When God is so good and so willing to give, it is okay to receive from Him.  It’s okay to open the door and welcome God’s goodness and His beautiful gifts into your life.

Yes, into your life.  Don’t let lies and false ideas convince you that somehow you are different.  Somehow you are unworthy.  Somehow you have to remain guarded against this hope because this is not for you.

Yes, this is for you, too.  To Him, you are worth it.  To God, you are loved and are His treasured possession.  And as God does, He loves to bless His own. The Bible tells us to “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).

Yes, He freely gave for our salvation (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).  And yes, He gives us His Holy Spirit for our daily living (John 14:26).  But God also gives goodness, desires, and things that put a smile on His children’s faces.

Put your guard down and welcome the goodness of the Father in your life today.

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Everything you need . . .

As we are walking this day, we are walking in His might. We are moving according to God working in us and through us. Even if we feel like we don’t have it all together or are not strong enough, we are leaning on His strength. Everything that you need to help you in the fight and made it through can be found in the power and strength of our God. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10

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Jesus didn’t go to the cross for you to enter this day . . .

Jesus didn’t go to the cross for you to enter this day with anything less than the confidence of life He secured for you. He said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

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When Little Means a Lot!

There are few places in life where it seems anything associated with the word little is appreciated.  And while our culture and this world tend to only see the big things, the grand, the outlandishly oversized as important to regard, the Bible continually teaches us that those things that we consider to be little, mean so much more.

For instance, Psalm 37:16 lets us know, “A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.”  It’s all a matter of where value is placed.  The values that the righteous man has within him because of his relationship with God far exceed the value of things, stuff, and money many wicked together can possess.  Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven . . .” (Mt. 6:19-20).  Little possessions may not account for much here, but a heart rich in Jesus is worth so much more, here, and in heaven.

Another thing our culture celebrates is the idea of success, especially what appears to be an instant or overnight success.  In an age where clicks to like can boost an “influencer’s” reputation or clout, it Is not hard to imagine the rise of some to happen so quickly.  And yet, the Bible asks this in Zechariah: “For who hath despised the day of small things?” (4:10).

All success is not bad.  In fact, we are encouraged many times in the Bible to work, work hard, and put in full effort.  But what is bad is the worship of success and the comparison trap it can bring.  The groundwork of what God wants to do in your life is going to need an awesome foundation, and any good foundation takes time to build.

Clicks, likes, and human recognition may not have you shooting ahead fast as lightning, but your progress in God, your progress in what and how He is leading you to build, is worth so much more, even if it takes a little bit longer.

A little in God’s kingdom can do mighty works.  And the Bible teaches us “if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Lk. 17:6; Mt. 17:20, and 21:21), you can do amazing things.  It’s not always about increasing, as the disciples once asked (Lk. 17:5), it’s about working with what you presently possess.  And if what you presently possess is not much, God can multiply that if you just will use your little bit.

With God, size doesn’t matter, but source does.  If you look at what you have and you depend on that as your source, that is not faith – God’s not interested in that.  But if He’s your authentic, true-enough source; if it is to Him you are raising your eyes to heaven, with your two fish and five little loaves (Mt. 14:17-19) – now, that kind of reliant faith is something He can work with.

Friends, I have only touched the tip of the iceberg here to teach you that with God, a little means a whole lot.  But I hope it’s enough to encourage you to stop comparing where you are with another’s progress.  Don’t let discouraging thoughts discount the value in you.  You are important.   What you have is important, no matter how any other views it, even if it appears to only be a little.

“There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.” Proverbs 30:24-28

Little things can make a big difference.

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Many hearts are in need . . .

Father God, we are praying for people everywhere. There are many hearts in need right now. There are many struggles that our friends, family, and saints are dealing with. We are praying today for a touch from You. We are praying that You would step in and meet their needs in the way that only You can. We are praying for peace and comfort to saturate the atmosphere of hearts, homes, and lives. We know that there is nothing that is impossible for You, O God, and we lean and trust in Your mighty power and Your outstretched arms to heal and deliver. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, AMEN!

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Our help is in the name of the LORD!

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8

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