Your First 5 Minutes With God

Carry one another’s burdens; in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) I used to think that carrying another’s burdens was the same as bringing in the groceries after my wife went shopping. I’m told, when I was a small child, I was very helpful. However, as I reached my teen years, I became less and less concerned with being helpful. Some would say that’s normal  behavior for a  teenager . Maybe it is, but that attitude continued through to adulthood for me. It was nearly complete selfishness that drove me. At work, I was friendly enough on the outside, but I wouldn’t do much to ease whatever weight you had to carry. Even at home, my relationship with my wife and children was possessive and self-centered. I went to a Christian crusade, thinking I was too smart to fall for some religious, pie-in-the-sky promise of life after death. However, it felt like the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to me through the voice of an evangelist. His message...

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. (1 Peter 2:18-19) I have been a servant to many nasty, mean and unjust masters in my life. Even though I grumbled under my breath, I always tried to do my best when it came to my work. I guess you could say, I suffered in silence. I had one who took credit with his master for the work I had done. Another was physically abusive when he thought I wasn’t trying hard enough. At the time, it wasn’t silent because I was a believer in Jesus. It was because I didn’t see an alternative where I would have better treatment. I could have rebelled and refused to work under the unfair conditions. Now that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I’m not supposed to fight and rebel against an unfair master. I’m certainly not supposed to injure or kill my master. I’m told to subjugate myself to...

“He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To he who is victorious, I will give him the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7) From the first day and for several years after I was saved at the age of 44, I was overflowing with enthusiastic zeal for the Lord. I picked a church, got very involved, and went to church every Sunday. I started a Bible study with my brothers and their wives that went on for quite a while. However, I became disenchanted with the church I was attending. The preaching was good and biblically based, but the people weren’t very welcoming. I went there for three years and only a handful of people even knew my name. I stopped attending church services all together. I thought I could study on my own and get all the spiritual nourishment I needed. But, I still drifted away from the Lord without wanting to or without realizing it was happening at the time. When salvation first came ...

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:11-12) I served in the military, but I was not a warrior, so I know nothing of the kinds of body armor military personnel are required to wear these days. The armor looks impressive and I’m sure it does a lot to protect the wearer from injury or even death in some cases. The dangers of being in a war zone are ever present, and an attack can come from any direction at times. It is critically important to have that body armor to protect their physical bodies from an enemies’ small arms fire. There are many soldiers, sailors and marines who will claim they owe their lives to a piece of body armor. However, even when those men and women leave that remote battlefield in some far corner of...

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:3) Pride is a sin residing in all of us right down to the core. I admit I often times struggle with pride. I have to be on guard against it all the time. Whenever I have to speak publicly, people give me compliments on my ability to get my point across so effortlessly. As I’m thanking them for their kind words of encouragement, I’m also trying to quell any prideful thoughts I may have. I try to always look inward every day and see myself for what I am; a sinner in need of Jesus. There are many people who have been or are, what we would call, “giants of the faith.” Men like the Apostles, Justin the Martyr, and St Augustine from the early church. Then we have people like D L Moody, R C Sprool, G K Chesterton, and Billy Graham who are more recent contributor...

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (Romans 5:8-9) Anyone with a knowledge and fear of the Lord, never wants to be an enemy of an all-powerful God? That’s what I was before being justified by the cleansing blood of Jesus; I was an enemy of God. The trouble was, I didn’t even know enough to realize I was his enemy. Before I was saved, I had only the most rudimentary concept of what and who God was. I thought he was fictional construct, weak minded people needed to explain why they were here. I thought I was strong enough not to need a god to me keep going. Fortunately, someone thought enough of me to invite me to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I finally realized how wretched, poor and sinful my life had been. God could have left me right where I was, on a path to hell. Instead, God in all his mercy and...

The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17) For years, secular science has been working on ways to extend the human life span. Occasionally they’ll claim they will be able to make us live several hundred years, if not forever. However, the way this world is, I don’t think I’d want to? This world is dying, and I don’t mean the planet. It’s not coming to an end by the hand of man in some kind of environmental disaster. Although, it is coming to an end because of man’s sin. This world is passing away but it’s going to be replaced with something eternal. Most of my adult life I was on the wrong side of this reckoning. My lusts and desires drove me. If the lifestyle I was living hadn’t ended, I would not survive the coming holocaust. Of course, I don’t know when this world will end. No one on earth knows that, but it is coming. Even though I may pass from this physical life before the end of this world comes, I wi...

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Have you ever had one of those days when you just wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers up over your head? Everything seems to be going wrong. Everyone has a bone to pick with you, and even if the sun is shining, there’s a dark cloud hanging over you. I’ve had a couple of months straight of those days. I keep hoping it’s going to be better tomorrow, but when it’s not, I get discouraged. I guess that's normal for most people, but I’m a child of the Most High God, a follower of Jesus Christ, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit! What am I thinking? It’s right then, when I’m busy feeling sorry for myself, the Holy Spirit slaps me upside the back of my head and puts this scripture in my heart. Thankfully he’s patient with me lately, but the back of my head is getting pretty sore. (Just kidding) Even on the days when most unbelievers would be moping around saying, “Woe is me!” – we should reme...

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) I used to be convinced the Bible was just a collection of fairy tales, wishful thinking, pie in the sky fables, and fictional histories. As a child, I went to church, so I had a small smattering of biblical knowledge. However, it was only enough to reach the wrong conclusions. Because I witnessed several Christian hypocrites, I thought most were and I didn’t want anything to do with religion. I stayed away, arguing with believers who wanted to debate with me, but never really studying the scriptures. Why would I when I believed they were a collection of lies. Fortunately, I finally learned every word found in the scriptures, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, is inspired of God. The Bible has 66 books penned by 40+ different men over thousands of years with a singular me...

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) I have been scolded by people who say this is proof I belong to a death cult. However, it’s quite the opposite. I belong to life while clinging to Jesus Christ. I love being alive, especially right now, in what I consider to be the Last Days before Jesus returns. Except for when Jesus was here, there may be no more exciting time to be alive, in my opinion. There is much to do to spread the gospel to all the nations. I am too old to go into the mission field, but I am a worker, as are many others, planting the seed of truth in the fields around us. As much as I love and long to be with Jesus, I want to keep sharing the good news with the unsaved people in my life. So, my whole life is sharing Christ with everyone I can. It’s not up to me when I will be called home to heaven. The Father in heaven is in complete control of my future, just as he is with everyone. If he calls me home tomorrow, I will have gained heav...

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) Jesus shed his blood on the cross, died and rose again to show me the way to eternal life in heaven with him. On the appointed day he will come in the clouds above the earth and call his church up to be with him forever. I know this is true because scripture tells me it’s so. The only thing I don’t know is when. There have been many through the centuries that have tried to predict the time and failed miserably. It could be in the next instant or a hundred years from now, fore no one knows the day or the hour. I hope it happens in my lifetime but if it doesn’t, so be it...

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4) Are you like me and wonder why the whole world occasionally drops right on your head? Don’t get me wrong, I am truly and richly blessed by God, but I have still faced some tough testing. I know I’m not promised I will be free of tribulation throughout my walk. In fact, Jesus promised me I would be tested. It’s no fun when I’m going through something unpleasant. I tend to retreat into myself and not share my worries and anxieties with anyone else. It’s difficult for me to make a joyful noise when things are falling down around my ears. God could, as the master of the universe, protect me from all trials and tribulations. He could order his angels to encircle me and always protect me from any enemy that might want ...

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6) I am not as far as God wants me to go in my spiritual walk with Jesus, but I am lightyears ahead of where I was. I started my journey of faith when I was 44 years old. I was a mature adult but a babe in Christ. Like a newborn baby, I was hungry and wanted to eat all the time. Every chance I got I consumed the Bible like an insatiable lion over its prey. Quite often, I didn’t understand what I was reading. I started out like babe on mother’s milk. Over the years, with the help of elder Christian teachers, studying God's Word and daily prayer, I matured to eating the bread of life. My maturity in Christ wouldn’t measure a teaspoonful in the ocean of God’s universe. The Holy Spirit helps me grow a tiny bit every day. However, there is no way for me to ever claim I have completed my journey until that day I meet Jesus face to face. He has been ...

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. (Romans 14:8) I used to live only for me. I loved my wife and kids and took care of them, but I was still living for my own selfish desires. I guess, looking at me, people would have considered me a good man, but on the inside, they probably wouldn’t have like me very much. My thoughts were very dark, and I held on to hatreds in my heart for people I considered enemies. I had a few friends, but I was constantly on guard against being hurt by them. It the truth be told, I didn’t really like most people back then. When I was a teenager and then a twenty-something, I had no fear of death. I guess I thought I was immortal or something. I did some really stupid and dangerous things that could have had serious consequences, had there been a different ending. As I approached mid-life, I had two acquaintances who suddenly died without warning abo...

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (Timothy 2:1-3) The greatest tool I have as a believer is prayer, but that being said, praying about a challenge I’m facing is not my first inclination. Being a red-blooded male, I have the desire to fix things myself, without any help. I have a tendency to only go to God in prayer when I need something. Like he is some kind of cosmic bellhop, just waiting for me to ask for something. He does often answer the requests I make, but I'm his servant, not the other way around. I don’t think that’s the way a servant is supposed to treat their master. I do have to say, when someone asks me to pray for them, I stop what I’m doing and take a moment to do just that. When I'm praying at church or with a group, I come to an agreement with other be...