Your First 5 Minutes With God

Meditation For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) Before I was saved, you could say I was afraid of many things. I was afraid of the finality of death, because I didn’t know what came after this life, or if anything did. From what I learned in my early childhood, I remembered enough about church and God to know Christians believed in a heaven and hell. I would nervously sing the song lyrics that said, “I know that ain’t no heaven, but I pray there ain’t no hell. I say nervously because I really was fearful that hell existed. I would look at current events and become anxious about what might happen next. Wars, civil strife, poverty, disease, and many other daily occurrences, filled my heart with fear. As a child of the Cold War, I knew all of those were a distinct possibility. Fortunately for me, it wasn’t a debilitating fear, but fear was a constant companion in the midst of my thoughts. After I was...

Meditation The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3) There has never been anything to happen on the earth that God doesn’t know about. He sees all. Our hearts are filled with darkness and we cannot hide our wickedness from God. That goes for the believer as well as for the lost. We, who are saved, cheer when an evil doer gets his just reward, forgetting that God watches our sins also. I know I am no different from any unsaved person. I still sin, every single day. I don’t want to sin. I hate it when I do. I am ashamed every time I fail him. The difference between me and the unsaved is, I know I’m a sinner, in need the saving grace and mercy Jesus went to the cross to give me. Now I am covered by the blood he shed to save us all. Sometimes we might get the notion in our heads, once we’re saved, God no longer bothers to watch what we do. Or, even more foolishly, that because we’re saved, we don’t ever sin anymore. We...

Meditation Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. (Psalm 146:3) Should we have faith in the current or future leaders of our country to solve any real problems? Like lasting peace in the Middle East or with our other global adversaries? Will they be able to permanently solve global hunger or devastating famine and poverty. Of course not. During every political campaign season since the beginning of political campaigns, we have been willing to believe the promises of the candidates. We have faith they will do what they promise us they will do. However, we usually find out they were telling us what we wanted to hear, just to get elected. It’s not a new phenomenon. People throughout history have hoped for the peace and prosperity offered by a smooth talking, charismatic leader. We fall for them all the time. It’s not just the American people who make this mistake. The emperors, princes and dictators who promise their people riches if...

Meditation The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Anyone who came to repentance later in life, like me, should all be extremely thankful for the message of this verse. Christ could have returned at any time in the past, but he waited for each of us to turn from our sins and seek his face. If we had died at a time before we were saved, our eternal destination would have been hell. We should all let that sink in for a moment. He waited for you and me, normal everyday sinners, whom he knows by name, to repent and turn to him. How mercifully gracious is that? Now he’s waiting to give each and every person on the planet time to realize they need him. We might think he’s being slow, or might not come at all, but he’s just being patient with the people still in rebellion. The promise this verse is talking about is Christ’s return to ...

Meditation There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Romans 2:9-10) What is evil? We have a human definition of what is evil and then we have God’s. Our definition, at least when it comes to the things we do, might be less damning than God’s. However, we hold other people’s transgressions against us to a much higher standard. We have a kind of graduated scale of what’s evil. In other words, a little white lie is not as bad as a real whopper. We don’t believe that taking office supplies home from work is as bad as embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from our employer. We don’t think that hating someone is as bad as murdering them. Both instances of all three of those examples are evil in God’s eyes and not to be condoned. However, are we really going to call a white lie evil, or the pilfering of offi...

Meditation A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) This is a commandment, not a suggestion, and very hard for some believers to conform to. He loved us so much he willingly sacrificed himself on the cross, so we wouldn’t have to pay the price for our sins. How can I possibly love others as much as Jesus loved me? I cannot show Christ’s love for someone if I never show them I love them. As in, trying to get to know them and becoming a friend. If I live in a neighborhood but never speak to my neighbors, would they suspect I’m a Christian? If I see they need my help but turn my back and go about my own business, would they be able to see Jesus in my actions? If I go to church every Sunday, but never speak to anyone, why am I there? If I never offer to help a brother or sister when their need...

Meditation Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3) God came down! He didn’t have to – in his infinite mercy and grace he came to give salvation to a wretch like me while I’m here and hope for eternity after I die. Without God’s mercy I have no hope at all. Without Jesus, I am still on the path leading straight to an eternity in hell. However, God does not wish for me or anyone else to go to that horrible place created for Satan and his angels. If I were to go to hell, it would be because I rejected God and his mercy and grace. I don’t have to worry about what comes after this life because I have the resurrection of Jesus from the grave that points to my final destination. Jesus could have come as a conqueror. He could have set himself down on any throne of this mortal world and demanded to be served and ...