Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.” Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Start with God and go from there.”

 

Living a life that’s balanced and healthy in all the important ways starts with God and then we go from there. And the good news is that’s it’s not that hard. That’s what Moses was telling the Israelites in Deuteronomy 10:12-13. Essentially he said, “Get your hearts right. Love God, worship Him, and obey His commands. It’s no more complicated than that and it’s for your own good.”

 

There’s a lot of wisdom contained in those two verses from Moses. This is the starting place for getting it right in life. Love God, walk closely with Him every day, obey Him, and build the rest of your life on that firm foundation. It seems so simple and yet so many of us mess this up. We get so busy with other things that we neglect our relationship with the Lord. Or we engage in behaviors that are contrary to His commands and then we rationalize our conduct and attempt to explain it away.

 

When I visit and counsel with young men in the jails and prisons, young men who have become entangled in a life of drugs and crime, this is the lesson I try to get through to them first and foremost. If they will establish the firm foundation of a good relationship with God, then build the rest of life on that, the other pieces of life will fall into place. But if they continue living far from God and in disobedience to His commands, they will just keep getting more of what they already have – a life of addiction, crime, and incarceration.

 

You may not be in such a desperate life situation. Perhaps drug addiction, crime, and incarceration does not describe what you’re experiencing in life right now. But are you overly busy, tired and stressed, struggling in relationships, in deep debt, depressed, or feeling overwhelmed with other life situations? If so, the first thing you want to check is where you’re at with the Lord. How good is your relationship with Him? How obedient are you to His commands?

 

Being in a good and healthy relationship with God doesn’t necessarily eliminate the challenges of life – it just strengthens us and enables us to handle them better. When it comes to building and maintaining a life that is balanced and healthy, we must start with God and then go from there.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “God will take care of you.”

 

In yesterday’s devotional I made the point that although we should take reasonable steps to prepare for the future, we should not obsess about it to the point of allowing our concern for the future to get our life out of balance. Worse still, sometimes an obsessive concern for the future can deter us from following where God is leading. This is something Linda and I had to come to terms with almost twenty-five years ago.

 

In 1993, as my career in the Navy was drawing to a close and I was preparing for the next season of life, I knew the Lord was calling me into full-time professional ministry. At that time I didn’t have a clear vision of what that ministry would entail, but I knew He was calling me into ministry and I knew I needed to go to seminary. So I took a low-paying job with the Department of Defense working as a Family Counselor on Naval Station San Diego, and I went to seminary at night.

 

I have to admit, especially as my seminary education was nearing an end, I had visions of grandeur. I envisioned a future of being the pastor of some fine large church with hundreds, perhaps thousands of members. But the Lord had a different plan. My years of ministry have actually been in small churches, with a few years in the middle on the staff of a small mission agency.

 

Financially speaking those were mostly lean years. It was small ministry with small incomes. But through almost twenty-five years of such ministry God has always taken good care of us. While we haven’t owned expensive cars and motor homes, we have always been comfortable and well cared for. He truly has been “the God of all provision” for us. And His past faithfulness gives us great comfort and peace about the future. Now that the old age and grey hairs referred to in Isaiah 46:4 are here for us, we have peace and assurance about the future.

 

Also, the older we’ve gotten the more we have come to appreciate the value of a simple life. Having a smaller home to maintain, fewer possessions to take care of, and minimal financial obligations that must be met, allows a person to focus instead on people, on ministry, and on enjoyable activities. This isn’t a lesson just for old age either. It’s one I wish we had learned and practiced much sooner. There’s a lot to be said for a life of simplicity and moderation.

 

Often we become so fixated on our own visions of what we believe the future should look like (and what we want it to be), that it gets us off track and out of balance. Jesus’ concluding promise in Matthew 6:25-34 (The “do not worry” passage of the Sermon on the Mount), is great advice for all of life: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” You focus on God and on His people, and God will take care of you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But I trust in You Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ The course of my life is in Your power.” Psalm 31:14-15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God is Sovereign, so trust Him for the future.”

 

One of the reasons our lives sometimes get out of balance is that we obsess about the future. We become so focused about preparing for it, and so worried about what could happen, that we don’t really enjoy or appreciate the life we have today.

 

Saving money is good. But if you’re so fanatical about saving money that you’re living like a miser today, that is bad. Storing some food and water, having an electrical generator in standby, and keeping a secure supply of cash on-hand in case of an emergency is a good thing. Developing a survivalist mentality is a bad thing. Locking your doors, having a home alarm, and keeping a firearm so you’re prepared for a potential future threat is smart. Becoming paranoid about it and turning your home into a fortress is not smart.

 

Psalm 31, the whole thing, reminds us that God is Sovereign over the course of our lives. He is Omnipresent (everywhere all the time); He is Omniscient (He knows everything); and He is Omnipotent (He is all-powerful). So there is nothing in your life now, or coming up, that God doesn’t know about and which He cannot handle.

 

That being the case, we can safely trust the future to Him and stop worrying about it so much. That doesn’t mean that we have no responsibility for preparing for the future, we do. We still have to do our part. We are supposed to save some money, and we should be prepared for potential emergencies, and we must take reasonable steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones from bad guys, etc. But we should not obsess about it and we should not allow such concerns to get us out of balance.

 

As I’m writing this I can’t remember the exact percentages involved, but I once came across a study by a group of psychologists regarding the things people fear and worry about it. In their research they discovered that something like 80% of the things we worry about never happen. Another 10% do happen but happen good instead of bad. And of the 10% of things we worried about that did happen and happened bad, most of them were not as bad as we thought they would be. And so we expend huge amounts of time and emotional energy worrying about, obsessing with, and preparing for things that probably won’t happen, or which will happen but will be good instead of bad, or, even if they are bad, won’t be as bad as we thought.

 

I encourage you to remember that God is Sovereign. So trust Him for tomorrow and allow yourself to enjoy today.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus is the firm foundation for the rest of life to be built upon.”

 

“Life is always better with Jesus than without Him.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve made that statement in conversations with people, in sermons and Bible studies, and in my writing of books, articles, and daily devotionals. “Life is always better with Jesus than without Him. Whether that life is lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills, in a shack in remote Africa, or in a prison cell, life is always better with Him than without Him.”

 

That statement is absolutely true and I’m passionate about trying to help people see that. Regardless of what the circumstances of your life are, the more you involve Jesus the better your life will be. With respect to our theme this month of achieving and maintaining good balance in life, it begins with Jesus. Jesus is the firm foundation upon which all the rest of life needs to be built. Get that right and you are then ready to deal with the rest of life.

 

I love the insight offered to us by the editors of “The Every Man’s Bible” as they introduced the life of Joshua. In their introductory comments they wrote, “Joshua led a focused life. When faced with choices, he didn’t have to think about whether he would obey God. He’d already decided that long ago, and he didn’t change his mind when challenges came. God wants us to be that focused today. He wants us to be able to say, from the depth of our hearts, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

 

If that is a settled fact in your life then you have a firm foundation in place from which to deal with all the rest of life. But it starts with Jesus. Place your faith in Him as Savior, and then follow Him every day as Lord. Pray, read your Bible, faithfully participate in the full life of a good church, serve others in His name, and stick close to Him.

 

Life is always better with Jesus than without Jesus. Choose to live your life in a close relationship with Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “He said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Just push pause.”

 

Last night I was sitting in my recliner in the living room. I had a fire going in the fireplace, some soft jazz playing in the background, and I spent a couple of hours reading a good book. It was quiet and relaxing. That’s one of my favorite ways to spend an evening. I rarely watch television. My idea of an evening well-spent is what I just described.

 

As I sit here this morning thinking about how relaxing that kind of an evening is for me, it brings to mind some other times when I also experienced a great sense of peace and relaxation. Many years ago I spent a few days by myself at a Christian camp in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. The name of the camp is Forest Home and it’s the same place where as a young man Billy Graham surrendered his life to God for evangelistic ministry. I sat in the same little chapel in the woods where Billy sat decades earlier when he came to that decision. I was alone. It was quiet, peaceful, very relaxing, and there was a great sense of the presence of God there with me. I vividly remember it to this day.

 

Another time that stands out in my mind was a couple of years ago here in Crossville, TN. It was a nice summer day, I was at the home of some friends out in the country, and we just sat out back drinking iced tea and talking for a couple of hours. There was a cool breeze blowing, I had nothing to do and nowhere to go, and we just sat and talked. It was enjoyable and very relaxing. I know there doesn’t seem to be anything special about that scene (except that I don’t do enough of it), but it stands out in my mind as a particularly enjoyable and relaxing time.

 

We all need times when we push the pause button of life and just chill for a while. Unfortunately in our fast-paced world many of us don’t allow ourselves enough of those times. It’s not that the opportunities aren’t there, they are. The problem is that we make excuses about being too busy, or having to do this or that or some other thing instead, and we simply do not stop and rest when we should.

 

In Mark 6:31 we read about one of the times when Jesus called a time-out and pressed the pause button for Himself and His followers. They all went off to a quiet place to just rest and relax for a while. It wasn’t the only time they did this and those times are recorded in the Bible for a reason. They’re there as an example for us. If those people needed to do it then so do we.

 

Today is Friday and the weekend is upon us. Do you have plans to push pause and relax for a while? I do, and I hope you do too.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth …: Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God doesn’t want us to overdo it.”

 

This morning I want to continue our discussion from yesterday with regards to overworking being a common source of imbalance in our lives. I’ve come to believe that people typically overwork for one of four reasons. The first is because we either believe it is expected of us or it actually is expected of us. In other words, the nature of the job is such that it requires an inordinate amount of our time.

 

A second common reason a person might overwork is they become so consumed with thoughts of advancement that they convince themselves if they just work long and hard enough they will get the promotions they crave. A third common reason is the desire to earn more money. This is seen most often with hourly wage earners who have the opportunity to work lots of overtime.

 

And then the fourth common reason for overworking is that the person simply loves what they do and they have difficulty leaving it alone. This is seen most often with small business owners and also with Pastors. This is my issue. I love what I do and sometimes I can’t seem to stop. Also, my primary office is in my home so technically I’m always at work. Often it seems like I just can’t to leave it alone.

 

In Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Moses explained that it is God who gives us our ability to do what we do. But as we’ve been learning this month, He desires for us to use those skills and abilities in reasonable ways that bring balance to our lives. We are not to be so consumed with our jobs (for any reason) that it throws the rest of our lives out of whack.

 

God gave you your skills and abilities so you can earn a living. He also gave them to you so you can add value to society and so you can serve others in His name. He can use you in that capacity without it being an all-consuming obsession on your part. If the performance of your job is causing other areas of your life to be out of balance then you have taken your job to an extreme that God never intended.

 

If we’ve learned anything so far this month it is that God intends for there to be a healthy balance to our lives. Therefore we should not allow our jobs to become so demanding that they throw the rest of life out of balance.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Remember, it is balance we’re seeking.”

 

If you have been following along with these daily devotionals for a while, maybe even trying to connect the dots between last month’s theme of “Living with no excuses” and this month’s theme of “balance”, you could be confused. It could seem as if I’m urging you to both get moving and to slow down – to get busy and do something, and to stop doing so much. Well, the answer is “it depends.”

 

It’s important that each of us honestly assess who we are and what we are like. We need to be honest about how we’re living and whether or not we’re trying to do too much or not enough. Most of us do fall into one of those two categories and often both categories at the same time. Sometimes we’re very diligent in one area, almost compulsive, but then we’re neglecting another area of life. If so, it means you need better balance. You need to stop making excuses for doing too much of one thing and too little of another.

 

This is especially true when it comes to jobs and careers (which is why I chose 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 as our verse for today). Many of us work so long and so hard that we overwork. That then leads to serious imbalance in other important areas of life like relationships and health. The Japanese actually have a word for this. They call it “Karoshi”. “Karoshi” means “death from overwork”. It’s a major problem in their society, just as it is in ours. People work so hard for so long and under so much pressure that it damages relationships with spouse, children, and friends, and there is also little time or energy left for exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep. They’re working themselves to death.

 

With respect to work, we sometimes need to recalibrate our thinking and back it down a bit. No job is worth your health, your marriage, or your relationship with your children. It’s much better to have a simple job with good balance in the rest of your life, than an all-consuming career that’s sucking the life out of your life.

 

Work is often the most common cause of imbalance but it’s not the only one. It’s crucial for each of us to be honest with ourselves about where we’re at in this balance equation and whether we need to crank it up a bit in one area, or perhaps back it down somewhere else. Remember, it is good balance we need and are seeking.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Fight the FOMO”

 

Are you addicted to your smart phone? Are you connected to social media 24/7? Can anyone get in touch with you at any time in any place for any reason? If so, why do you allow it? Why do you feel the need to be so connected all the time?

 

Our smart phones and other technology provide us with continuous access to not just phone calls, but also to text messages, emails, internet access, and constant Facebook news feeds. Why do we need to (or even want to) stay so connected all the time?

 

FOMO is the “Fear of Missing Out”. It’s the fear that there’s an adorable video on Facebook of a momma monkey holding a baby monkey in her lap (complete with diaper and baby bonnet), she’s feeding it with a bottle, stroking it’s head, and lovingly gazing at her little baby. All of your friends have seen the video, they’re chuckling and cooing about it, but you haven’t seen it yet. You’re missing out. Or a group of friends are going to hang out later and they want you to join them. But if you don’t have your phone so you can take the call or receive the text, you could be missing out.

 

The Fear Of Missing Out – on anything – is what has caused so many of us to become so compulsive and obsessive about staying connected. But seriously, what are we gaining by allowing the world to have constant access to our minds and hearts like that? The answer is “not much”. We’re not gaining much. In fact we’re losing peace of mind. More and more studies are showing that excessive interaction with social media creates increased levels of anxiety, it raises blood pressure, and it actually results in a decrease in a person’s overall quality of life. Technology often creates an imbalance in our lives.

 

Also, staying constantly connected to social media like that crowds out God. Our minds remain focused on phone calls and text messages and video streams and snap chats, and there is little quiet time for God to speak to our mind and whisper to our heart. That’s what we’re missing out on. We’re losing peaceful meditative reflective time with God.

 

We don’t need to be better connected to social media we need to be better connected to Jesus. Social media doesn’t improve our lives, Jesus does. In John 10:10 Jesus reminds us that He offers us life in all its fullness. The connection we need is with Him. If you’re going to be in fear of missing out on something it should be the fear of missing out on time with Jesus.

 

I encourage you today to fight the fear of missing out. Lose the phone and find the Lord.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.” Deuteronomy 24:5 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Putting the Honey in the Honeymoon”

 

I enjoy using the “Every Man’s Study Bible” for my personal daily Bible readings. It’s a study Bible that is specifically designed for men and it includes lots of helpful (and often humorous) sidebars and editorial comments. Such is the case with Deuteronomy 24:5. The editors glibly referred to the practice described in that verse as “Putting the Honey in the Honeymoon”.

 

In this verse we read that early in the history of the nation of Israel newly married men were given an entire year off from work so they could stay at home to firmly establish a good home life with their new wife. Evidently this was a cultural thing that was planned for. Couples must have saved the money to cover their expenses for a year. Family and friends evidently helped; employers were willing to hold the job position for them; and the man spent that first year doing all the many things a man needs to do at home in order to make sure his wife is well cared for and happy.

 

This may be where we originally got the old adage “If momma ain’t happy then nobody is happy.” They seemed to recognize that a stable home life provides a solid foundation for the rest of life. But if life at home is unstable and chaotic, it can be a major distraction that prevents us from really focusing well on other things.

 

The primary reason so many marriages fail is because the spouses get caught-up in the busyness of life and they drift away from each other. Rather than doing the things necessary to keep their marriage healthy, they get sucked into the whirlwind of careers and kids and hobbies and friends, and they drift away from their spouse mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

 

That is a classic example of what happens when our lives get out of balance. Its how husbands and wives grow apart; its how distance is created between parents and children; and this is how we slowly but surely get fat and out of shape. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can be intentional about establishing correct priorities (that’s what was happening in Deuteronomy 24:5) and then we can take the steps necessary to protect those priorities. We can remain balanced.

 

I know a couple who appear to be on a twenty-five year honeymoon. They have been married for about twenty-five years and yet they still act like they’re on their honeymoon. They hold hands, they laugh and giggle, they treat each other not just as spouses but as best friends, and they do lots of stuff together. They’re intentional about keeping the honey in the honeymoon and keeping that marriage strong.

 

That’s a good example for everyone and for all of life – not just for husbands and wives in a marriage relationship. Establish right priorities and good balance. Then do the things necessary to protect that balance.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Breathe”

 

Last year there was a hit song that got a lot of airplay on Christian radio. It was by Johnny Diaz and the title was “Breathe”. If you’ve never heard the song and are therefore unfamiliar with the tune, as you read these lyrics try to hear in your head a very fast paced, high pitched, staccato tune, perhaps the sound of a small hammer rapidly hitting an anvil – a driving beat pushing the person to frantically race through life. And then suddenly, in the middle of all the loud noise and the high pitched driving beat a pause, total silence for a moment, and then the soft drawn out words … breathe, just breathe …

 

Alarm clock screaming bare feet hit the floor
It’s off to the races everybody out the door
I’m feeling like I’m falling behind, it’s a crazy life

 

Ninety miles an hour going fast as I can
Trying to push a little harder trying to get the upper hand
So much to do in so little time, it’s a crazy life
It’s ready, set, go it’s another wild day
When the stress is on the rise in my heart I feel you say just ….

 

Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at my feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need
Is to just breathe ….

 

I encourage you to Google the song now and listen to it. The reason the song is so popular is because it speaks directly to the condition of so many of our lives. We race through life at ninety miles an hour when what we really need to do is … just breathe.

 

The primary reason God established the Sabbath (the fourth commandment) was so we would stop and rest. I know, you thought the primary reason for the Sabbath is to get you to go to church. No, it was first and foremost to be a day of rest. Gathering with God’s people for worship, learning, and fellowship is an important part of that resting and renewing, but the Sabbath is a day of rest, a day to stop running and to just breathe.

 

This is what I was describing in yesterday’s devotional and it’s one of the primary reasons we all need to be in church. It’s a time to stop and to just breathe as you are refreshed and renewed spiritually. I encourage you to take the time out of your busy life to rest and renew. An important part of that renewal will take place as you gather with others for worship.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim