Be Faithful!
Note from Jesus Dear Friend, I want you to feel the urgency in today’s words that Paul wrote to Timothy. They come from the last of Paul’s writings to his son in the faith. These words plead for Timothy to join Paul in his life of faith in two specific ways: Be faithful to the call he had received to proclaim My message and do it with truth and passion. Join Paul in his last days so that he could be of assistance to Paul and so that these days could have an impact on the lost world and strengthen new churches to live for Me and the kingdom of God. Paul was realistic but not pessimistic about the future awaiting him. He was fully confident in My coming with power and glory. This faith in Me helped him to remain loyal to Me, to be strong in his faith, to be inspired by the Scriptures, and to be faithful even to death. He was urging Timothy to be faithful, too. As Paul often did at the end of his letters, he mentioned people who were both faithful and unfaithful to him and to Me. This is just another way for Paul to appeal to Timothy’s heart and challenge him to do the following: [S]tay focused and be alert at all times. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you [Timothy] have been called. [L]ove and long for His [My] appearing. Come to me [Paul] … as soon as you can. Bring Mark with you because he is useful in this work and will help look after me. [P]ick up the cloak I [Paul] left with Carpus in Troas, and bring the scrolls — especially the parchments. [W]atch your back because he [Alexander the metal worker] has gone overboard to oppose our message. Give my regards to Prisca, Aquila, and everyone over at Onesiphorus’s house. At first glance, these excerpts from the verses below appear to be miscellaneous instructions and requests thrown in at the end of a letter. However, look closely, and you will see Paul’s focus on being faithful in every area of life: to all the people in his life, to the ministry he had been called to complete, and to the people to whom I had called him to mentor and serve. Most of all, Paul finished with a reminder of how I was faithful to him even when everyone else abandoned him: He [Me, Jesus] stood by me, strengthened me, and backed the truth I proclaimed with power… Paul’s example of faithfulness was a challenge for Timothy to be faithful in every area of his life, his relationships, and his ministry. I want it to be a challenge to you to be faithful in every area of your life as well! Verses to Live Are you a faithful person? Do you live up to your word? Do you stand by your friends? Are you committed to faithfully living out your commitments to Me? I hope Paul’s words to Timothy challenge you to be faithful in every area of your life and ministry. Be faithful! And now I bring you this charge before God and Jesus the Anointed, the one destined to judge the living and the dead, at His glorious appearance and His kingdom: go out and preach the word! Go whether it’s an opportune time or not! Reprove, warn, and encourage; but do so with all the patience and instruction needed to fulfill your calling because a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. Instead, they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear. They will turn away from the real truth you have to offer because they prefer the sound of fables and myths. But you must stay focused and be alert at all times. Tolerate suffering. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called. For I am already being poured out, and the last drops of this drink offering are all that remain; it’s almost time for me to leave. I have fought the good fight, I have stayed on course and finished the race, and through it all, I have kept believing. I look forward to what’s in store for me: a crown of righteousness that the Lord — the always right and just judge — will give me that day (but it is not only for me, but for all those who love and long for His appearing). Come to me, Timothy, as soon as you can. You see, Demas has fallen for this world, abandoned me, and headed off to Thessalonica. Crescens took off for Galatia. Titus has gone to Dalmatia. Luke is the only one left. Bring Mark with you because he is useful in this work and will help look after me. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. On your way here, pick up the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and bring the scrolls — especially the parchments. Keep your eye out for Alexander the coppersmith! He came against me with all sorts of evil — may the Lord pay him back accordingly — so watch your back because he has gone overboard to oppose our message. When it was time for my first defense, no one showed up to support me. Everyone abandoned me (may it not be held against them) except the Lord. He stood by me, strengthened me, and backed the truth I proclaimed with power so it may be heard by all the non-Jews. He rescued me, pried open the lion’s jaw, and snatched me from its teeth. And I know the Lord will continue to rescue me from every trip, trap, snare, and pitfall of evil and carry me safely to His heavenly kingdom. May He be glorified throughout eternity.
Today’s Verse – Matthew 10:22
“All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” —Matthew 10:22 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Wow! Jesus’ words are emphatic and decisive! He chose these challenging words because his followers — that’s us today — must realize they will not be the dominant or accepted culture during most of the world’s history. Discipleship is difficult and demanding; most folks want things simple and easy. The values Jesus called his disciples to embody are generally unfavorable to the dominant cultures of our world. “So, be ready!” Jesus was essentially telling us. “Be ready to face criticism and rejection.” While we know life as a disciple may be an uphill battle to change the hearts of men and women of the world, with the Spirit’s help, we can be God’s tools to bless others and lead them closer to him! Jesus called us to do that throughout his teaching and example during his earthly ministry (Matthew 5:11-16). Salvation in all its glory awaits us at our journey’s end. Hopefully, we will influence others to join us in our journey to Jesus despite the opposition of those who reject the Lordship of Jesus Christ! My Prayer… Forgive us, dear Father, for we have often grown impatient with the world around us and started seeing it as the enemy rather than our target for your grace. Please give us the wisdom and the courage to balance our understanding of the world with your passion to redeem it through Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Be Inspired!
Note from Jesus Dear Faithful Follower, You need to be inspired if you are going to face the challenges of living in these last days. As Paul warned Timothy, there are a lot of people who are mean, uncaring, unrighteous, and spiritually counterfeit. Stay away from these kinds of people. They will seek to involve you and entrap you in their sin. The way to resist their influence is learning to recognize what is good, right, and holy. So stay close to godly people who live for Me. They display My righteous character in their lives. They show My gracious compassion to those in need. Read about the martyrs and heroes of the faith who were faithful even in the face of death. Look at the things they invested their time and efforts in doing. Spend time in the holy Scriptures. Read about My heroes of faith. The inspired Scriptures are given to you so you can understand the Father’s will and live the way the Father intended for you. These holy Scriptures are God-breathed. They are inspired by the Father and breathed into the hearts of those who wrote them. These Scriptures are practical and useful. So spend time with the Scriptures, always asking the Holy Spirit to help you hear My voice. I want you to know what you are to feel and what you are to do based on what these Scriptures say. Rather than complicating and confining your life, these Scriptures are given to you to inspire you to holy living, courageous action, and victorious commitment. So be inspired! Verses to Live Paul didn’t pull any punches with Timothy when he talked about how hard it was to live in the last days. Timothy knew Paul was imprisoned and awaiting death. Timothy had known that this would likely happen because he knew that Paul had been stoned and left for dead in Lystra by people who hated him (Acts 14:8-20). To remain loyal and to be strong, Paul knew Timothy needed to be inspired. I want you to be inspired by Paul’s words today, too. And know this: in the last days, times will be hard. You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. Even though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They deny His power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these. They’re snakes slithering into the houses of vulnerable women, women gaudy with sin, to seduce them. These reptiles can capture them because these women are weak and easily swayed by their desires. They seem always to be learning, but they never seem to gain the full measure of the truth. And, just as Jannes and Jambres rose up against Moses, these ungodly people defy the truth. Their minds are corrupt, and their faith is absolutely worthless. But they won’t get too far because their stupidity will be noticed by everyone, just as it was with Jannes and Jambres. You have been a good student. You have closely observed how I have lived. You’ve followed my instructions, my habits, my purpose, my faith, my patience. You’ve watched how I love and have seen how I endure. You have been with me through persecutions and sufferings — remember what they did to me in Antioch? in Iconium and Lystra? I endured all of it, and the Lord rescued me from it all! Anyone wishing to live a godly life in Jesus the Anointed will be hunted down and persecuted. But as for the wicked and the imposters, they will keep leading and following each other further and further away from the truth. So surely you ought to stick to what you know is certain. All you have learned comes from people you know and trust because since childhood you have known the holy Scriptures, which enable you to be wise and lead to salvation through faith in Jesus the Anointed. All of Scripture is God-breathed; in its inspired voice, we hear useful teaching, rebuke, correction, instruction, and training for a life that is right so that God’s people may be up to the task ahead and have all they need to accomplish every good work. (2 Timothy 3:1-17) Response in Prayer O Father, forgive me for not spending enough time in your Scriptures. I thank You for the inspiring stories of courage about men and women of faith. I thank You for the words of warning and the examples of the bad consequences for those who do not heed those words. I thank You for the many practical teachings in the Scriptures. Father, I thank You that as I read these words of inspiration, the same Spirit Who inspired the Scriptures is at work in me to apply them to my life, to open my eyes to Your deeper truths, and to conform me to be more like You each day. I ask for Your inspiration to be at work on me and in me to conform me to Your will. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2024, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today’s Verse – Deuteronomy 10:21
He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. —Deuteronomy 10:21 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God is our praise! The God who parted the Red Sea and supplied manna to the Israelites in the wilderness is also the God who did the most amazing miracles for us and in us — he has turned our selfish hearts to do his will, turned our lives to do his eternal work in the world, and tuned us through the Holy Spirit’s work to become more like Jesus! After doing all those things in us and for us, God has gifted and empowered us to do those things he has placed in our hearts to do. He is our praise, and he is worthy of that praise. He is the One we worship even as he is the One who makes us worthy worshipers! My Prayer… You are worthy, Abba Father, of all glory, honor, and praise. You have done great and mighty works throughout the history of your people, Israel — most of whom were everyday people you used mightily. Thank you for using us to do your work in our world, today. We praise you, dear Father, for using everyday folks like us to do your eternal work. In the name of Jesus, our King, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Be Strong!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, In today’s verses Paul was urging Timothy to be strong. I urge you as well to be strong in Me. With Paul’s impending martyrdom, he was passing the torch of leadership, mission, and equipping of new leaders to Timothy. To do all the things Timothy needed to do, he had to choose to be strong and “empowered by the grace that is in” Me! He needed to soldier on through possible suffering. He needed to endure and complete his race of faith. He needed to work hard until he was able to enjoy the harvest of all of his work. Timothy needed to be strong in the simple and clear message of My good news. He needed to be strong and not let the threat of prison, or even death, steal away the truth that nothing can stop My message and the cause for which he lived. He needed to be strong in confronting those who dissipated the strength of My people with their “bickering over words” and “meritless arguments” and “ungodly babbling”. Timothy needed to be strong in completing his mission and in not being ashamed of My message. He needed to be strong morally and pursue the right things by avoiding immorality and evil in all its forms. My dear disciple, being strong is not just about your will power. It is also about your commitment to be strong through the power of the Holy Spirit living in you. Nevertheless, being strong does mean you have chosen to be strong before your strength is tested. It is about a commitment to stay on track with things that matter. It is the discipline not to feel like you have to show yourself strong in things that don’t matter. I want you to be strong in the Scriptures. I want you always to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. I want you to trust the Spirit to strengthen you to make the right choices and do the right things, whether those choices and things seem easy or difficult. Choose to be strong and you will find that the holy reservoir of strength within you may surprise you! As Paul said to the Thessalonians: [T]he Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 NIV) Verses to Live As you read these verses, not only see how Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong, but also write down what the Holy Spirit is saying to you about being strong! But as for you, my child, be empowered by the grace that is in Jesus, the Anointed One. Whatever you heard me teach before an audience of witnesses, I want you to pass along to trustworthy people who have the ability to teach others too. As a good soldier of Jesus the Anointed, be ready to suffer with me. Remember that soldiers on active duty don’t get wrapped up in civilian matters because they want to satisfy those who recruited them. Look at it another way: if someone competes as an athlete, he won’t win the race and be crowned with the wreath if he breaks the rules. And the farmer who exhausts himself in the field should be the first to taste his harvest. Think about what I am telling you, and let the Lord give you clarity on all of it. Remember Jesus the Anointed, raised from the dead, descended from David’s royal line. This is the crux of my good news! This is why I suffer and why I am bound and chained like a lawbreaker. But God’s word is not in chains! That’s why I endure everything for the sake of God’s chosen: so that they might experience salvation with lasting, eternal glory through Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. Here’s a statement you can trust: If we died with Him, we will live with Him. If we remain with Him, we will reign alongside Him. If we deny Him, we will be denied by Him. If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, For He is not able to deny Himself. Remind others about these things that I’m telling you. Warn them before God to stop their useless bickering over words. After all, splitting hairs does no good; it only ruins those forced to listen to their meritless arguments. Timothy, do everything you can to present yourself to God as a man who is fully genuine, a worker unashamed of your mission, a guide capable of leading others along the correct path defined by the word of truth. Stay away from ungodly babbling because it will only lead deeper into a godless lifestyle. Once these empty voices start to speak, Timothy, they infect and spread; and soon the body is consumed with its cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus fell victim to it, and they walked away from the truth by claiming that the day of resurrection has already arrived. They are clearly disrupting the faith of some who are not well grounded. Regardless of what they do or say, God’s foundation is strong and firmly in place, etched with this seal: “The Lord knows the ones who belong to Him,” and, “Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord ought to stop doing what they know to be wrong.” Look, in the mansions of the rich and powerful you will find everything from silver and gold serving bowls to wooden containers and clay jars; some are used for special occasions — where honor is important — others are used for more mundane tasks. So tell them, if they will clean up their lives and purify themselves from dishonorable teachings that lead people astray, then they can become honorable vessels, consecrated and useful to the
Today’s Verse – Deuteronomy 10:20-21
Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. —Deuteronomy 10:20-21 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What do you find yourself holding onto most often? What is your source of security, reassurance, hope, and stability in what frequently feels like troubled and perilous times? What do you encourage folks to do, and who do you encourage them to hold onto during their times of trouble? We humbly reverence God with a loving and holy fear that respects him for the many ways he has delivered us in the past and will deliver us in the future. One way we do this is in reverent praise that points our heart to him and takes our eyes off our troubles! My Prayer… Dear God and Abba Father, please be with several people we each know who are undergoing trials and temptations. Use us to bless them and encourage them. Please uphold them with your powerful hand. Finally, dear Father, strengthen and empower them to hold on to you through life’s storms. In Jesus’ name, we reverence you and enter your presence to find your grace. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Be Loyal
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Today and the next three days, I want to share with you one key concept from each of the four chapters in your book of 2 Timothy. Today’s key thought is this: be loyal! This short letter from Paul was an urgent message to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy. Paul knew his time before being martyred for his faith was short (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Some of Paul’s cherished converts and even some of his apprentices had turned back from him and from their faith in Me. This abandonment broke Paul’s heart. Over the next several days, you will hear this brokenness in some of the words he wrote to Timothy. These circumstances also created a sense of urgency to share some important words of encouragement and challenge with Timothy. Leaders who would take My good news to the world were lacking. Leadership among My disciples was now going to rest in the hands of a new generation of people like Timothy. So in today’s verses, the opening part of his letter, Paul reminded Timothy to be loyal. He challenged Timothy to be loyal to the gospel of grace that gave people “the promise of life” in Me. He was to be loyal to the calling and the anointing to ministry that he had received. Timothy was to show himself loyal to the upbringing and training he had received from his mother and grandmother. He was to remain loyal to Paul and to the message Paul proclaimed. He was to be loyal like Onesiphorus, who found Paul in prison and came to him and refreshed his spirit. Loyalty is an essential virtue. When loyalty is violated, broken, or abandoned, disloyalty deeply wounds all the people involved. Remember that My closest disciples forsook me and fled when I was arrested and crucified. Remember that Judas betrayed Me. Peter denied he knew Me. My other apostles abandoned Me. Abandoning loyalty to your call to minister to others short circuits My desire to use you to channel My grace to others. Disloyalty in marriage creates separation between lovers and sows the seeds of destruction in the relationship. Being disloyal in your relationships also breaks something inside of you. You hurt in your soul because you know that you have done something wrong. However, if you simply ignore your conscience and the Spirit within you calling to you to own your disloyalty, confess it, and turn from it, and if you refuse to seek forgiveness for your disloyalty and refuse to seek reconciliation, then that brokenness can become crippling to you and your relationships. Disloyalty to your faith does much the same thing. Worst of all, your abandoning loyalty to your faith impacts all those around you and affects you eternally. So I want you to feel the emotion of the old apostle Paul as he writes to his now “not so young” apprentice minister, Timothy. Paul is imprisoned and awaiting death. He is almost completely alone. Many have abandoned him. Others have deserted the faith he shared with them. Just as he pleads for Timothy to be loyal to all those things that had been entrusted to him, I want you to hear My call to you to be loyal. Be loyal to Me, to My grace, to My work, to My call in your life, to My leaders, to My disciples, and to My message — all of which include being loyal to all of your commitments to Me as well as to others. Be loyal! It won’t be easy. It might be costly. It could even be dangerous. But be loyal! Being loyal opens the door for My work in you to make you more than you are now, to make you better than you are now, and to make you more fully whole as a human being and as a child of your Father in heaven. Be loyal! Verses to Live As you read Paul’s challenge to Timothy to be loyal in every area of his life and ministry, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the areas where you need to be more loyal. Also, ask yourself if there is a person to whom you have been disloyal and with whom you need to reconcile (Matthew 5:23-24). Paul, an emissary of Jesus the Anointed commissioned by God’s will according to the promise of life found only in Jesus the Anointed, to you, my dear child Timothy. May grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus the Anointed be yours. Timothy, you are constantly in my prayers. Day and night I remember you before God and give thanks to Him Whom I serve with a clean conscience, as did my ancestors. I really want to see you, especially when I remember how you cried the last time we were together. Yes, I know it would make me joyful to see you again. What strikes me most is how natural and sincere your faith is. I am convinced that the same faith that dwelt in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, abides in you as well. This is why I write to remind you to stir up the gift of God that was conveyed to you when I laid my hands upon you. You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit. So don’t be embarrassed to testify about our Lord or for me, His prisoner. Join us in suffering for the good news by the strength and power of God. God has already saved us and called us to this holy calling — not because of any good works we may have done, but because of His own intention and because eons and eons ago (before time itself existed), He gave us this grace in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. And now, the time has come! That grace was revealed when our Savior, Jesus the Anointed, appeared; and
Today’s Verse – Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. —Proverbs 10:19 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We are constantly filling our world with noise. If it is not the sound of our own voices, then we turn up some other source of noise to fill the silence. With the proliferation of radio talk shows, we can sound off to that noise. With YouTube®, Instagram®, Snapchat®, Facebook® and the ever-growing new and emerging social media, we can fill our days with noise, information, and entertaining distractions. Unfortunately, all too often, we say things that are harmful, hurtful, incendiary, or foolish. God’s wisdom reminds us to learn to hold our tongue and let silence rule over more of our time rather than generate the noise of our words that clutter our world. “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” My Prayer… Holy God, please give me wisdom so that I can keep my mouth shut more often, the noise around me turned down, and my ears attentive to your guidance and the needs of others around me. Purify my heart and cleanse my speech so that my words will be helpful to others and bring glory to you. Help me filter what I expose my ears and heart to hear. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
The Mystery of Godliness
Note from Jesus Dear Friend, I love it when one of My servants makes the message about Me and My grace very clear and concise. The apostle Paul was hoping to join Timothy in Ephesus and bless both Timothy and the church. He knew many of those believers well. There were all sorts of discussions, arguments, and speculations in Ephesus about “mysterious” truth. Rather than making the truth about Me difficult, Paul wrote a beautifully simple and poetic statement of truth about Me. You find that truth in the verses below. I share this focus with you today because I want you to have a clear summary of what My incarnation and ministry mean. Paul’s summary can be restated in simple points and put into a more Western form in this way: I came to the world as God in human flesh. The Spirit affirmed My identity as Son of God through My resurrection from the dead. Heavenly messengers announced My birth, comforted Me in the garden, and proclaimed My resurrection. I have been preached throughout the world to all kinds of people. Many different kinds of people — male and female, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, politically conservative and liberal, as well as slave and free — have all become God’s children through Me. I have ascended to the Father where I intercede for you and pour the Holy Spirit out upon you. Those are the factual truths. Paul’s poem says it succinctly and beautifully. So how would you summarize the good news about me in a few words? What’s the truth that you must know, must share, and must hold in your heart? Put your answers to those questions down in simple, clear, and possibly even poetic form. Use your answers to teach others about Me! That’s what ordinary folks have done for centuries, and they have led millions upon millions to faith in Me. Remember, as you share your essential truth about Me, the Holy Spirit will be with you to remind you of Me and to lead you into all truth. The Holy Spirit will empower you to speak the truth when confronted by those who oppose you. The Spirit can convict the hearts of those with whom you share My message! Verses to Live Paul began his first letter to Timothy with several admonitions to him, his son in the faith. Toward the middle of this letter, Paul told Timothy why he was writing. He also told him he hoped to join him soon in Ephesus. Then Paul gave Timothy a succinct summary of truths about Me. This confessional statement could be used in churches to give them the basic truths about Me and My ministry. These truths are the basis of godly living. I [Paul] am writing all this to you [Timothy], hoping I can come to you before too long; but in case I am delayed, you will know how one ought to behave as a member of God’s family — the assembly of the living God, the pillar and foundation that support the truth — and I think you will agree that the mystery of godliness is great: He [Jesus] was revealed in the flesh, proven right in the Spirit; He was seen by the heavenly messengers, preached to outsider nations. He was believed in the world, taken up to the heavens in glory. (1 Timothy 3:14-16) Response in Prayer Father, I know that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven must become like a child. Please, dear Lord, help me. Help me as I put the great truths of Jesus down into a simple and clear form to remember and to share the truth of Jesus with others. Please give me the confidence to share those words with grace. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2024, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today’s Verse – Ecclesiastes 10:18
If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks. —Ecclesiastes 10:18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Laziness is not just an attitude; it is a lack of action. It is a choice to let important matters suffer and neglect what is necessary. The results of this choice of laziness over action may not always be immediately evident. However, with time, the accumulating signs of decay make the results of idleness very clear. This is doubly true spiritually. I wonder how many people have remained lost because God’s people were lazy about reaching out to the lost and broken. I wonder how many great Kingdom projects never happened because we chose not to make the effort to see them through to completion. Laziness isn’t just an attitude of neglect but also a choice not to act! Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Stir in me, dear Heavenly Father, a passion to do what is true, good, and righteous. Please help me as I seek to do those good things now while I have the conviction and the moment in time to do them. Convict my heart, dear God, that when I neglect what is important, I neglect your work in my world. At the same time, dear Father, please help me discern the difference between laziness and my genuine need for rest as I try to balance my life between my many responsibilities. I ask for your guidance, O LORD, to honor you with my life, work, rest, and diligence. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.