An inventor may come out with a product that grabs the market, while another equally talented inventor can produce a product that is better than the other one, yet fail. Why? All because of timing.
A business can open prematurely and result in bankruptcy, while another business can flourish all because of timing.
An author can write a book that makes the bestseller list, while another book which is better written can collect dust on the shelves because it came out too early or too late. Timing can make or break a good idea.
As wise Solomon wrote, "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecc 3:11).
Procrastination
For some people never is the right time. They never seem to do anything because they procrastinate.
People procrastinate because they don’t realize that they don’t have forever to accomplish what they need to accomplish.
Any Time" is Not Always Right
On the other side of the spectrum are those who think that anytime is the right time. Jesus said of His unspiritual brothers, "For you any time is right" (John 7:6). Jesus was very aware of God’s right time. He said to his brothers, "The right time for Me has not yet come."And to his mother, He said, "My time has not yet come."
God did not send Jesus too early or too late. Just at the right time.
Maybe at this point you have realized that you missed God’s time. Perhaps you simply feel frustrated because your whole life is out of sync.
Good News! The Bible says that you can "redeem the time" (Ep 5:16 KJV). So if you have blown your opportunities and missed your time of success, you can buy back some time from God. God will put you back in the race and rewind the clock and let you start over again.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven..." (Ecc. 3:1)
GospeLines Prayer:Father, forbid that I should become a "clock-watcher" at this season of my life. I want to trust You for the time I have left, to turn back the hands of time when I live in haste, and to advance the hours when I drag my feet. May I live wisely, as though my days on earth are eternal, but with an urgency, knowing that they are surely numbered.
≈ Devotional for Tuesday, July 21, 2009
"Dare to be Different"
Not everyone is alike. God prefers it that way.
David McKenna describes it like this: "Jesus neither chooses persons who are carbon copies of His own background nor appoints disciples who are easy to teach and manage. He prefers a team of wild horses to a bunch of worn-out plugs. Three years after He appoints them, they are still tugging at the bit."
Conformity is not cool. Find your niche and follow the Kingdom rules within your personality and temperament. You are absolutely and divinely unique. Celebrate that!
GospeLines Prayer:“Righteous Lord, never allow a desire for individualism to interfere with my yearning to be more and more like You. Allow me to be the person You’ve created, void of any attempt to act like, talk like or be like someone’s image of what they think I should be. Amen and amen
Count the letters. “Diet” is not a good word! We know well the meaning of that trite expression, “We are what we consume.” Very little changes in nutritional laws from one generation to the next and spiritual laws are just as eternal.
Christians are not lacking in desire to grow closer to God. There is a genuine love in the Church for growing in the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord. The problem is one of malnutrition. It isn’t that we are dining so much on the trash of the world as much as we are neglecting the one thing that feeds us and makes us healthy Christians, FEASTING UPON THE BIBLE, GOD’S HOLY WORD.
Begin reading the Bible today, for only five minutes, and you will discover an old truth in a new way, or some precious new thing which the Father has been yearning to share but you have not listened. Open your Bible and your heart to the fulfilling, nutritious scripture and see what you have been missing!
GospeLines Prayer:“Father, I am hungry, not because there is no food, but because I have not come to the table. Make the aroma of your feast so enticing that I will never forsake your daily bread again.”Amen and amen.
Have you ever really thought about what Jesus did on the cross?I don't mean the fact that He was horribly tortured or that His death was agonizing.Yes, all this is true and when we sing or say, "He died for me" we're usually thinking about His sacrifice and the fact that through His death and resurrection, we can receive forgiveness and eternal life.That's still not what I'm talking about.
When Jesus said, "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do," He was not just talking about the Jews who convicted Him or the Roman soldiers who crucified Him.He was talking about you and me!
At that moment, Jesus our Lord, the Messiah, was looking across time and seeing each and every sin you and I have committed.As He hung there on that cross, His eyes were looking into our eyes and His heart was asking, "Why?Why don't you love Me?Don't you know that every one of your sins is another lash of the whip on my body?Don't you know that every disobedient act is another strike of the hammer on the nails in my hands and feet? Why are you doing this when I love you so much?
Yes, Jesus was in agony, but not just the agony caused by the scourging or the crucifixion.He was also in agony because of what He saw us doing and it was breaking His heart… It still is…
That's Amazing love!
Look into those eyes right now and accept that amazing love.He's still there for you and He's still saying to the Father, "Forgive them."All He asks is that you accept Him as your Lord and Savior.If you haven't accepted Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, please, accept Him now as He looks at you from the cross and reaches out His hand to you.If you are ready to say “Yes” to Jesus then say the following prayer out loud:
Thank you Jesus.Thank You for enduring the cross in my place. I am truly sorry for my past sins and I acknowledge the pain those sins caused You.Jesus, I know I'm not worthy but I give You my heart and ask you to come into my heart, to be my Lord and Savior. I believe that Your death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness and I receive your gift of salvation now. I thank you that through the cross, I am an heir to the Kingdom of God.Guide my steps and fill me with Your amazing love.
If you just said "Yes" to Jesus for the first time, if you're still thinking about it; or, if you accepted Him long ago, remember these words and let them guide your heart.
Amazing love
How can it be
That you my King
Would die for me…
~~~~~~
Shalom,
RonU
Be made new in the attitude of your minds and have the same attitude, purpose and humble mind that was in Christ Jesus.(Ephesians 4:22-24; Philippians 2:4-7)
"Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray,
I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you. I will carry you and
save you." (Isaiah 46:4)
Aging isn't a secret that God surprises you with at the last minute. We are growing older by the day, and that's a fact. There are changes which come with aging, some wonderful and some not so good. But we have ample opportunity to get ready for the inevitable.
As Max Lucado says, "Your last chapters can be your best. Your final song can be your greatest. It could be that all of your life has prepared you for a grand exit. God's oldest have always been among his choicest."
GospeLines Prayer:Gracious Lord, may our last days be faced with as much enthusiasm as our first. As I grow older may my vision improve, not my vision of this world but my vision of heaven. Amen and amen.