“My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready” (John 7:6)

Being “ready” can be difficult at times to accomplish.  Lenora and I raised two teenage girls, and one of the most frequently asked questions in our house was, “Are you finally ready?”  The pressure to be ready causes forgetfulness, stress, and more than a few arguments.  For them, getting ready was hard!  My son was another story.  He often had short hair than only needed a one minute comb-through.  Any clothing combination (even if it didn’t match) was ok with him.  In essence, he was always ready, even at a moment’s notice, to walk out the door.

Jesus tells us here in John 7 that our time is ALWAYS ready.  Likewise, Peter tells us that we must always be ready to give an answer.  Both of these statements speak to preparedness.  We are described as pilgrims and strangers in this world, waiting for the day we will get to go to our true home.  But do we really embrace that?  Do we cherish our home on high more than this foreign place?

How often are we are like a businessman on a trip who redecorates his hotel room!  This IS NOT OUR HOME.  We need to be READY at every moment, with HOME in our hearts and minds.

Kerry

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…”  (Deuteronomy 10:12)

Do you ever wonder why God puts up with us?  Through the years people have made a habit of disappointing Him.  In truth, failure is our great art.  It is truly the only thing in which we excel.  It doesn’t matter if we are talking about the unfaithful Israelites and their thousand-year flirtation with idolatry, or our own individual struggles with sin- our species is constantly breaking God’s heart.

So why does He endure our disloyalty?  Because He loves us?  There can be no doubt.  But what else?  Deuteronomy 10 seems to indicate a different answer.  Not only does He love us, but He yearns for us to love Him in return.  He wants us to reject the world of our own free-will and choose Him!

This changes things somewhat.  Not only does God love me (which could be simply out of a sense of obligation).  He longs for me to love Him!  He wants to hear the words from my lips.  He has pursued us.  We are the objects of His desire and our affection is the fondest wish of His divine heart.  All I can say when I begin to absorb that is… WOW.

Kerry

“I sought the Lord and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm34:4)

I have a loved one who is terrified of elevators.  The fear is so all consuming that she avoids them at all cost, even if it means climbing ten flights of stairs.  I am excessively afraid of sharks, to the point that I stay on the sand while my family enjoys the ocean surf.  Both of our fears are silly, and we know it.  In fact, we often tell ourselves how crazy our phobias are in an attempt to conquer them.  But all of the statistics, reasoning, and pep talks result in the same thing- we are still afraid!

Human beings exist in a world of fears.  Everyone is terrified of something.  Fear causes us to buy insurance, lock our doors, put on our life-jackets, and fasten our seat belts.  Fear controls us.  It becomes our master.  Yet, we are told that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER…” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).  According to the Bible, our Father is the antidote for fear!

How then do I apply this divine medicine?  I can certainly study and pray, but will simply having the knowledge be enough?  No, I have to take a leap of faith and FACE MY FEARS!  Therefore, next time I’m on the beach, I will strive to remember God’s promise, strap on my fins and goggles, and dive in.  He can indeed help me face my fears, even if my knees are shaking the whole time!

Kerry