My Daily Pause

Category: Devotional

  • The Clutter of Life

    The Clutter of Life

    As I was cleaning out my sold house in preparation for closing this week, I was amazed by the amount of “stuff” I was storing that was not worth the space it occupied. Items that contributed nothing to household and could be thrown away without a conscience. Junk that detracted from the beauty of other things that I own.

    A Cluttered life
    The clutter in our habits and our schedule can hide the beauty of our heart.

    That makes me wonder what I have using up the space in my life. Things that eat up my time and attention that do not contribute to God, family or my own spiritual needs.

    Psalm 15 asks a related question: “Who is going to dwell with God?” Certainly not those who have clutter in their lives that keep them from practicing all that God wants from us.

    Daily Bible reading for August 17

    Psalm 15
    1 Samuel 2:12-36
    Jeremiah 46-47
    Mark 14

  • House Cleansing Time

    After the triumphal entry in Jerusalem, (Mark 11:1-11) we find Jesus in the temple cleansing it for the second time. (Mark 11:15-16)

    Here are some interesting points about the Mark account:

    • The first time he cleansed the temple, (John 2:13-16) Jesus told the merchants not to profane his father’s house. He didn’t do that this time.
    • Mark gives the account of Jesus withering the fig tree in conjunction with the temple cleansing.
    • Jesus calls the merchants thieves and robbers this time.

    The lessons go much deeper than I can cover in this space, but in a few words: I see the time for grace coming to an end, I see judgment, and I see those who didn’t produce being destroyed.

    I leave you with these thoughts for your own study.

    Daily Bible reading for August 14

    Psalm 12
    Ruth 3
    Jeremiah 40-41
    Mark 11

  • Living With Jesus’ Urgency

    The Gospel of Mark opens with a fast paced account of the life of Jesus. When it is read start to finish one could even feel out of breath.

    We also see Jesus acting with intensity and focus as the time for his sacrifice draws near. This was a task he knew he had to do. It was a task he wanted to do.

    If more of us had spitituality like that, we would save more souls.

    Daily Bible reading for August 13

    Psalm 11
    Ruth 2
    Jeremiah 39
    Mark 10

  • The Wicked Boast

    The psalmist asked some of the same questions we ask today about wicked people and God’s people.

    • Why are the wicked prospering?
    • Why are Christians being oppressed?
    • Why are people so boastful of wicked things?

    The point he was trying to make was that the wicked do not believe in God, whether they admit it or not. (Psalm 10:1-11) Their greed and evil ways drive God right from their heart.

    My assertions about those who do not believe in God are these:

    • They suffer from laziness – Most who do not believe in God have not honestly studied the Bible
    • Their ego is in the way – It is difficult to conspicuously change one’s mind
    • They are immersed in self-pity – Most people know when they are doing bad things

    The attack that Atheists bring against Christians is intellectual, the implication being that only the uneducated believe in God. To get to that argument, those “educated” people have to ignore logic and evidence outside the Bible that God exists.

    So where does atheism come from in those “highly educated” people?

    They are wicked.

    They love the darkness that covers them and embrace the evil in their heart. (John 3:19)

    Daily Bible reading for August 12

    Psalm 10
    Ruth 1
    Jeremiah 38
    Mark 8:27-9:50

  • 8 Reasons You Need to Be in Church Today

    8 Reasons You Need to Be in Church Today

    Whether or not to attend worship services is a spiritual decision you will have to make today (or the Sunday after you read this.) If you think you will not be missed, then you are mistaken. Others are coming because you are. Your voice is needed in song. You need to remember Christ’s life death and resurrection. You need to give. This list goes on.fire

    The fact is, when you became a Christian you made a commitment. When you identified yourself with your congregation, you made a commitment.

    You committed yourself to serve the kingdom in any way that helps it grow. If you need more study on the matter, here are the reasons you need to be in church today:

    • To seek God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:33)
    • To worship God (John 4:24)
    • To edify the other saints (Hebrews 3:13)
    • To sing praises to our God (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19)
    • To pray (1 Timothy 2:1-8)
    • To partake of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-29)
    • To give as we have prospered(1 Corinthians 16:1, 2)
    • To study (2 Timothy 2:15).

    These are all items that are part of your service to God, but there is a compelling reason you need to go for yourself. Just like a coal loses its glow when it is removed from the fire, your spirit will be quenched when it is removed from the congregation. Just like that coal needs the fire’s heat to continue consuming the fuel, your faith needs God’s word to grow.

    See you in church!

    Daily Bible reading for August 11

    Psalm 9
    Judges 21
    Jeremiah 37
    Mark 7:1-8:26

  • 5 Ways to Make Close Friends Receptive to the Gospel

    If you find it challenging to get an audience for Bible study from among those closest to you, you are not alone.

    In Mark 6:4-5, we see Jesus performing the only the most basic miracles in his home town because they didn’t have enough faith in his message. Human jealousy and competition closed their ears to the one among them that wanted to save them.

    That was Jesus. He didn’t even have a bad reputation. He never committed a sin. If we were to list the reasons we need to be like Jesus, limiting our personal liabilities to the gospel message is a big one.

    Five Ways to Make Others Receptive

    To improve the chances of getting someone close to you to listen to the gospel here are some suggestions:

    • Practice excellent behavior – make it priority never to use coarse language, shy away from off-color subjects and stay away from TV and radio programming that use these things for humor.
    • Live well – When you look like you have it together, never complain, rarely worry, others will want to know why.
    • Never criticize –be careful about how you bow out of activities you shouldn’t join. Remember that they aren’t in the same place as you and haven’t made the same commitments to God yet.
    • Organically introduce the Bible – Wait for opportunities to teach so that the conversation feel natural to the discussion flow.
    • Introduce someone new – A Christian friend is helpful when they do not have the same history as you do with your long-time friends and relatives.

    Finding those open to the Gospel from among our peers is not impossible, it just takes a little more planning.

    Daily Bible reading for August 10

    Psalm 8
    Judges 20
    Jeremiah 36
    Mark 6