Devotions

I was reading an online article about rude behaviors people exhibit in a grocery store. Things like not putting the carts back, blocking aisles, and talking on the telephone while checking out. In the section on not cutting in line, I came across the following quote.

“Learning to wait patiently in line is a life skill.”

Patience – that 8-letter word we all stumble over at times. Waiting in line with patience. Driving in traffic with patience. Teaching a child how to tie their shoes with patience. Waiting for a table in a restaurant with patience. Waiting for the right time or the right person with patience.

Patience – that 8-letter word that often vexes our soul and causes us to grind our teeth. P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E.

Paul opened his letter to the Colossian church with a prayer and in that prayer he asked for God’s strength and glorious power for his readers. He knew they would need God’s help if they were to develop all the patience needed for this life. We can’t do patience without God’s help.

“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.” [Colossians 1:11 NLT]

“Live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” [Colossians 4:5-6i NLT]

To “live wisely” we need to seek the wisdom of God who gives to us liberally, and we need to make the most of every opportunity the Spirit presents us. But there is one more thing …

We must let our conversation be gracious and attractive. That’s easy to do when we are surrounded by others of like faith … but a bit more difficult as we live among those “who are not believers.”

Too often those “non-believers” disturb us. Too often we react to their actions or attitudes with less than gracious actions and attitudes of our own. Sometimes our speech isn’t very attractive … bordering on rudeness.

Why do we expect those living without hope to act like those who have that “living hope” Peter mentions in 1Peter 1:3?

People are drawn to love. They are drawn to graciousness. We must make sure that we display the love, grace, and mercy of our Savior and LORD to everyone – to both those of like faith and those without faith.

“Live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” [Colossians 4:5-6i NLT]

What does it take to “live wisely” in this world? Yesterday I wrote about the wisdom that God promises us – all we need to do is to remember to ask Him to provide it!

We are also commanded in the passage above to “make the most of every opportunity.” That isn’t always easy because we are surrounded by non-believers and the world and the enemy of our soul love to see us fail in the opportunities that present themselves every day.

We get frustrated, discouraged, and often just want to withdraw. “The world is going to hell in a handbasket,” and we are more than willing to supply the “basket!”

Yet … we are commanded not to succeed in “every opportunity;” we are commanded to make the most of every opportunity. Sometimes the Spirit has us simply plant a seed. Sometimes He has us water the seeds that someone else planted. Sometimes we get those glorious opportunities where we harvest a soul.

We need to “live wisely.” We need to ask God for the wisdom needed to do so. And we need to follow the Spirit’s leading and make the most of every opportunity He places in front of us.

But there is more … tomorrow.

“Live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” [Colossians 4:5-6i NLT]

We are commanded to “live wisely!” The Greek word for “wisely” is “sophia” and it includes the ideas of “the art of using wisdom,” and having an “affection for wisdom.”

Those ideas of using and loving wisdom really made realize how often I fail to embrace God’s promise found in James 1:5. “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” [NLT]

The NLT is more tactful in the way it renders that verse. I think I like the NKJV version better: “If any of you LACKS wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” [emphasis mine]

 I LACK wisdom all the time. Yet how I often try to solve a problem on my own first – until I get desperate and finally invite God to step in and provide the wisdom He so willingly wants me to have.

Oh, LORD, teach me to ask you first! Amen & Amen

Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 2, closes out with a section titled in my Bible, Ministers of the New Covenant. “Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume…. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.” [2 Corinthians 2:14b, 17 NLT]

While reading through the chapter, those two verses stood out – and small phrases within those verses really made me think.

“Now [God] uses us.”  Our Omnipotent God uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere. Uses US! His flawed, often stubborn, children. He gives us the most glorious and vital message for mankind and says, “spread it everywhere!”

We do that “with sincerity and with Christ’s authority.” Our part is to take what God gives us and tell others about it – always with honesty and in the power of Christ’s authority. (Matthew 28:18: “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given ALL authority in heaven and on earth.’”– It’s that AUTHORITY!)

“Knowing God is watching us.” I know we can understand that in both a negative and a positive way. I choose to see the positive … I choose to see the benevolent loving smile on our Father’s face as we share the truth of the Word of God with others.

What a glorious assignment!

I am trying to get ‘control’ of a condition that resists control. Trying to gain control of anything is frustrating at best. As I watch the news (and if I go by what they show), it seems that’s not the only thing out of my control – just about everything in our nation and in our world is also out of my control.

That leads to a question, “So what is in my control?”  The answer, “My attitudes.”

God directs a list of commands regarding our attitudes in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” [HCSB]

While maintaining these attitudes consistently is challenging, it is not impossible. God, through the power of His Spirit within us will empower us to do so. These attitudes enable us to hold on to God during difficult and uncertain times. They keep us from being discouraged and self-involved.

When we rejoice, pray, and give thanks always we participate actively in God’s will for us. And being in the center of God’s will is realizing an awesome security that cannot be found in this out-of-control world.

In 1978 a comedy called Different Strokes came on the air. It ran until 1986. Gary Coleman was one of the children on the show and always got the biggest laugh with his line, “Whatcha talkin’ bout, Willis?”

In Luke 6, Jesus was teaching his disciples and one of the lessons he taught them was that a tree is known by its fruit. “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.”  [6:43-44 NLT]

Jesus was not really talking about trees because He goes on. “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” [6:45 NLT]

Jesus’ lesson is about people. Our heart’s priority is what we talk about the most. That made me ask myself, “Whatcha talkin’ bout, Terry?”

What do I talk about the most? Am I focused on what is pleasing to me, or even what is not pleasing? Or do I focus on what pleases the LORD? I think if I want to deepen my faith, I need to start by listening to myself and what the abundance of my heart is speaking.

Holy Spirit, open my spiritual ears and let me hear what my heart brings forth. Amen.

Fear. It is the atmosphere of much of our society. We fear the crashing of our economy. We fear the loss of the very foundations of democracy. We fear radicalism, hatred, injustice, and so much that is displayed across our government, media, and social lives every day.

As a child of God, however, fear is part of our past, not our present. When Christ redeemed us, when grace appeared for us, the fear that lived in us was replaced with something far stronger. We received the Spirit of adoption into the family of God.

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father’. For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” [Romans 8:15-16 NLT]

Now God is personal, He is our “Abba, Father.” He is not our enemy, but our Father. As His Spirit lives in us, He Himself testifies to us constantly that we are God’s children. GOD’S CHILDREN!

If there is anything that should bring us to our knees, it is not the fear this world promotes, it is the wondrous truth that “I am a child of God!” We cannot say that enough. We cannot meditate on that enough. We cannot live that enough. It is the only thing that will drive fear from us!

I am a child of God!

Since my hospital stay the first week of January, I haven’t been able to get to church on Sundays. This ‘condition’ I’m trying to get stabilized is worse in the morning. I improve some as the day goes along.

I miss the people I am used to spending Sunday mornings with. I miss the love and encouragement I find there. I miss the hugs and the smiles. I miss the worship, the messages, and the prayer. I miss church!

Hebrews 10 reminds us of the benefits of meeting with other Christians. “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” [vs24-25 NLT]

When we attend church, we motivate others and receive motivation to love and to do the good works God has ordained for us. We find encouragement to keep drawing closer to our Savior and LORD Christ Jesus.

The days are getting harder and more volatile as we approach the time of Christ’s Second Coming. We aren’t going to thrive if we try to do it alone – at least I’m not going to – I need the church!

I mentioned yesterday that last Saturday my Verse of the Day was Philippians 2:14-16. That passage begins with a vital command. “Do everything without complaining and arguing.” The goal of that command is “so that no one can criticize you.” [NLT]

Unfortunately, that is one of those commands that often fall by the wayside. We are a culture that loves to complain and loves to argue and that cultural norm has at times invaded the church. I know I have fallen victim to it!

What makes this attitude even more horrendous is that persecuted Christians around the world think American Christians are living a miracle. (It is estimated that 380M Christians faced some form of persecution in 2025. That ranges from hunger, lack of medical care, lack of access to work or school, to imprisonment without a trial, torture, and martyrdom.)

I have been reading some of the testimonies of these persecuted ones. They marvel that American Christians can meet whenever we want to, that we can sing our music as loud as we want to, that we have access to Bibles (as many as we want in whatever format we want.)

While they suffer for Christ, I’m often complaining about how loud the music is – or something just as trivial. God forgive me. Amen & Amen