Focus on Eternity

     Imagine that you have just celebrated Christmas and you’ve given your teens new electronic reading devices.  You have preloaded two volumes of a book series that came highly recommended by another parent whose opinion you trust.  For weeks you've looked forward to spending the ten-day school holiday with your kids enjoying mother-daughter activities.  You thoroughly enjoy your kids and have anticipated this vacation time doing all kinds of fun activities:  watching movies, building puzzles, baking, sewing and having great conversations.  Maybe your activity list would look slightly different than ours, but it's not too hard to imagine spending good quality time with your kids, is it?  Many moms look forward to spending the holiday break enjoying their kids.      We have two voracious readers, so much so that during the next ten days they lay dormant in their bedrooms reading, reading, reading.  Ten days, six books, ...

The Wilderness Journey:       Watching a video clip from The God Guarantee: Discover the Secret to Always Having Enough, by Jack Alexander, I learned of Pam and Pierce Hamilton's wilderness experience. She recalls a day in 2009 where she learned of her husband diagnosis. It was a fast-moving neurological disease called CJD. In less than two weeks, on her eldest son's birthday, she became a widow with four small boys between the ages of 1 1/2 to 10 years of age . It was at this moment of great despair that Pam was able to experience the community of God-loving people that expanded her family.        Her story reminded me of a couple who ministered to our family as we were preparing to adopt our second daughter from China.  Just shy of four years old, Juliana, who had already developed language skills, waited for us in Shanghai.  Our nearly five-year adoption journey now produced a name, a face, and a location along with a fe...

Our Purpose: This was my weekend to teach a lesson from God's Word in children’s ministry to a group of fifth-grade boys and girls.   Our lesson was one of utmost importance, it describes our mission in the life of a believer.   The purpose for our lives is found in this passage, Matthew 28:19-20.  As I typed that last sentence, the internal editor caught my error and wanted to change my sentence from ‘the purpose for our lives’ to 'the purpose of our lives.  Do you see the subtle difference between these two little words? I needed to look them up. ·        The word ‘for’ means with regards to, and ·        The word ‘of’ means derived by or coming from. I stand corrected, the purpose of our lives derived by God in the context of our mission.   The passage we studied came from the 40-day presence of incarnate Jesus following the resurrection. Incarnate means deity taking on fl...

     When was the last time you confessed a sin to God, or to anyone else for that matter?   As I grow deeper in my walk of faith, I am beginning to feel greater conviction when I fall short of glorifying God, my ultimate purpose.   The Holy Spirit teaches me by bringing Biblical applications to mind.   I felt such leading today.   I sent an apology card to a friend after I realized my error in trying to speak unsolicited truth into her life.   I had acted as if I were God's spokesperson.   I judged, which I would prefer to call an appeal to their senses, but my method was misapplied.   I didn't humbly set myself as an example, nor did I guide her into Scripture.   I spoke through "my" wisdom given from a prideful heart.   I'm sure if I had offered my lips to the Holy Spirit the message would have come forth with much greater clarity.   It is not the first time that I've made this error; I am an experienced sinner. ...

     As I attempt to put my daily focus on eternity, I know that it is essential to keep my eyes in God's Word.  Psalm 119, written by David throughout his life, inspires me.  This Psalm holds the title of the longest chapter in the Bible at 176 verses.  Formatted into 22 sections , this chapter has a stanza for each letter of the Greek alphabet.  Each stanza contains eight verses .  It is in this writing that we learn about God's standard, perfection!  That's God's standard.  " Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the Lord !" [1] While I know that blameless is an impossible standard for us, it does allow one to focus on a goal.  Jesus is the only perfectly innocent (blameless) person to have walked on the earth.  His guidance system, the Holy Spirit, also dwells in believers.        David goes on to say, “ Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with t...