LIVING WISELY

“Be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, but live wisely. Use every chance you have for doing good, because these are evil times.”  (Ephesians 5:15-16 NCV)

Life is filled with opportunities -- and obstacles that can prevent you from grabbing hold of them. The secret to making the most of your life lies in making the most of your time.

The first three words of this verse hold the key: be very careful. In the original language, this admonition is much stronger and fuller than what sounds here like a mother’s passing comment to her kids as they head outside. The words describe a way of living -- or “walking” as the Bible often describes it -- that is precise, accurate, and deliberate. It involves both forethought and a heightened sense of awareness. It’s similar to the way you drive a car. You need to be constantly attentive, responding to the ever-changing situations you find yourself in. You swerve to avoid hazards, brake for pedestrians, and follow the rules. Your skill, knowledge, and vigilance help you make wise decisions at a moment’s notice.

To live wisely you need to do the same thing. You need to face each day spiritually alert. You need to recognize evil, so you can avoid it like a dangerous hazard in the road. At the same time, you need to slow down and be on the lookout for opportunities to show love to others and to God -- and to grab hold of those opportunities. The good news is that God is in the car with you. His Spirit will help guide your daily journey toward a life full of well-utilized opportunities. 

-- Adapted from “100 Favorite Bible Verses”

#6282

MOVING ON

“If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if the tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.” (Ecclesiastes 11:3 AMP)

King Solomon said that where the tree falls, there it lies.  It is done, and we will not raise it up again.  But it is what we do from this point forward that makes the difference.

Something that seemed so sure turns questionable and something for which we had little hope suddenly works out.  Regardless of how things appear, they can be totally different -- and it is what we do from now on that will make or break us.  Moving on does not mean we do not care; it means we will not let it keep us from living fully. 

-- Toni Engstrom 

#6187

ACTING ON GOD’S WORD

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."  (James 1:22 ESV)

It’s easy to nod along in agreement when we hear a powerful sermon or read a moving devotional. But James reminds us: agreement is not obedience. God's Word is meant to be lived.

C.S. Lewis said, “Obedience is the key that opens every door.” There are many everyday doorways to obedience. The Grocery-Line Test: You’re behind someone struggling to count coins. You’re in a hurry. The Word says, “Be patient.” Do we live it -- or just know it? The Inbox Moment: You get an email from someone hurting. You think, “I’ll pray for them.” James nudges: Don’t just say it -- do it. Pause. Pray. Reach out. The Family-Room Challenge: Tension simmers. You recall “be quick to listen, slow to speak.” Do you speak gently -- or do you just remember the verse?

Faith isn’t a theory, it’s traction. The difference between hearer and doer is the footprint left behind. One fades like breath on glass. The other leaves indelible marks of grace and love.

To paraphrase a familiar quote, “The world does not need more outstanding sermons. It needs more obedient servants.” This quote underscores James 1:22’s challenge: not just to hear truth, but to embody it. It’s a call to let our lives preach louder than our lips. What’s one truth you’ve recently heard that you haven’t yet acted on? It could be forgiveness, generosity, humility, or compassion. Choose one. Live it today. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources 

#6166

DWELLING WITH THE WORD

"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16 NIV)

"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly." It is very different to read and know the Word than it is to let it "richly dwell" in your very spirit. This means we find the purpose and pleasure of God's Word. It means that God's Word directs our paths and that the very core of our being is filled with the Word. We don't have the Word as a mere visitor to our lives -- Sunday morning Bible readers! Rather we take the Word of God and let it sift through the "stuff" of our lives until it rests richly in our heart. Then we find the Word on our fingertips and tongues in each and every situation we encounter. As God's Word dwells richly we reap the rich rewards.

-- Pastor Gary Stone 

#5807

EXPERIENCING GOD’S LOVE

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:38-39 NIV)

It seems we do not often see or sense God’s sovereign love exercised on our behalf. Instead, we see ourselves beset with all kinds of calamities that come rolling in upon us. We see ourselves as the victims of “nature’s cruel fate,” of the injustices of other people, and of the adversities that occur with no rational cause.

It is at times like this that we must take our stand by faith on the assurances of God’s love given to us in the Scriptures. We cannot evade one of the basic principles of the Christian life, “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)  Certainly our faith frequently wavers and, just as we may momentarily question the wisdom of God, we will momentarily question the goodness and love of God. We will be like David when he said, “In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from Your sight!’” (Psalm 31:22)  That is often our initial reaction when adversity strikes us. We feel cut off from God’s face, from His love and tender care.

But we must also learn to say with David, “Yet You heard my cry for mercy when I called to You for help.” (Psalm 31:22)  God cannot forsake us because we are His children, in blessed union with His Son. We cannot be cut off from His sight. But we can be cut off from the assurance of His love when we allow doubt and unbelief to gain a foothold in our hearts. 

-- Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

#5678

HABITUAL FAITH

“Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”  (Romans 13:14 NIV)

Faith is a habit. Confidence comes from habitual -- or daily-disciplined -- faith… Christians gain confidence and motivation by “putting on the mind of Christ” -- breaking through their own egos to see themselves from God’s point of view -- habitually. In other words, the confident, mature Christian views life by the light of faith -- not by the light of their own self-gratification. 

-- Adapted from David Yount

#5548

FAITH INFORMING LIFE

There is no need to multiply examples of what is so patently an essential condition of the Christian walk. We are saved through faith – an unflagging, unwavering attachment to the person of Jesus Christ.

What is the depth and quality of your faith commitment? In the last analysis, faith is not a way of speaking or even thinking; it is a way of living. Maurice Blondel said, “If you want to know what a person really believes, don’t listen to what he says but watch what he does.” Only the practice of faith can verify what we believe. Does faith permeate the whole of your life? Does it form your judgments about success, about death? Does it influence the way you read the newspaper? Do you have a divine sense of humor that see through people and events into the unfolding plan of God? When things are turbulent on the surface of your life, do you retain a quiet calm, firmly fixed in ultimate reality? As Therese of Lisieux said, “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing.”

How has your faith shaped this past year? How will it shape the year ahead? 

-- Adapted from “Reflections for Ragamuffins” by Brennan Manning

#5506

RACING AGAINST THE DARKNESS

[Former NFL great] Deion Sanders grew up across the street from a huge cemetery. He often played at the school or a park until dark, and then had the unfortunate need to walk home past the graveyard in the dark. He had a plan. He would stand at the edge of the graveyard and wait until a car approached heading toward his house. He would run as fast as he could alongside the car, trying to keep up with the lights until he got to his front porch. Deion says, "That's how I got my speed. Racing against the darkness." That's a good image for Christian living: racing against the darkness. The Scriptures tell us that's our main competition. We contend not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of darkness. We race against the darkness of poverty when we feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. We race against the darkness of spiritual death when we witness [to the light of Jesus Christ].

-- Rev. Clark Williams in “Challenge to Evangelism Today” Newsletter

#5444

FAITH IN ACTION

Faith is not merely a belief in ideas or concepts but a belief that moves us to action. The New Testament usage of "faith" derives largely from the Hebrew understanding that "to believe" is to have firmness, reliability, or steadfastness. Faith in action is a steadfast trusting in God and in our relationship with God. ...

A significant part of our faith is how we live it out daily, for our actions and our lifestyles witness to the true faith we hold. Somehow in our upbringing, many Western Christians have missed the critical link between faith and lifestyle. Faith should express itself in what we eat, how we spend our time, how we entertain ourselves, and how we spend our money. ...

For faith to grow, we must be open and listening to God through scripture, prayer, worship, music, nature, people, and the circumstances of our lives. Then we must be obedient to God's will and direction for us as we discern them. True Christian faith leads us to involvement with others and sensitivity to their needs. 

-- Ann Hagmann in “Climbing the Sycamore Tree”  (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 2001)

#5274

A LIFE OF FAITH

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”   (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is the way we begin the life in Christ; faith is also the way it is maintained; and faith is what will bring us at last in triumph through the gates of glory into the very presence of the Lord Himself.

-- Ray C. Stedman

#5168 

ACTING ON WHAT WE BELIEVE

“Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.”   (Philippians 2:12-13)

Sometimes, when God is at work in us, it can feel like we are in the dark. It can involve some heat. It can be painful. Let's look closely at how God works in us and what that process involves... It will always involve a testing of your faith, or what Dr. Henry Blackaby [in “Experiencing God”] refers to as a crisis of belief.

What do you know to be true about God? Many things will come to mind. You know He is love. You know He is faithful. You know He cares about you and that He is always aware of what you are going through.

The crisis for us occurs when we must act on the basis of what we believe. Do we believe it enough to act upon that belief when we are in the dark? When it hurts? When we do not feel like responding?

-- From Christianity Online 

#5168

ONLY THROUGH FAITH

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”  (Galatians 2:20-21 NLT)

Trying to get right with God by keeping a bunch of religious rules is a formula for frustration and failure. First problem, whose rules? Such requirements vary from religion to religion, person to person, and generation to generation. What if you’re working from the wrong list? Second problem, how do we define what it mean to “keep” those rules? Do we have to follow them perfectly? Or are we allowed a reasonable number of mistakes and missteps? And what is considered “reasonable”? The gospel of Christ eliminates all this confusion by stating categorically that no one but Christ is good enough. Only through faith in Him, only by relying on His efforts on our behalf, do we qualify for heaven.

Father, we are not made right with You by human efforts, and we do not stay right with You by works. Remaining “in Your good graces” means counting on Christ alone to live in us. Amen. 

– Max Lucado in “Life Lessons: Galatians – Free in Christ”

#5124

LIVING FROM FAITH NOT FEAR

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation."  (Isaiah 12:2 NIV) 

There is always a fight between faith and fear. Every single one of us face it head on in our lives, from time to time. But the one thing we can know, without a doubt, is this: the way to peace in our lives is never found by following our fear, but only by living from our faith.

-- Eric Folkerth

#4947