Devotionals | His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich

How Much Time Does It Take?

September 5, 2011 Leave a comment

On Saturday it took two hours to defrost the freezer chest in my garage. I had put off this task for the last two years. And, in reality, I wasn’t “working” on it for those two hours. I simply took all the food out, put the perishables in portable ice chests, unplugged the freezer and let our 100-degree temperatures in our garage do the rest. So I might have actually “worked” for 15 minutes.

After feeling a sense of accomplishment, I wondered why I had procrastinated for so long when it took so little time and effort on my part. I believe the answer is that very truth. Some things take so little effort on our part that we know we can do them at any time, so we just don’t do them at all or we put off doing them until the need of doing them reaches a crisis point.

I’ll confess something. (For those of you who really do know me, you’ll say, “of course she did.”) I’ve timed some of my household tasks I don’t think I have time to do. It takes me 15 minutes to fold and put away a load of clothes, 20 minutes to dust my furniture and 10 minutes to mop my kitchen floor. I’ve timed these activities because it helps me realize how little time it actually takes to enjoy the results of doing them.

This train of thought was one of the motivators behind my starting a Quiet Time 35 years. Oh, I surely believe the Holy Spirit’s guiding and the Lord Jesus’ wooing me was the greater motivator, but the sentence I read in a little booklet on Quiet Time was what got my attention. It read something like this, “Would you be willing to make an appointment to spend 15 minutes every day with Jesus?” My very definite “Yes” and the committment I made to try it for seven days led to such joy that I’ve seldom missed a morning with Him since then. In fact, throughout these years, whether it necessitated my getting up before sunrise or letting my day’s activities wait, I have found the time to spend an hour with Him and His Word every morning.

I’ve titled this post, “How Much Time Does It Take?”. I phrased it that way to get your attention, so you would take the “time” to read it because it’s a question common to all of us. But what I really wanted to ask was, “Would you be willing to make an appointment to spend 15 minutes every day with Jesus?”

Categories: Bible, Devotionals, Personal, Uncategorized Tags: Appointment with Jesus, Defrosting my freezer, Having Time, Quiet Time, Time

Bits and Pieces 8/31

August 31, 2011 Leave a comment

The Bible In Two Weeks: If you want an overview of the entire Bible, these passages, which you should be able to read easily in 14 days, will give you a kind of “Cliff’s Notes” view of the Scriptures. The reading plan is here.

Amazingly Small Things: While I love to glorify God through what we can see through the lens of the Hubble Telescope, being astonished at gigantic images we cannot begin to comprehend or ever hope to see with the naked eye, I am equally able to praise Him for His tiny creation, things so small they can only be seen with a special scanning electron micrography. Take a look here.

Video Classroom Teaching: If you want to “take a class” with a well-known theologian, pastor, teacher, writer, these series of videos are now available free online. Taught by Dr. R. C. Sproul of Ligonier Ministries, they are entitled “Chosen By God” and can be viewed here.

How Suffering Is A Blessing: This article/blog written by a Christian counselor can speak to anyone who wants to be able to put despair, suffering, hardship, difficulties in the proper God-centered perspective. He illustrates his main point by telling of a counseling situation, then goes from there to teach how each one of us must undergo suffering. His premise is “personal suffering is the thing we fear the most.” You can read and meditate on the article here.

Categories: Bible, Bits and Pieces, Devotionals Tags: BIble overview, Suffering

Bits And Pieces 8/25

August 25, 2011 Leave a comment

Here are a few random, but interesting (at least to me) items I’ve run across lately. They don’t really fit together, so they are just bits and pieces.

The Prison Gates Opened: John Piper writes an encouraging word about difficult obstacles in life after having meditated on the story in Acts 12 of Peter being released from prison by God’s hand. Acts 12:10 says, “The iron gate leading into the city opened of its own accord.” From this verse, Piper notes, “If God has a good purpose for you — and he always does — every gate will open of its own accord. That is, we can’t make it open. We pray. We work. And we wait. The accord belongs to God.” Read the full devotional here.

Thinking About God: One of my favorite bloggers and writers, Tim Challies, wrote in a recent blog about A. W. Tozer, a theologian, writer and pastor from the last century and this statement he made: “what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Asking another person or yourself the question, “What comes to your mind when you think about God?” will reveal not only a knowledge of God but the depth of that knowledge. See the full article here.

Earthquakes and Hurricanes: Are you hearing the footsteps of Jesus in recent weather and disaster stories? You’re not the only one. Joseph Farah, columnist for WorldNetDaily writes, “He’s trying to get your attention. Are you paying heed? What will it take?” You can read his full article here.

Categories: Bits and Pieces, Devotionals, Prophecy Tags: Second Coming, Thinking about God, Waiting on God

Contact With The Author

August 23, 2011 3 comments

In a recent Bits and Pieces post in this blog, I shared a new devotional book called The Heavens: Intimate Moments With Your Majestic God written by Kevin Hartnett, NASA Deputy Science Operations Manager for the Hubble Space Telescope. A few days after I wrote that piece, I was surprised to receive an email from Kevin. While trolling through the internet, he had come upon my notice of his book and, since I had mentioned I was intrigued by the title, he wanted to share with me how the Lord had worked in his life to bring this book to publication.

I love how Hartnett ended his correspondence with me: “Through intimate moments of revelation I pray that the Holy Spirit might refresh, strengthen and inspire the readers with a view of the Lord’s countless and majestic excellencies.” He also included a sample of the book’s contents in PDF format. You can read my review of the book here.

As exciting and enjoyable as it was to hear from this author, how much more exciting it is to have contact with the author of life itself, with The One who breathed into Adam’s nostrils and made him the first living soul. As beneficial and enlightening as it was to hear this author’s story of how he came to write this book, how much more beneficial it is to hear God’s voice on every page of His book and to understand the purpose for which He wrote it.

Perhaps the best explanation of what The Author intended for us with His Words is given in Deuteronomy 8:2-3 and then repeated by Jesus in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” His Word, like bread, is meant to both satisfy us and to give us life. Those are The Author’s own words about His Book.

Categories: Books, Devotionals Tags: Author of life, Kevin Harnett, Majestic God, The Heavens

Will We Know Each Other In Heaven?

August 10, 2011 Leave a comment

A subscriber to my blog recently wrote to ask me that question after we shared with each other some feelings about our loved ones’ dying. I’ve been asked this question before, so I know others often wonder about being able to recognize our dead friends and relatives once we enter into Heaven ourselves. I do believe we will know and fellowship with each other in Heaven, although these relationships will be so different from what we experienced here on earth because they will not be tainted by the blackness of our sin nature, they will not be marred by our emotional weaknesses and they will not be limited by our lack of intellectual understanding and discernment. In other words, our relationships with each other in Heaven will be just perfect!

Here are some Scriptural reasons I believe we can count on knowing each other in Heaven. In Genesis, each time one of these men died, it is noted, “he was gathered to his people.” When David’s child died (2 Samuel 12:23), he said, “I will go to him.” These were words to give comfort, and they wouldn’t have comforted if there was to be no recognition of each other in Heaven. In the New Testament, there is the enlightening account of Jesus being transfigured (or showing a little bit of His pre-incarnate glory) before His disciples (Luke 9). Moses and Elijah arrived from Heaven to talk to Jesus about His upcoming death, and the disciples easily knew who these men were. I believe they “knew” in the same way we shall “know” each other in Heaven. Paul mentions in several of his letters that he looked forward to seeing those who were his converts in Heaven.

Besides our loved ones, we will also share our Heavenly lives with the millions of other believers who are called the “children of God” (John 1:12). These descriptive words were chosen by God to paint the picture of Heaven as a family setting, to paint the picture of Heaven as a place of relationships. Paul says we will “be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). So, yes, I believe we will recognize those we have known on earth, and we will also know those whom we had never met while in this earthly life because we will all be in a perfect relationship with the One who brought us all together as a family.

“Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Categories: Bible, Devotionals, Theology Tags: Death, Heaven

Bits and Pieces 8/02

August 2, 2011 Leave a comment

High Priest’s Golden Bell Discovered

During a recent excavation led by the Antiquities Authority in Israel of a drainage channel near the Temple Mount, a small golden bell was unearthed. This is the type of bell that was to be sewn on the hem of the High Priest’s garment. Exodus 28:33 says, “Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.” Evidently, some 2500 years ago, as the High Priest made his way from the Pool of Siloam up to the Temple, the little bell came loose and fell into the drainage canal that was built alongside the road.

Is this significant to me today? Yes, because it serves not just as a matter of interesting historical significance, but also as a reminder that we have a great High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is more significant than any earthly High Priest, for as Hebrews 4 tells us, he is the Son of God. And, He didn’t just pass behind the curtains to the Holy of Holies, but He passed into Heaven itself to bring atonement to all who believe. For more information about the finding of the golden bell, visit The Golden Bell.

A Heavenly Devotional

I am intrigued by the title of a new devotional book called The Heavens: Intimate Moments With Your Majestic God by Kevin Hartnett. The author is NASA’s Deputy Science Operations Manager for the Hubble Space Telescope. I’ve always been fascinated by the mystery of the heavenly bodies and have often gazed in wonder at the incredible photos sent back to earth by the Hubble Telescope.

This book sounds like an obvious way to come to know God. Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” I recall one day studying for a lesson I was to teach on Genesis and creation and finding the Hubble Website. I lost all sense of time and had a joyful worship experience as I looked at photo after photo of the world God created to declare His glory.

Ponder This

A quote to ponder from John Piper: “Do you feel loved by God because you believe he makes much of you, or because you believe he frees you and empowers you to enjoy making much of him?”

Categories: Bits and Pieces, Devotionals, Worship Tags: Gold Bell, High Priest, Hubble Telescope

Help Wanted?

July 21, 2011 Leave a comment

There is much talk today about unemployment. In my Bible study class, we often pray for people who need jobs, who are interviewing for jobs or who are changing jobs. My husband is about to retire from a position, essentially becoming unemployed or about to have no job. So it is probably not a surprise that I have been meditating on a recent devotional thought I received from author and pastor John Piper. He noted that God’s message to us, that is the gospel of Christ, is “not a ‘help-wanted’ sign but a ‘help available’ sign.”

When Paul was preaching to the Athenians in Acts 17, he told them, “God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything.” If God cannot be served, that is really bad news to anyone trying to “score points” with Him by religious ritual or evangelistic zeal or by observing His laws. The rest of verses 24-25 says, “He himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” Now this is really good news to anyone looking for the “help available” sign. Jesus pointed out that he did not come to serve but to “give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) That’s the help available for all who would come to Him for mercy and grace. His arms are open wide. His help is available.

Categories: Bible, Devotionals Tags: gospel, help, service

Seen any signs?

February 11, 2010 Leave a comment

In my Bible study class I’m teaching through the Gospel of John. It’s different from the other gospels for several reasons, but one of the main ones is that John wrote it after the other three chronological accounts (Matthew, Mark and Luke), and he structured his account with the knowledge that most readers would already know many of the events surrounding Jesus’ life, so he could concentrate on highlighting certain supernatural acts that Jesus did which served as signposts to lead the reader to “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life in his name.” John 20:31. This, by the way, is the reason John said he wrote his gospel.

These signposts or “signs” are pretty obvious in the gospel, especially after John deliberately labels the first two of them, calling them “the first of his miraculous signs” and then the “second miraculous sign.” The pattern the reader discerns in the first two of the signs serves as a template for the rest of the gospel. By the time Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for the week leading up to His crucifixion, there remains only one directional pointer to His being God’s Son–His resurrection.

However, all but a few people completely missed these signs. The disciples themselves saw them through a haze. God was displaying His power, His beauty, His wisdom, His grace, His love and His truth, but they failed to see it. Oh, they saw the gifts of bread or wine or healing, but they didn’t see beyond the gifts to the Giver. Just think how it must have pleased Jesus if someone had praised Him more for being Him than for His gifts, if they were more content with Jesus Himself than with anything He could give them.

Signs from God confront us daily. God displays Himself to us every day with His gifts. May we not fail to recognize these signs of Him and glorify Him for who He is more than for what He gives.