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Fifteen Minutes Earlier
Whenever I come to the last day of a year, I always remember something that happened to me almost fifty years ago. That memory is triggered because at the end of every year, I finish reading all 66 books of the Bible.
Once I finish, I always record it in the front of the Bible I’ve been using for that year. Not surprisingly, I’ve gone through several Bibles in those fifty years.
Even though I write down each time I’ve read it through, I don’t do so to show I’ve met some goal. I do it to remind myself that I’ve kept my commitment to the Lord to spend the first fifteen minutes of every morning with Him.
In reality, I usually spend an hour reading the Bible and praying before I start my day, but when I first made this commitment, I only agreed to do it for fifteen minutes.
I made this promise as I was convalescing at my parents’ house while recovering from gallbladder surgery. That’s when I came across a little booklet in my mother’s collection of books that was entitled “Time Alone With God.”
Even though I would often read my Bible, it was sporadic and not a daily practice. However, this author challenged me to set my alarm fifteen minutes early and spend that time reading the Bible, using a plan included in the booklet that would mean I would read the Bible through in a year.
The author promised that if I would make this commitment, the Lord would meet me in the pages of His Word every morning, and I would come to know Him in a more intimate way.
There was a commitment page I could sign, along with the location of where I planned to have my “Time Alone With God.” Once I signed it, I noticed that below my signature, it said something like, “Remember this commitment, because the Lord will always be here waiting for you, whether you honor your promise or not.”
From that day forward, I’ve always set my alarm to get up in plenty of time to keep my commitment—despite obligations with my family and a work scheduled—and I’m convinced that having that time with the Lord has brought Him glory and honor and transformed my life into one of joy, peace, happiness, and contentment.
Tomorrow, January 1st (or a day of your choosing),you have the opportunity to experience this for yourself. I urge you to do so, and here’s a link where you can find a daily Bible reading plan to help you on your way.
Looking For Something?
As the Christmas holidays get near, I often go to a store “looking for something” to give as a present, without really having something specific in mind. I just know I’ll recognize it as something the person might like or need.
When I was reading through the gospel of John recently, I noticed that God is also “looking.” John 4:23 says, “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.”
So God is “looking” or “seeking,” as some translations say, for people to worship Him.
There’s no doubt God deserves to be worshiped.
Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we are presented with reasons to worship Him—for what He has made, for what He has done, for who He is, for His attributes—so it’s not surprising in Revelation 4:11 that we find worshipers in heaven declaring a beautiful summary of why we should worship Him. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
But what about now? Jesus said God was seeking people to worship him as we go about our earthly lives. He’s looking for true worshipers, those who give him honor and glory in their spirit as well as in their lives. As He’s seeking, will he find you?
What is God Thinking?
I love looking at NASA’s Hubble image of the day, and I subscribe to several daily news feeds which send me announcements about the latest space and astronomy happenings.
I’m drawn to the heavens because I’m able to see the incredible beauty of God’s handiwork there. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above declares his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1.
Scientists tell us when we look at the heavens above our heads, even with the most powerful of telescopes, we’re only able to see a minuscule portion of the universe. Human beings can never fully grasp the vastness of the world our Creator has made all in order to display His glory.
I believe God intended it to be that way.
God created an incomprehensible universe because He is incomprehensible. The immense heavens reflect an immense God, giving us, at best, only the barest pinhole glimpses of a God of unlimited power.
Someone has suggested perhaps the Universe is just ONE of God’s thoughts. How mind-blowing is that?
Trying to comprehend the power behind a Being who can create the Universe is impossible for a finite human creature. It’s just as impossible to understand the grace of God in making provision through His Son for human beings to live with Him in His Universe forever and to enjoy a personal relationship with him.
Psalm 8:3-4 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
What to know more about the possibility of a personal relationship with God? Watch the video below.
He Died for Dirt
I love the way David describes how God treats His children in Psalm 103. David says He “satisfies your desires with good things.”(Psalm 103:5).
Later on in this Psalm, David writes, “He remembers we are but dust,” and he writes this in connection with the compassion of God. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are but dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14).
God created human beings out of a common substance, a substance of little worth, just a handful of dirt. Inside this dirt-formed vessel, He placed an image of Himself. When that happened, something of little value became something of infinite value—a living human being. Every human being born after Adam reflects this God-likeness.
Even though we bear His likeness, we are still just dirt, and He remembers this. He knows our frailties, our weaknesses, our dirt, and because of this, He has compassion on us. The Psalmist says, “He crowns you with love and compassion.” (Psalm 103:4).
Even though we’re made of dirt, we have a regal bearing because, as God’s children, we wear the crown of His compassion and love. That’s why David begins and ends this Psalm with these words. “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” (Psalm 103:22).
It’s the Best Plan
Do you have a plan this year? A plan to lose weight? A plan to learn a new skill? A plan to pay off your credit cards? A plan to take a vacation? Lots of plans. But what is the BEST PLAN?
The best plan I ever made was to read the Bible through in one year. I chose a method—one that someone else had already figured out—and within a few weeks, I was enjoying reading God’s Word on a daily basis more than I ever imagined.
That was forty-five years ago, and I’ve read the Bible through each year since then. Strangely enough, it still seems fresh every morning. Only the God who made heaven and earth could do that. Only the God who desires a relationship with me could do that.
You’ll find there’s no better plan for your life than committing a portion of your day to discovering God’s revelation of Himself in His Word.
Your life will never be the same.
Why Was He Born?
Born to be cursed, not to curse.
Born for sinners, not to sin.
Born to love, not to hate.
Born to accept, not to reject.
Born for failure, not for success.
Born to poverty, not to wealth.
Born for hope, not for despair.
Born for healing, not for affliction.
Born to set free, not to bind up.
Born to reveal, not to conceal.
Born for laughter, not for tears.
Born for compassion, not for anger.
Born to die, not to live.
Born for you.
Comfort Food Needed
What’s your comfort food? My husband loves mashed potatoes and gravy. I love bread products. Oh, and chocolate, and maybe some cinnamon rolls thrown in too. And pizza! Don’t forget pizza.
But real comfort food can only be found in the Bible. Here are some of my favorites.
“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” Psalm 31:24.
“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21.
For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” 2 Chronicles 30:9.
Most of all, turn to the ONE who gives comfort.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” 2 Corinthians 1:3
Hidden in Plain Sight
Because I write mystery/suspense/thrillers, I’m always doing research on technology like hidden cameras, spy drones, and everyday objects that can be used for surveillance. Do you know the very best place to hide something? Hide it in plain sight. People tend to overlook things that are right in front of them.
How many people look at a button on a shirt and think it could be a hidden camera? No one but a spy or a thriller writer, which is all the more reason why it’s the perfect spot for one.
But “hidden in plain sight” doesn’t just apply to spies and detectives and hidden cameras. There are all kinds of hidden words for us in Scripture—staring us right there in the face just waiting for us to discover them.
I recently discovered one of these hidden jewels in Jude. Jude? That’s right. No wonder I’ve overlooked it. How often do you read from the book of Jude? It’s the book just before Revelation, so small it doesn’t even have chapters.
Here’s a “hidden in plain sight” treasure from Jude 24-25: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.”
There are several reasons why these verses got my attention, but here are just three of them: 1) God not only helps us as we struggle with sin, He’s “able to keep us from stumbling.” 2) When we appear before Him in His presence, He’ll present us blameless in His sight. 3) When he presents us blameless before His presence, he’ll do it “with great joy.”
Okay, here’s one more: So often, we think of Jesus as our Savior, and rightly so, for his sacrifice on Calvary “saved” us from the wrath of God we all deserve. Yet Jude 25 calls God the Father our Savior: “to the only God, our Savior . . .”
No wonder Jude ends his letter with a praise to Him that we give him “glory, majesty, dominion, and authority . . .”
There you go—a magnificent truth hidden in plain sight for you to treasure and enjoy.
Oh, the voices!
Voices! We hear voices each and every day. They tell us to order this, pay attention to that, go there, come here.
Other voices post on our Facebook page, our Twitter feed, our social media sites, wanting us to sign this, like that, watch that, play this.
Who merits our attention? Whose voice is the worthy voice?
A crippled old man appears in the gospel of John to answer these questions. (John 5:1-17).
He doesn’t have a name in the gospel, but everyone at the pool of Bethesda knew him. He’d been lying there for thirty-eight years, unable to take advantage of the pool’s healing properties. Then Jesus stopped by one day, and, in one instantaneous moment, He took care of the crippled man’s lifelong problem.
Following Jesus’ instructions, the Man Made Whole gathered up his bedroll and walked away. Later, when asked by the religious leaders what he thought he was doing carrying around his bed on a Sabbath, he told them he was doing what he’d been instructed to do by the man who’d healed him, by the man who had enough authority to make him whole again.
The Man Made Whole was carrying his bed—in defiance of the religious authorities—because he recognized someone who was able to give life to his withered limbs was someone with authority, someone worthy of his attention.
This same man, this Jesus of Nazareth, healed me one day. He healed me of a lifelong sin problem, a sickness so severe I was doomed for eternal destruction. He did so by taking sin’s disease on Himself and paying the price for it Himself. Now, he commands me to take up my life and live it for Him.
His voice is a voice worth hearing.
Listen to His words from the rest of John 5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (25-26)
Don’t Stay Away!
There’s a verse of Scripture in Hebrews that gives me pause whenever I read it. It’s Hebrews 10:22, “Therefore . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”
Drawing near to God sounds like a terrific idea. So, why don’t we draw near? What makes us stay away?
Believers don’t stay away from God on purpose. It’s usually the result of not doing something, rather than actually doing something.
Not confessing sin.
After the writer of Hebrews described what Jesus did for sinners by his death on the cross, he writes in verse 27, “If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Unconfessed sin makes us reluctant to be near the One whose responsibility it is to judge sin. We’re afraid, so we stay away.
Not knowing truth.
The writer uses the word,”therefore,” before telling believers to draw near to God. That’s because he’s been explaining great truths having to do with the meaning of the Lamb-like sacrifice and what the shedding of Christ’s blood did for sinners. He says such knowledge gives us confidence to come before God. The reverse is also true. By not knowing what Christ did when He laid down His life for us, we have no confidence and cannot draw near to Him.
Not having faith.
The writer says we are to come before God “with full assurance of faith.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him,” While our faith in God is a gift from Him (Ephesians 2:8-9), we must be willing to act on that faith or we will never draw near to Him.
What happens when we draw near?
Hebrews 4:16 tells us we receive “mercy and grace to help in time of need,” and Hebrews 7:25 says those who draw near to God will discover, “He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Draw near. Take the pathway into His Presence made just for you.
Don’t stay away!!
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His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich 
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