Monthly Archives: December 2019

Behind Closed Doors

Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

I have too much going on God
My house is such a mess
There is no peace and quiet
I am always put to the test.

Life is always wide open
To work and play I must go
When would I ever have time
To draw near to you in the slow?

What do you mean shut the door
How could I put life on hold
I would have to learn to say no
To something else become cold.

My heart for you must become hot
I must burn with desire from within
I must seek in prayer and your Word
I must repent and flee from sin.

I must realize all that I have
Is a gift from the “Father of lights”
You can give or remove at will
No matter our effort or prideful might.

When I shut my door to the world
I show you how much I desire
I want to know more about you God
There is a longing within me on fire.

When I shut the door to others
I open the door of my heart
I close off all the distractions
I want this time to be set apart.

My time behind the closed door
Is my time dedicated to you
My time behind the closed door
Is where I pray about things to do.

When I open the door back up
When I go back out into the zoo
I am eager to see you reveal
What was secret between me and you.

Behind closed doors with God
Is a priceless gift from above
You begin to see how intimate
Your God shows you through love.

The Writing on the Wall

Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Yesterday I began doing more work on my shop, and I came across 12/24/18 wrote on the wall where I was working. I showed it to the boys who wrote it, and we laughed it had been almost a year since I worked on the shop, almost to the day. I thought about that simple date, that window of time past, even up to right now. I am OK with being last on my to-do list, doing for others before myself, but life has gotten so busy this last year, and many things trouble me about it. The work side of my life was brutal in many ways, and the personal side of my life filled every hour that work didn’t. My time with God was lacking for 2019. I spent daily time with him almost daily, but only minutes and not the hours before daybreak I had become accustomed to. Just this week I passed by the church I preached at years ago, and that brought sweet memories of the quality time preparing a sermon; I miss that time with God.

I could fill this 1MM with my very personal list, my sin struggles, my anxieties, my heart for the lost, my desire to share my faith, my desire to see spiritual fruit, my…..wait, I had better stop before it becomes the list. What is the ONE thing I would tell you if you claimed to be a Christian? It would be in the form of a question, “How much time are you spending with God each day in prayer and his Word?” The answer to life is your answer to that question. You cannot remain the same person with the same struggles tomorrow, if you spend time with God today in prayer and his Word. Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. The power of God resides in the written word of God. When your heart desires the answers to life, that is God tugging at your soul. God is desiring to have an intimate relationship with you, one you will be amazed at how personal he can be when you seek him with all your heart, mind, body, and soul.

I just counted six Bibles here on my desk, six variations of God’s Word where I compare translations and commentaries. God has really been tugging at my heart this week, much of it regarding work and family, and seeing that year past, “the writing on the wall,” it hit home. May you hear my hearts plea, to join me with a renewed vigor, or a new desire, to seek God today, to find strength for tomorrow.

#50Somethings

James 1:5 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. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

By the time we have reached #50Something, we have passed our peak, (not that I can remember where it was), crested the mountaintop of life, and now are ascending down the other side. I know for me personally it has caused a true life reflection, seeing the results of decisions that have played out over time. A lot of them are painful, (Satan takes the ball and runs with them), but I see the joy in much of my life, and see God’s sovereign hand weaving the fabric of it. I would love to expand the questions, to let you know I share many of the same as you, but it becomes too personal, and this is not the place. We all at this stage of life are likely facing an inner struggle of some sorts, but some just may hide it better than others.

One thing I can be open about is the struggle with my mind. The fading sight and memory are always a topic of laughter, but the analytical abilities and understanding are troublesome to me. My profession is one of depth, much of the physics side I never claimed to truly understand, but it is evolving just like most of science and technology. There is a point in life when we come to say maybe we just won’t understand, and that is humbling in itself. In the familiar passage above, James is writing about understanding the trials and struggles of life. The passage is as broad as the sovereignty of God, and as deep or shallow as our faith in the one we call our God. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When we are struggling, we all do some times, we typically get closer to God, or even run away and hide in many ways. God uses the trials of life to draw us closer to him, in ways we don’t understand. Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. God does not operate like we think he should, he does not many times do what we would in certain tough situations; he does not heal every time, he does not answer every prayer, he does not look at the current situation in time, because he sees the end game, he sees all of time and what he has designed for your entire life.

Maybe at #50Something we are becoming limited to some degree to simplify our lives by God’s design. Maybe he is trying to slow us down from life’s complications for the second half of our lives to be resting in the joy of abiding in him. Maybe at #50Something we should be reflecting on our lives, our faith, the level of our faith and his sovereign design of the first half. Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Maybe at #50Something we should just be trying to get closer to God through prayer and his Word, because we are about to truly get closer to God at the end of the second half.