Making the Most of It by Larry Refsland
“Of all the place you’ve lived, what is your favorite?” I posed that question to a lady that was then living in a nursing home. She had moved around a lot during her interesting life. Several states had been home to her as well as living abroad. I expected her to tell me her favorite place was Florida or New Orleans or even Minneapolis. Surprisingly, her answer wasn’t any place that I would think of as exciting or even interesting. Her favorite place, she said, was right there in the nursing home! She told me she had already made up her mind before she had seen her room that she would consider this as her favorite place. She knew that happiness doesn’t depend on how big your house is or how the furniture is arranged. It depends on a decision to look for the best in every situation. The apostle Paul wrote in Acts 26:2, “I think myself happy.” He wrote those words from a prison cell! Paul said he had learned the secret of contentment. The secret was trusting in Christ for strength for each day and hope for the future. How are you looking at the present circumstances? The Bible tells us to look at each day as a day the Lord has made and to rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). As difficult as that may be sometimes, it is possible when we have faith that God is on our side. In Romans 8:31, it says, “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” My prayer is that you will have a day of rejoicing knowing that God loves you and is working all things together for good for them that love Him. Riding a Bike by Larry Refsland
Have you ever helped a child learn to ride a two-wheeled bike? The way most people teach kids how to ride a bike is they have the trainee get on the bike while you, the trainer steady the bike by hanging on to the back of the seat. You encourage the trainee to start pedaling while you continue to steady the child and walk or jog beside them. Pretty soon the trainee gets the hang of it and, after all, you can only run so far, so you let go as the child pedals like mad! Usually, your trainee is concentrating so hard that he doesn’t notice when you actually let go. Eventually, the child realizes he is riding a bike all on his own! Of course, that’s when they fall down! That’s a lot like when we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ. We don’t know all there is to know about trusting him and serving him. But that’s okay because he is there to steady us and keep us going in the right direction. It’s only when we think we can make it without him that we fall. If you’re struggling with how to keep on the right track, ask Jesus to steady you and guide you and keep you from falling. That’s what He wants to do more than anything! Keep pedaling and have confidence that the Lord is able to keep you from falling. If you have fallen, ask Him to help you get back up and get on your bike and ride, friend, ride! Do you know the definition of faith? I talk a lot about faith, but many people may not know what faith is. Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” In other words, it is an inner confidence that what you are hoping will happen will happen. If you can see it or figure it out, it takes no faith, because faith is being certain of what we do not see.
I don’t have a clue how many computers work, but I have faith that when I click on the mouse, it will open up the document I need. The same is true when I flip on a light switch or the ignition on my car. I don’t know how it all works, I just know it does and I have confidence the lights will go on or my car will run. We will never figure out all the ways God works for us. We will never comprehend the love that made him willing to send his Son to die for us. But in order to have a relationship with Him, we must trust Him. “His ways are not our way. His ways are past finding out” (Romans 11:33). All of us will decide during our lifetime either to accept God’s leadership over our lives or to reject Him. Either way, it takes faith. You either have faith in God, or faith in you yourself. I choose to trust God. He has a track record of coming though for people who trust Him. Put your hope in the Lord. I am confident you won’t be disappointed! “It’s my turn to drive!” “No, it’s mine!” “He always gets to drive!” As soon as a young person gets a learner’s permit, they want to drive. Having gone through driver’s training with four kids and giving them opportunities to be behind the wheel, I don’t feel quite as uncomfortable or out of control sitting on the passenger side. I’m finally getting used to the idea of being a passenger.
When I was a kid, it was rare to see a female driving a car while a male was in it. “Men always drive!” we would hear. Now, times have changed. This idea of wanting to be the driver is a lot like our lives. We want to be in control. We want to steer the direction of our lives—do our own thing. But no matter how experienced we are we will never be able to navigate our lives in the best way without the Lord. Jesus Christ doesn’t want to be a passenger in our lives; he wants to be the driver! He asks us to turn over the controls to Him. That takes faith! But faith is exactly what it takes to have our eternal destination settled. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to man, but the end of it is death.” Proverbs 3:6 promises that if we “acknowledge Him in all our ways, he will direct our path.” Give Jesus the driver’s seat, and let Him take you to the place you could never find on your own. When a hailstorm leaves drifts of tiny balls of ice, I love to watch and see how long it will take for those piles of hail to melt. If it’s going to hail, we hope it’s only pea-sized hail and not softball sized.
You probably remember from science class how hail is formed. Turbulent winds high in the atmosphere toss beads of moisture up and down, and up and down again. The extremely cold air of the upper atmosphere freezes the tiny droplet of water. It starts to fall toward earth and picks up more moisture along the way, only to be tossed back up into the freezing air again. Over and over this happens, each time the droplet adds another layer of ice, until finally it plummets to the earth. Life is a lot like those hailstorms. The storms of life toss us up and down, over and over again. No one, it seems, escapes entirely without a few storms. Storms can, however, serve to build strength into our lives. Just as a hailstone grows larger and larger with each toss of the wind, we can grow stronger and stronger through the experience of life’s storms. The Bible says to “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4). Be encouraged today to turn to the Master of the storm in the midst of your adversities. He will help you through it and make you stronger because of it. May God keep you safe in the shelter of his loving arms. “And now it’s time for today’s Top Ten List!” I used to stay up after the news just to hear David Letterman’s Top Ten List. Many writers and news outlets use them, but actually God had the first Top Ten List. They’re called the Ten Commandments!
These 10 commands were given by God to his people—not as cold, rigid restrictions, but actually as liberating laws of life. When viewed from a proper perspective, we learn that the commandments were given as guidelines to enjoy life, not keep us from having fun. They could be called “Top 10 Ways to Have a Successful Life”. The most important function of God’s Top Ten List is to help us understand our need of forgiveness and mercy. No one has been able to perfectly keep every command throughout his or her entire life. The Bible says if we have broken one item on the list, we’ve broken them all and therefore need forgiveness. Jesus came to set us free from the accusation of the commandments. He changed the commandments from being a taskmaster to Laws of Liberty! In fact, Jesus summed it up in Matthew 22:37-40 simply by saying, “Look, just do these two things:
That’s freedom! If I am living a life of love towards God and my neighbor, I’ll be enjoying God’s promises for those who keep his commands. Practice these secrets for a successful life and have an awesome day! Even mediocre teams have respectable records at home, but it’s the away games that make the difference. If a team can’t win on the road, there’s no hope of post-season play.
You know, the same is true about our lives. Some people have winning records at home or in their hometown. They lead lives of character and integrity. But when they hit the road, the temptations are stronger and the idea that “no one knows me out here” makes it easier to let down their guard and do things they’d never do at home. Someone said the true test of character is what you do when no one is watching. Some of you are hitting the road this morning. You’ve got a meeting in another city, you drive truck over the road, or you’ve got a sales route that takes you all over. Here is a promise from God’s word that will help you win on the road this week, found in 1 Corinthians 10:13. “There is no temptation overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” God will make a way of escape from the temptation. Trust God to keep you from falling. Don’t leave your integrity at home. You’re a champion! You’ve got to have a winning record at home and away from home. Come back home victorious from this road trip! God bless you and have an awesome day! Under Construction by Larry Refsland
It’s exciting to watch a building under construction as it takes shape. I can’t wait to see how it turns out! It’s impossible to tell from a pile of lumber what the finished product will look like or what the structure will be used for. The further along the building is, the more evident the purpose and design becomes. Each of us is like a pile of raw building material. Jesus Christ is the master builder. He has a plan—a blueprint for our lives. The Bible teaches us that if we want the finished product to stand against the storms of life, we must build our lives on a sure foundation. That foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus told a story of a foolish man who built his house upon the sand and a wise man who built his house on the rock. He said, “When the storms came, the foolish man’s house was destroyed but the wise man’s house stood firm.” No one escapes the storms of life. Bad things happen to all people. The question is, will your house stand? Does it have a firm foundation? As we make Christ the foundation, he puts us together as a master builder and makes us into a building he can use. “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until He comes” (Philippians 1:6). In other words, once he’s started building you, he keeps perfecting the work throughout our entire lives. One song-writer put it like this: “He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be; It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars, the sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient he must be, He’s still working on me.” This may not be the first day of the year, but it could be the first day of the rest of your life!
It’s easy for us to carry the weight and worry of yesterday into today. The result is always defeat and discouragement. What if we could start with a clean slate? What if the mistakes of our past couldn’t be held against us? What if our tomorrows depended on today instead of yesterday? How would that change your life? According to the Bible, that’s the opportunity God presents to us. When we ask God to forgive our past mistakes and put our trust in Jesus for tomorrow, our past is wiped clean. Isaiah 1:18 says, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be clean; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as white as wool.” In fact, God’s promise is to make us so clean so that, in His eyes, we are spotless and without fault. We can only have victory today and hope for tomorrow when we ask God to take care of yesterday. Every day can be the first day of the rest of your life. No one needs to carry the weight of past sins—Jesus ‘ death paid for those errors. All he asks is that you follow him today and trust him for the future. If your past has weighed you down, ask Christ to erase it with his love and forgiveness. He won’t refuse you. Only then can we live like there’s no yesterday! Have you ever watched a skilled potter form a hunk of clay into a pot or a jar? Fascinating to watch, the potter uses his or her hands to shape and mold the clay until it becomes something useful and attractive. Around and around goes the wheel, every turn giving the potter an opportunity to make another unique feature in the raw material. It’s important for the clay to be flexible. Once it hardens, its shape can’t be changed.
Just as the clay forms in the hands of the potter, the Lord is shaping us. He is the potter; we are the clay. He is forming us into a vessel with a special purpose. Just as a potter has an end product in mind as he starts to work the clay, so God has an end product in his mind for each of us. He’s making us into something he can use. The key is to stay flexible! I used to have a sign in my office that said, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” Remembering that we are the clay means we don’t resist the shaping process God is taking us through. The clay doesn’t ask the potter, “Why did you make me like this?” We, as human clay, simply trust God, the Potter, to lovingly shape our lives. When we resist him, we are hardened and inflexible. We are saying, “We know better than the Potter.” I encourage you to yield to the Potter’s hand today. Everyday is like a turn of the Potter’s wheel. He has a plan and purpose for you. It is a better plan than we could possibly attain on our own. Without him, you are just a lump of clay. With him, you become a one-of-a-kind vessel with purpose and strength. When a tree is just a sapling, it can be trained to grow several ways. If you tie cords to it and cause the trunk to bend, eventually it will continue on its own to grow in that direction. As the owner of the yard, I want my trees to develop and become strong, healthy and useful. So I sometimes have to apply pressure in just the right ways to achieve the best results.
We do the same thing with our children. We guide them and train them; sometimes we apply pressure to them so that, in the end, they will grow and mature as healthy, productive citizens of the planet. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go and when is old, he will not depart from it.” That’s the same concept as training a tree to grow a certain way. Eventually it will continue in the direction it was trained to go. As God’s children, we also are being trained by Him to go His way. Sometimes what we think is adversity, is actually the pressure God is applying to bend us towards him. His plan, as the owner of the universe, is to help us become healthy and productive in His kingdom. God cares enough about you to shape you and bend you so that you can reach the heights he intended for you. Don’t resist his correction; thank him for it. Trust Him to do what’s best for you. His plans are for your good. His ways are the best. Have an awesome day growing for Him. Are you a messy-desk person, or a neat-desk person? I tend to be a messy-desk person. I don’t have files—I have piles! I don’t need less stuff on my desk—I need a bigger desk! Every once in a while I have to wade through the mess and start throwing, filing, and organizing. What always amazes me is the amount of things I kept that I should have thrown out when I first got it. But, you know how it is. I think to myself, “I might need this someday.”
You may not have the problem of a cluttered desk, but all of us have a tendency towards allowing clutter in our lives. The extra stuff we don’t really need but hate to throw out as well. When you sort through your garage, basement or closet you consciously decide what’s important to you. You keep those things that have value or purpose and get rid of things that you no longer need, or that no longer work or fit! Sometimes, in the process of uncluttering you find something you forgot you had—something you could really use now! Today, in the process of uncluttering spiritually, there is one thing you won’t ever need to throw out. That is your trust in the Lord. If your trust in Him has gotten buried under a bunch of other things, pull it out. That’s the one possession that will last for an eternity. Maybe it’s time to dust off that relationship and renew it by spending time with him. Maybe it’s been a while since you attended and participated in a worship service or meditated on Scripture. Simply pull that trust out from under the clutter and place it as a priority over all the other things that try to make their way into your life. Whether you are a messy-desk person or a neat-desk person, trusting in the Lord will help you manage every item. |
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