Tag: Serving God

Devotionals

What’s on Your Bucket List?

Loring Schultz

“When Joshua was an old man, the LORD said to him, ‘You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered.'” Joshua 13:1 NLT

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unspla

The term ‘bucket list’ has been gaining popularity over the last few years since its conception twenty-five years ago. In 1999 Justin Zackham, an American and British screenwriter, using the phrase ‘kick the bucket’ pertaining to death created his own ‘bucket list’ of things he wanted to accomplish before he died. Number one on his list was to get a screenplay made at a Hollywood studio. He eventually wrote the screenplay for the movie ‘The Bucket List’ in 2007 starring Jack Nicholson and Morgen Freeman which increased its popularity. Since then, the concept of putting together a list of things one wants to do has been adopted by many people, especially those of the older generation.

Preparing a bucket list for some people involves careful planning, thinking through every detail to what, when, and where. Then there are others who don’t hesitate in crafting their list, it’s a no brainer, I’m going to do it. Preparing a bucket list for your life should be an on-going project for everyone, especially Christians whatever our age. Stanford Medicine reports the following, “The focus of a bucket list is to live a life with hopes and aspirations. Making a bucket list allows us to reflect on our values and goals and identify important milestones and experiences that we want to have in our lifetime.” (1) And I would like to add that we consult with God, our creator, with what’s on His bucket list for us to accomplished before He calls us home. We don’t want to leave any unfinished business.

God had a few things on His bucket list for Joshua in his senior years. Joshua was charged with leading Israel in conquering the land God had given them. He was to divide the land seeing that each tribe got their portion. The Lord said to Joshua, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered.” (Jos.13:1b nlt) There was still much of the Lord’s work to be done. This may have been the last item on Joshua’s bucket list from the Lord. He would not be able to physically complete the conquering of the land, but he could give instructions to those who would come after him while he divided the land for them. Joshua’s bucket list from the Lord was filled.

So, what’s on your bucket list? Have you left room for God’s items to be added? We may not be able to accomplish everything on our list, but with God’s help we can fill His bucket list He has assigned us so none of His work will go undone.  

(1) https://med.stanford.edu/letter/bucket-list/what-is-bucket-list.html#:~:text=A%20bucket%20list%20is%20a,the%20bucket%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20or%20die.

A Christian Perspective

Misplaced Priorities

Loring Schultz

“Then the LORD sent this message through the prophet Haggai: ‘Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?’” Haggai 1:3-4 NLT

Photo by Pixabay

Christians have a whole different set of priorities than non-Christians, or do we? Afterall the Lord has richly blessed us, and we are more than willing to support the church financially, or are we? The Lord God has bestowed upon us natural gives of ability and certain spiritual gifts which, of course, we use in service for Him, well maybe not. Jesus Christ opened the door of salvation for us by dying on the cross and we are eager to open that door to others, I wish that were true. Now, all this may seem harsh, and I am not calling out anyone. It is for all of us who proclaimed the name of Christ to self-examine if we have misplaced priorities, me included.

After seventy years in captivity the Jewish people returned to Jerusalem. They restored worship and preceded to lay the foundation to rebuild the temple that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The work started with joy and praise to God for their return to the homeland, but soon the work was stopped due to opposition. It was during this time of hostility against them the Jews backed off rebuilding the temple. The focus became restoring their lives first even using the building material designated for the house of Lord for their own homes. The Lord sent the prophet Haggai to confront them and encouraged them to get their priorities in order and finish building the temple.

Christians today have as much opposition against them as the Jews of ancient days. It is just as easy for us to back off the Lord’s work. But we are reminded the Holy Spirit is with us and we need not be afraid or intimidated. The effects of misplaced priorities can have devastating results as the prophet Haggai explained to the Jews in Jerusalem. Concentrating only on themselves they were always lacking, coming up short. The Lord God did not bless their efforts. Haggai tells the people, “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you!” (Hag.1:7 nlt) When we find ourselves in similar circumstances it just may be the Lord getting our attention to recognize our misplaced priorities.

Read: Haggai 1 NLT – A Call to Rebuild the Temple – On – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

Desires of Your heart; it’s a two-step process

Loring Schultz

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:4-5 ESV

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Fulfilling a desire of your heart sometimes takes a lifetime. Striving and working towards that goal seems less strenuous as you picture that coveted desire in your mind. Finally, you reach the end of that rainbow only to find out the desire didn’t fill your heart. But take heart, there’s a better way to ensure your desires will fill your heart before you set out on that long journey. The fulfillment of the desires of your heart is a two-step process.

Step1: Delight yourself in the Lord, and totally commit your life to follow Him, trusting Him to lead you in the right way. The Lord God knows what is best you, He created you and understands you better than you understand or know yourself. Delight yourself in getting to know God more intimately through prayer and a daily reading of His Word. Commit to be obedient of all you have learned through Scripture, and trust God to help you through the Holy Spirit.

Step 2: Make sure your desires are God’s desires. It is not as difficult as it sounds if you are willing to let go and let God direct you. Take a good hard look at your desires and ask, is this a desire God would have for me? If you have strong desires that center more on yourself hoping that these are also God’s desires, ask God to change your desires to His and He will.

The Lord God promises to act on our behalf when it comes to obeying Him in desiring what He desires for us. Again, God knows how He made us and how we are wired for His service. He also knows we can only have complete fulfillment in the desires of our hearts when our desires are also His desires. If you haven’t yet begun the two-step process there is not a better time than right now, it is time to start to have the desires of your heart fulfilled.

Devotionals

Watching through Serving     

Loring Schultz

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.” Matthew 25:14 NLT

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

In our current year 2024 there has been a great emphasis put on the return of Christ by Christians and the coming of the apocalypse, or end of the world as they see it, by non-Christians. Fueling this are current events as the Israel-Hamas war, the war in Ukraine, increasing government corruption in many nations around the world including the United States, the never-ending stream of violence, the recent solar eclipse, and now the dual event of the 13- and 17-year cicadas emerging at the same time in few short weeks. No doubt these are troubling times and the Lord’s return would be pleasant welcome but are we, as Christians, watching for His return through serving Him or are we serving the interests of the prognosticators of our day.

In Matthew 25 we find another one of Jesus’ many parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. The parable of the Three Servants, or more commonly known as the parable of the Talents, is a story of three employees given responsibilities to be carried out in their boss’s absence. He entrusted them with his investments so his work would continue to carry on. Upon his return, which he did not specify when that would be, he expected those assignments to be completed and for his employees to be at work. Returning home the boss did find two of them faithful in their assignments, doubling the investments. The third employee neglected his responsibility of investing in his boss’s work only to give him back what he was entrusted with. He failed to bring in further investments in his boss’s business.

The boss or ‘master’ in this parable is a representation of Jesus. The employees or servants of Jesus is us. He has given each of us assignments according to our ability to serve Him, bringing others into the kingdom and increasing His investment. Serving the Lord wholeheartedly focuses our minds on His return. Charles R. Erdman says, “Those who are faithful in their work are in a true sense watching for the coming of the King.” When we truly serve Jesus, the King, we acknowledge His return and anticipate it. Let us be careful not to neglect our work by hiding the truth of the gospel while investing our time with the prophets of the apocalypse. Jesus is coming back unexpectedly so keep watching through serving.

Read: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025%3A14-30&version=NLT

Devotionals

The Long Way Home

Loring Schultz

“Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea.” Deuteronomy 1:2 NLT

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Taking the long way home is not always your choice, but most of the time it is. You may want to enjoy the scenery the extra miles provide, or you may want to search out a certain restaurant for your next night out or explore a potential new neighborhood in which you would like to live. You may also just want to kill time. But then there are times when the choice is not yours due to detours for several reasons forcing you to take the long way home. Disappointment and frustrations set in as the miles and time added up anticipating your arrival home. There are times in our lives when we take the long way home (God’s place for us) because we were afraid to take that initial step and trust God, rather, we played it safe.

The children of Israel played it safe. The result of not trusting God and not taking that first step turned their eleven-day journey home to the promised land into forty years. When Israel was in Kadesh-barnea, the point of entry to the land God had promised them, they refused to go ahead fearing the battles that would pursue. They didn’t trust God to place them safely in the land even though they were called and chosen to enter it. They didn’t trust God to take away their fear.

The Lord calls each one of us who have trusted Him as savior to a place of His choosing to serve Him. That place is ‘home’ where we will be the most comfortable in our service to God. Not all of us are called to be pastors, missionaries, or Sunday school teachers, but we are called to serve where God directs us and in what specific area of ministry He has for us. Heed that calling whatever it may be and wherever it may be. Don’t let your fear keep you from God’s plan for your life. You’ll probably end up there eventually so quit killing time by taking the long way home and trust God to bring you into His service sooner rather than later.

A Christian Perspective

There are no Lone Rangers in the Kingdom of God

Loring Schultz

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

Photo by Jacob Rice on Unsplash

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, March Madness, is the second most anticipated sporting event in the United States behind the Super Bowl. I admit getting sucked into filling out a bracket and have it busted after the first round. Part of the excitement is picking and rooting for the underdogs to upset their overmatched opponents. It’s David vs. Goliath. My problem is the ‘Davids’ I pick lose, but there are others sure to beat Goliath as has been a recurring theme the last few years.

A noticeable reason for this increase in upsets is finally starting to be discussed by the sports media. It has been ignored mostly due to the media not being willing to criticize the negative effects of the changes implemented by the NCAA over the years. I will stick to basketball, but the football program has even bigger problems that will come to surface in the fall. My perspective is student athletes are not student athletes. Major universities have adopted the one and out season, where a skilled high school athlete enters a ‘Division 1’ school to play for only one year. There is also the transfer portal which has been in effect for a while, but now that money is involved and playing time is at a premium, the students are more athletes than students looking out for themselves more than their education and their school. Many of the top 25 college basketball teams are in this category. Basketball is a team sport, and yes, an outstanding player does make a difference, but it doesn’t always lead to championships.

Enter the mid-majors’ men’s college basketball programs. To be fair, these programs deal with the same issues, but on a much smaller scale. Most of these schools have students who are upper classmen and have played together for two to four years. They are building a cohesive unit by working together towards a team goal of making the tournament and beating Goliath. They experience growth as they mature into young adults, encouraging one another to achieve their highest potential for the sake of the team, the coach, and their school. The major universities are doing a disservice to their basketball programs, their school, and the one and out students by promoting individualism which is rapidly starting to fail.

The church is a group of individuals who do not act independently. We are all in need of each other. Paul, the apostle, tells those in the church in Thessalonica “to encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” (1 Th. 5:11nlt) God has bestowed spiritual gifts to every Christian to be used for His service, and they work best when involved with the church of fellow believers. This is not to say ministries outside of the church, or your personal ministry is not valid, it is to say that the encouragement you need through prayer and support come from those in whom we share like faith. Faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I heard a statement many years ago I have never forgotten, ‘There are no Lone Rangers in the Kingdom of God.’ If you are involved in a personal ministry, do not try to do it alone. If you are involved in a church ministry, bring others alongside with you to share the burden and build a cohesive team to help share the gospel carrying out the work of the church. It’s a winning combination when we work with each other and together with Christ, the head of the church, as our coach. Goliath’s will fall and souls will be brought into God’s Kingdom with a host of rangers.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Devotionals

I Pledge Allegiance

Loring Schultz

“Then she cried out, ‘Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!’ When he woke up, he thought, ‘I will do as before and shake myself free.’ But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.” Judges 16:20 NLT

“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.” Matthew 10:37 NLT

FreeBibleimages.org

The Old Testament account of Samson and Delilah is intriguing in both Delilah’s deceptive means and the secret of Samson’s strength. Delilah attempted several times to entice Samson to reveal the secret of his great strength. Of course she was doing this for her own financial gain, and Samson went along to satisfy his own need in playing a game with her. Samson, a Nazirite from birth, should not have been in the position he was in. Although a man of great strength, he had a weakness for captivating women, a weakness which led to disastrous consequences.

A Nazirite is one who is separated unto God. In Samson’s day there were three restrictions for a Nazirite; no wine, no haircuts, and no contact with a dead body. In Samson’s case the angel of the Lord announced his birth to his mother by saying, “You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.” (Judges 13:5nlt)

Many view when Samson finally gave in to Delilah, and she cut his hair, that the secret of his strength was in his hair. Samson himself said to her, “……If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.” (Judges 16:17nlt) But, modern day theologian John MacArthur makes the following observation, “His strength came from his unique relation to God, based on his Nazirite pledge. His long hair was only a sign of it. When, Delilah became more important to him than God, his strength was removed.” (1) Samson’s pledge of allegiance was to Delilah, not to God as before.

Jesus, in instructing His disciples, said “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.” (Mt. 10:37nlt) These sound like harsh statements, but they are from Jesus, God the Son, who sacrificed His life on the cross for our sins, in order that we may have eternal life. To whom do you pledge allegiance?

Read the rest of the story of Samson and Delilah: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+16&version=NLT

(1) The MacArthur Study Bible; Word Publishing, Thomas Nelson Bibles, 1997.