To Make A Better Life

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ecently, while flipping through the channels trying to find something entertaining and informative to watch on TV, I stopped to watch a short infomercial.  This particular show advertised computer classes to help you get ahead in the job market and to help you make a wonderful salary.  One of the interviews was with a young man who talked on and on about how great the program was and how his increased salary had helped him afford things he never had before.  When the interviewer asked him what his motivation for taking the classes was, he didn’t hesitate one instant but answered straightforwardly, “To make a better life for my family and myself!”

I sat there and let that statement sink in for just a few minutes.  From what I could observe from the infomercial, this man had increased his salary, purchased a nice home, owned two cars, and wore beautiful clothes.   For all intents and purposes, society would say that he had definitely arrived and was in a position to improve his lifestyle as well as that of his family.  But had he really made a better life for himself?  That was the question.

When I was growing up, I remember my dad telling me that all parents wished a better life for their children.  While I knew he wanted me to avail myself of opportunities he didn’t have, I could never figure out what about my life needed improving.  I had my own bed, I had my own clothes, I had a wonderful family, I had plenty to eat, and I was warm and dry. 

As I grew older, however, I began to understand that the choices I made could determine just how good my life would be.  If I made wise selections, I would be able to enjoy life more fully than if I squandered my choices and acted foolishly.  Still, I learned that the quality of life is not based on the things we can afford to keep but on the things we can’t afford to lose!

The children of Israel had a similar choice during their Exodus from Egypt.  They had an opportunity to make a better life for themselves and for their children.  However, their success would depend on the choices they made and Moses wanted to make sure they understood how to choose wisely.

In Deuteronomy 30:18-20, Moses gives the people explicit instructions about securing and making a better life for themselves:  “I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”    

After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the people are ready to cross over into the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Notice the choice Moses gives the people.  It is a choice between life and death, between curses and blessings.  His advice to the people is to choose life.  It would seem that this choice was evident but given the track record of the people coming out of Egypt, Moses wanted to make sure they understood the consequences of choosing poorly.  He tells the people to choose life and continues by saying that the Lord is their life.  In other words, we choose a better life when we choose God.  This choice would not only bring life to the people but to their children as well.

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he same choice is ours today.  We are free to choose so we must choose wisely.   The only choice we have, the only choice that leads to life, is God.  We come to Him through the knowledge of Jesus Christ who promised life to all who believed in Him.  Do you want to make and have a better life?  God is waiting for you to make your decision for Him.  What choice will you make today?

No Parking!

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owntown Fort Worth is a wonderful place to visit.  There are all types of shops, numerous restaurants, wonderful bookstores, great places to get a cup of coffee, a superb performance hall, and good movie theaters where you can catch the latest flick.  Yes, it is a wonderful place, provided you can find a parking space!  This is especially true in the evenings and on the weekends when the entire population, it seems, pours into the downtown area to enjoy all it has to offer.

  

On more than one occasion I have ventured downtown and found myself in a battle to find an empty space to park my car.  The lots are either full or I find myself confronted with ever-present and all-to-familiar information sign, “No Parking!”  One Saturday afternoon, I decided to spend some time looking through the various shops downtown.  I got in my car and took the fifteen-minute drive into the city.  But there was no where to park!  All the lots were full, all the spaces were taken, and there literally was no available space to be seen.

After several minutes of circling the city, after putting several miles on my car, and after wearing down the tread on my tires, I gave up in desperation and decided to return home to bandage my wounds.  I was frustrated and angry.  Everywhere I looked I saw a “No Parking” sign so I just kept driving until I returned home!  Have you ever been there?  Have you ever been frustrated by a traffic sign?  To top it all off, someone had written me a nice letter requesting that I pay my phone bill!  What a day!  All I wanted was a parking space, not a headache!

But after I returned home and cooled down a little bit, I realized there was actually a blessing in my little afternoon adventure.  Had I found a parking space downtown, I would have been tempted to stroll into the shops, get some coffee, buy a book, or see movie and spend more money than I had anticipated.  Then I would have been hard-pressed to pay the phone bill which was more of a priority than a cup of coffee.  Now, please don’t get me wrong. I can afford a cup of coffee and my phone bill, the question here is one of priority.

The Apostle Paul understood the idea of not parking in the Christian life.  He knew that following hard after Jesus and walking with God is the single most important priority of life.  Parking spaces, Paul knew, sometimes lead to trouble.  They get us off the road; they stop our forward progress for a while, and allow our minds to wonder through all the shops life has to offer.  When we are in the shops, it is easy for us to get our priorities skewed and out of balance.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14). This is the great secret of the Christian life—forward motion!  Notice that Paul admonishes his readers to keep pressing on toward the goal.  The one focus, the one goal, the one aim of our lives must be Jesus Christ who alone can supply all our needs and satisfy our souls.

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ut in modern terms, Paul would be telling his readers to take notice of the “No Parking” signs and to keep moving forward.  The world offers many things but these things can never fulfill us in the way God does.  Browsing among the world’s shops, drinking from its fountains, and walking idly along can lead us to confuse our priorities and to get our eyes off of Christ!  However, if we keep our eyes on him, if we keep moving forward, we will find that our priorities are in the right place, that our needs are met, and our souls will be satisfied.  Are you looking for a parking place today?  Pay attention to those “No Parking” signs!  They just might be blessings in disguise!

No Parking!

D

owntown Fort Worth is a wonderful place to visit.  There are all types of shops, numerous restaurants, wonderful bookstores, great places to get a cup of coffee, a superb performance hall, and good movie theaters where you can catch the latest flick.  Yes, it is a wonderful place, provided you can find a parking space!  This is especially true in the evenings and on the weekends when the entire population, it seems, pours into the downtown area to enjoy all it has to offer.   

On more than one occasion I have ventured downtown and found myself in a battle to find an empty space to park my car.  The lots are either full or I find myself confronted with ever-present and all-to-familiar information sign, “No Parking!”  One Saturday afternoon, I decided to spend some time looking through the various shops downtown.  I got in my car and took the fifteen-minute drive into the city.  But there was no where to park!  All the lots were full, all the spaces were taken, and there literally was no available space to be seen.

After several minutes of circling the city, after putting several miles on my car, and after wearing down the tread on my tires, I gave up in desperation and decided to return to the seminary to bandage my wounds.  I was frustrated and angry.  Everywhere I looked I saw a “No Parking” sign so I just kept driving until I returned home!  Have you ever been there?  Have you ever been frustrated by a traffic sign?  To top it all off, someone had written me a nice letter requesting that I pay my phone bill!  What a day!  All I wanted was a parking space, not a headache!

But after I returned home and cooled down a little bit, I realized there was actually a blessing in my little afternoon adventure.  Had I found a parking space downtown, I would have been tempted to stroll into the shops, get some coffee, buy a book, or see movie and spend more money than I had anticipated.  Then I would have been hard-pressed to pay the phone bill which was more of a priority than a cup of coffee.  Now, please don’t get me wrong. I can afford a cup of coffee and my phone bill, the question here is one of priority.

The Apostle Paul understood the idea of not parking in the Christian life.  He knew that following hard after Jesus and walking with God is the single most important priority of life.  Parking spaces, Paul knew, sometimes lead to trouble.  They get us off the road; they stop our forward progress for a while, and allow our minds to wonder through all the shops life has to offer.  When we are in the shops, it is easy for us to get our priorities skewed and out of balance.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14). This is the great secret of the Christian life—forward motion!  Notice that Paul admonishes his readers to keep pressing on toward the goal.  The one focus, the one goal, the one aim of our lives must be Jesus Christ who alone can supply all our needs and satisfy our souls.

P

ut in modern terms, Paul would be telling his readers to take notice of the “No Parking” signs and to keep moving forward.  The world offers many things but these things can never fulfill us in the way God does.  Browsing among the world’s shops, drinking from its fountains, and walking idly along can lead us to confuse our priorities and to get our eyes off of Christ!  However, if we keep our eyes on him, if we keep moving forward, we will find that our priorities are in the right place, that our needs are met, and our souls will be satisfied.  Are you looking for a parking place today?  Pay attention to those “No Parking” signs!  They just might be blessings in disguise!

$21.63 per Month

T

hird grade was a very big year for me.  This was the year I graduated from simple addition and subtraction to learning my multiplication and division tables.  It was also the year I pestered my dad for a motorbike. 

My best friend and next-door-neighbor, David, received a mini-bike from his dad.  It was great and David let us take turns riding it.  A small outdoors shop had opened just up the street from our home.  Saturday mornings found me in the shop looking over the collection of motorbikes for sale.  These bikes differed from David’s in that they had a three-speed transmission instead of one forward gear.  They were a bit more involved, faster, and I wanted one.

My dad was adamantly opposed to this idea.  However, he was fighting a losing battle.  My mom, and my grandparents were pulling for me and against him.  He held off as long as he could but finally buckled under the pressure. 

He agreed to let me have the bike on the condition I paid for it.  I heartily accepted, agreeing to mow grass in the summer and do odd jobs to earn the money to make the payments.  Dad borrowed the money from the bank and had the loan made out to me.  The payments were $21.63 per month for twenty-four months.  I thought it would be a cinch.  I’d mow a few yards, take out the trash on a regular basis, and do odd jobs around the house.  No problem, I thought, but I didn’t count on a dry spell.

That summer, it didn't rain like I had planned!  I remember asking my grandfather if I could mow the grass.  He just looked at me.  The grass was brown from lack of water and mowing it would have killed it completely.  He told me that I couldn't mow because there hadn't been enough rain.  I simply remarked, “That’s the problem.  It won’t rain, the grass won’t grow, but my payments just keep going on and on!”

This is comical now, but it wasn't funny then!  The lesson I was learning was one of responsibility and keeping a promise I had made to the bank.  No matter what the conditions outside, the promise I had made, the terms to which I had agreed, meant that the money for that bike had to be paid back to the bank, no excuses made or accepted!

Jonah also learned this lesson and he learned it the hard way.  When God asked him to go to Nineveh, Jonah fled in the opposite direction.  He tried his best to avoid God’s call, to run away from him, only to discover it was impossible.  From inside the belly of a great fish, Jonah cried out to the Lord to save him.  Earlier he had made the claim that he worshiped the Lord, the God of Heaven but his actions did not match his words.

From inside the fish, Jonah realized his mistake.  He came to understand that worshiping God meant obeying him and fulfilling his commands.  His words, recorded in Jonah 2:9, demonstrate this understanding, “But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good”. Jonah had to keep his promise and fulfill his vow to God.

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ow much like Jonah we are.  We find it so easy to say we worship and honor God but our actions don’t quite fit our words.  Saying we worship and serve God means we have vowed to do His will.  We have promised to give up our wishes and our desires in order to serve Him.  The road is not always easy and it isn’t always what we expected but it is what we promised to do.  No matter the conditions, God expects us to keep our promise.  No excuses made and none accepted!

Buried Treasure

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ne of my favorite books is Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.  I have read the book several times and have often pretended I was on some deserted island in search of lost treasure.  What little boy, or big boy for that matter, hasn't imagined what it would be like to hunt for buried treasure?

I played out this scenario quite often, especially while looking for quarters to do laundry when I lived in the men’s dorm.  Finding the correct change involved rummaging through drawers, looking under the bed, and checking in pants’ pockets.  Unlike Treasure Island, though, there was no map and ‘X’ never marked the spot.

Laundry and money never seemed to be a problem when I was growing up.  My clothes magically appeared, washed, pressed, and folded.  Whenever I needed money, and it seems I needed it often, I would ask my mom to give me some.  Her response was always the same: “Bring me my pocketbook.”

I learned at a very early age that a woman’s pocketbook was a wonderful thing.  They have everything in there, from paper clips to super glue.  However, I also learned not to go poking around in them for the very simple reason that they are impossible to navigate.  More than once I have gotten lost in there.  My mom, however, always knew where everything was in her purse. How she knew, I never figured out, and, although I could never find her billfold, she always located it.

What, you may be wondering, does rummaging around in my mom’s purse have to do with today’s devotional?   How could there ever be a connection between Psalm 119 and my mother’s pocketbook?  Well, actually the two have quite a bit in common.  Psalm 119:11 reads, “I have hidden your word in my heart. that I might not sin against you.”  David’s message is very clear in this passage from his longest psalm.    We must hide God’s word in our hearts and make it a part of our daily lives.  We must be able to retrieve it at a moment’s notice, to be able to find the hidden treasures and the wonderful promises God has made to us all.

When God’s word is securely hidden in our hearts, when it becomes a part of who we are, when it penetrates to the deepest levels of our being, then we will indeed have buried treasure.  We can tap this resource at any time, in any situation, and draw upon it for strength, comfort, assurance, and help.  We hide God’s word because it is precious and of infinite worth.  Just as we base our physical lives upon the treasures hidden in our bank accounts, so must we base our spiritual lives upon the treasures God’s word hidden in our hearts.

At any given moment, most people can tell you how much money they have in the bank or in a stock portfolio.  However, most of us would be hard-pressed to give an accurate balance of our knowledge of God’s word.  In fact, most of us are severely lacking in this area. 

If we believe God’s word is our source of strength, knowledge, and the basis upon which we build our relationship with him, doesn’t it make sense to hoard as much of it as possible?  Doesn't it make sense to hide this treasure, to bury it deep in our hearts and guard it with all diligence?  Remember, Jesus himself said, “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew6:21).

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es, when I needed some money, a Band-Aid, or a cough drop, I always asked my mom for help.  She always asked for her purse because whatever I needed at the time was in there.  God’s word is the same.  Everything we need is contained inside.  However, if we never read it, it we never store it, if we never hide it deep inside, we won’t have enough of it or of him to sustain us in our time of need.  So, how much hidden treasure is there in your life?  If its secret hiding place were discovered, would you be rich or poor?

Open, Save, or Cancel?

Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2015

Today's Title: Open, Save, Or Cancel?

Today's Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

The Bible never ceases to amaze me.  Every day there is something so current, so applicable, and so timely, that it could have easily appeared in the newspaper or on the morning news.  I receive news updates throughout the day in my e-mail from various news agencies.  These help keep me updated on current world situations and alert me to important events occurring in various places around the globe.  It is amazing what technology can do these days and it is alarming how vulnerable we feel without it.

However, what is more amazing to me is when I find a twenty-first century example of a Biblical truth.  Every now and then I just stop, staring in total amazement as one of God’s immutable truths hits home to me.  It could be in the car, walking down the street, watching television or just reading a book.  I will come across a story, see a show, hear something in a conversation, or notice something along the roadside, and God speaks so clearly and so distinctly that I wonder why I haven’t heard Him before.

Today’s Tidbit comes out of such an experience.  A few days ago, I was downloading some software for a project I am currently working on at the university.  The process wasn’t difficult because the computer did all the work. The only thing I had to do was to wait until the computer finished downloading the software.  After the download was complete, I installed the program, made sure it was saved correctly and launched the program.   

While downloading from the Internet, I had time to think about what I was doing.  This is a relatively new idea for me.  Usually I act first and think after, but not this time.  Since the computer needed several minutes to download, I had time to think about what I was doing.

As soon as I requested my download, I got a message on the computer screen.  It asked which of three activities I wanted to perform in regards to the program I sought to download.  The three choices I had were: Open, Save, or Cancel.  I really didn't take notice of the message at first and clicked the save button.  However, during the next 30 minutes, God showed me how this process was actually a twenty-first century application of one of Jesus’ most famous parables.

In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus shares the parable of the sower (the farmer who sowed seed) with his audience.  The story is very simple but its truth is profound.  A farmer went out to sow his seed and the seed fell on four different kinds of soil.  Some fell by the wayside, some fell on soil that was full of rocks, some fell among thorns, and the last of the seed fell on good soil where it produced a crop.

Now if you stop to think about it, you will see that in twenty-first century terms, Jesus has described the process of a download.  We are not downloading the latest technological advance in programming or the hottest game off the Internet.  No!  Instead, we are downloading the very word of God and the option we choose for its integration into our lives speaks volumes about our relationship with God.

The seed that fell by the wayside represents the cancel button.  These are people who have no desire to even hear God’s word so they cancel the process at the very beginning.  The seed falling on rocky soil represents the open option.  They open the Scriptures, read them briefly, but they never apply its truths to their lives and do not grow spiritually.  The third soil has thorns in it.  These are the people who decide to save the word but when they find out it takes patience, time, and space in their lives, they cancel out of the process.  They started the download but they didn't finish it.  The last type of soil was good soil.  This means that the program is opened, downloaded, saved, and used!!  The process is complete.  These are the people who store, save, and apply God’s word to their lives daily. They use the program all the time, returning to it again and again because they can’t operate their lives without it!

The human heart is far more important and far more intricate than any hard drive on any computer.  God has offered us the most up-to-date, the most reliable, and the most useful software tool available.  All He requires of us is to download it into our lives and use it as our operating system.  But the choice to do so is ours.  Today what will you do with God’s word?  Will you open, save, cancel, or incorporate it?  Are you in need of a download today?

Just Five More Minutes!

Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2015

Today's Title: Just Five More Minutes!

Today's Scripture: Proverbs 24:33-34  

The noise of the alarm clock at 5:00 in the morning is anything but a welcoming sound.  Just a few seconds on this side of the alarm, everything is peaceful, quiet, ordered and serene.  I am not aware of the world outside.  I’m not even aware of the fact that my eyes are closed and my mind registers absolutely nothing.  All is blank, all is calm, and all is just as it should be. Then it happens!  Out of nowhere a piercing, screaming, sound shatters the silence. On the other side of the alarm, there is chaos, noise, confusion, and regret! Yes, I said regret because every time the thing goes off I regret having purchased my alarm clock! 

This particular morning was no exception.  The alarm kept its appointed rounds, waking me at precisely five o’clock.  Only this time, I hit the off button, thinking I’d catch just five more minutes of sleep and serenity before facing the day ahead.  Boy was I wrong!  The next sound I heard was the clock in the den chiming out six bells!  Those five minutes had turned into sixty and I now found myself racing against the clock, steaming full speed into the day ahead.  If I had just gotten out of bed when that alarm clock rang, all would have been different.  However, I chose to remain in bed and now it was time to play “Make Up Those Minutes.”  I am a frequent contestant on this show but I never win any more minutes, I just lose more in the end!

Now, all of us have been in my situation.  In fact, I would venture to say that every morning, more than a few of us go through the exact same battle with our alarm clocks.  Our intentions are good but we just can’t quite put them into action.  We have every intention of jumping out of bed at the first chime of the alarm and starting our day in grand fashion.  The reality, however, is that we find that snooze button or the off switch, hoping to grab just five more minutes of sleep.  Those five minutes invariably turn into fifteen, thirty, or sixty and we spend the rest of the day in an attempt to make up for lost time!

Our spiritual lives are no different.  In fact, they are sometimes worse!  We fully intend to spend time in God’s word.  We aim to spend time in prayer, talking to God about His plan for the day ahead, seeking His will and His guidance for all the situations we face in life.  But something invariably happens!  Our spiritual alarm clock goes off and we opt for just five more minutes of whatever we are doing. The result is that those five minutes always get away from us.  Before we know it, the entire day has passed by and we’ve taken no time to spend with our Heavenly Father.

There is a sobering reminder for us in Proverbs 24:33-34.  Solomon reminds us, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.  Solomon is not saying that sleep is wrong and he is definitely not against Sunday afternoon naps!  But there is great truth in this proverb.  There are always consequences that accompany our decisions and our actions.

The resulting condition from resting too much and sleeping too much is poverty.  While it is true that not working will definitely result in having no money, no job, and mounds of unpaid bills, there are other ways to be poverty-stricken.  I believe there is also a good spiritual application of this passage as well.  When we fold our hands, when we decide to put off God’s work until a later time, when we spend five more minutes in another activity rather than spending it with God, we become spiritually poor.  Our relationship with God suffers and we find it difficult, if not impossible, to enjoy the rich benefits of a daily walk with Him.

So, did you jump right out of bed this morning when the alarm rang or did you opt for just five more minutes?  Did you ease yourself into the morning or are you still trying to regain the time you lost after you rolled back over for a few more winks?  If you’re like me, and I feel sorry for you if you are, you find yourself constantly chasing those five minutes throughout the entire day!  At some point today, however, your spiritual alarm clock will go off, reminding you to spend some time with God.  When it sounds, get up from whatever you are doing and talk with God.  It doesn't matter where you are, stop, get up, and get alone with Him.  The worst thing you could do would be to ignore that alarm for just five more minutes! Have a good day!

Up And Down And All Around

Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Today's Title: Up And Down And All Around   

Today's Scripture: Mark 12:28-31     

Dear Tidbitters,

One evening I was reminded just how dependent we are on elevators.  My office at the university was in the basement of our building.  The main office and many of our classrooms are were the second and third floors.  To gain access to any of these, I would walk down the hall and join the long line of people waiting for the elevator to arrive and whisk us to any floor of our choosing.  The elevator usually took its own precious time.  This was especially true when I was in a hurry and needed to get to a classroom or the restroom!  The elevator provided an invaluable service but I definitely had to put myself on its schedule!  Rarely, if ever, did it put itself on mine!

When the elevator finally arrived and the magical doors opened, I stepped inside and pushed the button for the second floor.  The doors slid shut and the elevator began its upward ascent, carrying me to the second floor so I could make photocopies, visit with the secretaries in the main office, and check my mailbox.  While locked in the elevator, I came to the realization that my movement was taking place in only one direction.  The elevator could only transport me vertically; any horizontal movement had to be done on my own.  The elevator could take me to the correct level but it could not take me around the building or down the hall.  For that, I had to walk through the building and from side to side.  But one thing was sure: without the vertical motion, the horizontal motion wouldn't have been possible.

Jesus found himself presenting the same truth to a teacher of Jewish law.  The teacher had asked a very important question and eagerly awaited Jesus’ response.  The teacher wanted to know Jesus’ opinion of the most important law on the books.  This was not the only time this question was put to Jesus and it was not the only time he gave the same correct answer.  Let’s take a look at Mark 12:28-31 to see the exchange between the teacher and the master, notice the profound difference in the titles!

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. ‘There is no commandment greater than these."

Please notice that Jesus’ answer contains both vertical and horizontal movement.  The command to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength was the greatest commandment.  God wants and expects nothing less than for his people to love Him completely, with every fiber of their beings. But Jesus does not stop here.  After securing the importance of the horizontal relationship between us and God, he ventures forth on the horizontal plane.  Jesus continues by requiring us to develop the horizontal relationship with those around us, those people who Jesus identifies as our neighbors.  So not only is it necessary to have a right relationship with God (vertical) it is also required of us to have a right relationship with those around us (horizontal).  Jesus concludes by stating that there are no greater commandments than these two.

The next time you have the opportunity to take the elevator, think about the application of its motion to your spiritual life.  The up and down relationship we have with God (vertical) is essential.  We must spend time locked inside this relationship so that our lives reach the level of spiritual maturity God intends for us.  He invites us to rise from the basement of our relationship with Him to the top floor, growing and maturing as we ascend.  But God also expects us to get out of the spiritual elevator and minister to those around us (horizontal). 

We are to love our neighbors, those around us, with the same love we have for ourselves.  We have a responsibility to those around us to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to minister to their needs.  God expects us to spend our lives on both the vertical and horizontal planes.  However, we must keep these actions in the proper order.  Vertical relationship, the one between us and God, is the most important.  Without the vertical relationship, the horizontal relationship, the one between us and our neighbors, isn't possible.  Listen carefully as you enter the elevator and you just might hear God whisper to you, “What floor please?”  Are you ready to leave the elevator and love your neighbor today?

Constantly On The Move

 Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2015

Today's Title: Constantly On The Move

Today's Scripture: 2 Chronicles 27:6

Every evening when the lights are out and all is quiet, I lie in my bed listening to the sound of the ticking clock that hangs on the wall in my living room.  All through the day and night, this vigilant sentinel keeps watch over my home, faithfully marking the passing hours.  While the pendulum swings back and forth, the hands move around the clock, marching through the hours with a determined and steady cadence.  This dance of time occurs whether I am present or not.  The clock continually fulfills its purpose, no matter what!

Clocks have always been a part of my life.  Our house was filled with them because my dad loved, and still loves, listening to a ticking clock.  What continues to amaze me is the precision with which these wonderful instruments work.  The most important part of the clock is the pendulum because without its faithful back and forth motion, the clock would not function.  As the pendulum swings through space, it causes the hands of the clock to move around the dial at a steady pace.  Each swing of the pendulum results in the forward motion of the hands as they mark the passing seconds, minutes, and hours.

The real secret of the clock lies in the fact that its parts are constantly on the move.  The visible motion of the hands and pendulum belie the intricate dance of the clock’s wheels, springs, and gears.  Yet the very fact that the hands move with such devotion indicates that the steadfast march of time moves forward from one passing moment to the next.

The Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles reveals the importance of being constantly on the move in God’s service.  2 Chronicles 27:6 is a brief passage about a man named Jotham, King of Judah, who walked in a manner pleasing to God.  “Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.”  But who was this Jotham and what do we know about him?

Jotham’s name appears 28 times in the Old Testament.  His father was King Uzziah who had leprosy.  Uzziah could not enter the Temple and he lived in a separate house, relieved of his responsibilities.  Jotham represented the people and ruled for his father.  When his father died, Jotham became King of Judah.  He rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s Temple.  He was 25 when he became king and he reigned for 16 years.  He conquered the Ammonites and they paid a tribute to him for 3 years.

But what we know historically about Jotham does not compare to our scripture passage today.  Notice that there is a direct correlation between Jotham’s power and his walk before God.  In the Old Testament, walking before the Lord meant to please Him on a consistent basis.  Like a clock’s pendulum swinging back and forth, walking also requires constant movement, placing one foot in front of the other. The goal of walking is to move forward, to go from one place to another in a methodical and determined pattern.  Walking before God is a commentary on a person’s life and Jotham’s life was pleasing to God.  We know this because the Scriptures also say that Jotham increased in power and that his walk was steadfast.

This is always true of a man or woman today who walks with God.  The word steadfastly means determined, continually, and consistently.  God wants us to walk with Him on a daily basis, always looking to Him for all our needs, always communicating with Him in every situation, and always walking forward with Him as we mature in our faith.  When we walk with God in this fashion, we find that our spiritual lives become more powerful, that our relationship with God grows ever deeper, and that our faith and trust in Him grow ever stronger.

What do the hands of your spiritual clock tell you about your walk with God today?  Is your pendulum swinging, marking out a constant rhythm, making the spiritual gears of your life turn?  Are the hands of your spiritual clock indicating that you are moving forward, growing and maturing in your walk with God?  Or do the pendulum and the hands show no movement, showing that your forward momentum and your walk with God have stopped?  If this is the case, don’t rest until you talk with God and have your clock rewound.  Remember, in order to please God, you must spend time with Him.  Are you constantly on the move today?

Balancing Your Statement

 Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2015

Today's Title: Balancing Your Statement

Today's Scripture: Daniel 5:27

It is one of the most unpleasant but oh so necessary tasks I have to perform on a monthly basis.  Once a month, the bank notifies me via e-mail that it is time to reconcile my statement.  In essence, the bank calls me to account for my spending during the previous month to see if my records match theirs.  Their records are the standard and, with very few instances, their records are accurate.

Time was when this process took several hours, if not days!  The ritual included pencils, paper, coffee, calculators, more coffee, erasers, alarm clock, and another pot of coffee.  The process was tedious because at some point, you had failed to enter a transaction and that meant spending the majority of the night chasing down a few dollars or pennies. 

On more than one occasion, I have witnessed my mother chase a penny for days as she balanced the books at my dad’s business.  To my mind, all that was necessary was to add the penny back in, but not mom! She wanted the books to balance and she worked at it until they did!

The jump from balancing a bank statement to balancing a life is not a large one.  The same principle that applies to keeping abreast of the funds in a bank account also applies to the Christian life. Let’s take a quick look at what the Scriptures teach us about living a life in balance with God.

In the Old Testament book of Daniel we meet a king whose life was out of balance.  The people of Israel were living in captivity in Babylon.  Daniel, who was a wise and godly man, was called to stand before the king and explain a mysterious message he had received.  During a great banquet King Belshazzar had thrown, in which he drank from the gold and silver goblets stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall of the banquet hall.  Belshazzar summoned Daniel to interpret the message and Daniel did so.

Daniel 5:27 is the heart of God’s message to Belshazzar.  It is a message we all need to hear and to consider as we bring our lives into balance with God’s word and His expectations for all those who bear His name.  This passage says, “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”  What a sobering statement for Belshazzar to hear. In fact, the Scriptures tell us the king grew pale when he saw the handwriting on the wall and this is understandable.  The message, however, tells us that there is a standard against which the king was measured and that standard was God’s standard and this standard is always accurate!

As Christians, we need to take heed and consider this statement from the book of Daniel.  God’s standards for holiness, His standards that we are to be like Christ, and His standards for maintaining our relationship with Him have not and will not change.  Every day we are to take account of our lives and to compare them with the accurate statement found in God’s word.  Do our transactions, the things we do in life, square and balance with God’s word?  Are we living in a manner consistent with God’s statement or are our lives woefully out of balance with God’s will?

Today, as you go about your routine, stop and consider your actions, your thoughts, your words, and your motives.  Are they inline with God’s requirements?  Are we stewarding our lives wisely or are we writing checks haphazardly, expecting God to cover us when they are presented for payment?  Are our lives in balance today or are we, like Belshazzar, weighed in the balance and found wanting?  Have you balanced your spiritual statement today?

This Morning's Breakfast

 Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Thursday, January 29, 2015

Today's Title: Access Granted

Today's Scripture: Hebrews 11:25

There are so many things that are good about Saturday morning.  I don’t have to set my alarm clock, my calendar doesn't have appointments every fifteen minutes, and I can pretty much do as I please, a distinct change from the five preceding days of the week.

One of these little luxuries is a full breakfast; I mean bacon, eggs, coffee, grits, toast, the whole nine yards.  As the sun sleepily rises and the aroma of coffee winds its way through the house, I prepare the bacon, eggs, and toast, eagerly awaiting the moment when all the elements come together for a culinary masterpiece.  Ok, so I’m not a gourmet chef, but I get by.

Once everything is ready, I sit down at my table, turn on some soft music, and begin to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  After breakfast, and after the kitchen is cleaned, I start my day.  Throughout the morning as I come and go, I notice the lingering aroma of bacon that has permeated everything in the house.  Now the smell of bacon at 6:00 a.m. is distinctly different from its aroma at, let’s say, 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  It just seems to lose its appeal after seven hours and becomes more of a nuisance rather than a real pleasure.

This idea was not lost on the writer of Hebrews.  In fact, he fully understood that sin in one’s life is exactly like the aroma of my breakfast that lingers long after the initial enjoyment is gone. In Hebrews 11:25 we read, “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.”

This passage is taken from Hebrews 11, a chapter better known as the Hall of Fame of faith.  Numerous people from both the Old and New Testaments are listed here as examples of the kind of faith that pleases God.  In this particular passage, the writer speaks of Moses who led Israel out of four hundred years of bondage to the land promised to Abraham.

There are two quick thoughts tucked neatly away in this passage.  First, notice that the writer describes sin as pleasurable.  This is an accurate description.  No one would be tempted to do something that wasn’t pleasurable to them and yielding to that pleasure, in whatever form, constitutes sin.  But the author doesn’t end there.  Notice he states that these pleasures last only for a “short time.”  Just like my breakfast, the meal is short but the aroma hangs around, serving as a reminder to me and a signal to others of what I had for breakfast.

Left unchecked, sin permeates everything, invading the very fabric of our lives until the aroma we produce is unpleasant to ourselves, to others, and especially go God.  The blood of Jesus Christ serves to remove and totally eradicate the odor and stain of sin in our lives.  What does the aroma of your life say about you today?  Is it attracting or repelling those around you?  What did you have for breakfast this morning?  

How Do You Spend Your Day?

Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Today's Title: How Do You Spend Your Day?

Today's Scripture: Psalm 90:12 

One of the most important lessons I have learned since moving to Texas is how to manage my money and live on a budget.  I had always heard others talking about having or not having enough money in their budgets to do a certain project or buy something for themselves or someone else.  The concept, however, was simply lost on me.  I figured as long as I had money in the checking account, I was doing OK.  The only problem was, at the end of the month, I could never figure out where I had spent my money.  However, a quick perusal over my check register revealed that money had gone out for movies, restaurants, things I wanted, etc. but precious little, if any, had gone into savings or even to buy clothes.

However, this all changed when I started seminary.  It became very apparent very quickly that I needed to apportion my earnings in a very precise manner in order to steward my resources wisely.  This is a lesson I have never regretted and I am now thankful that God continues to show His faithfulness to me on a daily basis.  Each time I reconcile my banking statement, I am always amazed and humbled at how God has proved Himself over and over by keeping me right on track with my money.  The money belongs to God, my responsibility is to steward it wisely and faithfully.

But there is another area in my life that I am finding very difficult to steward.  It is an area we all struggle with and an area in which we always seem to run a deficit.  That area is time.  No matter how early I get up, no matter how good my intentions, and no matter how much I rearrange my schedule, there never seems to be enough hours in the day.  If I go to bed earlier than normal, the next day finds me worn out before all my tasks are completed.  If I make more room in my schedule in the morning, something always crops up in the afternoon to rob me of the time I've saved.

Isn't it amazing that we will spend such a long time poring over our finances, making sure we spend just the right amount in just the right place, but we will completely ignore our daily schedules?  We always seem to spend our time poorly, neglecting to give God His time, failing to spend time with our families, forgetting to tell others we love and appreciate them, and pushing ourselves to the limit on a consistent basis.

The prayer of Moses in Psalm 90 addresses just this issue.  Israel wondered in the desert for forty years.  They could have been in the Promised Land in a matter of weeks but due to their disobedience and stubbornness, they spent their time poorly and what a price they paid!  All those twenty years of age and older never saw the Promised Land.  They all died in the desert and their children entered in their place.  How tragic!  They forfeited all those years of happiness and all those years of blessing because they disobeyed God.

Listen to the words of Moses from Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  There are two important points in this short passage of scripture.  First, Moses looks to God for instruction on how to account for his time.  Moses realizes that left to ourselves, we are poor stewards of the lives and resources God gives us.  Only with His guidance, only with His wisdom, and only with His grace can we ever hope to spend our time and our lives wisely.  Second, the purpose of following God’s instruction and learning from Him is to gain a heart full of wisdom.  We can only do this when we make God a priority in our lives.  We must spend time with Him.  We must make our relationship with Him top priority and learn to apportion our time in order be in His presence.  If we fail to do this, we will wander through life, wondering what happened to all of our time.

So, how do you spend your day?  Does the budget of your time show you are spending it wisely or are you running a deficit? Think about it!