86,400 Seconds

   What if you got a call from the president of your bank, and he told you that someone who loved you very much would be depositing 86,400 pennies into your bank account each every day. The only condition is that you would need to spend all of the money. But, unlike your cell phone carrier, you won’t be able to “Roll Over” your pennies to the next day. The pennies you don’t use will simply disappear.

    Now, if you were to take out your calculator and do the math, you’d find out that it amounts to a lot of money each year.  In case you don’t have a calculator or don’t know how to turn one on, 86,400 pennies per day for 365 days, equals $315,360 per year.

   Now think about this, someone who loves you very much (GOD) deposits 86,400 seconds into your bank of time each and every day. And like those pennies, they cannot be carried over from one day to the next. There is no such thing as a 25, 28, or 36 hour day. You are given 24 hours each day to use as you choose. For you math statisticians, that’s 31,536,000 seconds per year (525,600 minutes, 8,760 hours, 365 days, 12 months, 1 year.)  Are you being a good steward of your time?

The Bible tells us to “redeem the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). That means to make a conscious, constant and consistent wise use of each and every opportunity (second) God deposits into your bank of time.

 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

~ Matt

Take Action!

Matthew 10:19b-20 Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Success is defined in many ways. But regardless of how we define it, we want some type of memento, trophy, or something to show for that success. In business, it’s framing that first dollar of profit. When fishing, it’s the picture of that trophy catch displayed on the wall. For us hunters, It’s that trophy buck hanging on the wall.  Spiritually, it’s the memory of that first person we are able to lead to Christ.

We can dream about success all day long, but we’ve got to take action in order to achieve it. The entrepreneur can have the most genius business plan in the world. But if no action is taken to work that plan, it’ll never be a success.  The fisherman can have the best boat, the most up-to-date tracking devices, and the most tricked out lures and baits. But if he never casts his line, he’ll never make that trophy catch.  The deer hunter can buy the most expensive rifle and top notch scope, he can reload his own ammo, and shoot everyday at the range bragging about his quarter sized grouping.  But if he never goes into the hills, and never shoots, waiting for the perfect shot, his work, time and energy is for nothing.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. We have the greatest Spokesperson in the world on our side, ready to speak through us to people who need to know Jesus Christ. But if we never open our mouths to tell our story, we won’t be able to experience the ultimate joy of seeing them come to Jesus.

When the opportunity presents itself to share your story with someone, you don’t have to worry about saying the perfect words. You also don’t have to quote a Scripture word for word chapter by chapter.  You don’t need to deliver a mini-sermon on the spot. You only need to trust that when you boldly take action to speak, God will be true to His promise and give you the right words to say. 

It's Time To TAKE ACTION!

~ Matt

Come To Me!

   I read a story the other day about a dog named Tattoo.  Tattoo was an eight-month-old basset hound who went for an unexpected run one day. His owner accidentally shut his leash in the car door and took off for a drive, Tattoo had no choice but to try and keep up. Fortunately, a motorcycle officer saw the car and the “exercising” dog.  But before Tattoo's owner finally stopped and the dog was rescued, the vehicle had reached speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. Now, even though Tattoo was dragged some of the way, he was not injured. Imagine poor Tattoo with his little basset hound legs, trying to keep up.

   Now, have you ever felt that way—as though you were being dragged through life? Like Tattoo, you are trying to keep up with the speed of life and even getting drug around at times.  You may even feel more like the dog from the movie vacation that didn’t get noticed until it was to late.  Sadly, there is so much pressure on us to do so many things, with so little time, and with little to no rest in between.

   If that is you, Jesus address your situation in Matthew.  This is what Jesus says to anyone who is stressed out, anyone who is under pressure, anyone trying to keep up with the car, anyone who is carrying a burden of any kind:

Matthew 11:28–30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

   These are words for a weary, tired, and over pressured person. This is not just talking about someone at the point of utter exhaustion, but also the one loaded down with weight and pressure.


Now, is that a description of you today? Maybe you are struggling with the burden of physical pain, or the burden of problems in your family, or the burden of grief, finances, worry, employment, etc. 
Jesus says to you today, "Come to Me."

~ Matt

Heart Exam!

HEY…I’m Back!

   After a slight set back the beginning of this year I’m back to my “almost” daily blogvotions! I hope... I know, you are blessed in the Lord!

   

The Pharisees were men who were VERY dedicated to the study of Scripture. They took a vow before 3 witnesses promising to spend every moment of their lives obeying the 10 Commandments. Not to say that they succeeded, because in most cases they didn’t.  But that is at least what they tried to do.  We see in scripture that these are the very ones Jesus fought with the most.  It was mostly due to the hardness of their hearts.  What is funny though is the fact that they spent a majority of their time studying the Scriptures. These men, with such a deep spiritual endeavor, had hearts that were so hard that they gave credit to the devil for what was being done by God.  Look at this passage in Matthew:

   Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”

   Now, you may be thinking, so what are you saying here?  Are you saying to not read the bible, don’t go to church?  NO, but what I am saying is this; Just because you’re reading the bible faithfully doesn’t automatically mean you are living according to what is says.  You must have a receptive heart or else you do it in vain.  You need to go to church with a receptive heart or you could be in danger of producing a hardened one.  You see the church is a place where we honor God. It’s a place where the Word of God goes out. And we have a choice as to how we will react to these things.

   
   See, if we are in church because we want to worship and learn more about Christ, then that is great. But if we go to church out of mere obligation, thinking we can sin a little more because we have done our duty, that can be dangerous.

There is a saying that goes something like this; “The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay”. And sadly, sometimes the most hardened people can be found inside the church.  This is because they think, I know it all, I have heard it all. I am so spiritual. The problem is they are getting a hard heart. They are arrogant and resistant to the work the Holy Spirit wants to do in their lives.

   So let me encourage you today to do a heart exam.  Are you doing what your doing for the right reasons?  Do you have a critical spirit? Do you think you know it all?  Don’t substitute ANYTHING over an honest & genuine relationship with Jesus.  

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

~ Matt