Monthly Archives: June 2026

His or Mine

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I observe some believers often mention Satan doing this or doing that. You might have noticed that Seriously primarily focuses on the all-powerful, sovereign source of all good, King of the universe, compared to the the wicked, evil foe of our Lord and His children. However, one area worth consideration is Satan as the deceiver.  “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9).

There is one area of deception that Satan has been highly successful in. That is believers’ attitudes about ownership— how they value and use their time. This subject could even be offensive to most. To imply that something a person thinks he owns is actually not his after all could be troubling. However, truth is often disturbing to those of a contrary opinion. 

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20). We (including our time), are totally owned by God. Is God getting a good return on His payment of Christ’s blood to purchase us? He purchased us to use for His glory. He did NOT do it so that we have our best, most fun and pleasurable life now. 

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time” (Colossians 4:5). We give God a good return on His ownership of our time when we walk in wisdom. 

Paul said, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:31 – 11:1).

The Surprise

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You were so excited for your son’s graduation. You had been saving for several years to surprise him. After graduation you took him car shopping and bought a fantastic car for him. It had come off of a lease and was in amazing condition. Your son was thrilled beyond your wildest hope. Life settled into a new pattern and time passed.

A year later, your son gave you a ride home after you dropped the family car off at the shop for some maintenance. Getting in, you had to clear the convenience store snack packaging from the ketchup-stained seat to make room for yourself. Your heart sank. The car looked clean and smelled nice when you gave it to him. Now it  looked horrible. Well, actually, it was much like his bedroom. Hmm, could there be a connection? The reality of his irresponsibility suddenly became clear.

It might be argued that personal responsibility is the most important character quality for a person. A responsible person accepts ownership of outcomes and the necessity of right decisions. Otherwise they have a myriad of excuses, all of which translates to, “It’s not my fault.”

“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Oh, my brothers, irresponsible children will be a lifelong grief to your heart. They will most likely blame you for their struggles.

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Oh my brothers, irresponsible children will be a lifelong grieving of your heart, and they will blame you for most of it.

Patiently Waiting

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 This morning my sister ended her daily morning text with, “Anyway, one day at a time with patience.” That is also my story because I am nine weeks away from a surgery I would be happy if I could have tomorrow but I must wait on the surgeon’s schedule. I wonder how many of us and how often we find ourselves living “one day at a time with patience”? I want to teach and remind my heart some truths from the Word to help me do well with “one day at a time with patience.”

Job’s Patience

“. . . Ye have heard of the patience of Job . . .” (James 5:11). Job suffered much. It wasn’t from his wrong doing, but because God allowed Satan to bring immense sufferings to prove Job’s faithfulness. Job didn’t understand why it all happened, but this is what he did: “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped . . . In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:20, 22). James says Job had patience. He experienced horribly trying circumstances but worshipped God through it. What an example Job is for me.

God’s Sovereignty

Patience involves waiting for a different outcome than I’m currently experiencing. If I really  believe God is sovereign and that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28), then I can patiently wait for however long it takes for Him to bring about the outcome HE desires. His way is always best and His timing as well even when I don’t understand, like Job didn’t understand. 

God’s Patience

“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalms 86:15). Longsuffering means patient. Think about how patient God has been first through out history and now with you and with me personally. We experience His patience every single day. How trivial and easy my patience becomes when I compare it to the immensity of His. So when I find myself becoming impatient, I realize I’m wanting MY way more then waiting for His way. This should break my heart and bring me conviction and repentance, leading me right back to patience. 

Learning Patience

How do I actually learn patience? “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3). Patience comes about when I choose to be joyful in the midst of trying circumstances (which are what temptations are in this verse). I choose to trust in the sovereign Almighty God, Who lovingly directs the lives of those who are His. This is the way patience is developed in my life? Yes! To get there, I am to be joyful when my situation is hard? Yes, that’s exactly what Scripture tells me. 

Practically speaking for me counting it all joy in this situation is to be thankful for modern medicine and the availability of surgery to help me. It is to be excited about the changes my body will experience when healed from the surgery. For the next nine weeks, my mind could gravitate to all the unpleasant parts of surgery and recovery and the “what ifs” of it. But that is a spirit of fear not joy. 

 Living It Out 

These are what I am taking as my truths to live one day at a time with patience. Are you in a place where you are waiting and need to live one day at a time with patience? Maybe my Scriptural focus these next 9 weeks could be helpful for you. Perhaps there are other Scriptures the Lord would put on your heart that would be what you relate to and need through your “one day at a time with patience.” Whatever the case may be, I encourage you that taking “one day at a time with patience” is a solid, living in faith, response to circumstances you would change now, if you could.

Stoking the Wrong Fire

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Deep down in your heart of hearts, do you have a heart after God’s Word? Do you desire a closer walk with Him as you serve Him and live out His Word? If not, I believe it is often because we are stoking the wrong fire/passions. Let’s look briefly at a few verses from Psalms and the wisdom contained therein. 

“Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way” (Psalms 119:35-37).

Do you see how the Psalmist desires God’s Word? He says he delights in it. He asks the Lord to direct his heart more into it and away from covetousness. Coveting is a passion contrary to the love of God, His ways, and His Word. Did you notice a key ingredient in not coveting? It is that our eyes aren’t beholding vanity. What does vanity mean? It is those things that are false, worthless, empty, and yield nothing godly. 

Many men I know delight in watching sports, movies, and news. That shows where the heart really is, and it continues to fire up coveting passions. The Psalmist wanted to turn his eyes from looking at empty, worthless things because they WOULDN’T draw him closer to his God. 

What about you? I encourage you to take inventory of your time, what you delight in, and what you covet. Is the Word your delight? Would you rather sit and feast on the Word or watch a game on TV or maybe your vanity is something else? If it isn’t the Word, are you asking the Lord to help you set aside the vanities that are delighting you and to incline your heart to Him? You can make lifestyle choices that eliminate the vanities. Feed on the Word. Invest in your family and serve Christ wholeheartedly.

Disconnect

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I was talking to a couple of Christian brothers the other night. One was sharing how he loves fishing and then chuckled when saying at times he will fish places where it isn’t allowed. I was amazed how it didn’t seem to occur to him there was a huge disconnect as a believer. “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1).

We are so quick to spot this sort of thing in our children as they grow up, but what about our lives? Are our lives pleasing to our God Who owns us? Do we obey the government as we are commanded to?

Our example is gigantic to our children. As they grow up and become more aware of what Scripture teaches about how we are to live, we teach them to follow Christ wholeheartedly or be hypocrites. No wonder the word Christian is often spoken with a bit of a sneer and curled lip these days.