#216 Consistency

Consistency

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.

¹⁰⁶ I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
that I will follow your righteous laws.

¹⁰⁷ I have suffered much;
preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word.

¹⁰⁸ Accept, O LORD, the willing praise of my mouth,
and teach me your laws.

¹⁰⁹ Though I constantly take my life in my hands,
I will not forget your law.

¹¹⁰ The wicked have set a snare for me,
but I have not strayed from your precepts.

¹¹¹ Your statutes are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.

¹¹² My heart is set on keeping your decrees
to the very end.

Psalm 119:105-112

Win streaks, hitting streaks, and 11 hour tennis matches, all have some form of consistency embedded within them. People work hard every day to create this consistency in performance. I wondered this week about consistency in my own life, and how I can improve this. We consistently wake up each morning on a path that will take us past the good and the bad, but how consistent are we in praising God for our good life? How consistently are we focusing on the good, instead of focusing on the bad and negative. So consistently reminding ourselves of what path we need to be on, who we need to thank, what we need to read, what we need to see is something that can change our lives. Don't stray from the Lord, but consistently seek after Him and what He has for your life.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #215 "Slip"

Slip

17 Unless the LORD had given me help.
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

18 When I said, "My foot is slipping,"
your love, O LORD, supported me.

19 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul. Psalm 94:17-19

I think all of us know what it feels like to have shoes on our feet and what it feels like to walk on a wet surface or a rocky shoreline
without those shoes. The shoes give us traction on that slippery surface and provide that extra sense of comfort as well. Do you find
yourself slipping away from things in your life? Your friends, your family, the Word, or life in general? God can be that shoe to keep
you from slipping away from those things important to you. He is a very comfortable fit for us and has very good traction. Make sure
you remember to allow your shoes to help you daily so you don't slip and fall.

#214 Regulations and Commands

Regulations and Commands

¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14

Do you have regulations you follow? Rules keep order in our world in many things and have a purpose, they keep people safe and can make us think how not following a rule can impact our lives. Are there rules that you don't follow? Going over the speed limit, not fastening the seatbelt, changing lanes or turning without signaling, not reporting all your income on tax returns, these are all rules that if not followed could have serious or dire consequences. Rules are really a prescribed guide for conduct or action, which is interesting to think about. No one is forcing you to do this but it is prescribed.

Now onto the next word, Commands is to direct authoritatively. Do any of us get direction from authorities on a regular basis? So you are asking yourself what is the difference between these two, they sound kind of the same. Rules are man-made and can keep you out of trouble and our commands are God-made and can bring great reward. God has two simple commands for us, not rules, commands.

²⁷He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Luke 10:27

Now, reading that passage, how hard is it to follow the first command? The second? I imagine the second one can be hard to follow, but remember this, if we Love the Lord our God, that is the first step to loving others, and we can say that this is not a rule, but a command that is easy to follow. Think about following this simple command and I bet a lot more man-made rules will be easier for you to follow and you might find a simple reward.

Have a great weekend.

#213 Attention

Attention

¹⁸We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

¹⁹And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. ²¹For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:18-21

Were you able to pay attention this week to all the details being thrown at you? Did you give the attention those around you who make a difference in your life? Paying attention is very important, and a lesson that I learned first-hand this week and the last several. While umpiring an important game for my son's baseball team, I had several close calls and made almost all of them right. I did miss a call, and looking back, it was probably because I wasn't paying close enough attention. Now when you read scripture, are you paying attention or letting the world drown out the Word of God? Know that when God speaks through His Word, you aren't alone. The thing we should all think about is how well do we pay attention to what is being spoken to us through the Lord. I encourage you to stop and pay attention, or you might miss something important.

Have a great weekend.

I always look forward to Fridays, but not for the reason you might think. Fridays are a day that helps me lead into a weekend after a hard week at work, the challenges of life, and it gives me a chance to slow down and reflect on where I have been during that week with God. Has He been the center of my life? Have I allowed Him to be close to me?



For the past 214 weeks, I have been on a journey thanks to the encouragement of my friend Kevin Walker. This journey included me writing a Friday devotional for a group of men, called Fantastic Friday. Where God wants me to go next with this I don't know, I just know I have to trust Him.