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 I had an interesting conversation with a lady at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Do you find that time pressure robs you of your peace? This should come as no surprise. You should take this into consideration when you make your commitments and plan your activities. Trying to do too much can reduce the quality and enjoyment of everything you do. Yet I understand that you do not always have a choice and even the most thoughtful plan can be interrupted by emergencies. What should you do about events beyond your control? Always come to me, and especially at these times. The peace I give you is supernatural. It is a peace that surpasses understanding. You can experience it even at stressful times, and it is a testimony to those around you of my sustaining power in you.

Blessed Holy Lord God, what will You share with me about the evil massacre yesterday at the school in Connecticut?

Come to me, for I am the resource for all your needs. I have promised that I will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can resist. You are in need of correction that you may be refined into my image, but I will not correct you beyond what you can endure. I do not willingly grieve or crush my children. I would rather that you would fall on the rock and be broken, than to have it fall on you. Yet even in this I know what you are able to bear and will not exceed it. Are you encouraged to find you can endure more than you thought? No correction is a cause for joy, but it is temporary, and afterwards yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

I came to give you abundant life. Do you think there is a worldly version of the same thing, accomplished without me? You see people who are famous because of their wealth and prominence, even because of their creativity, initiative, influence, and contributions to society, even if they have no apparent trust in me. Yet I also posed the question, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul? For I am the only one who can provide abundant life both in this world and the world to come, and he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than the wealthiest and most famous in this world. 

Are you leading the life you imagined for yourself? Blessed are those who know their destiny from an early age. Yet for most there is a difference between your first desires and the life you now lead. Do you live with regret and longing for what you had hoped for? Does this prevent you from enjoying the fullness of your current life? It is double-minded to lead one life in reality and another in your mind, and there is a special type of bitterness in trying to embrace something that does not exist. How can I bless something like this? I want you to live in the present reality see my hand in it that it may be an abundant life for you. 

Now is the time to become healthier! How about taking three months (or six months) and focusing on health with your home group or your friends? We have two books which teach on health directly. The first one was written when I was 40, and is called Go Natural and has DVDs, a book and a workbook. This is ideal for group as well as individual study. I would suggest you also obtain, as a companion resource, our newest book on health which we wrote at age 60, Healthier Today than Yesterday. Here are the blood work numbers to prove I am healthier at age 60 than at age 40.

Do you think of a minister as the leader of a church? Churches have leaders, but everyone is or should be a minister. There are special gifts called out for leaders for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. Someone has to be in charge and direct traffic, but the performance – audience model of church is not Biblical. Let everyone bring a Psalm or hymn or teaching in the expectation that it will be welcome and they will have a chance to share. Even those in authority should be thought of as brothers rather than masters and should consider themselves as such. The greatest minister is the servant of all. 

Are you familiar with the concept of delayed gratification? Do you ever wonder if the sacrifices you make for me are worth it? How much more could gratification be delayed that to look forward to a reward that you will not receive in this lifetime? My people have been strangers and sojourners in this world because they could see a heavenly city afar off. Can you? This is the trial of your faith and patience that are so precious to me. Your present trials and afflictions, which are but for a moment, are not worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed in you. This is my reward for my good and faithful servants. 

Today I was reading the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel. Luke was not only a physician, but a gifted historian who carefully chronicled the early days of Christianity in two volumes (Acts being the second volume). Once again, I was struck with the power of his introduction to God’s Great Story, bridging past and future, preparing the way for a whole new reality.