by Don Ruhl

Read Matthew 6:19-34

You have heard Jesus say,

31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (Mat. 6:31).

My guess is that no one who receives these e-mail devotionals “worries” about food, drink and clothing, in the sense that we have enough. We may question whether we will eat this item or that, whether we will have this drink or that one, whether we shall wear this piece of clothing or the one next to it, but we are not in such dire circumstances that we may literally not have any prospect for food tomorrow.

However, we probably do have other worries. How shall I pay the bills? Do you have that one? Do you have other concerns? God has brought us this far along, giving us food, drink and clothing. Can He do the rest?

Read Genesis 20-22

Hagar and her young son must leave the household of Abraham and Sarah. Hagar and Ishmael wander in the wilderness until finally their provisions run out, even the water. She reaches the depths of despair, believing that the death of her son is close at hand.

16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, Let me not see the death of the boy. So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept (Gen. 21:16).

Can you get any lower than Hagar was? Yet, it is at this time, that God lifts her up, promising to make of her son a great nation (v. 18). Starting with some water (v. 19), her son is on the way to greatness. That is precisely what happened.

What is your desperate situation? Cry out to God. See what He does.

by Don Ruhl

Read Matthew 6:1-18

Jesus says that we must not use vain repetitions in prayer, explaining,

8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him (Mat. 6:8).

There are times that we know what someone is going to need before he even knows it, but that is only sometimes. The Father always knows what we need before we ask Him.

Dwell on that thought the rest of the day, understanding how intimate our Father is with us.

by Don Ruhl

Read Genesis 18 and 19

Genesis 18:2 shows Abraham running. Verse 7 says he ran again! Now, this man was 99 years old! Granted 99 then was not the same as it is now, because people were able to live much longer than today. In fact, Abraham lived about 100 years longer than the average man does today. Still, 99 is old, so much so that when he begets a child the next year, it is a remarkable thing.

Why was Abraham running? Genesis 18:1 says, Then the LORD appeared to him... Seeing the LORD, Abraham runs to meet Him. Then he runs to prepare food for the LORD.

What would you do, if the LORD came to visit you? What will we do when His people come to visit us?

by Phil Sanders

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).

Today is the best day you have to do a kindness, to lift up a broken-hearted friend, to study God’s Word, to pray, or to tell a friend about the Lord. Today is the best day, because it is really the only day you have. Tomorrow is gone, and tomorrow is but a presumption.

John Mason (1706-1773) said, “As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every minute of time.” Moments keep coming but, once passed, cannot be reclaimed or redone. This is why making every moment’s record be for good rather than ill is so important. We truly do trade a piece of lives for the moments we live.

The philosopher Nietzsche believed that “God is dead.” What he meant is that God no longer lived in the lives of people. Nietzsche himself had been a seminary student but had been tempted by prostitutes. Contracting a social disease, which ate at his body and his mind, Nietzsche wrote ceaselessly of life without God. He died a madman.

When people cast God out of their lives, they also cast out the very reason for their existence. They end up without hope and without purpose. They may leave a mark, as Nietzsche did; but it will be a harmful mark, leading to despondency and hopelessness.

The days are indeed evil, even when God is in our lives. That is why a close, loving relationship with the Lord is so needed.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). The most foolish thing we can do is to “despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7). If we are to live wise and productive lives, the first thing we must do is to come to know the Holy One. The world is dark and evil, because it does not know Him. Life, love, joy, hope, peace, wisdom, and grace all find their source in God.

Today is the best day you have to serve God and to serve others. Why not make the most of your time by letting God in your life and letting His love work through you. That is truly making the most of your time and is the only thing that lasts beyond this life. All else will be forgotten.