Just One Thing

October 6

But one thing I do.

Philippians 3:13b

Byron had asked Shane to run for a seat on city council. “Look, Shane, I under-

stand your reluctance, but think about it.”

“I hear what you’re saying. I’m just not sure I agree. There’ll be many

opposed to my holding political office if they find out about my past. You know

campaigns are anything but private, and the other camp will surely dredge it

up.”

Shane wasn’t afraid of being found out; he just didn’t want to drag his fam-

ily through an unnecessary mudslinging contest.

Sixteen years ago, he’d been arrested for possession of marijuana and

cocaine and had done a short stint in the county jail. He’d gotten clean and

stayed that way. Yet he knew society could be a cruel reminder.

But Byron had witnessed the change in Shane and appreciated how he

approached life today. “At least discuss it with Carol and see how she feels.”

That evening, Shane posed the question to his wife. “What would you

think about me running for the vacant city council seat next November?”

“I think you will be a good councilman,” she said with finality and a twin-

kle in her eye. She understood his concern; she just wasn’t going to let it dictate

their lives. If it came up, so be it. It was what he did, not who he was.

Shane was sworn in on a windy and cold January evening and would faith-

fully serve the City of Grayson, being reelected to six consecutive terms.

h

We all have pasts and have fallen short of the mark. Too many of us let those

mistakes define who we are today. If our personal sin were laid bare for all to

see, we would cease throwing stones of incrimination, and we would judge less

critically.

Paul was aware of his shortcomings to the point of listing many of them

in the hope that others would understand the importance of not allowing past

mistakes to affect present performance. So I emphasize his words for you:

“Forgetting what is behind, and straining forward, I press on!” Do just that one

thing; press on!

Prayer

“Forgive my mistakes, Lord. Help me not allow what I’ve done

in the past dictate who I am in You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 The Mantle

October 5

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do

for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double por-

tion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

2 Kings 2:9

From the mezzanine, they watched the crowd filtering in. The well-known

evangelist placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. He spoke softly, yet pas-

sionately, “Each one of these people here tonight has needs, son.” Pointing, he

asked, “Do you see that man in the red shirt, son?” 

“Yes, sir,” the boy of eleven

answered. “How about the lady with the blue coat?” “Yes, sir. I see her,” came

his reply. 

“And how about the girl with the ponytails, there in the second row?”

“I see her, sir.” 

Then this man of God spoke with an even deeper passion. “Ask

God to show you what they need. Ask Him to show you their hearts, son!”

He paused a moment and then continued, “I always survey the crowd before

speaking. Then I ask God to speak through me what they need to hear.” 

The boy looked up, awed that this man had taken time out of his busy schedule to

share his heart with him. 

The evangelist had found out this boy felt God’s call to become a pastor. He understood the importance of nurturing the vision. In those few moments, he did for this young man what no one else could. He passed on the mantle.

h

God bestows His mantle upon those He calls. This godly man understood

the privilege he’d been given. He remembered his father doing this very thing

with him when he had answered God’s call to the ministry. 

This was a night the young boy would never forget. He was ready to answer the call. 

God equips everyone for ministry. He provides all the skills we need for each 

situation we find ourselves in. He will never send us out to do anything we aren’t ready for.

We may feel apprehensive, but if we move forward in faith, we will find that

the Holy Spirit is right there giving us courage and strength.

Prayer

“Sometimes I’m afraid of the unknown, Lord. I’m uncomfortable

about being embarrassed. Help me put aside the fear so I

might teach others about You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 We Must Ask

October 4

Therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you.

2 Chronicles 1:12

It had been a year since the couple had battled issues of infidelity, and he was

wondering how his younger brother and his wife were doing. On the sur-

face, everything appeared fine. But he knew that the early stages of temptation

rarely show outward signs.

“Have you spoken to Gail about how she and Jeremy are doing lately?” he

asked his wife. “They appear to be okay. I just wonder if they really are.”

“Actually, I asked her last week. She assures me things are great,” she responded.

He remembered his own battle with infidelity; it had almost ruined his

marriage in the early years. He’d given in to temptation and made a terrible mis-

take. Fortunately, his wife believed in their marriage vows in a way he would later

come to understand, and they had worked through the pain of his indiscretion.

He had become accountable back then by giving two men permission to

ask personal questions about his faithfulness and to take any measures neces-

sary to remind him of his commitment to one woman. He’d needed that help

because the enemy had visited with the temptation of desire until he gained

victory through perseverance. He thanked God once again for the commit-

ment of those two men; for without them asking, “Are you experiencing any

sexual temptation?” he would have been left alone to resist the temptation. He

prayed that God would send someone to keep his brother and sister-in-law

accountable.

h

We all face some nature of temptation; none are exempt. We need account-

ability with someone we are comfortable confiding in because self-sufficiency

in spiritual matters will eventually result in our failure to resist.

Solomon asked God for wisdom instead of wealth, riches, or honor. Because

of that, God granted his desire. He also gave him wealth, riches, and honor.

But wisdom is the key. Without it, we have no basis for understanding

with which to make sound decisions.

If someone we know has fallen to temptation in the past, the question is,

“Dare we ask him how things are today?” The answer is yes. Wisdom says we

must ask.

Prayer

“Help me be a friend that helps others avoid

temptation, Lord. And please send someone to help

guide me along the path of wisdom. Amen.”

 Enough to Send His Son

October 3

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his

Son … for our sins.

1 John 4:10

“What makes you so sure?” Jenna’s question about God loving us apart from

our performance was valid. She wanted to know why God didn’t require good

behavior a prerequisite to salvation.

“God told us through His Word, Jenna,” Shari explained, opening her

Bible and reading, ‘This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us.’”

Shari searched for the right words. “Jenna, we could never measure up to

God’s standards. His holiness requires perfection, and we aren’t perfect. Scrip-

ture says, ‘All have sinned.’ That means we needed a perfect sacrifice to save us.

That was God’s Son. God’s love is so fierce that He would rather send Jesus to

die in our place than allow us to spend eternity apart from Him.” Shari felt it

was time to ask Jenna to make a decision. “Would you like to know such love?”

“You know,” Jenna began, “I’ve watched you and Walt, and I see some-

thing.” She paused. “You have such a peace, even when things aren’t going so

great. I’d really like to know that peace in my life.”

Shari silently asked for the right words. “Jenna, God wants you to know

that peace too. All you need to do is accept His Son into your heart. You can’t

earn salvation; it’s a free gift given at a high price.” Seeing tears begin to form

in Jenna’s eyes, she pressed on. “Just ask Jesus to take over from today on. Tell

Him you know you’re a sinner in need of His sacrifice.”

Jenna bowed her head, and Jesus became her Lord and Savior.

h

There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love or approval. He showed us His

love on the cross of Calvary.

He does require a humble heart, a heart turned to Him, a heart willing to

accept His great love and not one trying to earn it.

It costs us nothing. It cost Him everything because He cared enough to

send His Son.

Prayer

“Father God, I lift my life to You in this moment

and commit it to You. Wash my sins white as snow

with Your Son’s blood. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Forever!

October 2

But he who feeds on this bread will live forever.

John 6:58

For whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Jude 1:13

“So you’re telling me that when I die I’ll continue to live, not in physical form,

but live nonetheless?” Jack could see Stan’s skepticism. “And you believe that?”

Stan asked.

“To the best of my ability,” was Jack’s honest answer. “Look, Stan, I admit

that I don’t fully understand everything the term forever means, but Scripture

says that we will live forever in heaven or hell. I believe that.”

Stan thought about that for a minute and then said, “I don’t know if I can

wrap my mind around that enough to believe it.”

“You can’t wrap your mind around the things of God, Stan,” Jack tried to

explain. “God is so much bigger than us. Just ask Him for the faith to believe

now instead of trying to figure it all out before you accept His offer of salvation.”

Stan was unmoved.

“Look, Stan, I’m just saying it requires faith to believe in something we

can’t categorically prove here and now. I’m also saying that I believe even

though I have some questions about how forever actually works. Forever is a

term we really don’t understand. But not understanding it completely has no

effect on the truth that we will live forever.”

h

We tend to fear things outside our control, disbelieving what we don’t under-

stand. We live from day to day, taking life as it comes. We’re not acquainted

with more than a temporal existence, so it’s hard to grasp the nature of eternity.

Trying to completely understand eternity is like trying to remember what

it was like breathing amniotic fluid. We know it happened; yet we don’t under-

stand it much, if at all.

The word forever conjures thoughts of living with physical, emotional, or

mental limitations for the rest of time. But throughout eternity there will be no

curse, and those limits will cease to exist.

Faith requires belief in an Infinite Someone bigger than our finite mind

truly understands. Our not understanding forever does not make it untrue.

Prayer

“Lord, give me faith to believe in forever so that

my choices here are based on where I want to

spend all that time. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Sludge Free

October 1

You must live no longer as the Gentiles do.

Ephesians 4:17

There was no longer any friendly banter. The politicians had pulled out all

the stops, and the gloves had come off. They were running smear campaigns

and defaming each other. It didn’t matter what damage was done or that they

had stooped to new lows; they wanted to win. Character assassination was the

order of the day.

“Can you believe this?” Melodie said, laying down the newspaper. “Neither

of them is standing on godly principals. All they want is to make his opponent

look bad. I can’t, in good conscience, vote for either one of them.”

Kyle sighed. “They’re both walking in darkness. Both have consistently

voted against moral legislation. They’ve made this election about money and

who’s going to bring the economy back in line. You know, if we would honor

God’s laws, we wouldn’t be in this financial crisis. There doesn’t seem to be a

politician on the Hill that’s standing for what God wants. It’s getting so even

the lesser of two evils is totally evil!” Kyle looked toward the ceiling and voiced

his concerns. “Forgive our nation, Lord, and those of us who allowed things to

get to this point. Raise up men and women to carry the fight to Washington

and right this sinking ship. Lift us out of the darkness that has spread itself

over our nation like sludge. Amen.”

h

The New Living Translation uses the word ungodly in place of Gentiles, denot-

ing Gentiles as anyone not living a godly life.

The world is full of people seeking personal gain in a godless manner.

Among them are many of our politicians. They seek to further and empower

their party’s worldview regardless of the cost.

Paul is precise in his instruction of how we are to respond. We are to avoid

such living while trying to influence those who choose this lifestyle in a godly

manner. We may find ourselves with opportunities to share our faith, yet we

are instructed to not live as they do. Paul knew that our own spirituality will

become contaminated if we swim in sludge.

Prayer

“Lord, keep me under Your watch and care. Help

me refrain from anything that fails to line up

with Your will. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 I Don’t Want This Bed

September 30

Humble yourselves … under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you

up.

1 Peter 5:5, 6

Reuben, struggling to roll over while trying to not wake his wife, finally made it

and then sat up on the edge of the bed. He tentatively reached behind himself

with both hands and began rubbing his lower back. I hate this bed! This thing’s

killin’ my back! I hate my back too. Hey, God, how about a touch, he asked silently.

He’d been asking God for healing for almost thirty years now. My thorn, I guess,

was his first thought, followed by his second, This bed’s gotta go!

He made his way to the shower and just stood there, allowing the hot

water to massage his aching muscles.

June emerged from the bedroom a half hour later, whistling and ready for

the day.

Reuben looked at her and said, “We’re getting a new bed today.” Then he

added, “I refuse to sleep on that slab of rock one more night!”

“I’m sorry, honey,” June said with a bit of a chuckle. “But do you really

think the next mattress is going to be any better than the last four?”

Reuben was determined to try at least one more time. “I won’t be able to

answer that question until we try the new one we’re buying today.” And fol-

lowing breakfast, they jumped in the pickup truck and headed for the Discount

Wholesale Furniture Warehouse.

h

Society often uses the idiom, “You made your bed, now lie in it!” But God says

He can lift us out of difficult circumstances.

It is within each of us to make spiritual changes based on what God is able

to do for us. We are not hindered from asking Him to show us the way to a

better life. We are limited only by our courage to humbly ask Him to show us

how to bring about such improvement.

When we make the effort to lift ourselves day by day to a new spiritual

level, God provides what’s necessary to attain that life. Though it may require

temporary discomfort, we need not suffer a negative attitude that is clouded by

our physical circumstances.

Prayer

“Lord, I come to You asking for guidance. Show

me how to improve my mind-set and to look to

You instead for my daily bread. Amen.”