Month: February 2024

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He Is . . .

What is your Bible reading routine? Of course I’m assuming you have one!

I use a plan on my Bible App. Usually, I pick one that takes me on a journey through all the books of the Bible. Most days I stay on track, but there are days here and there when I fall behind. Today is one of those days that I was able to get my reading done as planned. It was day one of the gospel according to John. As I read the first five verses of Chapter 1, I observed a few things that I hadn’t noticed before. And that’s what I’d like to share with you today . . .

What caught my attention from these verses is the description of Jesus. We are told that . . .

  1. He is the Word.
  2. He is with God.
  3. He is God.
  4. He is uncreated.
  5. He is the Creator.
  6. He is life.
  7. He is light.

Which made me ask myself – when we are told Jesus is the Word, does this mean that whenever I read any part of the Bible (which is God’s Word), I am reading about Jesus? Or getting to know Him? And conversely, when I don’t read the Bible, am I denying myself an opportunity to deepen my relationship with my Saviour?

What do you think?

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Mature and Complete

Remember the kitten that formed part of my lesson on waiting? You can read it here Wait Joyfully.

Well, the kitten’s mother, Kit, has taught me a few lessons too. For instance, Kit has a way of letting you know she is hungry. It took us a while to figure it out, but now we understand that when she behaves a certain way, she is asking for food. What’s more, her reaction when she sees the food is impressive.

That is, in comparison to her kitten’s reaction. When the kitten hears food being poured into her bowl, she gets very excited, runs around and jumps at you. Which makes it extremely difficult to set down her bowl where she can eat.

Kit, on the other hand, waits patiently. She keeps her eye on her bowl at all times, but she waits at one spot until the bowl is put where she can access the food. 

The other day as I watched Kit, I thought to myself . . .  what a great display of patience . . . from an animal! The only reason I could come up with to explain the behaviour difference between Kit and her kitten, is that Kit is mature. This thought was quickly followed by a reminder that patience and being able to wait on God’s timing are marks of a mature follower of Jesus. As you can imagine, this thought led to a self-examination on my own level of maturity. (Now is a good time to pause and examine yourself . . .).  

Do I, like the kittens (or little babies), throw a fit whenever God doesn’t answer my prayer exactly as I expected Him to? Or do I get impatient when He doesn’t work according to my schedule and take matters into my own hands (like Sarah and Abraham did)? 

“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:4 NIV

The level of patience you and I exercise is an indication of how much we trust God. The more we trust in God’s faithfulness and goodness, the more likely we are to wait confidently for His answer and timing. 

There are definitely areas that I could exercise more patience.

How about you?