Jesus orchestrated an unusual financial windfall so that Peter could pay the taxman.
Matthew 17:27 (CEV)
“Go cast a line into the lake and pull out the first fish you hook. Open its mouth, and you will find a coin. Use it to pay your taxes and mine.”
I suspect that our chances of finding wealth in a fish are as about as good as in a lottery ticket. But I don’t see folks waiting in line for their turn at the ol’ fishing hole.
Did you buy a lottery ticket? Why?
I’m not buying. Frankly, I can’t grasp the concept of my own billion (or even the fraction of a billion that would be mine after taxes). Sure, I could do with more money. But not that much more, nothing-in-my-life-would-be-the-same more. I’d be trading in the stress I know for stress I can’t imagine.
Ironic how all those bills saying “In God We Trust” are exchanged for the fragile hope of a winning ticket.
My experience, exactly:
“The longer you read the Bible, the more you will like it.”
William Romaine
British Evangelical
1714-1795
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Lord, finish it!
Make me into the person you want me to me.
Lord, come quickly.
Either way, every way, it’s a great prayer.
I start my day with some Bible time.
Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Lamentations 3:22-23
His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.
It’s never the same way twice.
I already explained that my 2016 one-word is two words:
Finish it.
As I explained yesterday, God answered my request for a Bible-reading plan:
Finish it.
I knew exactly what God meant. A couple years ago, I was working my way through “The Daily Bible in Chronological Order: 365 Daily Readings” (the whole Bible, arranged in the order of events). Months later, by God’s grace, I got stuck in Lamentations. I spent several delightful and distressing months exploring its chaotic chapters. Then, just as the year was up, God said,
Enough of Lamentations.
2016 is a do-over, barring any God-driven detours.
New Year’s resolutions.
Is Bible reading included in yours?
There’s no doubt that Bible reading will be part of my 2016.
My question is, What part? It’s a big book.
Last year, my Bible reading revolved around my 2015 “one word,” discipline. I covered spiritual disciplines, disciplined relationships, discipline of the body. I jumped from Proverbs to the Epistles, the Law to the Gospels.
So what’ll it be for 2016?
I heard from God:
Finish it.
The whole thing.
So my New Year’s one-word is two words:
Finish it.
I started a list of things I need to finish. It includes a variety of projects: writing, sewing, home improvement. It includes some lifestyle changes I’ve long said I should make: reorder my morning, exercise, eat more fruit. And a spiritual commitment to follow through on God’s directives.
I look forward to crossing items off my list–projects finished and habits formed.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll talk with God while I drink my first cup of coffee. Then I’ll exercise. Let the finishing begin (for me and you).
“The only way to get rid of your past
is to make a future out of it.
God will waste nothing.”
Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)
I am sure, Lord God, that you didn’t waste 2015. Take the discipline I have learned and apply it to my future. May I finish much in 2016. Amen.
