opportunity

Friday, December 30, 2011 (6:03 p.m.)

Sweet Jesus,

Thank You! A colorful sunset. Happy goldfish. Opportunities to remember how much You so freely give us.

Saturday, December 31, 2011 (7:57 a.m.)

Opportunities Dearest Jesus. They surround us. Opportunities to do good. Or evil.

(9:09 a.m.)

Opportunities to spend our time wisely. Or to squander it. I don’t believe I’ve done an honorable job of this lately. I don’t even start out strong anymore. Once the effort truly was rather valiant. Then it became more and more half-hearted. Now even that appears to be fading. I seem to be refusing You a lot lately.

I had the opportunity to spend some good, quality time with You much earlier this morning. Three different songs called out to awaken me. I refused them. Even a dream I had of spending time alone with You remained untapped.

Forgive me Jesus. I continue recognizing glimpses of You and Your grace. I see the colors. I am truly aware of the opportunity to be here with You or not.

And right in that moment, between thinking of the beauty of Your earth and how easily I take it all for granted, I glanced again into Your Word. And again, You speak to me through the ages and these pages! Thank You Jesus. Thank You that You DO know my heart. My soul. My mind. And my strength. Thank You that I DO love You with all of them! (Mark 12:30)

All that I have to offer You may not seem enough for me, but thank You that You know ALL of the heretofores and variants of every aspect of my being. Thank You that You never expect more of me than I am capable of offering.

Thank You Jesus that this morning I have the opportunity to spend an enormous amount of time reading various translations of the same verses.

It is the New International Reader’s Version that I most want to commit to my heart and soul. In Colossians 4:2; 5-6, the apostle Paul urged the believers of Colosse to “Spend a lot of time in prayer. Always be watchful and thankful. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. Let the words you speak always be full of grace. Season them with salt. Then you will know how to answer everyone.”

“Make the most of every opportunity.” Jesus, I don’t do that. I desperately want to. Yet I let all other things get in my way. Thank You that You know me well enough to guide me in Your Word.

The Life Recovery Bible comment for verses 2 and 3 tells me, “Paul encouraged the Colossian believers to persevere in prayer. This is good advice for us, too. As we pray, we acknowledge our need for a higher Power and are reminded to keep our eyes on God.” As good as this is to read and believe, there’s more to grow my hope on.

“As we make prayer a daily priority, we are reminded to thank God for His help, and we become increasingly aware of His activity in our life.” Father God I truly want to be even more aware of Your presence with me. My focus continues leaning so far to the negative extreme.

Ah, but here You used someone I don’t even know to flick that tiniest flame of hope, “And when we are feeling weak, we can still come to God in prayer. He will then empower us to ‘keep at it.’ As we turn to God in prayer, we embrace the power sufficient to meet our needs in recovery.”

It’s all about You Jesus! Your power. Your will. Your Way. And even here You take right over! One minute I’m praying words to You, the next they represent a song I’ve sung to You so many times before.

Thank You for the opportunity to find it so quickly. ♫I’m coming back to the heart of worship And it’s all about You, it’s all about You Jesus I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it When it’s all about You, it’s all about You Jesus♫

One more truth to share with You Blessed Jesus is found in the Personal Notes section for Colossians chapter four of The Illustrated Bible Handbook. “The whole church in NT (New Testament) times, like the church today, needs to be constantly reminded of the simplicity, the beauty, and the life changing power that is ours in the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

Dearest Jesus, how I confess to repeatedly trying to tap into that power only to become frustrated and fall even farther away from it. On this very last day of what will soon become an “old” year, I humbly ask You to keep working in me. Drawing me closer to Your will. Your Way. Your Truth. Your power. That I will TRULY “Make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5b).

I love You so very much Dearest Jesus. Let me live in such a way that honestly reflects that. Thank You. Amen.

(847 words ~ 10:18 a.m.)