Month: December 2023

Jesus told his apostles, 

“An hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” – John 16:32

Even Jesus addressed being alone. In this verse we see that not being around people does not necessarily make you lonely, at least not as long as we feel the presence of God. But often you and I, left alone do experience loneliness. In fact, recent studies have found a range of 20–50% of people who express feelings of loneliness at times.

Why? Among the reasons listed in the research were:

1. Digital Communication
2. Changing Social Structures
3. COVID-19

True, but misleading. People have felt lonely for as long as mankind has existed. Even Cain worried about this when, after he killed his brother, he told God, “I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” (Genesis 4:14). In short, Cain felt he would be alone.

What can we do about loneliness?

First, we need to learn the difference between alone time and being lonely. You can be lonely in a crowd. Or, you can be by yourself and not feel lonely. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, communed with only God, and yet certainly did not feel lonely. He came from this experience and built a community of thousands of followers.

Here are some great steps to fighting loneliness:

1. Realize you don’t have to be lonely. If up to 50% of people fret about feeling lonely, then surely you recognize they long for community and someone like you.

2. Put yourself out there. Reach out to other people. There is a book on personal evangelism called, “Just Walk Across the Room.” In other words, make the effort to talk to and connect to others. Put yourself in charge of this effort.

3. Be interested in other people and let them know it.

Obviously, there are other things one can do, but these are great starter steps. 

Let’s close with the words of a poet:

Sometimes I get lonely, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook  
Always connecting but not connected  

Sometimes I get lonely, Looking to the future  
Forgetting to be in the present  

Sometimes I get lonely, Thinking someday, one day  
Never thinking right here, right now  

Sometimes I get lonely, Phone’s on, WiFi’s up  
Waiting for it to buzz  

Sometimes I get lonely  
Just waiting…Always waiting…  

…Anon 

So, stop waiting. Remember Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV)

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” Or herself be friendly.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is 2 Corinthians 5:17.” 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Do you see the need for change in this verse? When people starts following God, their lives are changes. “The old has gone, the new is here.” 

But how does change happen. The answer is that it happens little by little. Change is a process. It is the journey and not the destination. Each step is just a pebble on the path. Each pebble is just a pebble, but with enough pebbles you will eventually have a path.

This is true in all change. It is true when a person changes a career, for becoming a parent, for becoming a good parent. For becoming a husband or wife, for becoming a good husband or a good wife. It is true for learning to eat healthy food. 

We all have to change, but how does it come. I heard one man describe financial bankruptcy this way. It said it does not happen all at once. It happens little by little and then all at once. Change in your life happens in the same way. 

When one first makes a decision to follow Christ, he or she is not instantly changed. We take baby steps to grow into the one we want to be. Change, whether for good or bad, is a process. A wise person will accept that fact.

What is it you want to be? A kind person? A wise person? A fun person? A good wife? A good husband? A writer? A good writer? A good golfer? A good cook?

All of this takes time. This is the reason that it takes 13 years of study and work to become a physician and surgeon. Work toward things and change will happen little by little and then all at once, pebble by pebble and then a path.

Making and accepting change calls on us all to lean on Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is Matthew 6:34

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”

My kids grew up observing one habit of mine. Whenever we would hear an ambulance coming down the street, I would say, “Kids, you think you are having a hard day? No, but somebody else is.”

Have you ever thought about an ambulance? An ambulance tears around town with its siren blaring. It is always going to a crisis or leaving a crisis. It is built for emergencies.

Too many people live life the same way. They run their lives with a siren going. Every day is desperate, and every moment is a crisis or preparation for one. They manage their time by putting out the latest fire.

Such a frantic existence leaves no room for smelling roses or enjoying sunsets. Even worse, it leaves no time for sharing friendships and building love.

What if some of the things you are racing around to do did not get done? Suppose you substitute a quiet walk around the block or time off to call on a friend or time out to read a book?

Or even better, can you find the time to read the Good Book? Suppose you wrote an encouraging note to someone who really needed it? Would your world fall apart? Perhaps it would help put your life back into perspective. Remember, God will work all things out if you will just lean on him. 

As 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “Indeed, our lives are guided by faith, not by sight.” In other words, walk the walk of faith.

Lonnie Davis

Our Bible verse for today is Proverbs 16:3

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

This verse implies the importance of planning our future. We must decide what we want to achieve, then entrust those plans to God’s guidance. Without a clear vision for tomorrow, how can we truly commit it to His will?

Sir Walter Scott, a famous novelist of the 16th century, exemplifies the power of planning. He penned countless novels, a testament to his diligent work ethic. His diary, however, holds a final lesson. The last entry reads, “Tomorrow we shall…” followed by an empty space. Sadly, there was no tomorrow for Scott. He died with unfulfilled plans, plans that remained unwritten and uncommitted.

Many of us have dreams and goals we strive for, plans we meticulously map out, and steps we take towards achieving them. Yet, we sometimes fall short of our aspirations simply because we lack a plan. As the poet stated, “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” This underscores the importance of action and prioritizing tasks that require our attention today.

God declared to Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you.” Do you know the plans you have for yourself? God knows his plan, but do you? Take time to reflect, pray deeply, and write down your aspirations. Commit these plans to God’s wisdom and watch as He helps you on your journey.

When you do this you will be able to say with David, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad.”

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is Genesis 18:19. In this verse, God is considering whether he ought to tell Abraham what his plans are. God decides yes, because, as the verse says:

“I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just…” 

He said yes for three reasons related to Abraham.

1. God chose Abraham.

2. Abraham will direct his children and all in his house to keep the way of the Lord.

3. He will teach them by setting the right example before them.

There is no goal for a father that is more important or worthy than for a man to spend his life by leading his own family in the way of God. The verse doesn’t say lead by teaching, but rather by “doing what is right.” 

Years ago I knew an old, retired preacher named Bill. Bill told me one of the stories of his ministry. He said that his congregation was trying to sell church bonds years earlier to build their church building. The task fell to Bill to lead the effort. Though Bill did not know him, he decided to go to the richest man in town and ask him to buy some bonds. He cold-called the rich man and talked to him. He made his pitch and the rich man’s response was to tell him about his daughter. He said that his daughter left home and was living a hard life on the street. He then made an offer. He told Bill that if he could help his daughter, he would buy every bond Bill had. Sadly, Bill had to sell his bonds elsewhere.

That rich man knew that unless your own family is okay, then nothing else matters. It is that way for every father. I am sure it is for every mom too, but our text talks about a father’s spiritual goal.

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is Psalms 118:24.

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

That verse doesn’t say, “If things go well today, I will rejoice and be glad.” Any day that God has made for you is a day of rejoicing. That is what the verse says.

I admit, that this is sometimes hard. Some days are a challenge and you only smile when you look back. Sometimes not even then.

I read the story of a preacher who got up on Sunday to preach. His alarm didn’t go off so he was late. He threw clothes on, and grabbed his coffee. Oh no! The coffee didn’t make. He ran to his car and saw that he had a flat. Now he was really going to be late. Speeding to church, he ran a stop sign. The cop pulled him over and he snapped at the cop. The policeman smiled and said, “I know how you feel sir. I used to have days like this before I became a Christian.” Ouch!

I’ve had days like that and I am sure you have too. 

When my first child was born, I had one of those days. When my wife and I brought the baby home. Liz was still struggling from the birth and everything was up to me. As we pulled up to our house, Liz said, “Carry Janet into the house.” I had never picked up a baby in my life. I certainly could not start now. I said, “Let me go get the neighbor next door and she will carry her in. Liz said, “No, you can do it.” Resigned to the first time I would carry a baby, I ran into the house and got a pillow. I came back to the car, put the pillow on my arms and had Liz put the baby on the pillow. I then carried the baby on the pillow into the house.

For the rest of the day, every time the baby cried, it was up to me to care for her. At least I knew what to do. Every time Baby Janet cried, I gave her a bottle. Every time!

By ten that night I had a sick baby that I did not know how to help. I did the only thing I knew to do, I called my mother. She lived 600 miles away, but she drove all night.

That was my hard day then, that looks different looking back. I know you have had days like that too. For all of those days, both mine and yours, we all need to say, “This the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad.”

No matter what this day or even tomorrow brings, there is joy in it. Someday we will find the joy. The greater our faith, the sooner we will find it.

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is Psalms 118:24.

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

That verse doesn’t say, “If things go well today, I will rejoice and be glad.” Any day that God has made for you is a day of rejoicing. That is what the verse says.

I admit, that this is sometimes hard. Some days are a challenge and you only smile when you look back. Sometime not even then.

When my first child was born, I had one of those days. When my wife and I brought the baby home, Liz was still struggling from the birth and everything was up to me. As we pulled up to our house, Liz said, “Carry Janet into the house.” I had never picked up a baby in my life. I certainly could not start now. I said, “Let me go get the neighbor next door and she will carry her in. Liz said, “No, you can do it.” Resigned to the first time I would carry a baby, I ran into the house and got a pillow. I came back to the car, put the pillow on my arms and had Liz put the baby on the pillow. I then carried the baby on the pillow into the house.

For the rest of the day, every time the baby cried, it was up to me to care for her. At least I knew what to do. Every time Baby Janet cried, I gave her a bottle. Every time!

By ten that night, I had a sick baby that I did not know how to help. I did the only thing I knew to do: I called my mother. She lived 600 miles away, but she drove all night.

That was a hard day and I did not think, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad.” It took decades before I could. 

No matter what this day or even tomorrow brings, there is joy in it. Someday we will find the joy. The greater our faith, the sooner we will find it.

Lonnie Davis

To listen to kids, they must believe that moms and dads get together and figure out ways to keep their kids from having fun. After all, every kid at some time or another has uttered those words to their parents: “You never want me to have any fun.”

Of course, that is just a young mind that does not understand. Sadly, however, people sometimes feel the same way toward God. They must think that God figured out all the fun things and then decided to make them sins.

Such thoughts are the thoughts of a baby Christian. Any mature Christian would cast such thinking from their mind. God made us, and he made us for joy! As Paul told the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4)

Let’s turn our attention to another verse, 1 John 5:3. It reads, “This is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.”

Look at that again: “His commands are not burdensome.” You may have thought so at the time, but when you look back through the wisdom of time, you will understand two things:

1. Why He gave us the commands he did.

2. Why he gave us limits.

Let me illustrate this with a personal story. When I was 6 years old, I saw a movie about the frontiersman Jim Bowie. What a man! He could get out of any dangerous situation with his knife. He could throw it and stop the danger. I went home and wanted to be like him. I didn’t have a throwing knife. The closest thing I could find was my mother’s kitchen knife. I figured I could practice throwing that knife at a tree and get good at it like Jim Bowie.  I went to my mother and asked her if I could borrow the kitchen knife to practice throwing it. I don’t need to tell you her answer. 

I thought her rejection of my plan was mean. If I had known the word, I would have called it burdensome.

Only when I got older and more mature did I understand that she made her decision with an eye toward my best interest.

Someday, you will understand why God gave us the commands that he did. They are not burdensome but for our best interest.

Lonnie Davis

Today’s thoughts should encourage us to get it done right now. As the old saying goes, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” Use it now!

Our Scripture verse for today is Acts 24:25.

In this text, Paul was on trial before a Roman governor named Felix. Felix heard what Paul said, knew what he needed to do, and uttered the sad words, 

“Go away for now, when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”

So far as we know, he never called for him. He never found that convent time.

I have looked at clocks for years and have seen everything from 1 to 12 o’clock, both  AM and PM. None of my clocks have ever been marked “convent time.” I’ll bet your clock doesn’t have that time either.

Whatever the case, I have found many things I needed to do that I have put off until that more convenient time. Not finding it, they were left undone.

I guess with some things that is okay.

If you don’t find the time to watch television.
If you don’t find time to read the latest best-selling book.
If you don’t find the time to update your phone.
If you don’t find the time to check FaceBook.

Well, you can do it tomorrow. However, there are some things that cannot be put off until a more convenient time.

Do it today!
Call your friend
Listen to your spouse
Play with your kids
Read your Bible
Pray

These are things that cannot be put off till a more convenient time. 

Don’t wait for that more convenient time.

Lonnie Davis

Sometimes I Act Like A Child

Our text for today is Matthew 18:3

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Of course this text doesn’t mean we should throw a fit when we don’t get our way, or run to mommy when we have a tummy ache. Jesus is really talking about things like having a good heart and learning to forgive and trust.

I read a story that reminded me of this verse.

One little four-year-old boy loved his dog, but sometimes unwittingly tormented him. He didn’t mean to, but he loved to hug his dog. Usually the dog would put up with the hugging, but when the dog had enough, he would turn around and nip at the little boy to make him let go.

One day, the dad walked up to his son while he had the dog in a big hug. As the dad got closer he could see that the little boy had his eyes closed and was praying, “Dear God, please don’t let him bite me.”

As the dad walked by his son, he told him, “God would be more apt to answer your prayer, if you would let go of the dog.”

Unfortunately, we are like that little boy too often. We do things that we know we ought not to do and then pray that God will shield us from the consequences of our behavior.

We pray for a happy marriage and then neglect one another. We pray for a closer walk with God but do not read His Word. We pray for peace in our lives, and drive in aggressive, rude ways or snip at people.

Each of us could make our own custom list. We should examine the things we pray for and then decide what we can do to help make the prayers come true. 

Keep on praying, but do your part too.

Lonnie Davis