January 22

Experiencing a Jealous God

You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself … do this and you will live.

Luke 10:27-28 (NKJV)


God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him, though he is not far from any of us: We live in him. We walk in him. We are in him.

Acts 17:27-28 (NCV)


In the Old Testament, God calls Himself a jealous God (Exodus 20:5, 34:14; Deut 4:24) and I don’t doubt that at all. In fact, I have the mixed joy of both loving God and fearing Him. Loving God, because He first loved me; fearing God because He is a jealous God—He wants my time, my attention … my heart.

This week, He reminded me. For too many days, I neglected His word spending only a couple minutes in cursory reading then moving on to my agenda rather than spend the quality time I usually enjoyed with Him. I did it again yesterday only … this time ... I didn’t even crack the Book. I didn’t read a word. Instead, I clicked on my email anxious to get rolling on my agenda. Only … He redirected me. There, right in the lineup of incoming correspondence was the lawyer’s office wanting to know where the paperwork was for our real estate deal. Oops….

For the next six hours plus I hunted papers, signed deeds, visited notaries and FEDEXed numerous envelopes. But, did I learn my lesson? Nope. When I got home, did I regroup and reopen His word? No, I went and opened the mail instead! Oops again. Now I was staring wide-eyed at a letter from the Town Board of Assesors threatening a change to my reduced tax rate status unless I had applications, plans, signatures and about a months worth of work on their desks in three weeks time. So I spent another hour or two in scramble mode—writing emails and doing research.

So there I was reeling from the morning scramble and the afternoon blitz. The thought finally penetrated my thick noggin and I decided that night to get back into the Word.

The next morning I spent the sweetest time with my God. Soaking up the words of our jealous but very loving God.


LORD, thank You so much for getting my attention, for setting my feet back on right paths. Encourage me I pray. Amen.

January 21

Heart and Soul


Husbands, love your wives….


Ephesians 5:25 (NAS)


My wife is an island in a sea of testosterone. My wife is an oasis … one my three sons and I come to often. Here, we drink from the deep waters of the feminine soul.

Kris is just beginning to understand why, at times, she feels so surrounded, so put upon. She is the heart and soul of this family, and I’m afraid we get a bit “clingy” more often than we should. We demand her time, her attention; we need her. We need her refreshing presence and her words of encouragement. Kris soothes and heals; she comforts and restores; she is all heart and we love her dearly for it.

My boys don’t fully understand it, but I see it and try to convince my beautiful wife just how special she is to this family and what a crucial role she fills.

Next to following God with all my heart, this is my number one job: loving her so well, so sacrificially, so intently she’ll never doubt the value of her role as a wife .. as a mother … as a woman.


Lord, work wonders on our most precious relationships that we may fulfill our design and, in so doing, spread Your greatest joy—living for You. Amen.