Letting go of our children as they grow to adulthood is risky. They can be forever lost. Left on their own, they might take chances you and I would certainly discourage. They could even hurt themselves and cause us serious suffering and grief. Letting go of our children is hard to do... and right to do. 

This podcast is an overview of week 23 in the Word Traveler Bible reading plan and covers the following chapters in the Old and New Testaments:

There are two things we know about Jabez from the Bible... “Jabez was honorable” and “Jabez cried.” 

He had integrity and he had passion. I suspect life was not always easy for Jabez. That’s probably why he went to God in the first place. He treated God with respect by telling the truth. Jabez refused to gloss over his needs. He wept before the Lord from a soul filled with the anguish. Jabez struggled in prayer. God honored that.

According to the Genesis account, Nimrod was also an amazing leader who built huge empires and cities like Babylon, Shinar, Babel, and Nineveh. Assyria was known as “the land of Nimrod” according to the prophets (Micah 5.6). This remarkable man literally established the governments and controlled the politics of ancient Mesopotamia. Who was this man whose greatness surpassed Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, and Caesar?
For reasons known only to God, Nimrod was divinely empowered with abilities far transcending the human norm. This man not only moved nations, he created them.
You and I may never achieve the influence and greatness of Nimrod. But like Nimrod, we have been divinely empowered to lead someone... a family, a company, a committee, a church, or a community. To that end, we must apply ourselves diligently…

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,each of us is to exercise them accordingly:… he who leads, with diligence.”
Romans 12.6, 8

Lead “with diligence” those few precious souls who will bear your legacy to the end that on some future day they will say of you, “He was ‘a mighty warrior’ for his faith in Christ.”

God is patient with the human race.

“The Lord is… patient toward you, not wishing for anyto perish but for all to come to repentance.”
2nd Peter 3:9 NASU

However, there is an end-point. Because Manasseh “killed innocent people... the Lord was unwilling to forgive.” 

Divine un-forgiveness is an un-common occurrence in the scriptures, but it happens. Thankfully, the Lord is “patient,” “merciful and gracious,” “longsuffering,” and “forgiving.” But there appears to be a limit to His willingness to overlook sin.

King Hezekiah “was sick and near death.” The prophet Isaiah announced the gravity of his condition: “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.” Facing the reality of his imminent demise, “Hezekiah wept bitterly.”
No matter what our condition, it’s terminal. Have you checked the statistics on death lately? It’s 100%. No one gets out of this world alive. We will all meet our Maker. Sooner or later our time on earth ends. I “shall die, and not live.” It’s inevitable. 
The real question is… what will we make of our lives until then? I may have another thirty years or another thirty seconds. How will I use these precious moments?

Enthusiasm for a project will only get you so far. At some point your excitement must turn into energy if you expect to make the idea a reality.

Not so with the Lord. His zeal for a project is enough. Somehow, if the Lord God supports a plan, it just happens. He spoke and everything I have seen, known, or could possibly imagine, simply came into being.
“By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word...” Hebrews 11.3 “The Message”

This podcast is an overview of week 22 in the Word Traveler Bible reading plan and covers the following chapters in the Old and New Testaments:

We cannot hide and keep secrets from God. Adam and Eve tried and failed. No secret you try to keep will be kept that way.
“The sons of Israel did things secretly” forming unholy alliances and creating a spiritual chasm between themselves and “the Lord their God.” They never got away with the secret plans they hoped to pull off. 

Don’t go halve-sies. Finish the job. Gather some passion and perseverance. Show some stick-to-it-ive-ness. Go all the way. Invest yourself with total abandon. 

It takes faith to work, pray, study, prepare, give, practice, and invest your life but Jesus will give you the strength. 

Trust Him and don’t give up. Do whatever it takes to get the job He’s called you to do... done!