20-20 Blog

Scripture Focus:

Proverbs 16: 3 Put God in charge of your work,
then what you’ve planned will take place.

Proverbs 16: 9 We plan the way we want to live,
but only God makes us able to live it.

Observation:

God is available to be the boss of my work and of my life. If I let him be in charge, then what I plan will take place. God is the one who enables my plans to succeed.

Application:

I can feel like everything depends on me in my business and forget that God is willing to take charge and make sure my business plans will succeed. Why is it so easy to forget that God is the boss and begin to take on all the responsibility and stress of being the boss myself?! He’s much better at the job, so let Him do it!

Prayer:

Father God, you’re the boss. Please show me what I need to do today—and give me the grace and will to do it!

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Scripture Focus:

Psalm 1:3–4 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

Observation:

What a comparison—a mighty tree versus chaff! One is enduring, the other floats away on the wind. What makes the difference? Whether or not we meditate on and follow the law of the Lord.

Application:

It’s very easy to get my sight off this foundational principle. So many other things vie for my attention and time. Time in the Word, time in prayer must be a priority. Life itself is short. Doing what matters most for eternity is wise.

Prayer:

Father God, I have been lax lately in coming to your Word for my daily sustenance and guidance. It should be the very air I breathe. Open my eyes to the truth today—that life is short, that eternal things count more than I imagine right now.

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Scripture Focus:

Haggai 1:5–6 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!
“ You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

Observation:

Frequently in the Bible God lets us know that grasping at things without being generous to him and others is actually a way of losing those things. It’s like putting money into a bag with holes.

Could it be the same way with time? Time is a commodity we all crave and never seem to have enough of.

I think of the verse: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Application:

I’m struggling with a lack of time, so I tend to hoard the little time I get. It’s been a struggle to give God my undivided attention in the morning to start the day right, but that is exactly where I need to start—giving him my best, the firstfruits of the day.

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Scripture Focus:

Psalm 103:1–5
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Isaiah 58:6–7 “ Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Observation:

These verses recount the good things God has done for me, chief of which is the forgiveness of my sin, but also a life of such blessing I feel like I’ve won the lottery! You can’t read these verses without wanting to cry out, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

On the other hand, God asks us to share from our blessing with others who are less fortunate. This is a recurring theme throughout Scripture. Over and over God tells us to help the poor.

Application:

Have a thankful heart. Remember to bless the Lord and thank him for all he’s done for you. I’ve been so grateful lately for the blessings of a place to live, with food to eat—even air conditioning—and a family where there’s peace and love.

We’re having a sermon series about the poor at church. One in six people on this earth live in abject poverty. We must do more than we’ve done to help those in need while at the same time give thanks every day for the tangible and non tangible blessings God has given us.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for all the many blessings you have given me. Give me a heart that is glad to share what you’ve given me with others in need!

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Scripture Focus:

Hebrews 6:11–12 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Observation:

The context of these two verses is salvation. Earlier in the chapter is the sobering indictment against those who become Christians and fall away. Verses 11–12 encourage us to be diligent until the end of our lives or until Jesus returns, whichever happens first.

There’s another principle, however, that shouldn’t be missed. Just as we receive our salvation through faith and wait in patience to inherit the promises, so we are to live out our salvation in faith and patience.

Application:

I heard Patrice Tsague apply this principle to our kingdom businesses during a session at his Biblical Entrepreneur seminar. Our business success is directly tied to our belief (our faith) in the business idea God has given us, and the patience to see it through, even when we see what appear to be insurmountable difficulties. Faith and patience go hand in hand. Faith means we haven’t seen it yet, but we know it’s coming. Patience keeps us going until faith becomes reality.

Prayer:

Father God, you’ve given me an assignment. Give me the faith and patience to move ahead until faith becomes reality.

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Scripture Focus:

2 Chronicles 26:5,16 He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

2 Chronicles 27:6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.

Observation:

These verses attribute prosperity and might to the fact that Uzziah, and later his son Jotham, followed God. Specifically the Bible says of Uzziah that he “sought” the Lord, and of Jothan that he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.

It is possible, however, to follow God and be blessed by him and still get our priorities out of wack, as did King Uzziah in his latter years.

Application:

I don’t adhere to the “prosperity” gospel where God is a celestial vending machine—I put my quarter in and God is obligated to bless me—but I DO believe, (and these verses back me up) that God loves to prosper his people when we seek after him and set our hearts to follow him.

When God blesses, though, I must be on the watch that my heart does not become proud, as though I had accomplished something on my own.

Prayer:

Father God, I have set my heart to seek you and your ways today. I ask for your blessing upon everything I do, and I will be sure to give you the thanks and honor and glory for what you accomplish through me!

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