ZPCBlog

About the author: Larry and his wife Jackie are members at ZPC. They have two grown children, who are both married; one wonderful grandson; and one precious granddaughter who has already gone to be with Jesus. Larry is a past Elder at ZPC and a former chemist at Eli Lilly and Company. While their children were growing up Larry and Jackie were blessed to teach Sunday School classes at ZPC and served as coordinators for the Youth Inquirers. For many years now they have worked with different churches in Mexico to sponsor Vacation Bible School programs there. Larry is a long-time volunteer with the Kairos Prison Ministry while Jackie continues in her career at Eli Lilly. 

Today's Scripture: Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

My 15-minutes with God have occurred in many different ways. Sometimes they have occurred early in the morning before I get out of bed. Sometimes they have occurred when I try to quiet my mind before I go to sleep at night. Sometimes they have occurred before or after I do my Bible study. Sometimes they have occurred when I have been outside taking a walk in the cool and fresh air of Autumn. Sometimes they have occurred when I have been looking out my window at the amazing wonders of God’s creation and watching the leaves blow. Yes, for me, my 15-minutes with God really have been dependent upon what each new day brings into my life. As the Psalmist tells us “This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) 

In this season of my life, my 15-minutes with God have revealed to me the things in my life that are truly important and those things which are just distractions from those important things. Clearly, things like serving my family as a husband and a father and a grandfather and a son-in-law and a brother are not distractions. Clearly, things like prayer and worship and study and service to others are not distractions. And clearly, many other things in my life are distractions that keep me from being able to do those things that are important. I won’t elaborate on my distractions. I am sure some of your distractions are similar to mine and some of them are quite different. In the same way, the things that are important will be different for each of us. God has created each one of us for a unique purpose and each one of us is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14). And each one of us are in a different season of life.

In the same way, your 15-minutes with God may occur in ways that are much different from mine. The important thing is to take the time to be with him. My first encouragement to you is to spend some time, whatever time you can make, to ask God to help you figure out what is the best way that you can spend 15-minutes with him. There is no single answer that is right for everyone. There may be a few ways that are more common but there is no absolutely right or wrong answer for spending time with God. Any and every time we get to spend with God is a blessing and a gift from him. We cannot manufacture those times on our own apart from him. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) And without any doubt, the time we spend with God, is one of those “good and perfect gifts.”

I also encourage you to not put either yourself or God in a box when it comes to trying to find time to spend with him. He will be there when you need him. He always is (Joshua 1:9). And he will cherish each and every moment that you can set aside to be with him. In my 15-minutes with God, he has been reminding me to be an encourager to those around me and to those whom he puts in my path each and every day by reminding them of his constant presence in their lives. Without a doubt, I am far from perfect at doing these things with him but with his encouragement, I can continue to grow and get better at doing them. Amen!

Share