Archives for August 2019

“Filled With His Richness”

By Zach Wood

Colossians 3:16 NLT

Let the message about Christ, in all of its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

When was the last time you ate food that was really rich in taste?  Maybe it was something one of your family members made that no one else could make?  Whether it’s a snack, main entrée, dessert, or a beverage, we all have had experiences where we tasted something that was unlike anything we’ve ever had.  The richness of the flavor just exploded in our mouth and made our taste buds dance! 

These experiences often make us long for the next time when we know we will be satisfied by whatever the person makes.  You know that your tummy will be filled with something great!  You have confidence it will taste amazing.

As we all have experience with rich foods or beverages that make a lasting impression on us and fill our tummies with satisfaction, there is a richness no food or beverage could ever replace or compare with.  As great and wonderful our experiences are with things we consume, nothing can compare to the richness of how God fills our lives.  The richness of God’s Word far outweighs anything that the world can offer.

We spend so much of our time being awed and amazed by what the world offers, but then we so often become less awed and amazed by what God offers.  We sadly often choose the richness of the world over the richness of what God offers.  This does not mean that we cannot enjoy what we have in this world, but we shouldn’t enjoy it more than what God gives to us.

He fills us with the richness of His love so that we will not only enjoy and benefit from it, but also share that with others so they can also be filled.  It’s the “water ripple” effect.  This richness and love should continue to be shared over and over again so that others will come to know His love. 

Jesus Christ came filled with the richness of God and taught us how to choose the richness of God over the richness of what the world offers.  Are we chasing more after the richness of the world or of Him? 

We should all ultimately be filled with His richness!  Nothing compares to the richness God offers!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

“Focus On Today”

By Zach Wood

Matthew 6:34 NLT

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.

The past few weeks have been filled so many different happenings and it has been so crazy to see the days and weeks just zip by!  I have had my mind on many things with preparations for sermons and different activities we have been doing each weekend.  Sometimes, it seems like life won’t slow down.  I am trying to let God be in control and not be consumed with all that is going on, but it is a challenge.    

It is easy for us to become bogged down and consumed with so many things in our daily lives.  It seems we cannot just focus on what is at hand today because we are busy planning vacations, different activities and all kind of other things that go into summertime.  Sometimes it seems we just don’t have enough time to do all that we want to do. 

I have been blessed this summer with an interim preaching opportunity and that has been a growing experience for me, but it has also shown me that I need to better prioritize my time since I have a full time job and a family.  It is easy for me to become consumed with too much and neglect certain other areas that need attention.

Are you totally consumed this summer?  Are you worried about not only today’s happenings, but tomorrow’s and the next day and so forth?  With summer, there’s so much happening and it’s easy to get busy with everything and worry about the days, weeks and months ahead. 

We are told to only focus on what is at hand today.  We only have today and not tomorrow.  What if we just focused on what we have going on today and spend our time enjoying what is going on and taking time to be with God and just take a day at a time?  That is hard to do because we not only have become programmed to constantly think of today’s happenings, but also focused on the days and weeks to come.  Planning isn’t wrong, but we become so consumed that our days become filled with worrying about all the upcoming things that we don’t take time to enjoy the here and now of today. 

Today and each day on, remember to focus on the day at hand and not worry about all that is coming ahead.  Give that to God and enjoy today!  God wants us to enjoy the blessings of today.  Tomorrow will definitely bring its own worries.

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com