Those who talk about the patience of Job have merely skimmed his Old Testament story. His emotions are all over the place. Angry one moment. Then, he cursed the day he was born. In the next breath, he’s praising God for whatever the Lord brings his way. Patient…impatient. No steady-eddy with flat-lined emotions. Me too. Like Job, I could use a boost of patience.

I like to get things done…NOW! The more the merrier. The sooner the better. Putting things off is not in my DNA. It bothers me when things pile up, and chores get pushed to the back burner, leaving me with an uneasy feeling.

As much as I like to get things done, I need to follow what’s said in Psalm 75. Just a fragment of a verse is all it takes to give me pause. Psalm 75: 2–‘At the set time that I appoint…’ That’s it? That’s it!

God has His timing. History is His story. That should come as no surprise since He is the Creator and Lord of All. He’s in charge. But we know that. So what? Here’s what–‘get with His program, Fischer’. Keep asking for His will in my life. Of course, be busy, but contact Him first and foremost, not last but least. Less emergency prayers and more moment-by-moment, up-to-date communication. You know what I mean.

I’m to keep His appointments. Not show up if I feel like it, weather permitting. If I’ve got a few extra moments to spare with nothing better to do. I wonder what’s on the ‘idiot box’? Does anyone have a TV Guide? Giving God my leftovers. We can do better than that, can’t we? Shouldn’t we? I’m looking in the mirror now.

Of course, I know that the Lord has gifted each of us differently. Some operate in high gear. Others idle some, needing time to consider whatever it is they’re to do. But being who we are means playing less solitaire and more like the card game ‘Bridge’, where we have a partner.

For me, I want to step back a moment, tune in to more than a partner, to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for His timing and His appointments, with headwinds more from His direction for a change.

Lord Jesus, thank you for being my Lord and Master. Amen.

How about reading the 9th chapter in the Gospel of John in your Bible? You won’t be sorry. It’s one of my favorites. How could it not be? I identify with what takes place. Okay, I’m not blind, but what transpires between Jesus and the one who has no sight resonates within me.

This encounter is all about God’s reach. How much the Lord wants us in His life. What lengths He goes to to wrap us up in His loving arms, never letting go. The full extent of His outstretched hands, grabbing hold of you and me.

This blind beggar had no idea who performed this unasked-for miracle. Nowhere in the story does he call out to Jesus for help. Just sits where he usually does, hoping for the generosity of some passersby. For a handout to make it through another day. To get by is probably all he can think about.

When, lo and behold, a man rubs some gooey mud in his eyes. What? Is someone making fun of him, performing a prank at this poor man’s expense? Hardly. Quite the contrary.

Jesus reaches out to a man in need. Why? You know. The same reason He’s reached out to you. And me. After all, my own story has much more to do with God moving in my direction than the other way around. Indeed, I always had questions about God and Jesus. Too bad that no one around me had answers that satisfied.

But one Sunday evening, while flipping through the radio dials, I heard a program that spoke about Jesus’ love for me. And I knew that it wasn’t family, neighbors, or even my social-club home church that had my sought-after answers. No, I found them in a Bible that I had received as a third-grader from the church I was baptized in as an infant, which book I’d kept on a far-off shelf in mint condition for over eight years. Never opened, never read. But that was about to change.

The very next morning, I crack open my Bible and start reading the New Testament. Why there? I’ve no idea, but I’m glad that I did, for the Old Testament might have proven quite taxing for a day-old newbie in God’s Kingdom!

In time, old questions find answers. Yes, new quandaries emerge, but the important stuff gets settled. Adding icing to this delicious spiritual cake, I find a church in my hometown that preaches from the Bible, whose members talk about Jesus as if He’s their best friend. For He is!

What’s interesting to me is that behind all this business of my moving toward God is, first of all, His hand reaching out to me. It’s no accident that I happened to hear about God’s love while listening to the radio that Sunday evening. No ‘lucky break’ that I have my own Bible ready to read the next day after praying for Jesus to come into my life. No ‘fluke’ or ‘karma’ that I attend a church that faithfully preaches God’s Word. No way. It’s Jesus all the way. His reach.

Your story? You have one, don’t you? Can’t you sense Jesus’ hand reaching out to you, making you His own? Like what happened to that blind beggar years ago. And this devotion writer, needing a touch from above. And you…

Thank you, Jesus, for finding me and never letting go. Amen.

What kind of title is that? Horses…high priests. Good for one, good for the other. What’s possessed my feeble peabrain today? No guesses, por favor!

So, let me explain. The Old Testament book of Exodus describes a metal plaque worn front-and-center on the turban of the High Priest in God’s Temple in Jerusalem. It’s called a ‘tzitz’. It was gold-plated and inscribed with these words–‘Holy to the Lord’ (Ex. 28: 36). How appropriate for the High Priest, who should be a man wholly dedicated to his God.

Okay. But what about those horses? Turn to Zechariah chapter 14, which tells about ‘a day (that) is coming’ (v. 1), ‘On that day…’ (v. 4), ‘…a unique day…’ ( v. 7). Which one is that? You’ve probably guessed. When Messiah comes to right the wrongs of this world, He will protect His own, forgive their sins, and extend a welcome mat to all who desire to worship Him. That’s a day worth waiting for, isn’t it? But we’re still wondering about those galloping quadrupeds.

At the end of Zechariah 14, you’ll find out–“And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts…” (Zech. 14: 20-21).

High Priests…horse’s bells…kitchen pots–each one holy to the Lord! Everything, significant or not, by our estimation, shines clean as a whistle when God’s day comes. Nothing’s left out. All for His glory and pleasure, which He bountifully shares with us, His believing children.

Won’t that be something? The dawn of a new age. Scrubbed clean from top to bottom, side to side, inside and out. Nothing blemished or off-color. No more flirting with whatever sin tantalizes at the moment. Heaven will be hygienic and immaculate. No more dirt or filthy language. None. All gone and good riddance.

Thankfully, in a way, it’s already begun. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, a new day dawned, whose sunshine can be felt, its warmth for His own. But the fullness, when sin and death shall be no more, that day is yet to come. I can hardly wait! You too?

Thank you, Jesus, that my best days are just around the corner. Amen.

There were times early on when I wondered about my salvation. Honest but scary times. Looking inward to sense my commitment to Jesus. Often weak, coupled with uncertainty and fear. What if my destiny is in a too-warm climate? Where the unimaginable becomes stark reality. No, Lord, please, not there. My heart’s desire is to be close to God both now and then. Here and there. For time and eternity.

Have you ever had such struggles? I hope not, but sadly, I’m sure I’m not alone. That’s when reading John 6 becomes like a healing salve on an infected wound. Much-needed medicine from Dr. Jesus.

Here’s His prescription–‘All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out’ (John 6: 37). There’s more–‘And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me…’ (v. 39).

It couldn’t be stated more clearly —my faith is truly God the Father’s gift to His Son, from one person of the Godhead to another. My coming to Jesus has been prompted. Nudged along. Drawn and moved in my Lord’s direction. So, go with the flow. Accept what’s happened with joy and confidence. In other words, believe already!

When Jesus says in verse 37 that ‘I will never cast out,’ He uses a biblical Greek phrase worth noting. It does translate as ‘never’, but with a much stronger force. ‘Never’ is two Greek words, which emphatically mean ‘no way’, ‘not a chance’, ‘beyond a shadow of a doubt’, and ‘not on your life’. Basically, ain’t gonna happen!

What won’t? If we’re ‘in Christ’, we’re in. Period. When it comes to God the Son, what’s given Him, He keeps. He never gives it away. His Father has a no-return policy.

Now the operative word is ‘if’. If we trust Jesus. If we believe in Him. If we open our hearts to the Lord, receiving His gift of new life and forgiveness with thankfulness and commitment. ‘If’.

When we’re wrestling with whether we’re in or out, wanting to make sure we’re His, then most likely we are. His, that is. However, it’s when someone walks away from Jesus, vowing to never look back, wanting nothing more to do with Him, would rather go to hell than be with some god-type or his goody two-shoes, holier-than-thou types, then sadly, the opposite is true. Not ‘in Christ’. Never has been.

I relish Jesus’ words in John 6, hanging onto them. His lifeline to little old me. An eternal lifebuoy ring tossed to one who can’t swim. Me. I need His reassurance. To be ‘in’ and His always. Just me?

Thank you, Lord, for making me your own forever. Amen.