Wasted Time

 

This morning I’m up early and decide to listen to some John Cougar Mellencamp music and discover that he has a new song out with Bruce Springsteen called Wasted Days. Well, right off the bat, let me admit, I’ve been a fan of Springsteen and Mellencamp for quite some time. There is an aspect to their music I can relate to. Forget the politics and various beliefs they may have, heck if I criticized and measured everything by personal beliefs in life related to politics or another religious believes life would be boring and I would have a lot less joy in life. Instead, I’ve learned to appreciate a variety, so, I really like these two guys music and the new song has me reflecting this morning.

 

Am I the only one that looks back on life as they get older, or I guess even youngsters do this and reflect on the wasted moments in life, whether they be spiritual, in practice, the decisions we’ve made and so forth? I realize that at least for me, I’ve wasted far more than I’ve achieved. It isn’t that I haven’t achieved anything, I know I have, even escaping homelessness to graduate high school was an accomplishment, but like Schindler in the movie Schindler’s List, I see how much more I could have done. As I get older, in likely my last years, that matters.

 

So, what do I/We do with the wasted moments in life?  One thing I’ve learned, is once a moment is wasted, we can’t go back in time and reclaim it, it is gone. If we are lucky, we can be given an opportunity to reclaim that which we lost, but the reality is, we’re not all so lucky.

 

I am reminded of Jesus words from The Sermon on the Mount, this from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible, Matthew 6: 31-34:

³¹ Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?” ³² Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these. ³³ But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.

 

³⁴ Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.

 

Are you like me, having a problem especially with verse 34, worrying about tomorrow?  Heck I worry about yesterday if truth be told, even the premise of this posting, what have I wasted in life?  Yet we do things like procrastinate and put things off, I do, but then there are clear verses, warns us to not procrastinate:

 Ecclesiastes 11:4 - If you worry about the weather and don’t plant seeds, you won’t harvest a crop.

 

Yet, knowing simple things like this, we still waste time and opportunities. Why?  Especially if we are seeking to serve a loving God with our all?

We must be willing to receive discipline, and discipline ourselves, no matter how difficult it is,  from the book of Wisdom. Proverbs 10:17

 

Accept correction, and you will find life; reject correction, and you will miss the road.

 

Yep, like I started off with, I have missed the road, I have wasted far more time than I should have in life. This is a confession as much as it is a lesson or teaching. Hopefully, I don’t waste so much time today and tomorrow, but even more so, hopefully, my expression of my own weaknesses inspires others to take full advantage of the time they have left in life. If you are younger, Praise God if this inspires you because you have life left. If you are older, that’s okay, together we can correct and not fret about yesterday, not be concerned with tomorrow, but make a difference today. After all, today is what matters for many, it matters for us. Let’s not waste anymore time.

The following link is of the video Wasted Days, it will definitely cause one to think about the content of this posting. 

 John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen - Wasted Days (Official Video) - YouTube

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For going on some thirty years now I have done the work of The Virtual Pew, in part planting seeds but another huge part is getting to know people and being called by many Pastor Mike by my involvement in social media. From engaging in life, I have seen the impact of my work on people on the fringes all over the world. I have run homeless programs, housed homeless people worked with drug addicts, prostitutes and much more. All while giving back my salary, and for the last 8+ years not taking a salary. You can help tremendously by supporting the work, not just from the movie reviews but the work that goes along side that in the development of relationships of helping save lives and give purpose to the lives of others. I appreciate your consideration in this calling that I have seen and know God uses. 

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Daily Devotional, Genesis 45, 46, Matthew 8, Family Reunions and Going To Jesus

 

Daily Devotional, Genesis Chapter 45, 46, Matthew 8

Family Reunions and Going to Jesus

After the last devotion we ended in a sort or cliffhanger, today, we have the continuation. Joseph is now in the palace serving his brothers and is so overcome with emotion that he tells his servants to leave the room. After they leave the room Joseph can't hold in his emotions any longer, he breaks down and starts weeping so loud that those outside of the room hears him. After a bit of convincing Joseph convinces his brothers that he is in fact Joseph, the brother they had sold into slavery. There is something amazing though at least to me.

All through this experience Joseph is not angry at his brothers, he has no desire to seek retribution against them. Instead, he pours out love and compassion, telling them it was God that sent him before them to Egypt.

Do we look at our circumstances and the hand of God as putting us in the place we are? I'll be honest, I fail at this, but maybe this is not only something you need to be more aware of, but I as well. We serve a God who knows the future and will do His part to put us in the places we need to be. We get in the way. If we let go and let God, God will put us in places that goes beyond our imagination. Of course we live in a world where evil exists so it's important to be on our toes and make sure our relationship with God is in an appropriate place.

In Chapter 46 we see Jacob and all of his family going to Egypt. There are some 70+ people that make the journey as the list does not include many of the wives. The reunion between Joseph and his father is emotional. Jacob has lived a long time, living much of it in the pain of losing his son. He realizes now his beloved son is alive and Jacob is content with his life and is now okay with dying. 

I believe there comes a time near death that the one who is dying, if dying of old age, illness or something of the sort desires to come to a place of peace. I realized and experienced that with my wife before her death. She wanted to live until Christmas and see that I was okay. It was upon releasing her and telling her that I was going to be okay that she died within seconds of telling her that, on the day we celebrated Christmas. Are we at a place of peace with God? What do we need to have happen in our lives to be at a place of peace?  Unfortunately many seem to still be fighting with God in their relationships, acceptance and other areas where our own desires take over. Like Jacob, or my own experiences have shown me, it is better to be at a place where we can find peace with God, but to get there, we have to be honest as to what it is that is holding us from that place of peace.

Matthew 8

We now see the continuation of Jesus ministry after the Sermon on the Mount. He is coming into town and immediately miracles start happening and we see the examples of peoples faith.  One of the things we see is Jesus is approached by others far more than He approaches them. They recognize their need and are compelled to go to Jesus for help. It seems like so many times in life others are telling us what we need to do and here, we see where the individuals know what they need to do. Were others telling them what they needed to do? It doesn't seem so. It seems as if they knew themselves and acted on it.

We also see that not in every situation does Jesus do what the person wants. This gives reason to think that just because we want something it does not mean that God will do it for us. He may tell us to stay, or go. He has His reasons for doing and telling us whatever the circumstance is we need to do. We must be in a relationship to hear and act on the answers we get.

In this passage we read about miracles, strong faith, demonic possession controlling the weather and much more. It is at this place that Jesus ministry begins to take off, He is followed by many and we see He has power over health, demons and even weather conditions. No man can have that power. We see early indications as did many others that Jesus was in fact, the Son of God.

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You can also check out Mike's Musical ventures by searching for Mike Furches and Pastor Mike and the Demon Slayer Blues Band.  Mary Jane's album will be out in September of 2020 and the Pastor Mike and Demon Slayer Blues Band album will be released in October of 2020

There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free audio book link of The Keystone Kid at mike@furches.org You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/.

Hopefully, you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

You can donate via paypal at mike@furches.org or cash app at $MichaelFurches

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word. Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew
1249 N. St. Francis
Wichita Kansas, 67214
Email: mike@furches.org

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

To follow Mike's Band, Pastor Mike and the Demon Slayer Blues Band, click the following link:

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