Larry Shaffer

Conversations with God

Are you ready to go deeper with God and meet with him daily? 

Have you ever developed a positive habit?

I hope you will join me on a quest to live out our faith daily and find our purpose and passion in God’s written word.

I’ve been a Christian for a long time but I began this journey into a deeper walk with God in December 2015 when my pastor challenged me to take my faith to the next level and spend dedicated time EVERY DAY with God. My schedule was extremely busy at this time. But he challenged me hard and I agreed to text him each morning and share a sentence or two about my devotions. This accountability helped me develop a positive habit.

It would be an honor for you to join me on a daily walk toward a dynamic relationship with God. It is my daily prayer that I can help you on your journey by providing a foundation of faith resulting in a more energized life filled with joy, purpose and meaning. Daily conversations with God will move you in the right direction.

Take the first step

The Journey to live out your faith daily begins with a prayer and a pledge. Use your own words but I encourage you to pray along this pattern:

Father, by faith I want to take a step forward toward a closer walk with you. I ask that you help me move beyond having a faith that is relegated to only certain aspects of my life. Move me toward a genuine faith that is fully integrated with all aspects of my life, personal and professional. Grant me the grace to grow my faith in You one day at a time. Amen!

In I Samuel 12, Jonathan made a pledge to David. Verse 16 says, “So Jonathan made this agreement with David and his family, and he asked the Lord to hold them responsible for keeping it.”

Once again, with God’s help, use your own words but I encourage you to make a pledge along this pattern: 

With God’s help, I commend myself to God to make progress daily toward a closer walk with Him. My walk will be strengthened as I take in a little of God’s Word daily, share my learnings with close Christian friends/family, and apply my biblical insights to daily living and decisions.

Dig In 

Now you are ready to take your next steps in this journey of Living Scripture Daily. Your journey encompasses three key elements:

1. Daily Time with God
2. Daily accountability with friends/family
3. Making better decisions Daily

Reminder: Doing this “daily” is a worthwhile goal but it is not an exercise in legalism. Doing it ‘daily’ is an aspiration, not a requirement. You may want to begin with a goal of 3 to 5 days a week and build it from there.

 

• Daily Time with God

• Once you have made the decision to spend time daily with God, I encourage you to follow the pattern of READ, REFLECT, and WRITE. You can follow the 3Rs in a 10-15-minute timeframe or up to an hour or more. I started out at 20 minutes and now spend 45-60 minutes daily.

• Read – Pick a Bible book and determine to read through it little by little each day. Switching between Psalms and Proverbs is a good approach. Also, the gospel of John is good as well as one of the shorter epistles of Paul. Don’t rush it. Take it slow and think more in terms of reading paragraphs or sections rather than reading chapters. Reading slowly through Bible books is better than just haphazardly picking verses.

• After you have read a section, now focus some time on Reflection. This is time to prayerfully ask God for wisdom and insight; ask and reflect on what the key message is? What does this teach us about mankind and/or what about the nature of God? Does it call us to act or think differently? What should we learn? Be prayerful and reflective.

• Finally, write something down. For many years I would read and reflect only. But it wasn’t until I disciplined myself to write daily, that the Word of God took on a deeper meaning than ever before. There are no rules about what to write. Just start writing, even if you feel you have nothing to say. Ask questions, make observations, write out applications, etc. I have found that writing opens me up to insights that I didn’t get by just reading and reflecting. This is a very powerful and impactful step

Daily Accountability Partner

• Who is a reliable Christian friend or family member that you can partner with? Ask them if you can text them after you have your daily time with God with just a sentence or two about what you wrote down.

• I followed this texting process with my Pastor in 2015 when I began and continued for 6 months until it was a habit. I expanded it to include my wife, a few close friends, and my men’s Bible Study group. Now I have a small but growing blog following.

Daily decisions and actions

• It is very easy to have a wonderful time alone with God in the morning and then not think of Him all day.

• Give yourself triggers or reminders throughout the day so that you can keep what you learned in the morning at the forefront of your mind throughout the day.
• Record actions or decisions you made that are related to what you are learning from God’s Word.

 

You are now ready to begin the journey of a lifetime. Together, let’s meet with God daily and God bless you as you Live out Scripture Daily!

Father, there is no higher calling or greater privilege than to spend time with You. Through Your Spirit, we can actually enter into Your holy place and kneel before Your throne of grace. I can envision You reaching out, taking my hand and raising me up with your words of love, encouragement and hope. May we meet you daily in our quiet time with You and then go through the day mindful of Your presence with us always. Amen! 

 

Our relationship with Jesus is multi-faceted: 

• It is a love relationship based upon His unconditional love 
• It is a disciplinary relationship of admonishing and correcting 
• It is a mentoring relationship of care, nurturing, mentoring and discipline 

 

I wish the story of Jesus in my life was steady and consistent. It’s not. It’s a two-party relationship; one of us is steady and consistent and one of us is not.  

Fortunately, the story of my salvation in Christ is set and secure. Why? Because He saved me, He keeps me and He will never let me go. My security in salvation is all about Him. However, the story of my daily life and walk with Jesus is a different issue? It can be volatile; it ebbs and flows, it has its ups and downs. Jesus is always there, steady and sure, but I tend to have different and varying emotions each day. Therefore, the emotions fluctuate each day as I meet daily with Jesus. 

Some days, when I meet with Jesus, I am feeling especially weak. On those days, we have a one-on-one of affectionate love, hugs, and pure warmth. Sometimes, I just need that. These are times when He carries me through the storm and whispers intimate words of kindness; promises of peace with visions of joy to come.

These tender rendezvous sustain me.  

Other days, Jesus meets with me with firmness and strength. He doesn’t mess around. He lets me know exactly how He feels about my attitudes, actions, and arrogance. He first reminds me that His covenant of salvation with me is set and firm and unmoving. It is secure because it is fully dependent upon Him. I am His child. His love is unconditional. Heaven is secure. But then, He quickly reminds me that my life on earth carries with it a set of responsibilities that I am called to live up to. It is to be lived for Him and His glory — not for my own purposes of success, accomplishments, and dreams. He reminds me that I am nothing without Him and I have been called to take up my cross daily and follow Him.

These meetings keep me grounded. 

 

Other times, Jesus sits with me in my daily one-on-one and does a reset. He gives me a check-up, a pulse-check, a stress-test. These face-to-face encounters can be described as a power-talk of discipleship. Jesus sets His gaze upon me with a motive to care, nurture, mentor, and disciple.

These encounters give me a clear path with defined boundaries. 

 

Back to Luke 6. Jesus has a power-talk of mentoring with His disciples right after He announced that they are the chosen twelve. We call it the Sermon on the Mount. There were crowds nearby, but Jesus spoke these words directly to the twelve. 

Let’s consider the words Jesus spoke to the disciples in Luke 6 as the same words He would speak to us in our one-on-one with Him today.  

 

Jesus has found a rock to sit on and is ready to speak. I advise you to find a flat spot on the ground near His feet and listen up. Read Luke 6:20-38. 

Ok, you’re across from Jesus and reveling in His presence. This can stir up a myriad of emotions. But I’d encourage you to engage your mind today as well as your emotions. This is a Jesus-initiated power-talk. These words are challenging and your mind needs to process them in order to be prepared to live them out from the heart. 

His gaze upon you. Just like the twelve, you are a chosen disciple of His. You have received Christ as your Lord and Savior. Now it is time for some good ole’ fashion discipleship by the Savior Himself. 

 

Read Luke 6:20-38. We’ll dig into the meaning of it all next time.  

 

Father, you not only give life in salvation but you also enrich our lives here on earth. In this life, we will have difficulty. But in spite of the challenges we face, You have promised peace, joy, and sustaining grace to those who love You and obey Your Word. In all these things, we surrender ourselves to Your will and Your guidance of our lives. Amen! 

What if … tomorrow morning, Jesus were to appear in the flesh (His new body, of course) in your home and sit down with you during your devotions. Let’s say He only has 30 minutes. 

• First, you get to choose if you’re going to ask Him questions or if you’re going to let Him lead the conversation. I recommended closing your mouth and letting Him lead. 

• What Story would He tell you? 
• What principle would He teach you? 
• What question would He ask you? 
• What admonition might He give you? 
• What words of love and encouragement might He give you? 

 

With that context, consider our text:

 

And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say … Luke 6:20a. 

 

What did Jesus say to His chosen disciples? What would He say to you? 

In our text, (Luke 6) Jesus has just chosen the twelve and He is going to spend some concentrated time with them. For those of you in Christ, Jesus has chosen you as well. Jesus is with you. And Jesus has something to say to you.

 

During your time with Jesus, you can count on one thing for sure; He is going to look at you like you are the only person in the world. He is going to fix His gaze on you. His gaze upon you means His eyes are fixed on you, His mind is focused on you, and His heart is fused to your heart. 

 

• His Eyes are fixed – on you 
• His Mind is focused – on you 

• His Heart is fused– to your heart 

 

In our text, Jesus speaks and the disciples listen. Do they have ears to hear? I mean, really hear, listen and comprehend? In this case, Jesus speaks and His words turn the traditional religious views of the world, upside down. Jesus teaches divine principles that are diametrically opposed to the views of this world.  

The disciples don’t really get it at first. But we should get it. It’s 2000 + years after the time of Christ, and we have a lot more advantages for understanding Jesus than the disciples did. May the Holy Spirit enlighten and refresh your soul with understanding — because what Jesus teaches is diametrically opposed to the ways of this world. 

This might be a good time for you to acknowledge to Jesus that you are more influenced by the way the world thinks than you ought to be. Lord, forgive me that I allow too much of this earthly mindset to influence my way of thinking. 

Jesus is speaking and teaching and explaining to His newly chosen disciples a whole new and different way to live life on earth. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if what He is explaining to them are the same words He would speak to us in our 30 minutes of one-on-one devotions with Jesus. 

 

He would tell you:

• You are mine. I have chosen you. You are now different than everyone else in this world. 

• Because You are mine and I now live inside you, you will think differently than everyone else. You are a new creation in mind, heart and will. 
• Therefore, you will act differently than everyone else. 
• People will wonder and be bewildered by your behavior. 

 

These words are for you as well. We are intrigued by the thought of personal time with Jesus in the flesh. Yes, it would be amazing. But the fact is, we aren’t missing out on anything. Through the power of the Spirit and the fullness of God’s word, we have all we need to know Jesus. His gaze is upon us. He’s ready to change our lives, our hearts, and our behavior. More on His message to us next time. 

 

Lord Jesus, come and speak to me and help me to listen. Help me to listen with new ears to hear, a new mind to understand, a new heart to love and a new will to obey. I hear Your kind and gentle knock on the door of my heart. Come be with me, speak to me, teach me, love me and I will, by Your grace and Your power, follow and obey You. Amen! 

Oh, to be chosen. Oh, to be selected for a position of honor. The phone rings, you answer routinely, with little thought. The person on the line gives you an unexpected and overwhelming surprise. You have been chosen for something special.  

 

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles. Luke 6:12, 13 

 

Jesus had a tribe of followers. His followers were men and women who had decided to physically follow Him as he traveled the regions of Galilee and ultimately into Jerusalem. We know of the twelve but there were dozens of others. At one point, we know that He paired up 70 of His followers and sent them out to minister and preach.  

 

Some of His followers were all in and would end up giving their lives for Jesus. Others were intrigued with his words, others in awe of his miracles and healing and others simply had nowhere else to go. However, they all had one thing in common: they hoped He would be the predicted Messiah; the long-awaited King; the Lord of Lords. 

 

From this band of rag-tag followers, Jesus would choose twelve (knowing one would betray Him), whom he would endow with unique authority and uncommon courage. These twelve, minus one, would define His legacy and carry forward His mission after His death, resurrection and ascension. Were they important? Absolutely. Were they worthy? Not in the least. Will they ultimately prevail in their mission? Without a doubt. 

 

After praying all night, Jesus called and chose twelve men: Simon Peter and his brother Andrew; brothers James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew, the tax-collector and Thomas, the doubter; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot; Judas, son of James and Judas Iscariot, the traitor. 

 

Common, ordinary men. Chosen by the One who was currently famous in Israel. The multitudes were following the great prophet sent by God; and this One has chosen them, the twelve. They were the special twelve with the inner connection to Jesus. Jesus would escape the crowds but would always keep the twelve nearby. They would get private meetings. They would be privately mentored and have special insights into what Jesus was thinking and planning.  

 

These twelve-ordinary men of simple means, average intelligence and little education had no idea what they were in for. They could not have imagined what was in store for them. They didn’t comprehend the pain, suffering and humility they would endure.  

 

But for now, they have been chosen and it feels good. They felt special. Especially because after their calling, they walked with Jesus as the crowds gathered to be close to the most famous Man in the land.  

 

Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all. 

 

Jesus was the rock star of Israel and the twelve were the groupies; the insiders who were drafting on the fame and popularity of Jesus. How will this specialness affect the twelve? No doubt, pride will be their greatest temptation. Humility will be their hardest lesson. Jesus’ private school of humility training is now in session for the disciples. In His first sermon after choosing the disciple, Jesus preaches to the multitudes. But most likely, the message of humility and sacrifice was more directed toward his selected tribe than the multitudes. We’ll look at this sermon next time. 

 

Jesus, just like you chose the twelve, minus one, you chose us to be Your followers and to endow us with the blessings of greatness, even though we are nobodies. Just like the twelve, we are ordinary people who have been blessed with power and grace far beyond what we deserve. It can tempt us to be proud, to be arrogant and even complacent. But just like the disciples, you have a plan to teach us, develop us and cause us to be Your humble servants. We don’t know all that is ahead of us but we do know Who leads us – and by Your grace, may we follow You wherever you lead us. We are yours. Amen! 

One of Matthew’s first responses to his transformed life was to introduce others to Jesus. 

And Levi (Matthew) gave a big reception for Him (Jesus) in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.  

The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.  

 

What do we know about Matthew? 

• He was a tax collector – most likely, well-compensated. 

• He had a home that could host a large party with a ‘great crowd’ of people. 
• Levi the tax collector (Matthew) had a lot of friends and acquaintances  

 

Matthew’s heart was transformed by Jesus. Jesus called him to follow and Matthew began to follow him, immediately. Matthew got up from the tax booth, quit his job and gave himself to following Jesus. What about his home and other possessions? It’s not clear what he did with his possessions, but before he hit the road with Jesus, he wanted to use his most valuable possession, his home, to honor Jesus with a reception.  

 

One of Matthew’s first responses to his transformed life was to introduce others to Jesus. 

 

It seems Matthew wasn’t embarrassed of his tribe of sinners. Jesus came to reach sinners not the holier than thou religious elite. 

Matthew knew intuitively in his first days of being saved what Paul would later teach to the confused Corinthian church. 

 

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with the idolaters, from then you have to go out of (or leave) the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person… I Corinthians 5:9-11 

 

There are so many religious types and Christians who do not have an awareness of Paul’s clarification above. Paul says it’s OK to associate with immoral people who are idolatrous liars and cheaters. However, so many Christians cannot and do not interact with brazen sinners. But Jesus did.   

I didn’t have any non-Christian friends throughout my 20’s and early 30’s. Literally none. Christians hanging around sinners? They usually avoid such situations. Why? They feel guilty; they’re disgusted by them; they don’t know what to say; they’re afraid to be associated with them…what about you?  

 

Are you a Matthew or a Pharisee? 

You won’t believe what Isaiah said about this situation about 700 years before Matthew had this party. Have you ever been sitting around a fire and the smoke blows toward you and in your face? It’s very uncomfortable and unpleasant. It burns your nose and eyes. You immediately attempt to move away.  

Check this out — a ‘holier than thou’ attitude by righteous Christians makes God’s eyes burn like smoke in his face. 

 

(Those) who say, (like the pharisees and legalistic Christians) ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Isaiah 65:5. 

 

When I began going into the regional prison in 2009 to minister and train convicted felons how to get jobs and live productive lives, I thought I was different than them; I thought I was better than them; I thought I was above them. I was wrong. I met humble men, covered with tattoos and painful life experiences, who made some bad decisions along the way. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions in my life too. However, I realized that I was simply fortunate that my bad decisions didn’t have the extreme dire consequences as their decision.

These men wanted to change. Just like me, they wanted to work, contribute and have good relationships with their families. We had a lot in common. I learned a lot from them. 

Pre-pandemic, one of the great joys of my life was to preach at the Houston gospel mission to the homeless and needy. What a joy. 

My attitude toward sinners used to be like smoke in God’s nostrils and fire that burns His eyes. I was ‘holier than thou’. I still struggle with my attitude sometimes. But God has put me through His school of humility. The school of humility taught me that I’m not so great…I’m not better than others. 

 

In my town, U of H means University of Houston. In my life, U of H means University of Humility. God is the chancellor; Jesus is the president and the Holy Spirit is the dean of students. (I often get called into the dean’s office). 

I didn’t voluntarily enroll in U of H. I was appointed. It isn’t an academic education; it’s a hands-on, real-life experience. We don’t paint our faces and go to sporting events to laugh and cheer. We tend to find ourselves with ‘egg on our faces’, embarrassed, groaning over our failures, enduring pain, loneliness and rejection.  We don’t sit in classroom chairs. Instead we find ourselves on our knees, or in the fetal position, in complete humility, crying out to God. 

 

Let’s be patient; let’s be kind; let’s be humble; let’s be gracious … toward sinners: for such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God, I Corinthians 6:11. Amen! 

Hello! I’m with the IRS and I’m here to help! 

What is your perception of people who work for the IRS? I don’t know anyone who works for the agency. I’m sure there are many good and kind people there. But I must admit, I don’t have a favorable sense for tax collectors. I know it’s legal, and it’s my obligation to pay my full share, which I have always done. But I don’t always feel good about paying taxes.  

 

The Jewish people have always paid taxes and tithes. I discuss the Jewish obligation for tithes and taxes as well as the freedom of giving under Christ in my book, Wealth, Prosperity and Giving.

 

But, during the time of Christ, when the Romans ruled over the Jewish nation, taxes were a heavy burden for the Jews. The Romans used a system of selling tax-collection franchises. These franchises were purchased by the highest bidder from the Roman Herod, Antipas. At the time of Christ, the system worked something like this: 

 

• An employed tax-collector would sit in a booth and collect taxes from individuals within his jurisdiction. He would keep a portion and pass on the rest of it to the Tax Franchise owner. 

• The franchise owner would take a portion and pass on an allocated amount to Herod Antipas. 
• Herod would take a portion and pass on an allocated amount to Rome.

 

Matthew, the Tax Collector

When Jesus fixed His gaze on Matthew, he was sitting at a tax booth collecting taxes. He was on the front-lines of the tax collecting system. The people could put a face to the burdensome system by looking at Matthew as he sat in the booth.  

Tax collectors were the worst of the worst of the Jewish society. They were the dregs of the society and hated above all others. Most likely, Peter, James and John hated Matthew because his booth was set up near the sea shore where the fisherman fulfilled their vocational duties. 

Matthew was not hidden like the franchise owner. He was in the booth, seen by all, collecting taxes and also, most likely, sending out thugs to collect overdue taxes from the poor. 

Matthew was a Jew, collecting taxes from his fellow Jews, keeping a portion and sending the rest to Rome. He was a sell-out. He was a Judas, of sorts before the term ‘Judas’ was well known. He extorted from his people in order to pay the Romans and pockets a hefty sum himself. 

 

What Jesus Saw

Jesus fixed his gaze on Matthew. Jesus didn’t see the face of a selfish and greedy tax collector. He didn’t see Matthew for who he had been. He saw him for who he would be. He saw Matthew as a beloved follower and disciple.  

 

When Jesus looks at you, who does He see?

 

He saw Matthew preaching the gospel with wisdom and boldness as His ascension to heaven. He saw Matthew researching and writing the gospel account of Jesus. Interesting that the gospel of Matthew is primarily directed toward a Jewish audience. Matthew wrote words of life to the people whom he previously swindled and extorted. 

Wow! Jesus sees us not for how we have sinned and acted in the past, but instead in Christ; clean, pure and useful to Him for His glory. When Jesus fixed His gaze on Matthew, He saw the simple faith of a wretched sinner. He saw the fullness of God’s grace covering him with forgiveness and mercy. Our past does not equal the future. My beloved Pastor, who is loved by many and faithfully preaches the Word of God weekly, verse-by-verse, is a former addict; alcohol and meth. His past is his past. It’s part of his story and it’s not forgotten. But it no longer defines him. His ‘now’ is that he is loved by God and useful to Him. When Jesus is involved, past results are not indicative of future results. Jesus changes everything! 

 

When Jesus reaches in and releases the power of His grace and mercy into the heart of a sinner, no matter how bad the person is, all that is needed is a simple call to follow. Jesus said, FOLLOW ME! And left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him. 

 

Father, the stories you have given us in the Bible are amazing. Matthew’s story is the story of redemption that you have also written in our lives. Our stories are not stories of how we pulled ourselves up and transformed our own lives. Our stories are all about YOU; and how You changed us from the inside out. Thank you for writing the stories of Redemption in our lives. Thank you that You have caused us to be born again and made us new creations, in Christ. We are forever grateful. Amen!