Enjoying the Journey
Posts by Scott Pauley
7 Rules for Getting More Done
I am happy that in the early years of my life and ministry I was put in a position where there was more to get done than there was time. Hard work never hurt anyone and my pastor was right when he told me that most people never become what they could because no one was ever hard on them. God’s servant said it this way, “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” (Lamentations 3:27). Through the years I have had to learn how my own mind works and when I am most productive. Through observation, instruction, and plenty of trial and error I have had to discover how to make my time…
Read MoreWhat We Really Need
We are one month into the new year! How are your resolutions holding up? I am not a critic of resolutions; they have very often marked turning points in my own life. (More on that here.) But I am convinced that fresh resolve will never be enough for the change that is needed in our lives and in our nation. Just before the new year our daughter Morgan said to me and her mother one night, “I have been thinking that what we really need in the new year is not resolutions but revival.” (She would be the preacher in the family if she believed in women preachers!) Over the last few days I have been meditating on what she…
Read MoreGod’s Word and Work – A Look Ahead
Every year that I can remember my dad has conducted a special meeting at the beginning of the year for those who labor in our home church. For the last thirty years he has tried to begin with a challenge for those who lead to keep following, growing in their own faith and walk with Christ. Here is an excerpt of what he shared with our church a few days ago: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Proverbs 29:18). In the first place, the word “vision” as used here has to do with the Word of God. Please notice the rest of the verse: “but he that keepeth the law, happy is…
Read MoreThe Next Leg of the Race
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Each phase of the race is both distinct and essential to the whole. We have begun, in many respects, the next leg of our race. What will we do with this part of our race? In this race you must know how to push yourself. There is no good time to quit this race. God put you in it and it is not over until you cross the threshold of His throne room. That is where the crowns will be handed out. An aged Paul wrote, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). So must we. In this race you must…
Read More4 Stages In A Prayer Meeting
Recently I saw where a prominent Christian leader suggested that perhaps this would be a good time for churches to begin having prayer meetings again. The real question is: why did we ever stop having them at all? Even the churches that advertise a weekly “prayer meeting” typically do more talking about prayer or rehearsing of prayer requests than actual praying. When believers are not living in an attitude of prayer it is difficult to get them excited about the action of prayer. The loss of the prayer closet has caused the death of the prayer meeting, because corporate prayer has no power when we are never alone with the Lord. Public prayers become cliche, stiff, and formal when we…
Read MoreWhat Does GOD Think of Abortion?
Yesterday was the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In less than a half a century over 61 million babies have been put to death by abortion. This barbarity parades as “reproductive health” but it is still what God called it in Scripture…”murder” (Exodus 20:13). The new administration put out a statement of their renewed commitment to abortion, saying that “now is the time to rededicate ourselves” to making it accessible to anyone who desires it. May God have mercy on our land! Satan was a murderer from the beginning and he continues to do his ugly work today (John 8:44). I believe now is the time for true followers of Christ to rededicate ourselves to know what the Bible…
Read MoreThe Scariest Job In the World
Every job has its drawbacks and even its dangers. But, what is the scariest job in the world? It is a job that many of us have! The scariest job in the world is parenting. The demands, the implications, the complications…about the time you start to figure a few things out your kids are almost grown. Tammy and I are at a new season in our lives as two of our children are in college and the youngest is less than three years from finishing high school. Over lunch recently I told friends that this phase of parenting has been the most challenging for me personally. I have loved every stage but as your children get older there are unique…
Read MoreThoughts for Christian Citizens
All Christians have a dual citizenship. We are temporary, earthly citizens of the nation where God has providentially allowed us to live and we are eternal, heavenly citizens of a much better country! In the words of the old song, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” The Lord’s people ought to be the most caring, principled, and helpful citizens of their present nation, but they must also remember that they are only pilgrims on their way home (Hebrews 11:13-16). When Christ lived in one of the most pagan empires of world history He did not lead a revolt against Caesar. Think of it! He had to answer the interrogation of the Pharisees and live under the…
Read MoreLessons Learned On A Walk Through the Woods
Henry Drummond who wrote the classic work on 1 Corinthians 13, The Greatest Thing In The World, was a naturalist. He believed that every spiritual reality has some natural parallel in this physical world that reflects it. In this way the Creator gives evidence of the greater reality. This would seem to make sense when we listen to the way the Lord Jesus Christ used earthly object lessons to teach the higher truth. Regardless, it is my conviction that you can learn a lot about God, about yourself, and about life by simply taking a walk through the woods. I have a favorite trail on our farm that takes me high up on a ridge line. Many days as I…
Read MoreThe King Is Coming!
What are you expecting to happen next in our world? Every day brings new challenges and changing circumstances. I cannot tell you what the government will do, how the economy will respond, or when the pandemic will end. But what I do know is what the Bible tells us – The King Is Coming! God’s people should not be looking down, they should be looking up. Our future is not disaster but deliverance, and we are watching for the coming of our Christ, not the antichrist! Any moment the Lord Jesus is coming for His own. The last book of the Bible tells us the story of both the end of this world and the beginning of eternity with our…
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