The Five-Minute Quest- 8 Jan 18
One Minute Memory Verse: 1Thessalonians 5:16-19 –
Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
One Minute Bible
John 3:22-30
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”
One Minute Prayer
Lord, be so much greater in my life, and let me be so much less that when I meet someone, they will see only Jesus. When I speak, let me speak only the Truth. When I act, let it be with the hands of the Lord.
One Minute Praise
Psalm 145:1-3
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One Minute Wisdom
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
One Minute Devotional
In the classic sci-fi show, Star Trek: The Original Series, one particular episode tells the story of a being who had lived its life in a state of energy. This bodiless mass of living energy finds refuge in a human body, where it makes the comment that it feels isolated, in solitude, lonely. So alone. It’s true. We are solitary beings, alone, even lonely.
That loneliness often compels us to sin. It may rear its ugly head in many ways. Loneliness may lead to pride, infidelity, pleasure-seeking, overspending, envy, or even worse.
God’s perfect plan for the world was not for us live out our lives in solitude. Genesis indicates that His plan was to share our earthly existence. He seems to have made the Garden of Eden His throne room and there spent the cool of the day walking and talking with man.
Man was also made to find a partner. In the movie, Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise tells Renee Zellweger, “You complete me.” That is exactly the way God designed us. No man and no woman are in and of themselves complete.
Still there is a more spiritual aspect to our lives, and here it is: when God drove man from the Garden of Eden, and hid it from mankind, He already had a plan in place to resume an even more intimate relationship with his creation. He would personally take up residence in the hearts of all who would accept Him.
As Christians, God lives in our heart. Now, let’s give him the rest of us, our body, our mind, our emotions, our occupations, our entertainment, our all. Let us become less, that He may be seen more. All to Jesus I surrender; all to Him I freely give.