EmmDev 2026-08-05 [Wisdom for Every Day Life] Time #2 - Grab Them

Time #2 - Grab Them

Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit... (Ephesians5:15-18)

You guessed it...
The word Paul uses for opportunity is "kairos".

He's been talking to the Ephesians about being light in the darkness - that they have to recognise that even though there is brokenness all around, the resurrection light of Christ shines on us, in us, and through us.

So we need to seize the day, grasp the moment, and grab the opportunity.
The word he uses for "making the most of" is fascinating. If you pull it apart its very literal meaning is "out of the marketplace." Imagine yourself going through the market place and spotting an item you've really wanted at a bargain price and there's only one left. What do you do? You pounce! You grab it! You don't miss a moment.

This word is used four times in the New Testament, all of them by Paul. In Galatians he uses it twice to talk about how Jesus redeemed us (think of a desperate slave on sale in the market place being bought and set free by Christ). Then he uses it here in Ephesians and also in Colossians, and both times he uses it in relation to "kairos" and how we must buy back, redeem, rescue or deliver those moments God gives us. Do you sense the urgency?

The point he makes is this: Our world is broken, "the days are evil", but there are moments that can be "bought out" of brokenness and infused with the resurrection light of Christ:
A moment to show appreciation to someone who is taken for granted...
A window to be kind to someone who has experienced harshness...
An opportunity to share our hope with someone who needs it...
A moment to right an injustice...

We come across these moments every day. We can be distracted and miss them, we can be foolish and waste the moment or we can buy them out of the marketplace of brokenness. Sometimes we think that it will cost us too much, but it is God who places the opportunity there and He will provide.

How can we do this well and not miss the moments?
Paul gives us four bits of guidance:

1. Don't be dumb - be wise. Stupidity is freely available, it's populist, comfortable, and egocentric. 
   Wisdom takes work to get to. It requires reflection, consultation with wise people and sources and sees beyond self.
2. Understand the Lord's will - this means spending time with Him and in His Word.
3. Don't anesthetize yourself either with alcohol, drugs, you-tube, social media or other distractions.
4. Be filled with the Spirit - ask the Holy Spirit to move in you and guide and prompt you.

One last thought: Paul isn't asking us to squeeze more into the day. He's just asking us to grab what's there.
Don't fill your diary - fill your moments.
God puts the moments there, and, armed with the light of the resurrected Christ and filled with the Spirit, we can buy them back!

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EmmDev 2026-08-04 [Wisdom for Every Day Life] Time #1 - Moments

Time #1 - Moments

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes3:1-8)

When I preached on this passage, I borrowed two useful Greek words from the New Testament: chronos and kairos. Chronos is clock time: minutes, hours and days. Kairos is the significant moment, the opportune occasion. While Ecclesiastes was written in Hebrew rather than Greek, these two words provide a helpful way of thinking about time.

Ecclesiastes was written by someone in search of truth and meaning. His exploration is sharp and critical - he is disillusioned with much of the fluff of life. He has explored work, hedonism, power and wealth and found them all wanting. While he is dismissive of many things, he finds some truths along the way.

One of the truths he finds is that while life has many "chronos" times,
what gives time meaning is the "kairos" moments...
A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant...
So the significance of time is not the hours and dates, it's the moments.

How often do we find ourselves rushing for "deadlines", frantically keeping schedules and packing life full of appointments and events, but missing the moments?

Meaning is not found in how many hours we spend at work.
Purpose is not found in a full calendar.
Sometimes we just need to be late so that we can watch our toddler take their first steps.
Sometimes we need to replace the whistle stop tour of Europe for a slow holiday on a quiet beach where we can bond with our kids instead of chasing them from train to bus to plane.

The saddest thing is when a moment happens and we rush past it.
We need to learn how to escape the tyranny of the "chronos" to embrace the "kairos."

Jesus did this very well. He never seemed hurried. He had time for interruptions because He recognised moments. A blind beggar's cry, a woman touching His cloak, children climbing into His lap, a conversation beside a well. He never allowed the schedule to rob Him of the moment.

Life happens in the moments.
And in those moments the clock keeps ticking, but our hearts realise that something eternal is happening.

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EmmDev 2026-07-31 [Wisdom for Every Day Life] Priorities and Balance #4 - A New Perspective

Priorities and Balance #4 - A New Perspective

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians3:1-4)

A perspective is a vantage point - it's your point of view.
It's where you look at the world from.
It's the lens you look through.
It's the underlying reality that informs what you see and how you respond.
It's the compass that guides the direction of our steps.

Paul doesn't begin with a command - he begins with an identity.
Paul is clear about what our perspective should be.
- We were dead, but Christ has raised us to life.
- Our destination is with Christ who is seated at God's right hand.
- Our desire, longing and focus should be on "things above" not temporary earthly things.
- Christ will return and we will be with Him, leaving this world behind.

This should surely change our priorities from things that have temporal value to things that have eternal value. It should surely help us to be less trapped by the "stuff" of this world. And it will surely help us to find the balance between meeting temporary needs and making eternal investments.

I love Paul's phrasing:
"You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

It speaks of rescue and intimacy and safety.
The world around us doesn't understand it.
Our eternal hope is "hidden" for now, but it is certain because the tomb is empty and Christ is risen, ascended and returning.

What is your current perspective?
Maybe you've been looking down too much.
It's time to remember and look up:
You were broken, sinful and unsure
and you were spiritually dead.
BUT Jesus took your life and wrapped it in His Death and Resurrection.
And you are forgiven and are destined for eternity with Him!

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EmmDev 2026-07-30 [Wisdom for Every Day Life] Priorities and Balance #3 - Presence over Protocol

Priorities and Balance #3 - Presence over Protocol

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke10:38-43)

This is a powerful parable-in-real-life.
It doesn't need a lot of explaining, but here's a few thoughts...

Hospitality was very highly valued in the Ancient Near East. So Martha's choice to focus on the meal and being a good hostess is understandable and even commendable.

And that's the problem with priorities.
They are sometimes hard to call.
Sometimes two things can look almost equally important and it's hard to decide which one counts most.
The catch with Martha is not that she was being hospitable but that she had made too much of it. The text tells us that she was "distracted with much serving." And, when we look at her complaint to Jesus, it is the language of a victim. There's the strong sense that her focus was more about the task than about delighting in Jesus.

Mary sits at Jesus feet. She enjoys the moment - we'll talk about time next week.
She chooses presence over protocol, connection over impressions.
I'm sure that, if it were needed, she would have whipped up a quick meal, but she avoids Martha's vortex of activity and chooses to be with Jesus.

Jesus' answer to Martha is very telling.
Although some translations put it differently, in the original Greek the wording is that Mary has chosen the good portion and it's a clever pun about Martha's choice. Martha is preoccupied with serving a portion of food. Mary has chosen the good portion: Jesus Himself. One meal will soon be forgotten. The portion Mary received "will not be taken away from her".

Every day we are faced with good choices and better ones.
There is work to do, meals to prepare and responsibilities to fulfill.
But before we do anything for Jesus, we must first spend time with Jesus.
The good portion is still available to everyone who will sit at His feet.

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EmmDev 2026-07-29 [Wisdom for Every Day Life] Priorities and Balance#2 - First

Priorities and Balance#2 - First

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew6:31-33)

Few things rob us of balance more quickly than worry, and few things restore it more effectively than putting God first.

The balance lies in not being dominated by stress and worry. We do need to eat and drink but we should not be become obsessed about what we eat and wear. Earlier in this chapter Jesus spoke about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field and how God provides for them. The birds forage diligently and plants sink their roots deep and turn sunlight into food but there is joy and beauty in what they do. Obsession turns labour and housework into slavery. Balancing gratitude, trust and diligence is the key to a balanced life. We have gratitude for God's provision both through opportunity and ability, we trust God to watch over us and give us strength and then we bring our best efforts to the table.

But Jesus also calls us to have the right priorities and we have to get the top one right. First and foremost, our most important priority should be to ensure that we are seeking God's Kingdom and righteousness.

The Greek verb Jesus uses for "seek" is "zēteite" and it is significant because Jesus uses it in a positive and a negative sense in this passage. The pagans run after all the wrong things, but Jesus calls His followers to seek the Kingdom of God first. The verb means to seek, pursue, strive after, aim for and desire. Jesus uses it in a present, continuous and imperative tense - "keep on seeking". We are being commanded to have a deep desire and longing for God's kingdom and righteousness. What makes it striking is that Jesus isn't asking us to perform an action - He's asking us to cultivate a passion. If it were an action then we could tick the box and move on, but we're being asked to have a continuous longing that permeates all we do.

And it needs to be FIRST. Above all else. Above ambition. Above earthly affections. Above all.

And what do we long for? God's kingdom and righteousness. Longing for His kingdom means continually asking: "If God were King of this situation, how would it go down? How would He want me to behave? What outcomes would God want us to pursue? What are the priorities and principles that would apply here?" Pursuing God's righteousness adds moral depth to the idea of "kingdom." Sometimes people will cut corners because they argue that the end justifies the means, but in pursuing the kingdom we must also do things the right way.

Our balance comes from doing our part without becoming obsessed with the results. Our priority is to nurture a deep and growing passion to see God crowned as King in every part of our lives.

When the Kingdom comes first, everything else finds its proper place.

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EmmDev 2026-07-28 [Wisdom for Every Day Life] Priorities and Balance #1 - The Foundation

Priorities and Balance #1 - The Foundation

After a long winter break, EmmDevs are back.
I've been busy with a sermon series entitled "Wisdom for Everyday Life"
You can watch the sermons on https://bit.ly/WisdomSermonPlaylist
The eight sermons were:

1. Priorities and Finding Balance
2. Time: Rejuvenation and Distraction (Serving Without Burning Out)
3. Faith vs Fear (Anxiety, Ignorance or Sober Faith)
4. Forgiveness vs Bitterness
5. Sober thinking in an opinionated world
6. Seasoned Words (De-escalating in a world that ramps up quickly)
7. Contentment vs Comparison
8. Faithful Witness: Strong Convictions, Gentle Hearts

The plan is to devote 3 or 4 EmmDevs to each theme...

We start with Priorities and Balance

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your true and proper worship. (Romans12:1)

In a series that deals with many practical qualities (wisdoms) that should be present in mature believers' lives, it is vital to make sure that the starting point is not human effort.

Paul is crystal clear about that. He spends 11 chapters laying a foundation.
- We were dead in our sins and only Christ could save us.
- By ourselves we can't do good or avoid evil, only the Holy Spirit can do that.
- Even the fates of nations are in God's hands and not a matter of self-determination.

The starting point is not our effort, but God's mercy.
God has rescued us. God has redeemed us, saved us, chosen us.
He loved us first and saved us when we were powerless.

And anything we do is a response.

And the response to which Romans 12 calls us is a life of WORSHIP.
This is life's great priority.
The Westminster Confession (paraphrased) states:
"Humankind's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."

Worship is not something that we do only on Sundays.
It's offering our bodies as "living sacrifices."
Dead sacrifices cannot climb off the altar. A living sacrifice can - but chooses not to.
A living sacrifice learns to ask "In this situation what would Jesus do? What glorifies God?"

And, strangely enough, counter-intuitively, this worship is not onerous.
We discover that when God is at the centre, we have come home.
And we enjoy God.

Paul uses an interesting word for "proper."
In Greek it is "logikos".
It can mean "reasonable", "logical", "spiritual", "rational", "fitting", "appropriate", or "considered."

Paul is saying:
When you consider the vastness of God's Mercy then worship: is a reasonable, logical, rational and appropriate response and is the most spiritually congruent thing we can do.

We prioritise God because He prioritised us...

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EmmDev 2026-06-03 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #9 The Abrupt Ending points to Resurrection Hope

Concluding Mark #9 The Abrupt Ending points to Resurrection Hope

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.' " Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. (Mark16:6-8)

Most scholars agree that this was the original ending to Mark's Gospel.
It is abrupt and a little disturbing because it leaves things hanging in the air.

But think about it for a moment...
We think this account was written around 60AD some 30 years after the Ascension.
By now the gospel has reached Rome, Asia Minor and beyond.

Anyone reading the cliff-hanger ending would know how it actually turned out.
They would know that:
- the women did speak.
- the tomb remained empty,
- Jesus met with Peter
- Jesus met with the disciples
- He ascended and the disciples were filled with the Spirit
- the Church had spread like wildfire, in spite of persecution.

Resurrection had triumphed.
What looked like defeat and a sputtering wick had burst into glorious flame.

In many ways this is typical of Mark.
He portrays human weakness with simple honesty but never hopelessly.

Considering what I have just written, it is then unsurprising and quite ironic that the "footnote" or "longer ending" that was later attached to Mark reflects all these thoughts:
- Fear and unbelief addressed
- Great Commission and the Power of the Holy Spirit affirmed
- The Ascension and the disciples' missionary obedience recorded.

The abrupt ending naturally invites readers to ask what happened next.
The "longer ending" tries to do that for their generation, but I think the abrupt ending invites every reader to respond personally.

But we need to answer it too.
In the light of the Risen Christ who speaks to His Church and the Peter in you and me.
What will we do?
Will we, like the Early Church, overcome our initial fears and spread the gospel?
Mark leaves us to to add our response...
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That brings us, at long last, to the end of our marathon series on Mark.
I hope you have found it meaningful.
I'll be taking a break from EmmDevs for the rest of June.

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EmmDev 2026-05-29 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #8 The cross is not defeat, but victory.

Concluding Mark #8 The cross is not defeat, but victory.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard His cry and saw how He died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" (Mark15:37-39)

Mark records numerous moments where Jesus made it clear that He heading for the cross.
In chapter 10 Mark remembers how Jesus was striding ahead of the disciples and how His disciples are astonished and afraid.

Throughout his gospel, Mark paints a picture of Jesus serving, loving, healing and teaching and heading towards a sacrificial destiny.
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

So it is understandable that we might begin to see the cross as a low-point.
A place of tragedy, heartbreak and sacrifice.

But when we get to the cross, Mark surprises us because he writes briefly about the crucifixion (only 17 verses). There's a quiet dignity in his brevity instead of a Hollywood-like morbid fascination with the violence and suffering.

He recounts the criminals and the sign.
He dwells on the insults but this only strengthens the Centurion's response later.
He only notes one of the "seven words", but it is in God-Forsakenness that He atones for our sin.
He describes that wine-vinegar - the drink of the poor
and the crowd's misunderstanding that he was calling Elijah.

And then comes the climax...

• A loud cry and Jesus breathes His last - a clear indication that Jesus was not the victim who's life was taken,
  but the King who gives His life.
• The temple curtain torn in two. The atonement sacrifice was sufficient and our sin-debt was paid in full.
• The gentile Centurion, a man of authority, recognises Him as the Son of God.

This makes the cross a place of VICTORY.
Sometimes preachers and movie-makers use the violence and suffering of the cross to pull at the heart-strings.
Sometimes we tend to preach "BAD Friday" and "Resurrection Sunday"
but it is called "GOOD Friday" for a reason.
The victory was won at the cross - and the resurrection vindicates that victory

Do I hear a HALLELUJAH?

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EmmDev 2026-05-28 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #7 Reaching out to the Broken

Concluding Mark #7 Reaching out to the Broken

A man with leprosy came to Him and begged Him on his knees, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. (Mark1:40-42)

Mark's Gospel is filled with broken people:
- lepers,
- paralytics,
- demoniacs,
- grieving parents,
- outcasts, failures,
- doubters,
- and fearful disciples.

Our passage records the first healing miracle in Mark and it is most certainly not the last!

The man has leprosy. It is highly contagious.
People recoiled from those who had leprosy.
They chased them with literal and verbal sticks and stones.
The man comes and begs from his knees.
The disciples and crowd probably gasped and retreated.
All of a sudden Jesus isn't being mobbed or crowded.
They're all ten steps back.

The man is begging and Jesus is standing there.
"If you are willing... " the man implores
Jesus is filled with compassion. (In Greek the word implies an intense emotion)
Instead of stepping away - Jesus steps in.
Instead of recoiling - Jesus touches - probably embraces.
And the man is immediately clean.

This is what love is.

Throughout Mark Jesus consistently moves toward broken, not away from them.
We see it again and again:
- Jesus touches the untouchable.
- Jesus forgives the guilty.
- Jesus restores the ashamed.
- Jesus calls the unlikely.

Jesus' church needs to be like this too.
Church is not a display cabinet for saints
but a hospital for the broken.

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EmmDev 2026-05-27 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #6 The Tragic Hardness of Heart

Concluding Mark #6 The Tragic Hardness of Heart

Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. (Mark3:3-6)

One of the saddest themes in Mark's Gospel is the ongoing hardness of people's hearts. This passage reveals it powerfully...

It's a Sabbath and the Pharisees are more concerned about observing the Sabbath than about the plight of a fellow human being. If the Law of Moses allowed one to get a cow out of a pit on the Sabbath, surely the healing of the precious human being would matter too?

Throughout Mark's Gospel we see people being helped by Jesus and trusting in Him:

• desperate people come to Him
• broken people trust Him
• outsiders welcome Him
• women follow faithfully
• children respond naturally
• sinners eat at His table

But the Pharisees remained hard and stubborn of heart.
Their hearts are so hard, that the Pharisees and Herodians who were polar opposites theologically and idealogically, begin to plot murder. Strange bedfellows indeed.

What's striking in this passage is that Jesus' response to this hardness was not indignation or antipathy but deep distress. He is grieving with the hot angry grief that one feels when there is a sense of a life wasted. He sees the hardness of their hearts and it vexes Him.

Right into Holy Week Jesus interacts with Pharisees, Saducees, Herodians, Teachers of the Law. They continue to resist Him and He faces them with truth, logic, Scripture and even outright rebuke, but they refuse to see...

May we never harden our hearts in this way.

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