TIME: Out On A Limb

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
- Jame 4:13-14

“You should go stand out on that tree and I’ll take your picture,” Wendy said in jest. She fully believed I was past my prime and unable to complete the task. Time has ticked on, but in my mind, I’m still an athletic and capable man. Walking across a tree fallen over a river is no problem.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” With that response, I was off. Down the hill, up on the tree and edging my way across the river to prove her wrong. It was a challenge. I’m not about to back down from a challenge. Game on. Me on a tree. A tree that moves?!

The further I walked out onto the tree, the more it bounced under my weight. I came to the point where I felt I was far enough out to prove my point (mainly because the tree was moving so much I couldn’t go any further), so I paused and tried to stand up straight for Wendy to take the picture. Taking my eyes off the tree was a disastrous mistake.

I lost my balance. Fell onto the tree with a broken branch cutting through my pants and digging into my own leg. Then gravity took over in full force. I slowly rolled down the side of the tree till I dropped back-first into the freezing river below. A river, by the way, that was only about six inches deep and filled with boulders. A few broken ribs and bruises later, I was climbing out of the river in humiliation.

To make matters worse, Wendy was recording the whole thing. While she does lovingly say, “Oh, no!” The video makes it obvious it was said through a laugh! And the presentation I had to give the next day was the most painful speech I have ever given.

Time is deceptive. On the one hand it seems to fly. On the other other it drags on forever. And no matter what we think of ourselves, we rarely have a proper perspective of our position in it. As our verse today says, we are simply a “vapor” that plans grand schemes.

As Seneca says in his treatise On the Shortness of Life, “Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested.” I agree with the quote not because we have plenty of time to do great things, but because we are all provided ample time to become who God created us to be, if we invest our time well.

The reality is God doesn’t need you to accomplish anything. As Acts 17:25 states, “Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.”

God doesn’t need you to accomplish His plans on this earth. He does want you to join Him in what He is doing on this earth. Not because He needs help. Rather, by joining Him in the work He is doing, we discover who He created us to be.

We often inflate our sense of importance and find ourselves out on a branch alone, bouncing and dropped on our backside trying to prove our worth. Yet, God doesn’t want us out on a branch alone to prove anything, In fact, John 15:4 tells us, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

Jesus is not looking for you prove yourself or accomplish great works in His name. You can’t! And every effort to try will end up with you bruised and broken in the attempt. He is simply calling you to abide in Him. Join Him in what He is doing. Allow His life to speak and work through you. Understanding that; Seneca is indeed right when he says, “Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested.”

Invest your time towards abiding in Christ. There is no higher achievement on earth we can aspire to than becoming who He created us to be. That is not found standing out on a limb to impress the people around you. It is only found in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Please Prepare Yourself: You Will Be Seated With Others

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
— Colossians 3:12-13

If you hurt my family, I do not quickly forgive nor forget. Make no mistake, I can hold a grudge. And I can unleash fury. Especially with my words. I’m extremely protective of my family. And then comes that moment…

This past week, I saw an individual who hurt some of my family. I believe people can change, especially when they find Christ. But there they were, and of all things, they were wearing a shirt that read, “Jesus is King.” I knew they had been making changes in their life, but really!?

Later that day, I was out with my family enjoying an evening at the fair. As all the grand-kiddos lined up for the Ferris Wheel, I saw a sign at the entrance. It read: “Please Prepare Yourself: You Will Be Seated With Others.” Immediately, God brought to mind the event earlier in the day.

Ferris wheel my family rode at the fair

Actual sign on the ferris wheel

The Ferris Wheel has that sign because we live in such an easily “triggered” society they don’t want people to freak out when they are put in a car with other people they don’t know. They just want people to know they might be taking this ride with others they don’t get to choose.

However, for me, it was an intense spiritual moment. God was reminding me that I’m on the ride of my life into eternity and I’d better be preparing to be seated with others I don’t get to choose. You know “those” people: the one’s I can stand, the annoying, the loud talkers and the close talkers, the revolting, the despicable—all the ragamuffins just like me. As our verse today admonishes: forgive them.

Tickets to the eternal ride are given to all those who hold Jesus Christ as their Lord. They are not vetted by how well I get along with them. My approval or disapproval is irrelevant. Every offense I hold against them could just as easily be held against me.

I stood starring at that sign realizing there are no first class seats to heaven. They are all coach. They are all equal. Because the ticket was purchased through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Everyone’s boarding pass is the same, receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He doesn’t hand out peanuts on this trip, you get the full meal to sustain you—the Bread of Life. His life.

1 John 4:7-8 tells us, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Those words are easy to sing (as in the song created from the verse), but they are hot coals from the forge when confronted with someone who has brought pain into your life. Yet, the forge is where the Master Blacksmith shapes us into who we were created to be. It is where we are shaped, sharpened and perfected by the Lord working through our lives.

Love is not a feeling. It is awesome when the feeling accompanies it, but it is more. Love is an action. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) No emotions mentioned except those that love is not. Love is an action.

Eternity is all about Christ and not about us. It is about who He is, not our comfort. So, please, prepare yourself: you will be seated with others. Love them. For in the end, all Christians sit together with another—Our Father—who “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:6).

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Be Unconscionable

“To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.”
— Titus 1:15

Let your conscience be your guide and you will end up stuck in the ditch!

Genesis 1:31 says, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Nothing God made was lacking. Nothing was incomplete. Nothing was in need of improvement. Yet, God did not create man with a conscience. We chose that for ourselves. And we often defer to it over God’s word to our own demise.

We like to think of our conscience as Jiminy Cricket in Disney’s 1940 animated film Pinocchio. We think of it as that little voice that follows us around and advises from time to time, “I wouldn’t do that if I was you!” That voice that warns us of trouble and bad decisions.

Yet, for me, my conscience has often been closer to the reality of me being a wooden boy and it being a termite. I often find myself screaming internally, “My conscience is eating me!” It bores through my mind. It eats me alive. And often, it is fear driven rather than being driven by anything for my good.

In Titus 1:15 we discover, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” But how can this be when we are encouraged to let our conscience be our guide?

The reality is, God did not create us with a conscience! We chose that for ourselves.

If we go back to the Garden of Eden, we find Adam and Eve. They had only one rule to follow. Anything else they did was pure. The only rule they had to follow was, “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…’” (Genesis 2:16-17)

What does the word conscience mean? It is the prefix “con-“ which means “with” and the root word “science” which means “knowledge.” When Adam and Eve at from the tree they acquired a conscience. They were now “with knowledge.” The moment they ate, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked…” (Genesis 3:7)

They weren’t blind before they ate. They saw each other the same. They just didn’t have the knowledge of evil. They had never looked upon each other and had thoughts of good AND evil. They now had knowledge. They chose a conscience.

The problem is that our conscience can be defiled. It can be “seared with a hot iron” as in the great apostasy Paul warned of in 1 Timothy 4:1-5. It changes over time. What is acceptable today was unconscionable a few generations ago. And what was acceptable then is unconscionable today. It changes with the culture.

We were never created to be led by our conscience! We are called to be led by the Spirit of God! “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Is your conscience eating you today? Is it telling you everything is fine? Both can be a lie. The only question that matters is; what is the Lord speaking into your life? What does He say? Where is He leading?

Be unconscionable today! Don’t follow your conscience. Seek the Lord’s voice and direction. We were created to walk with God. We were not created to walk in the “wisdom” of our own knowledge. The only knowledge that matters is to know God and make Him known.


© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

The King's Rule

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, / Like the rivers of water; / He turns it wherever He wishes.”
— Proverbs 21:1

Marshall, G. (Executive Producer). (1976). TV series; still shot. In Laverne & Shirley. Henderson Production Company; Paramount Television.

I’m 53 years old and my mom is still telling stories of me sitting in a highchair. Just today, she told the story of me sitting in a highchair at a steakhouse with my grandparents. The waitresses were all wearing short skirts, fishnet stockings and enjoyed flirting with the little boy in the highchair. Every time they would serve me another “Roy Rogers” drink (Coke-a-Cola with grenadine syrup and a maraschino cherry), I would bite the heel of my hand like Lenny Kosnowski when he saw a beautiful woman in the show Laverne & Shirley. I guess I’ve always been expressive of what I was thinking! For better or worse, everyone around me knows what I think.

What is the rule of a king? In practical terms, it simply means someone who is above all other authority structures and can do whatever they want. Whatever they do is “right”. Whatever they say is “law”. They have absolute discretion in their world. They are in complete control of their decisions.

The reality is we are all born into this world with this attitude. A baby cries when it is hungry, needs to be changed or just needs to be held. It is all about us. We have to be taught we are not the center of the world.

That brings into consideration a crazy verse in 1 Corinthians 4:8, “You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you.”

The reality is most of us are ruled everyday by a multitude of competing obligations. Family, work, debt, promises and obligations are dictated by the world around us in order to fit in. Some are good. Some are not. Yet, there is little doubt we have lost our role as king or queen in our own little universe. We can no longer simply cry and see the world respond to meet our needs.

Yet, Paul challenges the root of our desire; to be kings. And it is not a reproach of our selfishness. For it is often selfishness that leads to the compromises we make in terms of family, work, debt, promises and obligations. We want things now, rather than have to wait for them. We want satisfaction, even if that means we compromise our values. We want to feel loved and accepted. And our selfishness often drives our willingness to compromise for it.

Paul challenges us to stand as kings! To understand we alone are responsible for the positions we take and the decisions we make. There are always consequences. But, contrary to everything the world says, we can take any position or make any decision we like. We are truly kings in that regard. But Paul bemoans the fact that we do not understand this. He wishes we understood that we are already full and rich; so choose to stand! Be a king and don’t back down.

If you understand that, you understand only fear can keep you from being a king in your own life. In other words, only fear can hold you back. Yet, if you understand what Christ has done, you understand, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, / Like the rivers of water; / He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1)

Being absolutely free means understanding how and who granted you that freedom. His guidance in your life is not coercion or manipulation, it is the motivation to become everything you were created to be in Him.

We should never be afraid to be who we are in the presence of the Lord. His grace is sufficient for all our failures. Even if that is looking at waitresses and biting the heel of your palm. Honesty is the key to growth. We are kings. We get to choose our path in life. Only fear can hold us back. Only Christ can make us full and rich! Be a king or queen today, and choose to allow Christ to turn the river of your life as He sees fit… BUT CHOOSE HIM!

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Faith in Ignorance

“The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”
— John 5:15

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If you have not read “The Danger of Invisibility” as a precursor to the next 5 devotions, you can read it here. Or the first of the five here: 1) Faith in Obedience, 2) Faith in Need, 3) Faith in Desperation, 4) Faith in Humility

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I don’t know why, but many people get really upset when you tell them they are ignorant. I really don’t understand it (I do, but I don’t). I have discovered the more I know, the more I realize I am truly ignorant. Ignorance by definition is simply “the lack of knowledge, education, understanding, or awareness about a particular subject or in general.” Who can honestly claim not to be ignorant? We all are limited in our knowledge.

It brings us to John chapter 5 where we find a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Everyday he was positioned by the Pool of Bethesda and awaited an angel to come down and stir the waters so he could enter them and be healed. But due to his infirmity, he could not enter them fast enough and the blessing went to someone else.

Jesus saw him. He asked a simple question, “Do you want to be made well?” (V.6)

Ironically, the man doesn’t answer the question. Rather, he provides an excuse for why he hasn’t been healed; “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (V.7)

Isn’t that just like us ignorant beings? Justification. Rationalization. Increased Bias. Lay the blame at another’s feet. It’s not my fault! I’m doing the best I can. But that wasn’t the question. The question was, do you want to be healed?!?!?

Jesus simply said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” (V.8)

Here is the crux of the issue, do you have faith? Faith is not believing. It is more. It is not trusting. It is more. It is action. It is acting on the word of God. Believing, trusting and acting all together makes faith. It was the response of the man who “took up his bed, and walked.” (V.9)

What is amazing about this account is that it was NOT precipitated by a strong show of faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, the guy didn’t even know who Jesus was. He simply had faith in God he could be healed. That is why he laid at the edge of the Pool of Bethesda.

Verse 13 says, “But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.” The reality is we don’t have to know everything God has planned. We don’t have to understand everything He is doing. We don’t have to see every action He takes. We just have to answer the question, “Do you want to be healed?” And act in faith that we will be.

Jesus not only saw this man. He healed him in ignorance. Then, Jesus found him a second time in the temple and introduced Himself. The Lord can and will act in your life even if you are ignorant. Walk in faith trusting He is acting in your best interest. Then, you can be like the man in our story who, “departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”

I could learn much from this man who was so desperate to be healed he acted in faith even while ignorant of the presence of the Lord. Yet, once the healing took place, he departed and shouted to the world that he was healed by Jesus!

I will never know every area of my life where the Lord desires to work. I’m very much ignorant in that regard. I don't have to know everything He desires to do. But I pray I can follow the example of the man in John 5 and simply respond when my Lord says, “Take up your mat and walk! We will talk down the road.”

Know you are seen. Know you are loved. Know God works even when we don’t understand it. Know it will be done.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.