Apostle Paul Archives - Kristin Saatzer

Make the Most of Your Time

September 12, 2023 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

“Be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise. Making the most of your time because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Eph 5:15-17

Tears escaped as I sat down on a curb on a busy street. Yes, I looked pretty foolish.

As I walked around my neighborhood, a sermon played in my headphones. It was a season of confusion as I wrestled with some decisions regarding time commitments. I felt like I was wasting too much time on things that didn’t matter; I wanted my priorities to be God’s priorities. So, when I heard the pastor read this passage of scripture from Ephesians 5, I dropped in the middle of the sidewalk, sat on the curb, rewound this section of the sermon, and listened to these words on repeat.

It seemed God wanted me to hear these verses on that day. I fell in love with these words of wisdom and committed them to memory soon after.

The apostle Paul was writing to the church in Ephesus, encouraging the people he loved dearly to live with intention, live a life that honors God and follow Christ’s example. His writing reflects a sense of urgency because of the morally evil times in which they were living.

These words apply to us today.

Be careful how you walk, Paul says first. Walk as a wise person would. Think about how you are spending the majority of your time. How is it honoring God? How is it not?

Next, he says to make the most of our time because the days are evil. We can look around our culture and see how dark it seems, as did Paul in his day. So, how do you make the most of your time, practically speaking? What are your priorities in these dark days? Are you shining God’s light? What time wasters can you shed?

Lastly, Paul admonishes us not to be foolish but to understand the will of God. I believe the general will of God is simply reading His word each day, loving Him and others, and sharing His message. So, how does that look in your life?

Yes, we need rest and fun, and that is all good. But to truly live a life of purpose takes evaluation and time, time feasting on God’s word. And living with intention motivates us, focusing us on what matters most—enabling us to drop what isn’t best and to tackle our priorities.

And when we do this, we have more time.

After I got off that hard curb, I brushed away the tears and slowly began to live with focused intention. This passage became the theme scripture of my life and has guided me over the years as I seek to live on purpose for God’s purposes.

I pray this beloved passage will do the same for you.

Created to Conquer

October 20, 2019 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

As I slide into the morning, a carpe diem outlook begins to brew (the assist goes to caffeine and oatmeal). God and I will conquer this day together I say to myself as I scratch out my to-do list. Possibility percolates as I ready my pen to check off my assignments. But here’s where it goes south. You see, I am an unrealistic list-maker. It would take me and a staff of ten to carry out what I intend to complete in a day. These twenty or so items on my fantasy-list waiting to be checked off after work, after driving my kid around, after I make dinner… are oh-so unrealistic. My self-measuring stick is a ruler lined with tasks.

I do believe I was created to conquer. But sometimes this belief lies in how much I can accomplish and when I come up short, I often deflate in defeat. As I shine a spotlight on this deflation, I find a woman whose feelings of dismay transcend beyond an incomplete list of to-does, to a place that whispers your value is based on what you accomplish.

The truth is, this is not the only area where I struggle with murmurs of self-doubt and a sinking self-esteem. My fight is long and storied.

I often peek at the people around me who seem to walk strong, not struggling with many downfalls, who appear accomplished. Still, they too may hear the whispers. The insecurity, brokenness, depression, addiction, financial yuck (among the list), may be the private backstory of their lives. A yearning to overcome, yet stuck in the mud of pain, sin, and secrets.

Are there hidden whispers in your hidden places too? Can I speak something to you? My friend, you were created to conquer.

Need Fruit?

August 14, 2015 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

May He…supply and multiply the seed you have sown

and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

~2 Corinthians 9:10b

Have you sown and sown to no avail? Have the seeds you’ve planted not produced the smallest bit of growth? Do you feel like a discouraged farmer who sees no increase in his fields after months of working his land?

In 2 Corinthians 9:10, Paul refers to our righteousness. As Christians, we know we are only righteous because of Christ. God views us as righteous through the looking-glass that is Jesus and His death on the cross.

In our righteous relationship with God, He leads us to sow seeds into the lives of others for His name and kingdom. We sow in prayer (salvation of a spouse or prodigal child, healing for emotional brokenness), in giving (to a fledgling ministry or missionary), or by investing in relationships (honoring a difficult mother-in-law, staying in a one-way friendship, serving a prickly neighbor). We hope and expect to see the fruit of our labor. I know I do.Continue Reading

Abound in Hope!

January 9, 2015 By Kristin Saatzer 1 Comment

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may ABOUND in HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NKJV

On New Year’s day, I bumped into an old friend. Suzie and I dove deep immediately as she shared how she was celebrating 90 days of sobriety. She has experienced significant loss these last two years, including the deaths of her husband and adult daughter. These heart-wrenching passings took her to the bottom of a hopeless pit.

Then God intervened. Through the support of a 12-step group, family, friends and new hope in Christ, she is now a woman abounding in hope. Suzie will experience rocky seasons as a recovering alcoholic, but she is determining to keep her eyes fixed on God and to keep her life immersed in her support systems.

I am currently memorizing Romans 15:13, I so love how Paul called our Heavenly Father “The God of Hope”. Paul encouraged the Romans to “ABOUND in HOPE” in this passage.

How does one Abound in Hope in 2015?

The church in Rome was full of factions and disunity. Their culture oozed with depravity and idol worship. Sound familiar?

Paul told the Roman church to abound, not by their own power BUT, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Meaning that we (as did the church in Rome) have God’s power living in us to hope abundantly! I often forget this truth-that the Spirit of God lives in me. Incredible.

My take is this: Our hope in a heavenly future, infuses abounding hope into our present, earthly lives.

“In His name, the nations will put their HOPE.” Matthew 12:21 NIV

I pulled a few synonyms for abound from Thesaurus.com: Swell, overflow, be alive with and be knee deep in.

I want to be knee deep in God’s hope. It stinks being knee deep in discouragement and hopelessness. No more. I have chosen my word of the year and it is HOPE.

Amidst the trials, heartbreak, disunity, and cultural turmoil of life, we MUST return daily (for me some days, hourly) to the God of Hope. It is essential to seek support through scripture, friends, prayer, and church.

My prayer is that like Suzie, we’ll be knee deep in hope in 2015.

Now go abound, my friend.

Hope in clouds