Saturday, March 3, 2012

March 4, 2012

But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  James 4:17

God's love is expressed in big, bold, infinite and eternal ways through nature and through the magnificence of God's person and character. But, it must be experienced in the time constraints and pressures of daily living!

How does that happen? How can you maintain the love of God in the real world?

So far, I have offered two ideas: (1) Remember you are on God's clock; (2) Remember to put God on your calendar.

Third, remember to put God in your center.

The Bible says:

Deuteronomy 6:5 – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Mark 12:30 – And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’This is the first commandment.

These verses are pretty clear that God must occupy your center! You must love Him at the very core of your being. He wants you to love Him more than anything else.


The whole concept of a GOD presumes HIM being foremost and central! If He is not central in your thinking and at the core of your desires He is not your God!


HOW DO I KNOW?


LOOK AT YOUR CHECK BOOK – what are you spending money on?

LOOK AT YOUR DATE BOOK – where are you spending most time?

LOOK AT YOUR STRESS LEVEL - does worry occupy my spirit more that worship?

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”     MT. 6:42-34

IF GOD IS NOT AT YOUR CENTER YOU WILL BE STRESSED AND WORRIED. IF THERE ARE THINGS YOU LOVE MORE THAN GOD YOUR WILL BE STRESSED! IF YOU ARE WORKING HIM AROUND THE EDGES OF YOUR LIFE – YOU WILL WORRY!

If you know how you SHOULD love God but don’t live like that – IT IS A SIN!

Watch this:

If today was the day you were to die, what would you regret and why?

What must you change about your life to avoid those regrets?

You will live most of your life after you die, so love like you are dying

March 3, 2012

 "Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”  James 4:15

Consider these facts:

40 MILLION MINUTES: The Average American spends during a lifetime?
Time spent on the phone: 2 Years
Time spent in the bathroom: 3 Years
Time spent getting dressed: 1 Year
Time spent watching TV: 7 Years
Time spent the God of the Universe: 7 Months, and many are much much less.


Looking at this research, what would you say is most important to the "average" American?

Sure, you have to go to the bathroom and you do have to get dressed, but are talking on the phone or watching TV more important than spending time with God?

I am guessing you would say, "No! Of course not!"

But how much different does your Day-Timer look from this "average American" schedule?

Let's be honest, you  and I are busy people and what gets scheduled gets done and those things that aren't scheduled don't. And the things that get scheduled seem to be those things that mean the most.

Here's what James is telling you in these verses: decisions made it time have consequences in eternity AND decisions about how you use your time impacts your eternity.

So, given these truths, how should you prioritize your time to express your love for God and receive His love for you?

How can you say you love God if He doesn't show up on your daily calendar?

Make time to worship.

People who love God worship Him! I am not talking just about the Sunday morning type of worship, I am talking about time spent in the Bible and in prayer. That time is necessary to commune with God, listening and speaking to Him.

Make time to line up with His will.

You will spend your days doing one of two things - His will or yours! Considering eternity hangs in the balance which do you think makes more sense?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2

Did you do God's will today?

Make Time To Walk With Him.

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,  rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7

"But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.  He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." I John 2:5-6

Unless you are sleep walking you have to make a conscious decision how you will walk and where you will walk. That takes time to plan and decide how you should walk. How can you say you love God if you are not walking with Him?

Make Time To Witness For God.

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

People are watching your life as you live for Jesus. Based on your attitudes, actions, and affections others will form opinions about your faith and your God. The way your faith translates through your life can affect the eternal destinies of many people over the span of your life.

God expects you to live your life in such a godly way that when you get the chance to witness with your lips your life will match what your life shows.

A consistent witness requires time spent with God in prayer and Bible reading and soul-searching.

Do know people who will be in Heaven because of your witness? Do you know people who will miss Heaven because of your witness?

Since the vast majority of your life will be lived after you die, how should you spend your time today?