Preparing for 2014 with God

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.   Ephesians 3:20-21  NIV

   The end of the year is a natural time to reflect.  It is also a great time to imagine what life could be like as we partner with God in the coming year.  This gives us a vision of the good God wants to accomplish in us and it increases our motivation to partner with Him.

  What would it look like if you partnered with God as he works to fill you with His goodness?    What would it look like if you partnered with God to love your wife as Christ loved the church?  What would it look like if you fully believed God's unfailing love for you rather than trying to live up to the world's ever-changing standards of beauty?  What would it look like if you partnered with God to nurture your children and have regular conversations about God with them?  What would it look like if you partnered with God to treasure Him and let go of material things as your hope for peace and happiness?  What would it look like if your life was filled more and more with God’s peace?

   Partnering with God includes a simple trust that He is with you and He is working in you for your good.  This week, set aside some time to write down some “belief” statements about what you will believe about partnering with God in 2014.  For example:

   - I believe that God will fill me with more and more of His goodness.

   - I believe that God will help me pray with my kids.

   - I believe that God will help me be more generous like Him.

   - I believe that God will help me rest in His peace and trust His wisdom.

After you have had time to reflect on the beliefs you have written down, you can set some reachable goals for partnering with God.   All you need is simple next steps to help you move forward with Him.  Don’t be discouraged by stumbling or struggling.   These are opportunities for our trust in God to grow stronger.  Simply confess your failure to God and ask for grace to cooperate more with His good work in you.  You’ll be encouraged by how partnering with God helps you move farther forward than if you had just set goals by yourself.

The Greatest Gift God Has Given Us Is Himself

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.  

         Romans 1:25  NIV

   We know that gratitude is wonderful.  We enjoy being thanked for gifts we give and God enjoys it when we sincerely thank Him for the gifts He gives.  

   We also know that the gifts we find under the tree this Christmas will not make us permanently happy.  These gifts have limits.  They might break or wear out.  They may even be designed to bring us a one time experience of happiness.

   Acknowledging the limits of the gifts we receive is the prompt we need for a greater gratitude in our hearts: the gratitude that is thankful for the Giver of the gifts more than the gifts themselves.  The best way we can start the Christmas day is with praise to the almighty, all-knowing and faithfully loving God.  It’s good and right to thank Him for His amazing gift of salvation in Christ and the many other gifts He gives, but it's even better to to praise Him for being everything that we need for a full and good life.  This is the kind of praise that helps to detach us from our materialism and helps to strengthen our trust in the absolute goodness of God.  On Christmas day, set aside some time at the very beginning of the day to praise Him for his goodness, mercy and love.  Praise Him for His faithfulness.  Acknowledge that in revealing Himself  to us and in giving Himself to us, God has given us the greatest gift of all.  

A Helpful "Centering Prayer"

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.    

Romans 15:13  NIV

   From time to time it is good to be reminded of the practice of “centering prayer”.  A centering prayer is a prayer that brings trust in God back to the center of our heart.  When trust in God gets pushed out of our heart, anxiety or anger take its place.  If we “catch” ourselves being anxious or angry, we can use a centering prayer to reaffirm our trust in God, so that His joy, peace and hope can refill our hearts.   Below is a good example of a centering prayer.

      “Father in Heaven, I trust You.  I believe that You love me and that You are always working for my good.  I believe that You are working for my good right now and that You will ultimately make all things good for me and for all of your people.  Please give me grace to trust You and please fill me with Your joy, peace and hope.”

   Write this prayer down on an index card.  Carry it with you and pray it at various times of the day throughout this week, especially if you sense anxiety or anger rising in your heart.  In some situations, you may need to pray the prayer several times to help you focus your attention on God.  Keep in mind that these are not magic words.  Your prayer must be a sincere expression of your heart.  

Believing in Jesus for our Friends

Some men came, bringing to Him [Jesus] a paralyzed man, carried by the four of them.      Mark 2:3  NIV

   Do you believe that Jesus can revolutionize and transform the lives of your friends?   If so, how is your belief demonstrated by your actions?  Are you as desperate for your friends as these men were for their friend?   They tore a hole in the roof of someone’s house just to get their friend to Jesus.

   What can you do to bring your friends to Jesus this Christmas season?  Could you invite them to a regular worship service or to a Christmas Eve celebration?  Could you commit to praying for them everyday between now and Christmas?  Could you introduce them to other Christian friends so they have more friends who care about  them getting to know Jesus?  Could you simply ask God for an opportunity to share your story of faith with them?

   One of the best gifts we can give our non-believing friends is to believe in Jesus’ power for them.  That won’t save them, but it will increase our desire bring them to who can save them.  Believing in Jesus’ power for them may also give us the boldness to do something daring on their behalf.  Take some time this week and ask God to give you a burden for one of your non-believing friends and then ask God for opportunities to bring this person to Jesus.

God's Life Flowing Through Us to the Hurting and Discouraged

 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. 

  Isaiah 42:3  NIV

    Jesus described the life that He gives through the Holy Spirit as "rivers of living water."   If we want to experience more of God’s goodness in our lives, we must understand that Jesus does not share His goodness just so we can consume it for ourselves.  He gives it so that we can enjoy it as it flows through us to others.   If your goal for wanting more of God’s love, joy and peace is to make your life easier or more comfortable, you will dry up.  If your desire is for God’s goodness to flow through you to bless others, you will experience God’s goodness more deeply than you expected or even imagined.

   Isaiah prophecies about Christ’s love for bruised people and people whose light is fading.  In other words, Jesus had compassion for hurting and discouraged people and He sought to bring them hope.  Authentic followers of Christ live with this same mission and compassion.  They step into the rivers of living waters and open their hearts to God's goodness knowing that God's life will give them joy as His life fills them and overflows to others for their encouragement and strength.

  Who are the people in your life with bruises or smoldering wicks?  How can you bring them encouragement and hope?  More specifically, how can you help them find encouragement  and hope in the message of Christ?  This week, ask God to lead you to a hurting or discouraged person and ask God to flow His goodness through you to them so they can find encouragement and hope in Him.

God Awareness and Gratitude

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.       Proverbs 3:5-6  ESV

   What does it mean to acknowledge God?  It means to recognize His presence.  It’s easy for us to go through the large part of our days and weeks and not recognize that God is present everywhere we are.  This proverb teaches us that if we acknowledge God, He will direct us on straight paths.

   Thanksgiving week is a great week to begin the regular practice of acknowledging God in all your ways. We can combine recognition of His presence with gratitude for His gifts at various times throughout the day.  This week, try this experiment to help you recognize God’s presence.  It will only take a few moments each time.

1.  As soon as you get up (and can think straight), say “God is here.”  Say it loud enough so you can hear it.  Say it slowly so that it sinks in.  Say it again throughout the day as often as it comes to your mind.

2.  Each time you acknowledge God's presence, thank Him for something.  Keep it simple.  Say, "Lord, thank You for..."

After this brief acknowledgement of God, go back to doing what you were doing.  You will likely be surprised at how acknowledging God changes your perspective.  For some extra learning, make note of how many times you do this each day and see if you begin to develop a habit of acknowledging God in your daily life.

Becoming Aware of God's Presence in His Created World and His Written Word

1The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.           Psalm 19:1,7  NIV

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:

        “Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes – the rest sit round it and pick blackberries.”

Our world is full of the evidence of God’s presence, but somehow we miss it and go through life getting lost on the trivial stuff that only seems to be important.  What can we do to be more aware of God’s presence?  

Psalm 19 gives us some help.  The created world of God and the written Word of God have been given to us to keep us attuned to our loving Creator.  Try this simple experiment to help you live with a greater awareness of God this week.

   

1. Sometime during the course of each day, let something created  draw your attention to God.  It won’t be difficult. It might be the sunrise or some brilliant gold autumn leaves.  It might be the look on your dog’s face or frost on the window of your car.  It probably already happens a couple times each day, but you are used to rushing right by it. This week, slow down for a few moments and enjoy the gift you’ve been given.

   

2.  As you read a small portion of Scripture each day, ask God to refresh your soul with it.  Ask God to give you something fresh from His Word that will help you be more aware of His presence throughout the day .

Each time you are aware of God, invite Him to fill more and more of your life with His goodness and trust that He will do it. 

Trusting God's Loving Leadership

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Psalm 32:8-9  NIV

   The old hymn, “Come Thou Fount”, contains the words, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”  We have a tendency to wander away from the Lord.  The Scripture above says that when we do this we are being like a horse or a mule.  What does it mean by that?

   The bit in a horse’s mouth keeps the horse from straying to the left or right.  The bit sits in the space between the horse’s incisors and molars which is a sensitive spot with many nerve endings.  When the riders pulls on the rein, the bit places pressure on this sensitive area.  The horse naturally wants to reduce the discomfort, so it returns to the direction that the rider wishes.   Ideally, the horse would not need a bit.  A well trained horse regularly responds to the movement of the legs and seat of the rider.

   This Scripture is imploring us to avoid the pressure of straying from God’s loving leadership.  We can learn to freely respond to God’s direction in our lives because we know he is always working for our best.  The best way to do this is by daily surrendering to God’s leadership.  It’s even good to refresh our surrender to God several times throughout the day.

   This week, begin each day with a simple prayer like this.

      “Father, I surrender to your loving leadership of my life.  Thank you for always working for my good.  I give you every part of me, all of my body, mind and soul.  Please fill me with your goodness and direct me on your paths of wisdom.

    You will find this prayer even more valuable if you write this prayer down on an index card or piece of paper and pray it several times throughout the day.  As you pray it, believe that God will do his part and fill you with His goodness.

The Language of Worship and Trust

 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.            Psalm 145:1-2  NIV

   Sometimes the simple help we need to make progress in our walk with God comes from understanding the words God uses to teach us.  There are two words in the verses above that are relatively uncommon in our everyday language, but which offer very practical help to living life with God.

   To “exalt” means to “lift up”.  We tend to let God slip below other people and things in our thinking.  Though it is impossible in reality, we tend to demote God to less than King in our thinking.  To exalt God is to promote him to the very top position of my life.  It is choosing to honor Him as King and to surrender myself to His leadership.

   To “extol” means to “praise” or “boast”.  If I don’t intentionally remind myself of God’s greatness, love, wisdom and power, He will become smaller in my mind and heart.  When He becomes smaller in my mind and heart, the challenges of life become will become bigger and command my attention.   When this happens, I will trust Him less and live with less awareness of His constant presence and care.  The result of this will be having less of God's life in my life.  That's not what I want.  I want more of God's life in my life and if you are reading this, I know that is what you want, too.

   This week, start each day by taking a few minutes to extol and exalt the Lord.

1.  EXTOL:  Start by intentionally reminding yourself of the greatness of God.  In other words, boast about God to yourself.  Praise Him for his love and care for you. Praise Him for his power and wisdom and ability to provide everything you need.  The Psalms offer great reminders of his power, love and care.  Psalm 145 is a great place to start.

2. EXALT:  After you have spent time “boasting” about God, take a few moments to “lift” Him up as King of your life.  Declare that you want to live each moment remembering that He is King and that you want to do His will in your life just as it is done in Heaven.  Offer your body and every part of your life to him to do his will.

You’ll be amazed at how much practical help exalting and extolling will provide.

Building and Sustaining Joy and Hope

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.   John 14:1-3  NIV

   Sometimes the struggles of this world are all too real and the joy of our future home in Heaven does not seem real enough.   Problems in this life can feel big  and insurmountable, while the pleasures of the next life can seem distant and almost nonexistent.   It becomes very easy to complain when this life is not going the way we want it to go. 

   Jesus knows our struggle is real.  That’s why He spoke the words above.  There really will be a day when we will be physically with him.  We will be amazed at his glory and ride high on the eternal bandwagon of his victory.  We will never again feel pain or doubt or confusion.

   One of the best ways to be inspired with the kind of hope that gives us strength to persevere with joy is to fill our heart with the truth of God.  This is what we call meditation.  We actually meditate every day of our lives. Unfortunately, we don't always meditate on helpful ideas.  Sometimes our meditation takes the form of worry because we focus on what could go bad rather than focusing on the good that God wants to produce in us.

 This week, write down the above verses on an index card or some other piece of paper and review them for a few minutes each day.  As you do, ask God to fill you with confident hope in Christ’s return and to help you remember that Jesus is looking forward to taking you to where He is.

Do You Believe Christ's Life Can Flow Through You?

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.   Romans 6:8  NIV

“I am convinced that the majority of Christian people are living on a plane far below what our Master planned for them.”   -  Jonathan Goforth, 1859-1936, missionary to  China.

  

   Ask yourself:  Do I truly believe that I can experience the life of Christ flowing through me?  As Jonathan Goforth observed  a century ago, the majority of Christian people are not enjoying the fullness of Christ that God has promised  to give them.  God wants to fill us with Christ’s life, but we don’t experience it.  Why?

   

   The first obstacle that keeps us from experiencing Christ's life flowing through us is that we simply don’t believe that his life can flow through us.  We let our knowledge of our weaknesses and our experience of our failures blind us to the potential we have in Christ. 

    How can we overcome this obstacle?  The place to start is to exercise our trust in God to keep his promise to fill us with Christ’s life.  Like a muscle, the more we exercise our trust, the stronger it becomes.  It’s more simple than we might think.  A simple way to exercise your trust is to continually offer a simple prayer to God in which you invite God to fill you with Christ’s life and believe that He WILL answer that prayer.   If you pray this prayer daily, even several times a day, and trust God to keep his promise, you will begin to notice a difference in your experience of Christ.   The prayer below is an example of a prayer you can use to invite God to fill you with Christ’s life through the Holy Spirit.  Write it down and then pray it at the beginning of each day this week.  Even better, carry it with you and pray it several times a day so you aware of God’s work in you.

   “Father, I give every part of myself to you today - my thoughts, my words and my actions.  I want Christ’s life to flow through every part of me in everything I do.  Please fill me with Christ’s life today and every day so that I can do your will on earth just as it is done in Heaven.  Thank you for keeping your promise to do this.”

What If Jesus Didn't Rescue You?

Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.      James 5:20  NIV

   When we think about the Jesus saving us from our sins, we usually think about the sins from our past.  What about the future?  What path were you on when Jesus saved you?  What would your life be like today if Jesus had not rescued you and changed the direction of your life?  When we think about these questions, we begin to see that part of Jesus’ saving work is to protect us from sins we may have committed if we had not come to know him.

   This week, set aside some time to do two activities with God.

1. Answer the question above:  “What would your life be like today if Jesus had not rescued you and changed the direction of your life?”  As you consider what could have happened, thank God for changing the direction of your life so it didn’t happen.

2. There is likely someone you know that is headed down a path that will be very destructive to them if their direction does not change.  Take some time to pray for them to be rescued by Jesus so that their direction is changed and they begin to travel on the path of God’s life.

Learning to Live with Christ Little by Little

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.      Ephesians 3:16-17  NIV

   The goal of the Christian life is to learn to live with Christ in everything we do.  We can’t do this on our own, so the Holy Spirit empowers us to do this.  As He does, we are  filled more and more with the life of Christ.  Through the Spirit, we can learn to live in a fuller and fuller partnership with Jesus, so that His good life flows through us in ways that we can hardly imagine.

Sometimes we have big breakthroughs or crisis experiences on this journey, but mostly we learn to live with Christ little by little.  Our experience of this depends on two things.  First, we need a correct understanding of Jesus.  We need to know that Jesus is always present in us and  trust that He is always ready to share His good and beautiful life with us.  Second, we need to take small steps to become more and more aware of His presence in us. 

   This second part is what these SPAs are all about.  Each of these activities is designed to make us more aware of Christ in us.  Ask yourself two questions:

   1.  What are two simple and practical ways you can remind yourself each day this week that Jesus is in you and wants to share His life with you?  

   2.  What simple and short prayer can you pray each time you are reminded of Christ that will invite Christ to share His life with you?

When Are You Aware of God's Presence?

Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence?   Psalm 139:7  NIV

Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being.    Acts 17:27-28  NIV

   Scripture is clear that God is present everywhere.  Wherever we go, we are in his presence.  The issue is not whether he is there, the issue is whether or not we are aware of him and acknowledge him.  If we want to experience God’s presence, our awareness and acknowledgement of him needs to increase. 

   Sometimes giving thought to a few questions and planning a simple action step can help us take big steps in living with a greater awareness of God.  This week, set aside some time to consider these three questions.  It might be helpful to write down your answers.

1.  When is it easiest for you to be aware of God’s presence?  It could be in a worship service or when you are in nature or at some other time.

     

2.  When would you like to be more aware of God’s presence?  This could be when you are at work or when you are with your family or some other time.

    

3.  What are two steps you can take to remind yourself of God’s presence at the time you answered for the last question?  This is not a difficult question.  Keep your answer simple.

Enjoy Doing as Much Good as You Can!

 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.    Acts 10:37-38   NIV

   When we think about living like Jesus, we often get sidetracked into thinking about what we should not do. We end up putting a whole lot of energy into not being mean or impatient or dishonest or other actions we know are wrong.  This is a sly trick of our enemy.  He knows that if we spend our time thinking about the bad we don’t want to do, we won’t accomplish much of the good we do want to do. If we spend  all of our energy  trying not to do evil, we won’t experience God’s power to do good.    

    If you want to be like Jesus, make it your simple goal to go “around  doing good”  as much as possible.  Ask God to flow his healing and life giving love through you to others as you go through your day.  This week, start each day with this simple, centering prayer.

           “Father in Heaven, I give you all of me today.  I want to do as much good as possible.  Please flow your goodness through every part of me today so that others can know your healing life.”

Wisdom that Overcomes Anxiety

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are WISE will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.              Daniel 12:2-3   NIV

A WISE man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.        Proverbs 14:16   NIV

    Wisdom starts with honoring God as God.  Wise people are fully aware that God is God and they are not, that God is in control, not them.   A lack of wisdom is the major contributor to both anger and anxiety because these stem from foolishly thinking we can control the circumstances of life.  We stress out and blow up when things seem out of our control because we are not trusting the One who is in control.  Anger and anxiety inevitably lead to regretful decisions.

   

  Daniel is a testament to powerful, yet foolish world leaders who  tried to gain and maintain as much control as possible.  They gained much for a while, but in the end, they lost it all.  In contrast, the end of Daniel speaks of the wise who inherit everlasting life.  They may not have had much along the way, but in the end, they gain everything.

    The beginning of the path of wisdom is learning to acknowledge the sovereign power and gracious love of God each and EVERY DAY.  As Proverbs says, “In all your ways acknowledge him and  he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:6).  This instruction is parallel to the meaning of “hallowed” in the first line of the Lord’s Prayer.  Jesus teaches us to start every day by acknowledging that God is above and beyond everyone and everything else. This week, begin each day by slowly praying the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), especially paying attention to the first line, “Father in Heaven, HALLOWED be your name.”  The rest of the prayer is about living wisely, in harmony with the God of the universe.   

Surprised by Temptation

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.      Ephesians 6:12   NIV

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’    

Matthew 6:13  NIV

   We make four big mistakes when we face temptations and trials in life.

       1.  We are surprised by them.

       2.  We underestimate our enemy.

       3.  We fail to see that our temptation or trial is part of a bigger battle.

       4.  We turn to God last instead of first.

   

   Scripture makes it very clear that the struggle we have in this life is not just about flesh and blood.  We are in the middle of a spiritual battle between the forces of God and the forces of evil. This is why Jesus taught us to pray that we would not be led into temptation and that our Heavenly Father would deliver us from the evil.

   This does not mean we need to look for the devil behind every bush.  It does mean, though, that we need to expect difficult times and be prepared to persevere in the fight.  If we expect life to be hard, then it is much easier to keep a clear head and trust God and do his will in the face of difficulty.

   This week, pray through the Lord’s prayer at the beginning of each day and make sure you are aware of the last sentence of the prayer as you pray it.  Ask your Heavenly Father to lead you away from temptation and to protect you from the schemes of your enemy who desperately wants to devour you.

The Restoring Power of Silence

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.    Isaiah 30:15  NIV

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.     Psalm 46:10-11   NIV

   We battle restlessness.  It’s a common human condition.  Even when we are quiet, our minds may be racing with countless thoughts or filled with worries. This is why the early church father Augustine wrote, “O God you have made our hearts and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

   The best way to overcome restlessness and anxiety is to be still in God’s presence.  It’s excruciating for some of us to do this, but it is needed.  How can we do this? 

   Start easy by setting aside 3 to 5 minutes per day to be quiet in God’s presence in a place with no distractions.  It might be in your car before you go into work or in your house before anyone else is awake or somewhere outside.  Once you are in a distraction free place, quietly thank God that HE IS with you.  Affirm his power to work out all things for your good no matter what happens in life.  Affirm your trust in God to give you everything you need to handle whatever comes your way. Surrender yourself completely to God’s love and wisdom and surrender any anxiety you have to him, whether it’s about that day or another day in the future.   It may feel like a battle sometimes, but it is always worth it.

Profitable Pondering

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”     Hebrews 12:3  NIV

   

    Consider.  Ponder.  Reflect.  Contemplate.  We don’t do much of these and I believe that’s just the way the devil likes it.  The less we think about what we do, the more likely it is that we will get stuck in some difficult and discouraging ruts.

    We should expect difficulty because Jesus faced strong opposition in his pursuit of living to please the Father in a broken and selfish world.  For sure, we will get wonderful tastes of kingdom life while we live on this planet.  We will enjoy samples of what it will be like to live in God’s presence forever.  The more we learn to trust God, the greater our experience will be, even in the middle of this broken world. 

    But it is this broken world that can discourage us and derail us.  It can cause us to “grow weary and lose heart.”  Our best defense against this is to take time to ponder Christ’s life.  He went through persecution and loneliness and dealt with stubborn disciples because the eternal gain was worth the struggle.  This week, set aside some quiet time to ponder what Christ went through for you.   Renew your belief that these battles against sin and suffering are worth fighting and that he wants to give you his strength to fight them.

Centering Prayer and the Priceless Treasure of God's Kingdom

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.    Matthew 13:45-46 NIV

 

 

It's been said that undivided attention may be the world's scarcest resource. One thing for sure is that a lack of focused attention hinders our walk with God.  This weekly "SPA" is all about practices you can use to increase the attention you give to God, which in turn helps you trust him, which in turn helps you to experience the good life he offers us. Even better, the more we experience God's goodness, the more it flows through us to others so they can trust his goodness, too.

There are all kinds of practices, some well known and some less known. One practice is called "centering prayer". A "centering prayer" is a brief prayer we pray often, with sincerity, that helps us reconnect with God and his great goodness. Sometimes it helps to close your eyes or breathe deeply while you pray this prayer. This week, try using this "centering prayer" several times a day to help you remember the priceless value of God's Kingdom and increase your desire to seek his kingdom first. You can write it on an index card to carry it with you while you learn it.

 

"Father, you are the only good and great King. Your kingdom is better than anything this world has to offer. Please open my eyes to see more of the beauty and greatness of your kingdom and give me strength to seek your kingdom above everything else today."

Gaining the Treasures of Wisdom, Insight and Understanding

Your commands make me wiser than my enemies , for they are ever with me.  I have more insight than all my teachers for I meditate on your statutes.  I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.  
Psalm 119:98-100  NIV

   How much do you value wisdom, insight and understanding? They are among the richest treasures of this world because they empower us to fully enjoy life.  Unfortunately, they are highly undervalued by most people.  We tend to put much more energy into gaining the treasures of wealth and popularity, which provide far less help than we think for truly enjoying life.

   Wisdom, insight and understanding are not instant downloads.  They are planted in us as we meditate on God’s truth and they grow in us as we apply God’s truth in daily life.

   This week, practice this meditation and application process by taking these steps.

    1. Choose a command from Scripture.

    2. Write it on an index card, a piece of paper or type it as a 
        reminder in your phone.
    3. Review it and think about it several times a day.
    4. Ask God for opportunities to put them into practice.

For starters, I recommend Matthew 5:44; Philippians 2:3-4 or James 1:19-20.