Sleep is important

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). God blesses his sons with (and in) sleep. It’s a time to restore and heal; to relinquish worry and stress; to, quite literally, leave everything to him. We should appreciate it fully, be thankful for it, accept it wholeheartedly. We’ve all felt the results when we don’t: racing hearts; pounding heads; clouded thoughts; a lack of productivity, creativity, patience; a compromised resistance to sin. We are never the husbands, fathers, friends, bosses, employees we must be when we sacrifice sleep. Okay, so what do we do? Fight for sleep. The struggle is hard but worthy. Minimizing it is neither responsible nor manly. We’re designed for sleep.

Choose each day

We need God’s grace, and we want to be reminded that we can choose to set our mind on God or we can choose to set our mind on self. If we awaken and allow our thoughts to be consumed by self or with our circumstances, what will we feel in the end? Discouraged! By contrast, if we choose to pray and seek the Lord instead, there can be peace, hope, and renewal. Remember, you can choose each day whom you will serve. And though it will take a moment-by-moment reorienting of your mind throughout your day, this choice begins first thing in the morning.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .”
Joshua 24:15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jos.24.15.NIV

Start the day with God

It seems that most people usually spend a few minutes gathering their thoughts for the day before they get out of bed in the morning. In these moments it can be a temptation to choose to think first about our day, our schedule, what we need to do, who needs to be where, etc. Before we know it, we can fall prey to the lies of the enemy and begin dreading our day or feeling overwhelmed by it, and then try to tackle it as soon as our feet hit the floor.

We would begin by thanking the Lord for the gift of a new day and acknowledge that He alone is sovereign, that He alone is in control—not us. And then by His grace we would put aside our thoughts, our concerns, and our agendas and draw near to God by spending time in His Word and in prayer. No matter how much we think about our day or our agenda, the reality is that the day belongs to the Lord. If we start each day intentionally acknowledging this and acknowledging who we are in Christ, this practice could easily transform how we think about and live out the rest of the moments in the day. 

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Romans 8:14 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.8.14.NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gal.5.22-23.NIV

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:2 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.2.NIV

Pray to God as father

Fatherhood means access. In other words, I’m invited. It also means acceptance—I’m welcomed. Furthermore, it means attention—I’m heard. Do you see how praying in the context of the child–Father relationship puts the whole thing on a different footing? 

Notice that there are no singular personal pronouns in the prayer. It’s all ‘our’, ‘we’ and ‘us’. Many of us were brought up with a very individualistic view of faith and Scripture. It was all about me—that Jesus died for me, God has forgiven me, I’m bound for heaven, etc. When we read Scripture in the light of community, we realize that most of it is addressed to us corporately. Obviously that doesn’t take away from the personal, because the corporate is made up of individuals, but it should affect the way we believe, live and pray. 

Choose each day

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .”
Joshua 24:15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jos.24.15.NIV

We have a choice to make every day, every morning when we wake up. Will it be God or will it be self?

It is amazing how quickly we can make ourselves, our schedules, or our to-do lists first in our thoughts and priorities. How often do we think of ourselves first and then maybe later at some point give a passing thought to God whom we proclaim as Lord and Savior?

Live life we deserve?

We often live the life we feel we deserve, ignoring the fact that through God’s grace… we deserve so much more. God felt your life was worth dying for... are you living in accordance with that sacrifice?
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.22.NIV

The Lord's Prayer..,.index prayer

The point of the index is to act as a pointer to the substance.  That’s exactly what index praying was all about. The rabbis would provide the points for prayer, like an index, and the people would fill in the substance—their own prayers. This is the method Jesus was teaching in this prayer. Can you now see the Lords Prayer is like that? And what an index of titles! 
1. Worshiping the Father 
2. God’s kingdom 
3. God’s will/guidance 
4. Our daily needs 
5. Forgiveness/relationships 
6. Spiritual warfare 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John 5:14‭-‬15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.5.14-15.NIV

Surely I must have been praying according to his will if I was praying the prayer he gave. 

3D praying

Prayer can be showy. You've probably been in prayer gatherings where someone prays a long prayer using flowery language. Prayer is not entertainment; it's a time of fellowship with God. I know you can pray anywhere but there is something about having a place where we pray regularly. As I grew in my new-found zeal for prayer I began to find myself really looking forward to my prayer times sensing I was really meeting with the Father. The room in which I prayed became synonymous with those times and I would go to the room expectant that I was going to meet with God. The result was that I approached my personal prayer times with faith. Praying for a long time, using many words or repetition doesn’t mean we are more likely to get God’s attention. I really don’t know why we feel that God will hear us more clearly like that. This Scripture makes it clear that it’s not about words, length or repetition, because God knows anyway. It’s about quality—the right heart attitude, concentrating on what we’re doing, trying to live a life that doesn’t contradict our prayer life—not quantity.  Let me explain 3D praying to you. The three Ds stand for Desire, Discipline and Delight. First, and you cannot bypass this starting point, there needs to be Desire. Desire to be a person of prayer. Without that desire, nothing will ever change. You can’t force the desire, but you can ask God to plant that in you by his Spirit.  Second, it requires Discipline. Actually, you could double the D and make it daily discipline. This is the hard part, as you’ve probably already discovered. But I want to assure you that as you face the discipline it gets a lot easier; you’ll find the third D eases it considerably.  The third D is Delight. Yes, truly prayer has become a delight for me: spending time with the Father, opening up my life with its ups and downs, hearing what he has to say to me. What’s not to like! That means that I can look forward to praying; making my way towards the place where I usually pray I’m actually expectant that I’ll meet God during that time. What a change! It’s delightful. 

Too busy not to pray

It was the great Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther who said: I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.

I love the irony in that quote. Usually, the first thing to nix from the agenda when we’re short on time is prayer. 

It’s the easiest thing to hit the “Esc” tab on. Usually, the repercussions aren’t immediately evident. 

But slowly time without Jesus leaves us drained. It starts chipping away at our souls. 

I don’t know how long exactly you and I need to spend with him. But we do need to spend enough time to be filled with the Living Water before we can pour out. 

Jesus tells Martha that her sister did the one thing that is needed.

Maybe that can be our prayer this morning. A prayer from Psalm 27: 4

One thing I ask of the Lord. This is what I seek. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and behold Him in His temple.

It’s only when we fix our eyes upon Jesus that we can value ourselves the way He values us.

Only then can we rest and not strive. Only then can all our work be as worship unto Him. Whether we work out of swanky corporate offices or if we are scrubbing poop stains off a baby’s onesie, all our work can be worship when our worth is rooted in Jesus.

Lean In

Father God, remind me today that only one thing is needed - and His name is Jesus. Help me to pursue Him. Help me love Him more completely. But, first, help me bask in His lavish, extravagant for me. My soul finds rest in God alone. In Jesus name, Amen

Multi tasking not the way forward

Yesterday, we looked at how being a slave to busyness can sap us of energy and restfulness. But we’re not merely busy. We’re also hopelessly distracted. 

We’re a generation that’s so plugged into our gadgets that we wander around in a state of “device delirium” – a state of being where everything and everyone else is perceived through a haze of sorts. 

A 2016 New York Times article says that the average Facebook user spends 1 hour a day on social media. One hour a day of the time we’re awake is a whopping 1/16th of our waking hours. 

It’s not just sucking up our time, social media is actually causing us to question our worth. It’s reinforcing that we matter only when others say we do. 

The culture tells us we don’t really count till we wear as many hats as possible and wear ourselves down in the process. 

We think that multitasking is the modus operandi today. But consider Ephesians where it says God has prepared good works in advance for us to do. He doesn’t want us to put our finger in every possible pie. He wants us to be intentional about following Him in the work He has appointed and prepared for us to do. In that calling, we find purpose and freedom. 

Jesus doesn’t place demands on us. He comes alongside us. All He wants is for us to abide in Him. 

Lean In

Father, let me not function blindly under the false assumption that I have to multitask and be all things to all people in order to matter. Help me quieten my heart so I can hear Your voice saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Help me thrive in the fullness of life You have for me. Help me not to confuse that with a full life. Amen

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-2-10

Too busy?

but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:42 NIV
https://luke.bible/luke-10-42

We seem to derive our value from asserting that we’re just so much busier than the next person. Our over packed, overwhelmed schedules actually give us a sense of pride, even a sense of identity.

When the fast food chain Chick Fil A decided that it would stay closed on Sundays, everyone was shocked. Sunday was the day that fast food restaurants made the most money.
Today, the company generates more revenue per restaurant than any other fast-food chain in the US, and it's only open six days a week. God honors us when we honor Him with our time.

If you and I are too busy for prayer, then we are simply too busy. If we are too busy to read the Bible, then we are simply too busy. Maybe you and I should reorder our priorities so we make time for the things that are important and not merely what’s urgent.

Help me realize that being too busy to spend time with You actually depletes me and drains me of life and energy. Help me, Father, to always prioritize time with you. Amen

Not in our own strength

Jesus responds to Martha’s little outburst with gentle, measured, wise words. 

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,

Luke 10:41 NIV

https://luke.bible/luke-10-41

Let’s note firstly what Jesus doesn’t say. He doesn’t dismiss Martha’s work as being wrong. Hospitality is important. Jesus and his disciples had just been on a long trip. They needed to be fed – and Martha was doing just that.

To all those “get it done” people who thrive on checking off their to-do lists, God loves you and loves your work ethic. He wants you to work hard and do whatever you do with excellence and for His glory. It’s only when we become consumed with “doing it all” and want all the credit that God becomes a useful add-on rather than the core of our lives.

When Martha asks him, “Lord don’t you care?” Jesus doesn’t respond by saying, “Of course I do. Mary, go help your sister out.”

Instead, in essence, Jesus responds by saying, “Come to me; sit at my feet.”

When we doubt whether He cares, the solution is very simple: go to Him. Spend time with Him. Shut out everything else and turn your eyes upon Jesus. He wants to carry our burdens for us. The invitation is always open. 

Lean In

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the open door of prayer always set before me. Thank You for the invitation to lay my burdens at Your feet. Help me to always remember and value that invitation. I don’t have to do this on my own. What a relief! What a friend we have in Jesus! Amen

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28‭-‬30 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.11.28-30.NIV