Learning To Put God First In My Life

In review of Matthew 6:33 it says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Bottom Line:

First, be concerned about his kingdom and what he wants, then he will provide you with all of your other needs.

What this means to me:

I am to be concerned with and even desire what God wants accomplished (his Kingdom, his desires.) If I do, he promises to take care of all of my other needs. Rick Warren mentioned that he was told by one of the best known and successful business leaders of Southern California that, “you need to tell people the best time to start tithing is when they’re in debt. That’s when they need the most help.” This rings true. Whatever I want God to bless in my life, I do so by putting him first in that area. Whatever I put God first in, is what he will bless. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV). I need to decide that I’m going to tithe and that I’m going to save, even if it means living on less so that I can accomplish both. Truth is, I can live on any amount I have to. It is a choice. Nobody made buy and the kind of car I drive, live in the kind of house I have, or pay the kinds of bill I pay. In reality, God wants me to give, and he wants me to save. If you tithe 10 percent and save 10 percent, that means you live on 80 percent of your income. A friend of mine, actually recommends a 10/10/10/70 plan, 10 percent giving, 10 percent saving, 10 percent investing and then living on 70 percent. Making an adjustment like this will mean a big change for myself and my wife. It means making sacrifices and giving up some things (like eating out.). There are enormous payoffs as God will always honor the areas in which I put him first. The Bible says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives” (Deuteronomy 14:23 LB). In all I do, I need to be put God first. This means that as I’m thinking through the things I spend my money on, I need to consider those things I’m most attached. These things may be competing with God in my life. In addition, having a savings provides a cushion, and it’s God’s way of helping us deal with the unplanned expenses that will come and for a way for us to get larger things we need without going into debt to get them. Investing is important because if allows me to plan for my future when I won’t have a full time income.

How To Help Strengthen A Friends’ Faith

In review of Psalm 27:13 it says, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”

Bottom Line:

Don’t give up hope, truly believe that you will live to see the goodness of the Lord, in your life.

What this means to me:

In this life I can keep on going, because I truly believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord as he works in my life. Major crises have the ability to shake my faith. However, it is my faith and my trust in Christ that will keep me going and get me through it.  David, after suffering great loss, including the loss of a child, wrote in Psalm 27:13, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (NASB). In other words he said that he would have given up if he hadn’t believed in the goodness of God. Even in those situations where life stinks and it seems dark, I’ll need to believe that God is a good God. Even when everything is going wrong in your life, I can still believe in the goodness of God, and with this I can pull through. I need to know and believe that God’s plan for my life is greater than the problem I’m currently going through. Then, I can share my faith in God’s goodness with friends when they are going through a crisis. Friends strengthen their friends’ faith. (I have a lot that I can share with others, especially given my most illness and how God has helped to heal me.) The Bible explains that there is only one place to strengthen my faith. Faith comes from knowing the Word of God. If I know the Bible well, I’m going to have great faith. If I know this book only a little, I’m going to have a little faith. If I don’t know this book at all, then my faith will not be there. The Bible there has more than 7,000 promises made. However it is difficult to to claim them if I don’t know them. In order to increase my faith and to able to handle the rogue winds of life, I’ve got to know the Bible through study, meditation, and memorization. My routine for getting to know God’s word better is to spend some time each weekday morning studying scripture. I use the Daily Hope Devotional from Rick Warren (http://rickwarren.org/devotional) as a spring board for verses to review for the day. I then use biblegateway.com to look up the passage in several different translations. Using the translations, I then try to summarize the overall meaning I find in the different versions/presentations of the word to get the general idea. With this, I then formulate a bottom line (or what does this say), and then start my journalling (recording) with “what this means to me.”  I’ll then use Rick’s commentary to help further delve into the passage and make an application for my life.

Learning To Open the Eyes of My Heart

In review of Ephesians 1:18 it says, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.”

Bottom Line:

Be open enough to see his light and gain a deeper insight into the hope he has called us to, a rich and glorious inheritance.

What this means to me:

Paul prays that I can be open enough to see God’s light and that this will make my heart enlightened, giving me a deeper insight into the confident hope he has called me to. This hope is the richness of the wonderful blessings he promises to his people. It’s interesting how quickly I can forget. God does something good in my life, he answers a prayer, he bails me out, he helps me with a miracle; then the next time a problem comes along, I can forget that God’s miracle ever happened. Its short-term memory. When this happens, I may not remember the past blessings, and begin fearing the future. Learning to have spiritual vision is absolutely essential to my future success, stress level, stability, and strength. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision ... the people perish” (AMP). Without clear vision, hope can be easily lost. So when I find myself not seeing clearly, it may be pointing to the fact that I’ve lost my vision, and with it my hope. The key to making it through a struggle in life, no matter how long it lasts, is hope. This doesn’t come out of the sky; it comes from God’s vision. Ephesians 1:18 says, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people” (NIV). In this verse he’s talking about seeing with spiritual eyes and having spiritual vision. Hope comes from seeing life from God’s eternal perspective. If want God to work in my life, I need to ask him to open the eyes of my heart and to give me his vision for my life. Most recently God has provided tremendous healing and wonderful friends and family who have prayed and served me. This is something I hope to never forget. Today, I sense God telling me that I need to share my life and what I’m learning about walking with him with others. I feel that as I do this, that God will bless me greatly while I bless others.

Jesus Comes to Me When I Face Storms

In review of Mark 6:48b it says, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.”

Bottom Line:

Jesus came to them in their time of need, walking on the water to get there.

What this means to me:

Jesus sees when I’m having difficult situations and he will come to me when I need him, even if he has to walk on the water to get there. In Mark 6, Jesus went off by himself to pray and sent the disciples ahead of him to Bethsaida. It wasn’t a long trip by boat, but they were blown off course by a storm, and when Jesus saw them struggling against the wind in the middle of the lake, he came to their aid. Like the disciples, storms and situations can blow me off course as well. Feeling like I should be there by now, I can lose hope in getting to my original destination. All I want to do is get back to safety. This passage in Mark 6:48b says, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water” (NLT). Interestingly he didn’t tell the disciples to come to him. He knew they couldn’t get to him. So He went to them. When I’m at a point of desperation, Jesus comes to me. Jesus doesn’t just stand on the shore and shout instructions. When I’m facing in a storm, I don’t need advice. What I need is a miracle! I need somebody to show up, and this is what Jesus did. He intervened in the disciples’ storm. This is the Gospel; that God doesn’t stand on the shoreline telling me what to do. He comes out and meets me in my pain, fear, depression, storm, and discouragement. He comes to me. What a God! Whenever I get that feeling of abandonment, I only need to remember I’m not.  The Bible says in John 14:18, “I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm — I will come to you” (LB). This is something I can count on it! I can think of several people in my life who need God to intervene in their situations. I will pray for them to realize that God has come to them in their storm. He will guide, help and comfort them if they allow him in.

Friends Need Me To Share Their Pain

In review of Romans 12:15 it says, “Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down.”

Bottom Line:

Be happy with those who are happy, share their tears when they’re down (hurt with them).

What this means to me:

I am to be close enough to others that I can share in their happiness and also in their sadness (hurt with them). Rick Warren says “the interesting thing about pain and joy is that whenever you share a joy, it gets doubled. But it’s the opposite with pain. When I share a pain, it’s halved.” Therefor when friends are going through a crisis, they need me to help carry the load and lessen the pain. What I’m learning regarding sharing pain with my friends is that is not completely about sympathy. Sympathy says, “I’m sorry you hurt.” People don’t need my sympathy. What they need is my empathy. Empathy says, “I hurt with you.” Sympathy stands at a distance. Empathy draws close. The ultimate form of love is compassion. Compassion says, “I’ll do anything I can to stop your hurt.” In the Bible, I see that Jesus was repeatedly moved with compassion. He was willing to do whatever he could to stop others’ hurt, including going to the cross. He was willing to die to stop my hurt. That’s compassion. The Bible says in Romans 12:15, “Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down” (MSG). That means cry with them. Weep with those who weep. What do friends do? They show up. They share the pain, and they shut up. They don’t give pious platitudes. They don’t give advice. They don’t try to talk a friend out of his pain. They don’t say, “It’s going to be OK.” They just say, “We’re going to sit here with you. We’re going to be here for you. We’re going to hurt with you.” Real friends show up, and they hurt with you. Given this, Prayer is always a first thing, but after that, I think the best time to not say anything else but to be present is when you really don’t know what to do or to say.

Real Friends Show Up in a Crisis

In review of Job 6:14 it says, “A friend should treat a troubled person kindly, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.”

Bottom Line:

In trouble you need loyal friends who will stand by your side.

What this means to me:

I need loyal friends in my life, ones who can be there for me when trouble comes. Real friends show up in a crisis. Real friends will walk into life when everybody else walks out. I can have a lot of acquaintances, but the key is who are the friends that will show up when a crisis occurs? This verse today also reminds me that even when people turn their back on God, they still deserve to have friends, its not just my Christian friends. Job 6:14 says, “A friend should treat a troubled person kindly, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty” (GW). The first thing everybody needs in a crisis is other people. A support group; some mature Christian brothers and sisters who will love, care, comfort, encourage, support, help meet your needs, and who will provide counsel. Small groups in my congregation help with this. It’s like building a safety network in your life so when the rogue winds come, there are some genuine friends who will be there. While it’s important to pray first, I can often be in stress and shock that I might not even know what to pray for. It’s important to have others who can pray for me. Often I can be in stress and shock and not even know what to pray for, so I need others around me who can say, “We’ll pray for you. We’ll believe for you. We’ll be there for you.” I was able to experience this first hand In my most recent illness. While in recovery I had many who visited and prayed for me. It was great to see the outpouring of concern others had for me. To help with a close set of friends, I have just started meeting with some guys so that we can be there for each other, hold each other accountable and help ourselves grow. I’m looking forward to this and what God will do for each of us through this interaction.

Five Things To Do in the Middle of the Storm

In review of Matthew 14:30 it says, “But when [Peter] saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he shouted.”

Bottom Line:

Like Peter, we get nervous and frightened when we focus on our situation and what we can’t control.

What this means to me:

Like Peter, when I see or notice that things that are up against me, I become scared and get a sinking feeling. When this happens, I ultimately end up shouting out for God to save me. But the great thing to remember is that when I go through a storm, God will never be far away or uninvolved. He is “I Am,” and he is working in my life for my good. However, he has some things he wants me to do. He wants me to:

. To have courage, because Jesus is with me. I don’t need to argue with a fear. I just tell it where to go. Tell it to go talk to Jesus.

. To take a risk in faith. Never ask God to bless what I’m doing. Rather, do what God is blessing. Ask him what he wants me to do, and then be willing to get out of the boat in an instant to do it.

. Stay focused on Jesus. The moment I take my eyes off the Lord, I’ll go under. Matthew 14:30 says, “But when [Peter] saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he shouted” (NIV). When I focus on the wind and the waves, “my circumstances”, just like Peter, I’ll sink. If I look at the world, I’ll be distressed; if I look within, I’ll be depressed; if I look at Christ, I’ll be at rest.

. Don’t doubt. I don’t need great faith to make it through the storm, I just need faith in the right person.

. Praise God. Even in the storm, even when I feel like I’m sinking, even when I’m scared to death; praise him all the time. Thank God in the middle of the storm.

The next time I face a storm, I’ll consider why God is letting me go through it. I’m sure He’s letting me go through it for the same reasons he sent the disciples into the storm; to communicate to me that, “I’m all you need. I can handle anything. I will come to you in the ninth hour. And I’ll come walking on the very thing that scares you the most. I’m not asking you to come to me. I’m going to come to you. Stop being afraid, and totally trust me in faith.” It is going through the storms in life where I can personally see God at work. This combined with my regular quiet time allows me to know that he’s on my side and only wants the best for me. Its important that I not let anything crowd me out from spending time with him daily.