A Time for Everything

"There is a given time for everything and a time for everything happening under Heaven. A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing. He made everything fitting in its time." - Ecclesiastes 3:1,4,11

Do you notice that we spend our entire lives waiting for something? When we're young, we can't wait to grow up, when we're single, we want to get married, when we're working, we want the promotion and to get rich. Even when we're at work, we can't wait to leave, and pregnant women can't wait to give birth. I think it was John Lennon that said that life is what happens when we're busy making plans. Most of the time we're always waiting for something better than what we have now but instead, we should try to take a deep breathe and enjoy where we are right now. As the verse says, God has set everything in its own time. If we're crying now, we will be laughing in a little bit and if we're happy now, trails will be around the corner. This is the nature of our lives and before we know it, it will almost be over and we need took the time to enjoy it because we were always waiting for something else. Thank God for the day you had today, for the friends and family you laughed with, for keeping you safe for another day. And if today has been trying for you, thank God because He has set better days ahead of you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, thank You for what You have given me today. Thank You for the joy You have brought me and give me strength for the trails that lie ahead. Help me to trust in You through the good and the bad. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Priorities, Priorities

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." - Deuteronomy 6:4-5

We wake up in the morning, brush our teeth, take a shower, eat breakfast, go to work/ school, eat lunch, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, talk on the phone, surf the internet, go to bed. Does this sound like your typical day? What else do you fill it up with? If you have a boyfriend/ girlfriend, I'm sure you spend a lot of the day thinking about them, or talking to them. If you have a child, a lot of your time is spent tending to them, and if you go to school or are a workaholic, most of your time is spent working. You spend most of your time doing these things because they are your priorities - you have made a conscious decision to organize your time in this way according to the things you care the most about. Now, if your day has 24 hours and you filled it up with these things, how much did you give to God today?

Many of us want God to give, give, give to us, and answer our prayers immediately but a lot of times, what you get back from God is in direct proportion to what space He occupies in your life. Honestly, think about where you have God in your life right now, would you want Him to give you the same amount of importance you currently give Him? He does give you so many things because He is merciful, but this verse in Deuteronomy tells you EXACTLY how it needs to be - you need to love God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL of your strength. Anything less is not good enough at all! This means that He, and only He, must occupy the first place in your life. Not your own life, not your significant other, not your family, not your job, because He is the one that gave you all these things and He can take them away. Remember that Jesus had said to only fix your eyes upon God and all else will be taken care of for you. If you decide to make Him first in your life, then as soon as you open your eyes in the morning, your first thought should be to give Him thanks for the new day. In all you do, wherever you go, you have Him in mind, constantly shooting up mini prayers throughout the day.

Make God first in your life and He will help you with all your other priorities.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, help me to love You with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength. You made me and deserve the most and the best of me each day. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Spend The Time

"When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father who sees what is kept secret will reward you." - Matthew 6:6

My favorite part of the day is the time I spend with God. I used to think I never had time to do anything since I'm so tired by the time I get home from work, but lately I find that I am tired, tired of being away from Him. Lately, I find that I get so hungry for His presence. When I get home, I go into my room and spend time praising Him, thanking Him, and talking to Him…and this fills me more than you could ever imagine. This is time with my loving God. My God who loves me and has blessed me so much! If you want to experience this love and this closeness, you have to do as Jesus says - go into your room alone and be with your Father. How else can you get to know someone if you don't dedicate the time and how dare you ask anything of Him if you're not willing to be His true friend? We never do favors for strangers do we? If you want God to work in your life and help your finances, your marriage, your relationship, your health, your job, SPEND THE TIME!!

Today's Prayer:
Lord, help me to make time and room for You. Help me to see that without You, I am nothing and without You, I could never accomplish anything. Please put in me the desire to always, always spend time with You so that You can work in me. In Your Name we pray, Amen.