Day One - First Love

Here we go! Are you excited? I'm not sure I am ready or excited, but I am hopeful. What could my life - what could your life - look like if God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God's Holy Word dominate our thoughts, actions, interests, etc. every day? I want to find out!!!

I could have recommended you read through the Bible this year, pledge to tithe 10% of your income, promise to pray thirty minutes a day, commit to reading this book or that book, or work harder on never missing church services (unless absolutely unavoidable) . . . I think you get the point. Remember, I have not asked you to do a food fast for hours or days. I felt led to simply ask you to consider your relationship with God and, if you find apathy, then consider a possible solution. Allow me to define Apathy, please:
By it, I mean a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Indifference. No zeal or passion. Just kinda blah.

Be honest, can you relate? I want intimacy with Christ to replace any apathy in our lives.
By that, I mean a closeness, a bond, a friendship with your heavenly Father, your Lord and Savior, and His indwelling Spirit. Studies are great; spiritual disciplines, i.e. Bible study, prayer, fasting, giving, serving, worshiping, tithing, and witnessing are both the means to and result of intimacy with Christ, thus they are all necessary. However, it is sooooo easy to do them as a ritual, routine, or requirement and not out of a heart of love.

Who, or what, is your first love? Is it really your God? I hope so, but I doubt it. Don't be insulted. I just know me, and I know the daily struggle I have to make time for Him, as well as keeping the bad stuff out, and the good stuff in.

A Fast of any kind should be about more than just abstaining. It is about setting yourself apart mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually through the sacrifice and commitment you've made. He promises that if we seek Him, He will be found. He promises that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. I gave you two words yesterday: Preparation and Pilgrimage. Let's start a journey so He can prepare us to be with Him daily and to be used of Him daily.

Isn't that what Christianity is all about?

Maybe, just maybe, this twenty-one day challenge will help you commit to moments of quiet prayer and intense focus on the Lord. Do you have a time allotted, a place picked out, and something in mind to read if this isn't enough?

At this point, I want you to put "some skin in the game." Do you have something in mind? Write down, right now, one or more things you are going to sacrifice. It might be an identified sin, or it might just be something you enjoy. I want to lay that down just like the Disciples that Jesus called. They came off of their boats, dropped their catch, and followed Him. Whatever you are dropping, maybe you need to spend some time praying for strength. Sin or not, habits and pleasures are hard to change. I promise to pray for you. You are on a spiritual pilgrimage. That is a journey. There will be highs and lows; Satan will not like this, but know that better things are ahead.

Read today Psalm 84:1-12.

You may have never come this way or this far before. It is going to be okay. You are not alone. The God who loves you more than you can imagine is calling you to a new place, a new season, a new experience with Him.

Read today Matthew 5:1-12

The first four blessed sayings portray the ideal heart condition of Kingdom Citizens; the latter five present actions resulting from this attitude of heart. Together, they emphasize being and living rather than doing so that we then respond like Christ instinctively. I will go over these in detail over time, but, today, let's begin with "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." The person who digs, investigates, and studies shall be stuffed with His presence and power. The absence of passion and zeal is an emptiness that comes from substituting in the world for God, or, as I concluded yesterday, substituting the good in place of the best.

I look forward to seeing where this journey takes us. I would love to address topics that you want to consider. If they are important to you, they will be helpful for the Body. Please, let me know.

Do not stop here. This now begins your daily devotional time. It is time to pray. Tomorrow, we will discuss the silence of prayer, not just the praying of our prayer time.

Until then,
Pastor