START ON TUESDAY

When my wife and I built our home and moved in, we went through the phase that everyone goes through: the phase of now and later. We decided the things we must have now: the bed, some clothes, the toiletries, the microwave, the flipflops, the robe and my workboots. The later? Those were things like pictures on the wall, stuff on the shelves, organizing the garage, box of DVD's, etc.

But we wanted to have friends over, to celebrate family birthdays, hold our small group and have houseguests. But...there were those undone things: the boxes still on the floor, the pictures not on the wall, the towel rod in the guest bathroom. We found ourselves saying, "We can have out-of-town guests after the boxes are unpacked...after the pictures are up...after the garage is organized...after the landscaping is finished. Months later, we decided together to quit living in the "afters" and start living now. So what if the boxes were unpacked and the basement wasn't finished.? We love people more than appearances!

Have you put off joy? Maybe you find yourself saying a lot of "afters"...
...after the kids are in school, I'll start my workouts
...after the kids are on break, we'll go camping
...after the kids graduate, I'll start a small group study
...after the holidays, I'll re-start my prayer time
...after we retire, we'll go see those old friends
...after I get through this week, then I'll start next Monday.

Break the trend! Why not start on Tuesday?

Talk with God Everyday

Today I got one of those letters that made my day. The sum is this: "I had become lax in my time with God. The Bible was gathering dust. But being reminded that Jesus said, 'one thing is needful', I have recommitted to talking with God everyday--first thing in the morning. My life is back on track and I can feel the difference!"

Wow. That's what it means to grow as a follower of Christ--putting into practice what you're learning. 

For anyone who may have missed Sunday the 16th, I'll include some of the action points here on daily time with God in prayer:

TALK WITH GOD EVERYDAY

 A good place to start with personal prayer is on the pattern below. Remember each point of prayer with a different finger of your hand. Spend a few minutes on each one:

1)    Thumb – THANKFULNESS. Thank God for at least 10 things that happened yesterday and more.

2)    Forefinger – AUTHORITIES. Pray for leaders (government, pastors, employer and anyone who is an authority in your life.)

3)    Middle finger – WORLD. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122.6) and for missions around the world, especially those who are in relationship with Crosspoint.

4)    Ring finger – FAMILY. Pray for family and loved ones that they will know Jesus and those that don’t will repent.

5)    Little finger – YOU! Pray that God will root out the sin in your heart, make you the person you need to be who loves God’s Word, His people and His presence. Take time to ask God to speak to you. Wait and listen.