Monday, Jun 16, 2008

TWG - June 16, 2008

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TWG - June 16, 2008
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Exodus 26; Psalm 37:1-20; Philippians 4

Today is June 14, this is time with God, I’m Pastor Dennis - I’ve been waiting here for you. Welcome to our life transforming community. Together we are strong. As we walk though the word together we help each other grow.

A wonderful Father’s day is past. I spent most of my day with my church family. It was a great time of celebration. In the morning John showed up early! He was so excited about having worship in the Amphitheater that he couldn’t wait to show up. I too was excited… but there were those pesky clouds. We debated for about 15 minutes and then Brad showed up and justified the whole thing by saying, “after all, it is Father’s day!” That did it. cold or not, we were going to celebrate Father’s day in a special way outside! We took a step of faith and almost exactly at 10 AM, just in time for worship, the Sun came out! What a wonderful setting! We are so very blessed. After a wonderful time of worship, we headed out to Whistlers bend for a BBQ. Now there was some fun. Then it was home and after that Vivian needed help putting a bed together in her new apt, so I went over to lend a hand. Kyle, Marcia, Susan and Barb helper her move stuff in. More ministry! I put a picture of the youth at their garage sale on the blog at timewithgod.mypodcast.com. check it out.

This week’s theme verse is Matthew 6:33-34 …But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

First things first. The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is… Get coffee, read the paper, take a shower. The first thing I do when I get home is… watch the news, kick back, talk to my wife / husband / kids. The first thing I do when I get my paycheck is cash it, buy a lottery ticket, go out to eat, pay bills. The first thing I do on my day off is mow the lawn, go fishing, read a book, kick back. The first thing I do when asked to serve the Lord is run! think of reasons why I can’t do it. I wonder what would happen if we plugged in the simple formula “seek first the kingdom of God,” to our lives? Here goes: The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is read my Bible and pray! I consider Your Word more important than my own food! The first thing I do when I get home is to share with my family what God has done in my day and what He has been teaching me in His Word. The first thing I do when I get my paycheck is that I dedicate it to the Lord and write a check for my tithes and offering! The first thing I do on my day off is carry out a ministry I and my family can perform for God and His Kingdom. The first thing that I do when asked to serve the Lord is pray about it and if it is in God’s will for me I joyfully and energetically do it! Seek First the Kingdom. That’s a matter of priority. Do you want to know how God feels about this priority, look in the Old Testament to see how he asked His people to put Him first… I suggest God’s feelings have not changed much about him being the #1 priority. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might!” That was His command to them. Put God first. Have no other “gods” before Him. Here are some examples of firsts from Bible times: Give God one entire day set aside for worship, rest and ministry. Not just 2 hours on Sunday! (It’s time for the whuppin to begin! Get ready to load up on guilt… there’s more coming!) Come on! The whole day! The First Day of the week should be a day of joy, celebration and service to God. But sadly, too many of us who call ourselves Christians can’t even give God 2 hours on His Day! If there’s nothing else going on, we will show up. But just let baseball, camping, the home show… or whatever fall on that day and we are gone. No questions asked, no objections… easy call. God is NOT first and He is NOT pleased. (The Whuppin will continue until morale has increased!) How about another example: The tithe. Do you think the Israelites gave 10% to God? Yes they did. Do Christians? But there’s more. They had other offerings they were required to give! First of the flock, firstfruits, harvest time, temple tithe… someone added it up and suggested that when you figure in everything they were asked to give it was closer to 25%! Many church goers I know are lucky to give 5%! If God is first He will rate first in your financial life. And there is so much more to talk about… but I’ve run out of time and space, so today’s whuppin must come to an end. Oh… one more thing. If it feels like a whipping, it’s because you have not yet experienced the joy and pleasure that comes with pleasing God when He is number one in your life. Try it, you’ll like it!

Dear Father, it’s easy to admit that I have failed you! I want to make you my #1 priority, but so often I let my flesh and my personal desires get in the way. My way is muddied. I have let the cares of the world squeeze you out of certain areas of my life. I want my heart and my attitude to be adjusted so that I serve you first of all with joy and all my might. You first.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”-

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