below are 4 more of 7 "firsts" i am practicing to infuse my daily life - my "everyday, ordinary life".
They are "firsts" because they involve a first response to God in different areas. whereas my first response would normally go to someone/something else (namely myself), i want to discipline myself to give God the first in each of these.
with practice this has infused my life with an all the time and always sense of the presence of God.
here are the final practices...
4) Give God the 1st
consideration in your weekly schedule.
loving my wife the way she should be loved. loving and raising my daughter. gathered/corporate worship. community. looking out for the overlooked. becoming a better leader. living on mission. accomplishing The mission. loving people. serving people.
i wonder what all else God might love to see in my weekly schedule/to do list?
when i set it up each week, i'd love to give Him the 1st consideration.
i wonder what all else God might love to see in my weekly schedule/to do list?
when i set it up each week, i'd love to give Him the 1st consideration.
5) Make God the 1st supervisor or customer
for all work.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
do my work as if I’m doing it for God… He’s the recipient. we make our work sacred in this way. not because some types of work are sacred and others aren't. that's ludicrous. our work is sacred when we do whatever it is we do with God as our 1st supervisor/customer.
& i'm guessin that both our secondary supervisors and customers/clients will feel a difference!
- Col. 3:23-24
do my work as if I’m doing it for God… He’s the recipient. we make our work sacred in this way. not because some types of work are sacred and others aren't. that's ludicrous. our work is sacred when we do whatever it is we do with God as our 1st supervisor/customer.
& i'm guessin that both our secondary supervisors and customers/clients will feel a difference!
6) Give God the 1st part of every paycheck.
Just 1 more way to worship God.
it's not an obligation, it's worship.
*in fact, if it feels like an obligation i would say DON'T GIVE IT. pretty sure that's what God would say. c'mon think about it - as if God needs your money.
but giving a generous portion of my paycheck straight to God is simply a way to worship. to put Him first. to say to God that He is more important than the groceries, the gas in the car, paying the bills, etc...
how much should you give? that's the wrong question i think.
how much do you want to give? that's a better question. & give that much. give however much you truly desire to give deep down in your heart.
oh, that would be too much, you say?
i don't think so.
it's not an obligation, it's worship.
*in fact, if it feels like an obligation i would say DON'T GIVE IT. pretty sure that's what God would say. c'mon think about it - as if God needs your money.
but giving a generous portion of my paycheck straight to God is simply a way to worship. to put Him first. to say to God that He is more important than the groceries, the gas in the car, paying the bills, etc...
how much should you give? that's the wrong question i think.
how much do you want to give? that's a better question. & give that much. give however much you truly desire to give deep down in your heart.
oh, that would be too much, you say?
i don't think so.
7) Give God the joy of your creativity.
***“Let’s apologize less and create more. Let’s think of
creating for the approval of others less, and for the pleasure of God more.” - Brian McLaren
that's beautiful.
because most of the time the last approval we're seeking in our creations is God's. we care more what our boss, spouse, friend, co-worker, competitor, enemy, or person we're trying to impress might think.
*Think about when you used to create little art projects in Kindergarten and take them home to your mom. you didn't care what your classmates thought or what your teacher thought of it. you only cared what Mom thought. and Mom loved it.
that's beautiful.
because most of the time the last approval we're seeking in our creations is God's. we care more what our boss, spouse, friend, co-worker, competitor, enemy, or person we're trying to impress might think.
*Think about when you used to create little art projects in Kindergarten and take them home to your mom. you didn't care what your classmates thought or what your teacher thought of it. you only cared what Mom thought. and Mom loved it.
I want to practice with childlike abandon bringing pleasure
to the One who gave me life through my creativity. That’s worship.
who are you creating for?
who are you creating for?
“God takes pleasure in us as we take pleasure in God. God
joins us in joy, and we join in God’s joy.”
i think if we grab onto these 7 "firsts" and make them practices and slowly they become habits... and then fully natural parts of our days and weeks... our lives will look very different.
we'll be living lives infused with an all-the-time worship... lives lived in the presence of God.
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