"Ditch the smart phone and/or computer games, Netflix, watching college or pro sports for a while. In fact, show God that you place a higher priority in getting to know His son than anything the telestial world can offer you."And then, just a few days ago, Rabbi Jonathan Cahn said:
"You've got to replace something for God.
If you're going to give time to God, that's time that you would have been doing something else. You have to sacrifice that time in front of the television. Or sacrifice that time doing that other thing so you can give it to God. Then it's worth something. You would not accept leftovers. He would not accept leftovers to build a Tent of Meeting.
You know, that is, if you wonder, what if God was that way with us, if He said, 'Well, you know, I don't have time for you now"? You're ready to worship Him and we take it for granted that He's going to be there. He doesn't have to be there. But He is there. We need to put Him the same way. We expect God to meet us at His whim, and yet, with our schedule, it revolves around us. That's not how He showed up in glory."
"One of the signs that your life is revolving around God is that you revolve your schedule around God, not the other way around. You give the best. What's a tithe -- the tithe it's not the last part, it's the first part. You give the best part of your time. The best part of your devotion. The best part of your attention. Full attention!"
"We are so plugged in to the world, that it's hard to be plugged in to God. We have to put things aside."
"God required the [ancient Israelites'] tabernacle to be exactly, everything in it's place. Everything! And the thing is, if you build carelessly, if the Israelites built it carelessly, God would never show up. If they made a recommendation, if they couldn't care less, so you wonder and say 'How come I don't feel the presence of God"? Well, how much are you putting into your prayer life?"
The Presence in the Tent - April 5, 2015
I have no doubt whatsoever that God is anxious for you to enjoy a greater communion with Him. Because He won't force Himself on you, He awaits your thoughts, your acts of devotion (which includes your time) that demonstrate to Him that He's a critically important -- if not THE most important -- aspect of your life.
I invite you to repent. Replace the menial, temporal, temporary, fleeting, brief, momentary, cursory, transient, ephemeral, passing, transitory focuses of your life to a focus on Him. Put Him to the test, and see if He will fill it with more life and more light than your previous path could ever have supplied.
"And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." - Deuteronomy 6:5
I have given the first part of my day to Him, which for me is the best part. Now I just need to fit Him into the rest. I have noticed when I give my free time to Him, good things happen and I feel great. When I feel far from Him, my free time is the first thing that slips, although it should be a time to increase my efforts. The Lord has been telling me to redouble my efforts lately and I will make a commitment to do just that. Thank you for the great post to urge me on in my efforts.
ReplyDeleteMay God bless you! I love your statement, "The Lord has been telling me to redouble my efforts lately." Me too. Now is the time to show the Lord who follows Him and who doesn't. It's a physical and eternal life-altering decision. Those who hear His voice WILL fare better than those who don't (or think they do, but actually don't).
ReplyDeleteI have found that as I start my day giving it entirely unto the Lord, He blesses me with the ability to simply give the rest of my day to Him, which is a glorious experience. I feel Him so close, and feel His encouragement to do better hour by hour, minute by minute, as I converse with Him constanty in my heart. Some years ago, I decided to leave my home, and walk a couple of hours into a nearby mountain, to converse with the Lord away from the distractions of life. As I walked along the path, pouring my heart out in gratitude for the opportunity I would have to get myself up into the mountain to ask and seek for the desires of my heart, the Spirit said "you don't have to wait to find me there, but enjoy the journey we have together now." What a great lesson of compassion and love from the Savior. He loves to be with us all of the time if invited, whenever we ask him to be. Thank you for your marvelous post's.
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