What if we trained for a marathon race at 25 percent? What if we committed to our partner 30 percent? What if we paid taxes on only 30 percent of our income? What if we spent very little time investing in our family and our marriage? In all of these questions what do you think the likely end result would be? Would it be a happy ending? Would it be edifying? Would it be worth it to change these questions to what if I gave it my all?I don't think very many of us would even remotely try to argue that results would certainly be much different. All this being said to ask our question of where does our devotion truly stand with the Creator of this Universe?
Some key verses for you to ponder:
- Deuteronomy 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
- 1 Samuel 12:24 "Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
- Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce;
- Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- 1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
- 2 Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:12 so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
- 1 Peter 4:2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
If we were to honestly look at the daily journals of our lives (Our time: How are we spending it? Our Treasure: If we were to show everyone in our lives and our churches how God really matters, would our checkbooks show it? Our Talent: When we are saved, Scripture tells us that the Spirit gives us fruit, so how are we sharing that?)
Some of us need to take serious inventory of our lives:
- Ask your spouse to list the top 5 things that are important to you (Where does God line up with that?)
- Ask your children to list the top 5 things that are important to you (Is God even mentioned)
- Take a look at your time (Where is God on that list)
- Take a look at your treasure (What does our checkbook and spending tell us?)
- Take a look at your talent (Are you using it for God's kingdom?)
My next post will be on prioritizing...
Blessings,
Dante