"We often find ourselves in a dip because one area got out of order."

A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book, Don't Quit in the Dip (p. 76). Worthy. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

And that can be a too easy thing to do.

Shaun says, "I spoke to a guy who claimed he was feeling far from God and didn’t know why. So I inquired about a few things. 'Are you praying?' He responded with his head down, 'No.' 'Are you reading the Bible?' 'No.' 'Are you in a small group of other believers where you encourage each other on a regular basis?' 'No.'

"... I encouraged him: 'You’ve forgotten the basics and allowed things to get out of order, which brings confusion and the feeling like God is distant. But God didn’t move. You did.'"

Shaun goes on, "It’s so easy for aspects of our lives to get out of order. We may start off focused and deliberate on doing first things first, but pretty soon Instagram invades the spot where we used to pray. Checking email goes in the spot where we used to read the Bible. And we stay home to binge-watch TV shows instead of getting in relationship with other believers in a small group. Or we stop attending church because we feel too tired on the weekend. We end up going through our entire day without acknowledging God and then wonder how things got so out of order."

I know the pandemic has messed up some of these, but you know what he means.

He continues, "In Psalm 37:23, God instructs us: 'The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD' (NKJV). Okay, if they really are ordered, then we need to find the order, because the order matters.

"Are you in a dip because things have gotten out of order? Are your priorities out of whack? Has God slipped out of the picture? God fits only in first place, and when He’s not, it affects everything else in our lives. Order matters. Jesus emphasizes this in Matthew 6:33 when he said, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you' (NKJV)."

Shaun then says, "We always expect everything to fall into place and then we’ll put God first. It doesn’t happen like that. God blesses where He’s first. I want God to bless my day. So the very first thing I do when I wake up, with the temptation to go on my phone and check social media or email, is read the Bible for about fifteen minutes and then spend time talking with God. He blesses where He’s first. Before an important meeting, I stop and pray under my breath, God, I acknowledge you in this meeting. Please, give me wisdom and favor. He blesses where He’s first. My wife and I stop to pray when we’re in an argument, which isn’t easy to do if you’re not used to this because you’re more interested in being heard than understanding where your spouse is coming from. He blesses where He’s first.

"We expect to put God in third place or last and for us to still be blessed as if He were first. God knows that what you allow, you encourage. If God operated from disordered priorities, encouraging us to continue in destructive patterns, we would then think, Oh, He blessed me over here and He’s in eighth place. I guess He’s good with that. He’s not. Let’s not forget what’s priority."

Let's not forget. So will you live or continue to live by God's priorities? Will you?

Yes, yes!

"Jesus comes in the midst of the torrent."

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, You Are Never Alone (p. 60). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) We all have storms in our lives, don't we? Max says, "No one gets through life scot-free. At one point or another the sky will darken, the winds will rage, and we will find ourselves in a modern-day version of the Galilean gusher." John 6:16–18 (NIV) says, "When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough." Max goes on, "The hearts of the followers began to sink as their boat was certain to do. Their skin was soaked, throats hoarse, eyes wide. They searched the sky for a break in the clouds. They gripped the boat for fear of the waves. They screamed their prayers for help. But they heard nothing. "If only Jesu

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because God is good He will use e

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Jesus did answer the question about the blind

Just Continue That Thought...

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