"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!

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...

“The gospel is good news, not good advice.”

A thought by Timothy Keller (2016-10-25) from his book, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ (p. 21). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’m glad you stopped to catch a glimpse of what this thought really means. Tim says, “Advice is counsel about what you must do. News is a report about what has already been done. Advice urges you to make something happen. News urges you to recognize something that has already happened and to respond to it. Advice says it is all up to you to act. News says someone else has acted.” He then gives an illustration, “Let’s say there is an invading army coming toward a town. What that town needs is military advisers; it needs advice. Someone should explain that the earthworks and trenches should go over there, the marksmen go up there, and the tanks must go down there.” That’s advice He goes on, “However, if a great king has intercepted and ...

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