Those who know me know I don't like lists when it comes to my Christian living. Far too often we get so hung up on "I forgot to read my Bible today" and "I can't believe I fell asleep in the middle of prayer again" that we set ourselves up for guilt instead of a personal relationship with Christ. Trying to do the right thing ends up as a list of "spiritual disciplines" that we try to live up to instead of getting charged up about our life with the almight God.
Don't get me wrong, lists can be a powerful tool for those who like them. I just warn of a natural habit many have of doing things out of duty instead of desire. God has given us fundamental gifts to minister to us and grow us and we sometimes boil them down to line items on a "to do" list. If we see these areas as the fundamental gifts they are, doing them daily will be as natural and desired as breathing air.
While there are many fundamental gifts. let me suggest a few to you to start our focus...
Prayer - In Psalms 8, the psalmist asked of God "What is man that you are mindful of him?" is one of the most impactful questions ever asked in my opion. When I fly and see all of God's creation out that window, this question always pops in mind. It blows me away that at any time, where ever I am, I can talk to the All Mighty God about what is on my heart. Not only can I but He desires it. The King of all is sitting on the edge of his throne, ear bent my way, and He wants to hear what His child has to say. What a gift that we have!
The Word of God - "In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" starts out the book of John. Christ himself is the Word and often that Word comes to us through the Holy Bible. Let me ask the question the psalmist did but in slightly a different way...What are we that we are not mindful of Him? The Word of God is our very supply to continue the race, fight the good fight, and to get out of bed in the midst of the craziness of our lives. God not only deserves our time and effort but we have a built in need for Him.
I don't want to keep you too long with my notes today so let me stop for now. However, there are many other fundamental gifts for us to tap into including evangelism, worship, ministry, fellowship and more that we will cover in this column over the next few weeks. I hope to see you back soon - Blessings!
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