Thought to Ponder

We will never have more time. So, the question is, what are we going to do with our time with God today?

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2011-2014. Taken along the Colonial Parkway.) 

Morning Prayer 14 January 2014

Morning Prayer 14 January 2014

Good morning, Lord. 

Thank You for the opportunity of this day. It gives me the chance to live another day of loving You, worshiping You, living the purpose You have for my life, and to bring You glory. 

This is the day You have made, Lord. You created it, and have allowed me to wake up this morning for a purpose. Lord, help me to live that purpose and bring You glory. Help me to know the purpose and to live it today, tomorrow, this week, this month, this quarter, this year, over the next decade, and for the rest of my life. 

This is Your day, not mine. Help me to remember this and grasp it. 

I love You, Father and Daddy. 

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2011-2014.)

Verses to pray, ponder, and memorize: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 * New Living Translation (NLT)

13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 14 And do everything with love.

-- NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

(Image credit: Miscrosoft images online 2009-2013.)

Be alone with God.

AN INTRODUCTION: A FRESH AND VIBRANT FAITH

AN INTRODUCTION: A FRESH AND VIBRANT FAITH

I’m I am desperate for a fresh faith.

As a matter of fact, I need it desperately.

I feel like I keep spinning my wheels and like I'm stuck in the mud and muck and can't get out of the mess. I am content, sure. I am quite content actually. I can be no matter where I am, for the most part. But, I know I am missing something and Someone being stuck here where I am.

I know I am missing a vibrant faith.

I am well aware there is far more to the Christian faith than this. I am missing the mark.

How about you?

I am going through the motions, and am doing a great job thereof, but it isn’t enough. My prayer life and Bible reading and study is lackluster at best. I might be doing them, but am producing fruit? Some. Not as much as I could, I am sure. I know it’s God who grows the fruit and produces my fruit, but I also know I am to cooperate with Him in the process. Have I? I doubt it.

I doubt it because I keep jumping around all over the place with my writing. I need to commit to writing one way. Period. No other way. This ambivalence shows how I am missing the mark and do not have the fresh and vibrant faith I could.

Am I bringing God as much glory as I could or should? No. I know I am not.

I’m also not getting as much out of my prayer life as I could, nor my devotional Bible study… My faith isn’t fresh and it’s dull rather than vibrant.

So, what’s the answer?

I think I need to listen to God more and spend more intentional one-on-one time with Him where He has my UNDIVIDED attention. I think this is the answer. I need to practice the spiritual disciplines of solitude and silence.

Hence, I am writing this new blog post series and book.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

What are your thoughts so far?

So, how about you? Have you ever been here in this place? 

Day 25: Colossians 3 and Worldly Versus Godly Living, Part 4

Good day to you, my friend. Welcome to the second day of breaking Colossians 3 down verse by verse. Today, let’s focus on Colossians 3:5-11.

Why don’t you read through those verses in your favorite version of the Bible? Then, do what it says after this sentence.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

1 What causes you to stumble in your faith?

2 What sins have you committed in the last week?

3 What temptations have you had in the next week, but didn’t follow-through, so they didn’t become sin in your life?

4 What sin(s) have you committed lately that is one you continually repeat?

SOC: STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS WRITING AND COLOSSIANS 3:5-11

Re-read Colossians 3:5-11 once again.

Now, do a SOC about Colossians 3:5-11. Take ten minutes to do so.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

What do you need to stop in your life, regarding Colossians 3 and your prayer journaling?

What do you need to do more of in your life, according to Colossians 3?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

MEMORY VERSES

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them. They are: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 5:1-2.

Now, let’s add this verse to our memory verses: Colossians 3:10.