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bluidkiti · 09-09-2013, 12:40 PM

Alive In Christ Part 01 - "A" Active in Choosing

by Gail Rodgers

“I put my praise music on for the two hour drive and I had such a refreshing time with the Lord! I came back to my responsibilities with a fresh perspective!”

My pastor friend lives a busy life! Young kids, ministry that never seems to be done, bills, school taxi to run, mentoring, friendships, small group, and so on. You know what it’s like… most of us do. The day just seems to over run the allotted time on the clock.

But my friend found a key to freshness. It is the key of being active in making small decisions during her day… decisions that draw her closer to the God she loves and to a freshness in her soul!

We don’t intend for it to happen but somehow a passiveness creeps into busy Christian’s lives. We do ministry, we pray on the run, we read when we get a minute, we encourage where we can, we slip our tithe in the offering… and we somehow slip into a passive relationship with Jesus. We somehow expect Him to do the job of drawing near to us. We somehow begin to offer Him yesterday’s lunch and yet we long for a miracle today.

I hadn’t talked to Judy in ages. She phoned yesterday and told me now she had been asking God for so long to work in her life and in her home. Finally she determined to grab hold of God in a fresh way. She choose to “drag” herself out of bed a half hour early and get into His presence daily At first it was just routine, even dry, and she nearly didn’t crawl out of her warm bed. But as she asked God to speak to her, the scripture began to be alive again. She was excited about her journey! She was being refreshed!

Take a moment right now and check your own life. Do you long for a freshness you once knew in a way that you miss today? Can you remember when the last time was that you spent more than 20 minutes in the presence of God? Has your prayer time become a hurried list of things God needs to do for you, or have you taken time to ask Him what is on His heart lately?

God makes a promise in James 4:8

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

What do you need to do today, this week, to actively choose your relationship with Jesus over the many important and busy tasks that call for your attention? He longs to bring that freshness to your soul!

Make a choice to become active in pursuing God afresh. Actively choose time in His presence, actively choose to expose yourself to music that inspires, actively choose to turn off the TV, to invite Him into every decision, to ask Him which fruit of the Spirit He wants to cultivate in your life today. Actively choose to pray in a quiet corner and not just on the run, to listen for His voice, to read his Word and not just a devotional book, and to ask Him to teach you.

09-09-2013, 12:40 PM	#2
bluidkiti Administrator Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 71,304	Alive In Christ Part 01 - "A" Active in Choosing by Gail Rodgers “I put my praise music on for the two hour drive and I had such a refreshing time with the Lord! I came back to my responsibilities with a fresh perspective!” My pastor friend lives a busy life! Young kids, ministry that never seems to be done, bills, school taxi to run, mentoring, friendships, small group, and so on. You know what it’s like… most of us do. The day just seems to over run the allotted time on the clock. But my friend found a key to freshness. It is the key of being active in making small decisions during her day… decisions that draw her closer to the God she loves and to a freshness in her soul! We don’t intend for it to happen but somehow a passiveness creeps into busy Christian’s lives. We do ministry, we pray on the run, we read when we get a minute, we encourage where we can, we slip our tithe in the offering… and we somehow slip into a passive relationship with Jesus. We somehow expect Him to do the job of drawing near to us. We somehow begin to offer Him yesterday’s lunch and yet we long for a miracle today. I hadn’t talked to Judy in ages. She phoned yesterday and told me now she had been asking God for so long to work in her life and in her home. Finally she determined to grab hold of God in a fresh way. She choose to “drag” herself out of bed a half hour early and get into His presence daily At first it was just routine, even dry, and she nearly didn’t crawl out of her warm bed. But as she asked God to speak to her, the scripture began to be alive again. She was excited about her journey! She was being refreshed! Take a moment right now and check your own life. Do you long for a freshness you once knew in a way that you miss today? Can you remember when the last time was that you spent more than 20 minutes in the presence of God? Has your prayer time become a hurried list of things God needs to do for you, or have you taken time to ask Him what is on His heart lately? God makes a promise in James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” What do you need to do today, this week, to actively choose your relationship with Jesus over the many important and busy tasks that call for your attention? He longs to bring that freshness to your soul! Make a choice to become active in pursuing God afresh. Actively choose time in His presence, actively choose to expose yourself to music that inspires, actively choose to turn off the TV, to invite Him into every decision, to ask Him which fruit of the Spirit He wants to cultivate in your life today. Actively choose to pray in a quiet corner and not just on the run, to listen for His voice, to read his Word and not just a devotional book, and to ask Him to teach you. __________________ "No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving.