Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100:4
What is meant by this verse? Have you ever entered into an argument with your spouse having a defensive attitude? How did it go? Proverbs 15:1 tells us “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Oh how true this is! What do you think would have happened if you entered into that same argument having prayed and asked the Lord to give you a compassionate and unselfish eyes and heart?
With that in mind, have you entered into the Lord’s gates today? I recall a preacher’s message on our covenant with God. It got me thinking how blessed we are that Christ’s death and resurrection created a covenant for us with the Father – for all born again believers! What a joy to meditate on that today. So today, I want to encourage each of you toward righteousness.
We do not need to be defeated Christians. We do not need to give in to temptation. We just need to be hard workers at our faith in our precious Saviour. I’m sure many gives it his/her “all” when it comes to caring for the family, the home, etc. We can’t stop there … we need to care for our spiritual lives with just as much zeal and effort. Yes, working to provide for the family, cleaning the bathroom, and doing laundry is a chore. Speaking as a woman, I just don’t get that same effervescent feeling the lady in the commercial gets about my scrubbing bubbles cleaning my toilet, ya know? It’s WORK to get these chores done – but the feeling of satisfaction afterwards is priceless!
Making sure that we cover all the areas of our spiritual lives is work also. But this “work” has eternal results. The work for our family and in our homes is temporary – there will always be another bill to pay – the dust will always come back and there will always be dishes and laundry to do. But the work we do for the Lord is forever. I think of Christ’s account of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. This was not one of His parables but Jesus referred to actual women. The Lord placed this account in the Bible as a lesson! Mary spent her time at Jesus’ feet while Martha busied herself with the chores. Mary gleaned from the Master while Martha missed out on His blessings from the Bible.
Working at our spiritual lives is just that – WORK! Here is a little something that helps me strive in this area of devotional time and I want to share it with you.
W – Wake up with the Lord with song! Sing your favorite hymn – you know the one – it just speaks to your heart and gets you in the right mood – Mine is “Amazing Grace.” (See Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16)
O – Open my heart to Him in prayer. I believe in making my heart right with God before praying for others. I confess my sins, I love on Him real good and then I pray for others. I have a prayer list – in fact, I’m making a prayer journal to start using – and I keep this list with my Bible – the list is so long but I’ve broken it down by days so each day has a different grouping of people (i.e. Sunday = church family; Monday = missionaries; etc. I record specific details for each of these people so I’m praying for specific needs, not generalities. (see James 5:16)
R – Read His Word! Reading God’s Word is a learned trait. Don’t be so stringent that you don’t enjoy His Word. I have three separate times for reading.
- The first is my sweet time with Him. Let’s say today is the 11th of the month. I read my Proverb of the day (there are conveniently 31 Proverbs, one each for the 31 days in the month). I then read my Psalms for the day (I read Psalm 11 (then add 30), Psalm 41, Psalm 71, Psalm 101, and Psalm 131. I then read the 11th division or section of Psalm 119. This method for reading Psalms enables me to read the entire Book of Psalms every month.
- I then go to my next goal and that is to read through the Bible. Sometimes we set goals that we just can’t keep and then we feel defeated and give up totally. I would rather keep at it and be blessed then to give up. So read through your Bible using a plan that works best for you.
- My third reading comes with studying God’s Word. We’re commanded to study to show ourselves approved UNTO GOD Not to show off our knowledge to others, not to puff ourselves up thinking we’re better than others – but approved UNTO GOD. This is where we dive into meaty things and learn – not learning from someone else’s studying but learning for ourselves. I’m currently studying Daniel. If you are blessed enough to be in a church where the messages are archived, search for a book that you’ve been wanting to study and follow along. I have a notebook and use e-Sword so I can look up verses quickly. Jot down what the Lord teaches you. Be a good Berean and search out whether the preaching is on point with Scriptures. (Acts 17:11)
K – Keep Him in the forefront of my mind all day. When we have sung, prayed and read, it’s pretty hard to forget the God you started your day with. Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
I use to have my time with Him at night because my children were early risers and I ran from the time they woke up till it was time for their bedtime. However, I found that I did not get the fuel and spiritual energizing I so needed to make it through the day. It took hard work to get up in the wee hours to have my time with the Lord. I was not always faithful but I kept at it.
Of course, we all have different routines and whatever works best for you is what you should be faithful to. If you have little ones at home, don’t despair. Your time will come where you will have all the time you need in the mornings. Maybe your time is nap time or after their bed time. If you don’t have a special time, resolve to yourself to make one. If you want to succeed at this, hold yourself accountable to someone. Ask a good friend to hold you accountable daily in this area. One who won’t take excuses but will lovingly tell you that your excuse is not a good one! Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Dear God…
Help me to be like Mary
As I start this day, oh Lord
Mindful of the things I’ve gleaned
From Your Holy Word!