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Five Guidelines Strengthening My Spiritual Walk
These guidelines are courtesy of Dr. Gabriel Otero.
They've remained etched in my mind since I first heard them on the radio
over seven years ago on the way to a business meeting. At the time, I had
no intention of remembering them; evidently, the Holy Spirit had other
plans because they've become an integral part of my spiritual
development. They've helped to strengthen my spiritual walk, and they may
help others in their ongoing spiritual journey and sanctification.
No l. GIVE
GOD THE FIRST HOUR OF EVERY DAY
I find that the quietest part of my day
is in the morning while I'm getting ready for work and while I'm
traveling to work. This is time that I spend in prayer with God,
confessing my many shortcomings from the previous day & seeking His
forgiveness, and outlining what the day ahead looks like. But most
importantly, it affords me the opportunity to listen for His guidance and
direction. I cannot tell you how often during these morning devotionals
that the Lord has given me comfort and led me to understand the
particular path I need to take with regard to a specific problem or concern.
Whenever I
neglect to take the time to "pray my way through the day",
inevitably things go wrong. It's hard to put into words, but my
fellowship with God suffers. The relationship remains the same:
God is still my Heavenly Father and I, His child. I suppose it's not
unlike when spouses fight and one doesn't speak to the other for a time.
You're still married - your relationship is unaffected; but the fellowship
shared between the two of you most definitely is affected.
That's the best
way to summarize what happens when I neglect to give God the first hour of every day. My
fellowship with Him is affected. But when I do give Him the first hour of
every day, my fellowship is strengthened and I feel empowered to face the
day ahead with confidence and
security.
No 2. GIVE
GOD THE FIRST DAY OF EVERY WEEK
And I don't mean the few hours spent in church on Sunday
mornings. For me, I've come to believe that my observance of the Sabbath shouldn't
end the moment I walk out of church. I'm sorry to say too often I spend more time watching
sports on Sunday than observing the Sabbath.
For a long time that never bothered me. Frankly, I never gave it
much thought. But God slowly convicted me that I was not spending my
Sunday's — correction, His Sunday's – the way He wanted me to. And it was
through my morning devotionals that I first came to sense this. Once
again the work of the Holy Spirit was present in these early morning
devotionals leading me in the path I should go.
But how should I observe the Sabbath? Do I need to immerse
myself in Bible study all day long? Well, I know that would do me good,
but there are many activities I can be engaged in that exalt God. And I
believe that's the bottom line when it comes to observing the Sabbath:
however we choose to spend the Lord's day, we ought to ask ourselves
whether we are exalting the name of Jesus Christ or satisfying our own
selfish desires. For me, I
don't think my spending the entire day watching auto racing or football
games was glorifying my Savior.
No 3. GIVE
GOD THE FIRST CONSIDERATION IN EVERY DECISION
Too often people wait until there's an emergency before they
seek God's counsel in their lives. Not until there's a problem with their
medical test; an anomaly in the sonogram; an accident; a death.
Hopefully, this isn't the case with those who are truly God's
children. We all should
recognize the importance, the necessity, of always seeking His guidance
and direction in our lives no matter how important or seemingly trivial
the decision.
The Bible
teaches us that God desires to be involved in all our activities and consulted in all our
decisions. That means going to Him in prayer for His counsel on decisions
we face in business — before we hire anyone and definitely before we fire
anyone; on decisions we face in our family — from life changing ones such
as taking that promotion and moving to another state to seemingly mundane
ones like where to spend summer vacation.
In my own life I
can honestly say that I've never regretted any decision made after first consulting the Lord and
following His counsel. Now, that doesn't mean every decision has had the
outcome I desired. But it does mean they've had the outcome God
desired. And that's what matters.
One other fact I've become convinced of is this: if we
earnestly seek God's advice on a given subject, and then diligently seek
to be obedient to His leading and do what He wants us to do, then God
will also provide the necessary resources to accomplish that task.
This truth is
part and parcel of the Christmas story but we often overlook it. When
Herod sought to murder Christ, God came to Joseph in a dream and told him
to take his family immediately to Egypt and to stay there indefinitely until He told them to
return. Have you ever wondered how this dirt-poor family could afford to
make such a long journey? God told them to go, but did He also provide
the wherewithal to accomplish the journey? You bet He did! Because He had
sent the Magi bearing the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and this
allowed Joseph and his family to make that trip down to Egypt.
No 4.
GIVE GOD THE FIRST PORTION OF ALL YOUR INCOME
For many years I
would "pay myself first"
and then give God whatever was left over. God was getting my dregs rather
than my firstfruits. I had
let others convince me that spending our income on ourselves preparing
for our future retirement years was the prudent thing to do. And fiscally
speaking, it was; but, spiritually speaking, it was not. It's been said
that one's checkbook says much about where one's priorities are. When I
examined our checkbook and looked where our money was going, I received a
loud wake-up call. Our priorities were entirely centered on our family
and us when instead they should have been focused first on the Lord and His work. After all, if the
truth be known, if it weren't for God's grace and mercy in the first
place, we wouldn't have any of the things we do.
Once again thanks
to His abiding presence in those morning devotionals, He caused me to radically change
my selfish way of thinking and get my priorities in a better order. God
has brought us now to the point where we look for ways to increase our
giving. At long last, He is finally getting our firstfruits.
When I put God
first, He has never
forsaken me — there's always been enough. Funny thing is: we’re now a
one-income family with my wife staying home full-time with Erika and
Hannah, and yet we've reached the point where we’re able to tithe to our
church. God continues to provide the necessary resources.
No 5. GIVE GOD'S
SON THE FIRST PLACE IN YOUR HEART
The motivation
for doing any of these things should be to give glory and honor to
Christ; not to make us look holier-than-thou before others, as the
Pharisees did. Christ ought to be number one in our hearts, even before
our families. That was difficult for me at first, but He's helped me to see the
proper ordering of my priorities:
We should be
moved by an ongoing earnest desire to obey Christ in all situations — and
not so we can earn a spot in Heaven, but out of love for Jesus for the
sacrifice He made on
the cross becoming sin for us. And how do we know what it is that Christ
would have us do? Where can we find out what paths we should take? The
Bible! The more time I spend reading & studying the scriptures, the
more blessings God
seems to shower upon me and the easier it becomes for me to know what
path God wants me to take in a given situation.
These five guidelines have made an
important difference in my spiritual walk and maturity. I wouldn't be
honest if I said I keep them all the time. But one thing is certain:
whenever I have failed to start my day off in prayer and communion with
God, whenever I put sports or other selfish things ahead of God, whenever
I fail to solicit His guidance first and follow through with His leading,
whenever I selfishly give myself the firstfruits and give God whatever's
left over, whenever I put my own desires first in my heart and relegate
Christ to the background — things go terribly wrong. My fellowship with
Christ is affected and I lose opportunities for further blessings.
It amazes me how much my Lord and Savior really cares about
me, about every aspect of my life. That wintry morning seven years ago
while I was on my way to a business meeting, I had no intention of
remembering those five guidelines I heard on the radio. But thank God
that He had other ideas. Those guidelines have both blessed me and served
me well, and perhaps they will for you too.
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