As I write this article, we are in the middle of our second Jesus Sensitive Conference. The conference got off to a strong start Sunday. The church was packed Sunday morning, and the altars were packed Sunday night with seekers receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And now, over fifty people are here Monday morning out of a desire to draw near to God. We are starting our day with God, and it really feels good!
Earlier this morning I read this verse in my devotional time, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up” (Psalm 5:3). Does God hear your voice in the morning? Is spending time with God part of your morning schedule? Do you start your day, every day, with God?
I know. Mornings can be so busy, especially when you have children at home. So what can you do? May I offer a few suggestions? First, set the alarm a few minutes earlier to allow some time to spend in the Word and prayer. If you need your regular eight hours of sleep, just go to bed 30 minutes earlier so you can get up 30 minutes earlier.
You can also free up extra minutes in the morning by preparing for the next day the night before. For example, if lunches need to be prepared, do it the evening before. If ironing needs to be done, do it the evening before. If you spend several minutes each morning trying to decide what to wear, lay out your clothes the evening before. As much as is possible, move household chores normally done in the morning (like taking out the trash) to the evening. If you are a coffee drinker like I am, prepare everything the night before so all you have to do in the morning is turn on the coffee maker. You get the idea.
One more suggestion. Use your morning commute as an opportunity for prayer. Driving in Southwest Florida can make a prayer warrior out of any one! Follow the biblical command to watch and pray and your morning drive time will be transformed into God-time.
Notice that the end of Psalm 5:3 says, “And I will look up.” We can start our mornings looking around at all of our problems. We can start our mornings with a downcast look of sadness and despair. Or we can start our mornings lifting our eyes above and beyond these things, and looking into the face of Jesus.
So start every morning with Jesus. Tell the Lord, “My voice You shall hear in the morning.” Make the appointment. Keep the appointment. Start your morning looking up and continue that upward look throughout the day.
Pastor Todd
Earlier this morning I read this verse in my devotional time, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up” (Psalm 5:3). Does God hear your voice in the morning? Is spending time with God part of your morning schedule? Do you start your day, every day, with God?
I know. Mornings can be so busy, especially when you have children at home. So what can you do? May I offer a few suggestions? First, set the alarm a few minutes earlier to allow some time to spend in the Word and prayer. If you need your regular eight hours of sleep, just go to bed 30 minutes earlier so you can get up 30 minutes earlier.
You can also free up extra minutes in the morning by preparing for the next day the night before. For example, if lunches need to be prepared, do it the evening before. If ironing needs to be done, do it the evening before. If you spend several minutes each morning trying to decide what to wear, lay out your clothes the evening before. As much as is possible, move household chores normally done in the morning (like taking out the trash) to the evening. If you are a coffee drinker like I am, prepare everything the night before so all you have to do in the morning is turn on the coffee maker. You get the idea.
One more suggestion. Use your morning commute as an opportunity for prayer. Driving in Southwest Florida can make a prayer warrior out of any one! Follow the biblical command to watch and pray and your morning drive time will be transformed into God-time.
Notice that the end of Psalm 5:3 says, “And I will look up.” We can start our mornings looking around at all of our problems. We can start our mornings with a downcast look of sadness and despair. Or we can start our mornings lifting our eyes above and beyond these things, and looking into the face of Jesus.
So start every morning with Jesus. Tell the Lord, “My voice You shall hear in the morning.” Make the appointment. Keep the appointment. Start your morning looking up and continue that upward look throughout the day.
Pastor Todd