Time stands still for no one.
Each day we grow older as life's clock continues to move with each second's tick.
Standing still is something age never does.
As time goes on, we and the people around us create memories.
We should cherish each and every one of those memories because we don't know the hour or the second, when life as we know it on this earth will end.
In that light, our prayers and actions should be sincere and focused on God, helping others and filled with a yearning to know more and do more.
Let's get it straight.
There are only two spiritual Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil.
The Kingdom of God is the place where Jesus is King. In God's Kingdom there is peace, there is love, there is hope for the future. There is joy, healing, mercy, justice and living faith.
In Satan's kingdom is pride, lust, disappointment, anger, hatred, bitterness, mockery, anguish, torment and strife.
Anyone who is living for themselves is pleasing the devil because the devil stands for independence from God and a rejection of God's authority to rule. Our separation from God costs us more than we could possibly imagine, and part of the tragedy is that so many people don't see it.
They are so deceived by a different spirit.
We must develop a hunger for God and his Word. We must yearn for more of God and thirst for his teaching, his praise, his worship and his holy presence.
Do you get itchy if your church service goes over an hour, or the preacher takes an extra 10 minutes? Is one service per week your limit?
Look at Acts 2 and we learn that people of the early church met together in the temple every day. They spent their time learning the apostles teaching, sharing, breaking bread, and praying together every day.
Church group wasn’t a hobby, or a part-time commitment.
So what was the secret? What drew these faithful fellowship fans? Was it their cutting-edge media presentations, on plasma screens or an app on their smart phones?
Or maybe it was that their lives were easier, and they were just kicking back with nothing else to do?
That's hardly the case. Everything about their lives was harder, took longer, and was less convenient. There was nothing modern, stream-lined or with short cuts.
And yet, their encounter with Jesus transformed their priorities so much that they hungered to gather in the presence of God, and believe His promise that, ‘Where two or three gather together as My followers, I am there among them’ as it says in Matthew 18:20 NLT.
Taking God seriously means spending time with Him meeting other Christians, hearing His Word together, and encouraging one another as we read in Hebrews 10:25.
It’s a time commitment thing.
There is nothing more true, right, pure or excellent than God’s Word. We are to embed His Word in our heart - run God’s Word through our mind - think about the Word of God often.
God's Word is our offensive and defensive weapon in the spiritual battle with evil.
If you want to know what Jesus said in the Bible – red the red-colored words. Those are his Words. Follow them.
We are in a mighty battle - don’t just sit there and think that it doesn’t concern us - that it doesn’t affect us. It’s time to make a stand and get serious about God - the enemy is serious and he’s out to destroy each of us. Do we really believe God exists? Do we believe his Word?
Then we must act like it, talk like it, and believe it. This is not a recreation game. It's a war.
Be blessed.
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