Daily Walking

We will be moving to video blogging in the near future, but I wanted to move forward and post previous text blogs to this page now for your enjoyment and edification:

REPOST FROM June 22, 2008

Several things going on in my thoughts and prayers this week. I'm going to share one with you. What do we, as Christians, do from day-to-day? As we seek God's purposes in our lives, what should we be doing first and foremost? I believe that we need to know how to function daily so that we know how to pray and how to live in God's will.

So, first I think we have to embrace and understand what we submitted to when we became Christian. When we first accepted God's gift of salvation, we saw our own depravity and accepted Him as lord and king of our lives. We agreed to stop doing things our own way and to do things His way. Some how within Christendom, we've forgotted what that means... after the point of salvation. I think that we first need to life-out that submission.

First, let's go to what God has told us we should be/do in our roles:

As a husband and father, my jobs are to be the best provider that I can be, to be the best leader that I can be in my home, and to be the priest of my home. (These are individually huge things but we'll just keep it to broad strokes today and not dive into the details of each one.) Every day I get up, these are my first goals. To live our my godly role as God has laid it before me.

For the wife and mother, it would be to establish and maintain a home that is a refuge (a sanctuary) for the family, supporting and petitioning the husband so that he can fulfill his role effectively according to God's purpose, and caring for the family. Again, these are huge, but we won't dive into the details today.

SIDENOTE: These are not the only roles that we have. They are simply my focus for today. There are also (may also be) your role at work, your role as a child, your role as a human being, your role as a friend, your role as a professional, your role as an employee/employer, your role as a citizen, etc.

So first, I get up with these roles in mind.... I don't NOT get up because my children aren't following my leadership, I don't sulk in the basement because I'm not providing for the family in the way I would like, etc. It's not about me. It's not about if I feel like doing these things. Again, it's not about me. I do the best I can under my submission to God.

So, let's talk about the elephant-in-the-room for those of you who know me and my current status - my role as provider in the home - as an detail example:

I don't strive to do things in my own power to provide for my family outside of God's will. I strive to be the BEST provider than I can under God's authority. I am seeking God's will for my career; knocking on doors, looking for what God is going to provide me; looking at my own heart to ensure there are no self-motivated obstructions to His will; following His guidance, directions, and promptings in obedience; watching and waiting for His confirmations; and of course maintaining a consistent relationship with Him through focus time and prayer.

You see, it is very important for me that I don't do anything in and of my own power that is outside of His will...even though that may be what some expect of me. I did things in my own power and for my own motives for a long time and I can assure you that it gets you no where. Sure I could go out a make something happen- I could get a job video editing pornography or working for a company that steals money from their clients by falsely reporting time-worked or I could work anywhere that is outside of His plan for me- but that wouldn't be right and it wouldn't be in line with His lordship over my life, His plans or purposes, or His standards for my life.

Bottomline - when you get up in the morning, say to yourself:

♦"What can I do today that will embrace my God-given role and show obedience and honor to His authority, whether I feel like it or not."

♦"What can I do to champion my role in the family."

♦"What can I do today that will make my spouse's role easier."

♦"What can I do that will help others?"

♦"What can I do to further God's kingdom and show my love for Him"

Remember love... that's what it all about.