MORNING

Here at the Glorieta conference center nestled in the New Mexico mountains, we have worship every morning at 7:30 a.m. It’s called “5.3 Worship.” The text for the name comes from Psalms five and verse three…

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.

Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. (NLT)

The main point is, to start your day off by speaking with the Lord. He is the source of strength, peace, love and life itself.

When you look to the Lord as being the authority over you and each day freshly commit yourself or more appropriately, yield yourself to Him, you have an entirely different perspective on life.

• No longer are you in charge of all the problems that come your way because you have turned them over to God.

• No longer are you working hard to please everyone around you…you are allowing God to love them through you.

The last part of the verse speaks of taking our requests or our needs before God. The key is the last part of that sentence. We are to

WAIT EXPECTANTLY

Waiting for God’s timing can sometimes be frustrating because we always want things done NOW. We simply have to keep in mind that He knows everything that was, is and is to come. He sees the big picture whereas we see now and can only speculate about the future. But he does not say simply “wait.” He says “wait expectantly.” In other words, wait for God’s timing, but expect Him to answer you in a way that will benefit your life.

Start your day off right by becoming a 5.3 worshipper. That doesn’t mean you have to set aside an hour every morning. You can accomplish that by speaking to Him in the moment before you get out of bed. You can accomplish that by singing a song of praise to Him in the car on the way to work. There are many ways to become a 5.3 worshipper. Be creative. Try different ways to make Him your first thought in the morning. I know you’ll be pleased.

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD

BISCUITS

Ok, it’s an odd title for a devotion, I know. However, it comes from the message this morning by our Conference Pastor, Rev. Wayne Barber. He was speaking about the Christian life being intertwined with Christ.

The text for his message came from Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NKJV

He gave an illustration about how Christ lives in us really works. He took us to Paul’s letter to the church in Rome first…

⁵For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, Romans 6:5 NASB

There are a couple of words in the Greek for united. He used a baking illustration to illustrate the difference. If one is making biscuits, all the ingredients are put into a bowl. If you want to add more of a certain ingredient to the mixing bowl, you can. If you are skillful, you can remove some of the ingredients as well. That illustrates one meaning of united in the Greek…you can add or subtract to the whole, but it is still the whole. That is one of the Greek words but not the one in Romans 6:5.

The word used in Romans 6:5 has the meaning of inseparable. In other words, after you take those ingredients and put them in the oven to bake them, the product that comes out is it. You can’t take salt out. You can’t add flour. They are united.

We are biscuits for Christ. We are united, inseparably with Him when we invite Him into our lives. Pretty cool, huh?

How does that apply to our every day life? He is ALWAYS with us. He alone has the power, wisdom, righteousness and holiness to name a few things, to make our lives work. Being yielded to Him is our task. Think about it!

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD

FOLLOW

I read a great article this morning in Worship Leader magazine by a young man named Glenn Packiam. The article was called “Follow the Leader.” He pointed out that the most incredible leader that ever lived on this earth, Jesus Christ, didn’t have marketing strategies, news conferences or a “look-at-what-I-can-do” attitude when he built his team of workers. He simply said, “Follow me.”

¹⁸Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And He said^* to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Matthew 4:18-20 NASB

Their response was immediate and complete. They left what they had considered important and followed the One who was all-important. They didn’t ask Jesus, “How shall we eat” or “Where will we live,” they simply followed the Son of God.

As I sit here writing this, a family rode by on bicycles. The Dad looked toward me and said, “Mornin’.” His son who was riding next to him thought he was talking to him and said, “More?” In that moment, it was as if all he lived for was to please his dad as he clung to every word he said. He didn’t want to miss one word, one opportunity to please his father.

Isn’t that the way it should be with our heavenly Father and us? We too, need not ask “How shall we eat” or “Where will we live” but instead, listen to every word He says to us through His Holy scripture, the Bible, and then spend our lives trying to please Him.

To you and to me, the Son of God says, “Follow me.” To His Church He says, “Follow me.” Don’t worry about each other and who has more power or the more glamorous positions…just FOLLOW ME. Don’t worry about who you think is doing it “right.” You simply do what you believe God is telling you to do.

Remember when Peter inquired of Jesus as to what was going to happen to His disciple John…

Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” John 21:22 NLT

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD