10-20-18 The First 15

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The Weekly Overview This life is marked by a single choice: who or what will we center our lives around? This choice takes each of us down a path of decisions that shape who we are, what we feel, who or what we value, and what we will have accomplished at the end of our days. To center our lives around ourselves or the things of this world leads only to destruction. But, to center our lives around meeting with God fills each moment with the glorious abundance of God’s love, provision, and transcendent peace. May your life be marked by union with your Creator as we explore what it means to center our lives around meeting with God this week. The Scripture “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” -  Ephesians 5:15-16 The Worship Experience Artist: Phil Wickham Song: The Secret Place The Devotional Ephesians 5:15-16 warns us, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Our time is of the utmost importance here on earth. We’ll never get back the days we spend frivolously pursuing the things of the world. We’ll never get back the time spent outside of God’s purposes of receiving and giving love. Our time here is too limited and too important to spend on burdens, stresses, sin, and worldly pursuits. If we’re going to make the most of this life, we must learn to center our time around the eternal value of meeting with God. It’s for this reason James 4:13-15 says, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” Looking at the ways in which we spend our time is one of the best ways to assess the posture of our heart. If we spend all our time working for and thinking about the things of the world, we can know that we have not yet come into a right revelation of God’s purposes for us. If we spend the majority of our time simply getting through our days trying to find happiness rather than seeking the face of our heavenly Father that we might receive sustaining, transcendent joy, we can know that we have yet to surrender our lives fully to our King. The great thing about the nature of time is that it is completely ours to do with what we will. We can, right now, decide to make the best use of our time according to the purposes of God as revealed to us through Scripture. We can, right now, decide to stop wasting precious minutes on that which is fleeting and temporal and instead invest our days in the lasting, eternal, and fruitful purposes of our heavenly Father. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” God longs to teach us how to use our days wisely. He longs to give us a heart of wisdom that we might center our lives around meeting with him. You have God himself dwelling within you, ready to guide you into a lifestyle of purposeful living. Choose today to open your heart and mind to the Teacher, the very Spirit of God, and live according to his will. May you find peace, joy, and purpose in the ways in which you invest your time today. The Prayer 1. Meditate on the importance of using your time wisely. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 2. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any ways in which you’ve been using your time unwisely. Know that he is not a God who takes away all the things you enjoy. He’s not anti-entertainment, friends, and parties. He’s a fun God who truly loves you. Don’t mix religion and the heart of your heavenly Father. Trust that whatever he leads you to change will result in the absolute most fun, fruitful, and satisfying way you can live. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'” James 4:13-15 3. Ask God to help you spend your time wisely today. Ask him to help you follow his direction as you go about the day set before you. “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7 You can trust that God has the absolute best plan for your time. Matthew 6:8 promises, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” He has every one of your needs sorted out. He will provide for you perfectly. You can trust him with your life and know that your job, family, and circumstances will be better in the capable and loving hands of your heavenly Father. Devote your time, job, money, and relationships to him that they might be filled with the blessing of God. Extended Reading: Ephesians 5 CRAIG DENISON is the author and founder of First15, a daily devotional guiding tens of thousands of believers into a fresh experience with God's presence every day. He writes, speaks, and he and his wife, Rachel lead worship to help believers establish a more tangible, meaningful connection with God.