Most of us lead very busy lives. How many times have you thought, said or heard someone say…I don’t have time to read, or study my bible, pray or go to church?

How many feel that God happily accepts being an after thought or ignored?

How many feel it’s okay to say you believe, but never live like God is real or like they are in true relationship with Him?

How many people say through…

Jobs…

Careers…

Family…

Organizations…

Youth Sports and Activities…

Even church activities…

That they don’t have time for God, prayer, reading and studying their bible or worship?

The truth is that God doesn’t give us blessings to replace Him.

Our blessings should never become barriers or burdens to our relationship with Him.

Here are a few simple, easy suggestions to carve out quality time with God.

1. WHEN YOU CAN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT

We all have those nights when we can’t sleep. You may not even necessarily be worried. You may be excited about the next day. You may have awaken to use the bathroom and couldn’t go back to sleep. For whatever reason, you just lie there in the bed. You may turn on the television. Maybe God is trying to squeeze in some quality time with you before you get busy during the day. It’s the ideal time to be close to Him. No distractions. No noise. Just you and God. You can lie there and pray…get on your knees…get up and lift up your hands and praise God…You can go outside and adore His awesome creation…You can read your bible, or even study a specific topic. God can give you fresh revelation during these intimate times. You will find yourself feeling so much closer to Him, but most of all you will please and bless Him. Best of all, you will find yourself yawning and going back into a wonderful restful sleep for the rest ot the night (or morning).

Psalm 16:7 (NKJV)

⁷ I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

 Psalm 63:6 (NKJV)

⁶ When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.

 2. WHEN YOU FIRST WAKE UP

I used to be in the habit of going to the gym early in the morning to start my day. I would say a short prayer and then go ‘work out my body’. I ruptured my Achilles tendon one day and found myself in a boot and a cast for several months. Not much later, God cultivated out of that the practice of going outside on my porch, and spending rich quality time in prayer and praise before I do anything else. I replaced worshiping my flesh in a sense with worshiping Him. Now, you don’t have to go outside, but it’s not difficult to kneel and pray as soon as you wake up. Before you drink your coffee. Before you watch the news. Before you check your social media. I think it is a foolish thing to begin the day without submitting ourselves to and talking to God first. Even if you don’t get on your knees…lie in your bed…get up and bow your head…lift up holy hands…just make sure your heart is humble and your prayer is sincere and not rushed.

Psalm 63:1 (NKJV)

63 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.

3. WHEN YOU ARE USING THE BATHROOM IN THE MORNING.

This is something we all have to do when we wake up. Keep a bible in the bathroom, or use your bible app on your phone. This is another time when you are alone and can choose a verse of the day on which to meditate or even read a chapter each morning. A verse of the day is good for memory or meditation, but it should never take the place of real in-depth bible study. God doesn’t mind you making His word #1 while you do #2.

4. THANK GOD FOR AND BLESS EVERY MEAL (EVEN SNACKS)

Make it a point to thank God for every meal you eat. It doesn’t have to be a long drawn out prayer, but a sincere thank you for the awesome blessing of having food to eat. Don’t be ashamed to thank Him for your food while you are in public…at lunch with co-workers…at a lunch meeting. Also, it’s very important to bless each meal and ask God that it nourish your body and not harm it. Much of our food we don’t prepare ourselves and we don’t know how it could harm are bodies…Always bless every meal and shack.

1 Timothy 4:4-5 (NKJV)

⁴ For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵ for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

5. WHILE YOU’RE DRINKING YOUR COFFEE

Whether you have a relaxing cup of coffee, tea, juice or whatever your morning beverage may be, it’s an ideal time to read God’s word…pray…or even praise God each morning. What do you read or watch while you sip on your coffee? Why not make it God’s word?

6. WHILE CHECKING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STATUS

How many times a day do your check your social media? Many people check their’s as soon as they wake up…then claim they don’t have time to read the bible. Check out what God has posted in His word before you check out what’s going on in social media. There’s nothing wrong with checking you Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or whatever. Of, course there are even devotionals on there just like this one, but never let it take the place of reading and studying your bible.

7. DURING YOUR LUNCH BREAK AT WORK OR AFTERNOON BREAK

Your lunch break is your time. Why not dedicate a few moment of it, or even an entire lunch break once a week to reading and studying God’s word. You can even volunteer at a mission or serve others in some way during your lunch break from time to time. It’s just another opportunity to spend quality time with God during your day. To prove to Him and yourself that you really value time with Him and love Him. You will find it to be not a burden or task, but a time of refreshing and fellowship to help you stay focused and make it through the rest of the day.

8. TAKE A VACATION DAY JUST TO SPEND WITH GOD

Most of us have vacation days. Have you ever taken a vacation day just to spend in prayer, study, praise and fellowship with God? Devoting one of your vacation days to God is an awesome mini-sabbatical opportunity to grow closer to the God of our salvation through our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, Jesus Christ.

9. LISTEN TO GOSPEL MUSIC SOMETIMES OTHER THAN IN WORSHIP

Of course there’s nothing wrong with fun music or love songs as long as they don’t contain ungodly lyrics. But, there’s a world of good Gospel music of every genre that you can use to turn your leisure time into worship time. It doesn’t have to be a hymnal. Like my wife, Gospel Jazz Artist Mechelle Johnson (Yep that’s a plug:-) But, good Gospel music is another way to help stay focused while you work or play.

God knows that we make time for what and who are important to us. These are just a few suggestions of how to make more time for God. There’s no excuse to say we are too busy for Him.

Proverbs 3:6 (NKJV)

⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

We have all been hurt, wronged, betrayed, mistreated, let down, disappointed. used and abused.

It’s a part of life.

Sometimes we feel we have been wronged when the other person of people actually meant no real harm.

Sometimes we feel we were wronged when the other person or persons was actually doing something for our own good.

Sometimes it’s us who was in the wrong.

In many situations we can’t change how we are treated, but we can always control how we react to when we are treated badly….ALWAYS.

So, I have a quick reminder for you. God expects to not only forgive, but have an attitude of forgiveness, even when the other person doesn’t seem as though they are sorry.

Have you ever had a person apologize to you and you weren’t ready to hear it? You want to remain angry…

YOU’RE HOLDING A GRUDGE, AND GOD AIN’T HAVING THAT!

Leviticus 19:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Romans 12:17-21 (ESV)

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

GRUDGE (Oxford Online Dictionary)

Noun: A persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury.‘she held a grudge against her former boss’.

Grudges are birthed from pride.

Grudges require huge amounts of mental, emotional and spiritual bandwidth.

You can’t be grateful, thankful, forgiving, joyous, kind, or love the way God requires while holding a grudge.

Grudges our a spiritual drain and they ruin your testimony.

It is impossible to move forward while you hold a grudge.

The fact is…

THAT GRUDGE THAT YOU ARE HOLDING IS ACTUALLY HOLDING YOU!

How many blessings is God trying to put into your hand, but He can’t because you’re holding tightly to a grudge?

Please, let it go.

HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT AN APOLOGY…

ARE YOU EASY TO APOLOGIZE TO…?

WHY WE SHOULD STOP SAYING, “FORGIVENESS ISN’T FOR THEM, IT’S FOR YOU…”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I’ve found the most intimate refreshing place to pray at my home. I love sitting in my chair on my front porch and enjoying quality time with God in prayer. When I’m out there, it’s like it’s just Him and me. Yes I pray everywhere. But, that place is special.

And yes, I said sitting.

You see, it’s good to get on your knees in submission to God, but contrary to what many may have been taught it’s not mandatory. That is not the exclusively acceptable prayer posture.

Your proper prayer posture isn’t the position of your body, but of your heart and spirit…

To a humble spirit… it’s about humility.

Psalm 51:17 (NKJV)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise

1- On Your Knees

Ephesians 3:14 (NKJV)

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^[a]

 2 – In Your Bed

Psalm 4:4 (NKJV)

Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.

3 – Out Loud

Psalm 34:6 (NKJV)

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.

4 – Silently

1 Samuel 1:13 (NKJV)

¹³ Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

5 – Hands Lifted

1 Timothy 2:8 (NKJV)

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

6 – Eyes Open

John 17:1 (NKJV)

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

7 – Head Bowed

Genesis 24:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.

8 – Prostrate

Matthew 26:39 (NKJV)

³⁹ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

9 – Standing

Mark 11:25 (NKJV)

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

God just wants you to be humble. Many have even misunderstood “come boldly” in the book of Hebrews…

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It’s not about ‘telling God what to do’, but direct access to Him. We don’t have to go through a priest, or a preacher to talk to Him…just submit to Him humbly in prayer through our Lord and Savior Yeshua, Jesus Christ.

So, bow your head, lie in your bed, fall on your knees, lift up your hands, as long as you’re sincere…God will hear.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

There’s thin line between narcissism and good health…between being healthy and vanity.

Between discipline and self worship…

Between keeping your temple healthy for God and provoking others to lust or envy…

Between putting in hard work and eating right and being lazy by wanting a ‘magic’ pill to do all the work.

There’s nothing wrong with exercise and eating right in an effort to be healthy and even look good, but we must be honest with ourselves about our motives.

What are you thinking about while you’re running…lifting weights…at the gym…taking that ‘weight loss’ pill? Are your thinking about how HEALTHY you will be or how SEXY you will be?

Do we put as much effort into making sure our spirit looks good to God as we put into making sure our bodies looks good in our clothes (or out of them)?

Yes, there’s a thin line between narcissism and good health.

Here’s Proof!

Think about the commercials and ads that you see and hear…

Companies spend millions of dollars on research to gain insights advertise on what’s important to consumers. What drives people? What provokes them to make a buying decision.

How many gyms, spas, fitness centers, diet plans, diet pills etc. do you hear advertising about BEING HEALTHY?

Most of the time their pitch is…

Look good!

Be sexy!

Look younger!

Sexy abs.

Sexy bun.

Sculpted arms.

You rarely if ever hear or see ads that say…

Get your blood pressure under control!

Reduce your cholesterol!

Surprise your doctor!

How about this one? How many times have you heard them simply say…

“Feel better!”

Most of the time they are trying to appeal to our sense of vanity.

God wants us to be healthy, as well as look healthy, but we must be very careful that we don’t let our society’s obsession with youth, looking good and being sexy pervert our motives.

We can’t let our workout routines and habits turn into our personal rituals of worshipping ourselves.

Remember what the bible says…

1 Timothy 4:8 (NKJV)

 ⁸ For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

In His darkest moment, those closest to Him abandoned Him…

Matthew 26:31 (NKJV)

 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But, I think that Jesus was cool with that. I know He wasn’t surprised. It was prophesied and He knew they would all scatter.

He knew Peter would follow, but far away. He knew he would deny Him three times to the point of cursing…

Matthew 26:74

Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”

Many times, in the comfort and conveniences of our 21^st Century lifestyles, we will read about or hear in a sermon about the disciples scattering and deserting Jesus just before He went to the cross. We may even think to ourselves, “What a shame”.

We may wonder what we would have done had we been in that situation. I can quickly and confidently answer that…we would have done the same thing.

How do I know that?

Because it was God’s will that they scatter.

What could they have done to prevent Jesus’ crucifixion? Nothing…because it was God’s will.

What good would it have done if they had died with Him, because that’s exactly what would have happened had they stood with Him.

Had they stood with Jesus at that time and were crucified with Him, how would we have gotten the Gospels? Who would have told us of what they experienced while they were with Him?

He was preparing them to spread the Gospel, not to die with Him.

He was preparing them to GO….not DIE….at least not yet.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Think about it like this…

Jesus could have stayed here longer. He could have put off the cross until His disciples were stronger…but He didn’t.

Jesus left them while they were WEAK enough to scatter and desert Him, but STRONG enough to get it back together and continue.

I believe that Christ was glad they scattered.

So, stop worrying about those who have…

Left you…

Abandoned you…

Deserted you…

Ignored you…or

Betrayed you.

Stop and look for God in it.

The next time that someone leaves you…look for God in it.

And, remember, that sometimes we must share in His sufferings…

Romans 8:17 (NKJV)

 And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Yes, they scattered and deserted Him, but that’s not how the story ended…And, that’s why I believe that Jesus was glad they left Him alone.

BE BLESSTIFIED!