The Blue Church

I don’t know about you, but it seems so easy to conclude that this world is all there is. It is so familiar. It is all that we have known. It is all that we see. Days can pass quickly because we are so absorbed in the affairs of this world. As believers, I am convinced that unless a Bible verse comes along and thumps us on the head, the affairs of this world could be our primary concern.     I can recall in the days before I knew Christ that this life was all that there was. There was nothing around me that strongly challenged that world-view. Now, I recognize that I could have spent every day of my life thinking that way, and spent an eternity in Hell.   Even our own efforts to abide in God are limited. I suspect that many Christians spend about twenty minutes in God’s Word and three to five minutes in prayer each day. That totals twenty-five minutes a day. For most of us, we are conscious nine-hundred minutes a day.   Hmmm….   Twenty five out of nine-hundred minutes a day focusing on God. Seems like a problem.   If you consider this another way, we have nine hundred minutes each day being inundated with the world’s enticements and responsibilities. Seems like the odds are stacked against us.   So what is the answer? Is it a monastery? Full time religious work? Spending every free moment focusing on God so as to level the playing field? I don’t think so.   No, the solution must be more practical. More applicable.   What if we were to invite God into all of our day’s experiences? What if we purposed to pray to Him while working? Recall Scripture verses while washing dishes? Sing songs and hymns to Him while driving? What if we praised Him while doing our bills (since the money is from Him anyway)? Maybe we could watch a few more Christian based movies rather than binging on that latest Netflix series. Perhaps we could even think more about God when we are conversing with others, secretly asking Him to lead us through the conversation by His Spirit. Would it be possible for us to read some more Christian books, rather than the ones from our favorite secular author? Of course, there are many ideas about how we could invite God into our life more. I bet you could come up with a bunch of them.   The reason I am writing about this today is because I know how quickly the world can get hold of me and that I need to be purposeful in inviting God into my days. I must strive to do this. It is not natural. It is a swim upstream. It is worth it.   My challenge for us today is to come up with some ways that we can invite God more into our everyday affairs. See if you can come up with five different ways you can do this and put them into practice.   Five!!!? Wow!! That is a lot Rob!   Remember, this isn’t about adding five things to your life. This is about inviting God into five things that are already in your life. Isn’t He worth it? Think of how you (and He) would be blessed if you increased your fellowship with Him.   If you have other ideas about how to invite God into your life, please share them with me. Perhaps I will share what you wrote in next week’s blog (anonymously).   Be blessed and see if you can turn those twenty five minutes into fifty this week. That is twice as much God. J   “Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  – From Ephesians, Chapter 5     Rob