Monday, July 19, 2010
What Matters Most
July 19, 2010
By: Julie Clinton, M.A. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21
Food. Alcohol. An affair. Shopping. Exercise. Obsessions with hobbies or a job. Too often, instead of looking to God and the relationships He’s placed in our lives, we look to other things to fill the emptiness and ease the confusion we feel. But how well we live hinges entirely on our ability to develop healthy relationships with others.
And herein lies the secret to making every day count. To focus on what matters most – time with God and those we love. This is incredibly difficult to do in a world that values anything but intimacy with others. Wealth. Beauty. Fame. The decision to focus on our relationships—with God and others—is directly at odds with what society values.
If relationships with God and others are what matter most in life, we need to ask ourselves what we’re doing to strengthen these closest relationships. Often, we’re so caught up in life that we inadvertently put our connections with others on autopilot, hoping that the relationships will still be intact when life settles down a bit. Because life rarely settles down, we can go weeks, months, and even years without investing time in the people we love most.
Where is your heart? Is it trapped by the human desire to store up treasure in this world? Or do you focus on people the way Jesus did when He was here on earth?
Prayer
Prayer: O Lord. Fill me with the desire for relationship—with You and with the people I love the most. Help me to realize that if I treasure relationship above everything else, that is where I will put my heart and my time. Amen.
Bible Readings for the Week Ahead:
Monday: Ephesians 5:2, 19, 30
Tuesday: Colossians 3:16
Wednesday: Colossians 2:2
Thursday: Malachi 3:16
Friday: Luke 24:13, 14, 15
Saturday: Psalm 55:14
Sunday: 1 John 1:3, 7
By: Julie Clinton, M.A. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21
Food. Alcohol. An affair. Shopping. Exercise. Obsessions with hobbies or a job. Too often, instead of looking to God and the relationships He’s placed in our lives, we look to other things to fill the emptiness and ease the confusion we feel. But how well we live hinges entirely on our ability to develop healthy relationships with others.
And herein lies the secret to making every day count. To focus on what matters most – time with God and those we love. This is incredibly difficult to do in a world that values anything but intimacy with others. Wealth. Beauty. Fame. The decision to focus on our relationships—with God and others—is directly at odds with what society values.
If relationships with God and others are what matter most in life, we need to ask ourselves what we’re doing to strengthen these closest relationships. Often, we’re so caught up in life that we inadvertently put our connections with others on autopilot, hoping that the relationships will still be intact when life settles down a bit. Because life rarely settles down, we can go weeks, months, and even years without investing time in the people we love most.
Where is your heart? Is it trapped by the human desire to store up treasure in this world? Or do you focus on people the way Jesus did when He was here on earth?
Prayer
Prayer: O Lord. Fill me with the desire for relationship—with You and with the people I love the most. Help me to realize that if I treasure relationship above everything else, that is where I will put my heart and my time. Amen.
Bible Readings for the Week Ahead:
Monday: Ephesians 5:2, 19, 30
Tuesday: Colossians 3:16
Wednesday: Colossians 2:2
Thursday: Malachi 3:16
Friday: Luke 24:13, 14, 15
Saturday: Psalm 55:14
Sunday: 1 John 1:3, 7
Friday, July 2, 2010
Lost Emails
A glitch on my computer took all of my email addresses over a month ago. I have lost all of you. If you would like to be on the Women's Ministry email list, please forward your email addresses to Marian@theeffect.org. Thank you!!!
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