Play Ball

So baseball season is now in full swing. It’s my favorite season as it means warmer weather is coming. It means time at the ballpark with my family is coming. It also means that I get to spend time with the other guys on the church softball team, which I really enjoy.

What during the year gives you that same feeling in a spiritual way? When do you get a feeling of renewal like the start of baseball season does for me? What gets you excited to get going and get renewed?

If you don’t have something like this in your life, I pray that you find something soon. Maybe a men’s or women’s retreat, a Bible study, or something else can do that for you. The reason I think it’s important is to keep things from becoming stale. Sometimes you need to hear the words "Play Ball!!!" in your life for renewal.

Making Time

Lately God has been impressing upon me that there is a big difference between making time for God, and making Him first in my life. I’d been trying to find time to take part in other activities and then find time for Him, instead of vice versa.

As simple as that concept is, I still fall into this trap time and time again. I’ll say yes to playing on a sports team, helping with my kids' events, doing a church ministry, etc. which then doesn’t allow me to do the reading and praying that I need to do.

So the question is, how do I overcome this? How do I put God first and everything else in its place? It’s actually an easier answer than you’d think. By having God first in my life everything else will fall into place, making it all easier to accomplish. I can fit that stuff in, learn to say no when I need to do so, and still do other stuff because I have the daily focus that He desires me to have.

Today I ask. what things are you putting before God? What do you need to do to place things in the right order again? How much more can you do with a change in your priorities? Those are the differences when you go from making time for God instead of doing what you should, making Him first!

Listen To The Message

As an office manager of a medical office I can tell you that I make a lot of phone calls. Sometimes I get ahold of my contact, but oftentimes I don’t. When I don’t reach that person I often get the opportunity to leave them a message.

Over the past 2-3 years I’ve seen some big changes in the people who are getting my messages. It's becoming the norm to call back the number seen on the caller ID without ever listening to the message. They do that because they think they know who is calling and why they called.

Now, I have a problem with people doing this. First off, we have 16 people who work in my office who could have called that person. If they don’t listen to the message then they don’t know who called them or why they were calling. When they call back, it becomes very difficult to route them to the correct person who called. Secondly, if we take the time to leave a message, why not take the time to listen to it before you respond?

I’ve found that this policy of not listening to messages isn’t only happening with phone messages, but with God’s messages as well. People often think that they know what He’s going to tell them and act upon that notion before they really get the message that He has for them. They don’t take the time to REALLY hear from God.

So today I’d like to impress upon you the need to listen to the messages that you are given. Listen to what God is saying to you and then act. Don’t assume that you know what He’s going to tell you. Don’t assume that you should act upon those ideas. Your spiritual life will be stronger if you take the time and hear the message.

Word Of Mouth

One of the cheapest and yet most important forms of advertising for a business is word of mouth. This is mostly previous customers discussing with potential customers their experiences with the before-mentioned business. It can be both positive and negative. Yet, the negative is understandably the hardest to overcome. If you make one person unhappy as a business owner it could cause up to 54 people not to come to your business on average. (That is a stat thing, not something I made up.) So, businesses work hard to make sure that each and every customer is happy with the service and products they receive during their visits.

Have you ever thought of yourself as a part of God’s business? Well, in at least one way you are. If you are a Christian and profess that with your mouth, then you are a walking and talking representative for God and all for which He stands. Everything you do and say is an advertisement for Him. The way you treat others, the way you act even when you don’t think others are watching is being evaluated by someone. Those who see and hear what you are doing use that to decide on whether or not they want to be a Christian as well. If they don’t like what they see, not only could they not want to have a relationship with Christ, but it may cause those they come in contact with to choose the same. Each and every day you could be influencing the decisions of hundreds of people for or against God with just what you do and say.

Talk about a burden you have to deal with, right? Is it worth it? How about for the businesses you come in contact with every day? Is it worth it for them? If you like a store you often go back there time and time again and spend your money, right? You might even make it your "go to" location for certain goods or services. Yet, if you don’t like it, then you might never step back in that place again. So, for the long term survival of any business it’s vital for them to make you happy when you are in contact with them. Do you think it’s any less important to do that when someone could be going to Hell instead of Heaven?

The word of mouth advertising that each of us does every day is important for the Kingdom of God. Have you been spreading a positive or negative campaign lately?