#1 God – My relationship with God is the most important thing!
Have you ever lost touch with an old friend? I have. My best friend in Grade School & Junior High was Mike Blake. He lived a few blocks from my house – and we both served on the “safety patrol” together. J We enjoyed spending time climbing trees and hanging out in his tree fort. All we could think about in those days was how far we could ride our bikes and who had the most star wars toys. Mike attended church and I remember going to church with him a few times. His parents were nice and they always made me feel welcome in their home. As we entered High School, we started drifting apart with new sets of friends and different classes. Over the next few years it seemed the only time we spoke was in the hallway in between classes. I guess you could say our relationship grew cold.
It’s often said, “Relationships take work.” The same is true with our relationship with God. We can lose touch with God if we don’t work at our relationship with Him.
Maintaining a relationship with God requires staying connected to Him. Jesus tells us in Revelation 3:15-16 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth”. There are three stages to keeping this relationship in check.
#1 Hot – you are growing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3 3We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
#2 Cold – you do not know God yet. John 7:28-29 28Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. 29But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.
#3 Luke Warm – you are drifting. Hebrews 2:1 1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Sometimes we can drift away from God without even realizing it. It’s easy to drift. It takes no effort. That’s what often happens in human relationships. People slowly drift apart.
God doesn’t want us to be lukewarm. He doesn’t want us to drift away from Him. He wants us to pursue a relationship with Him that grows stronger and deeper each day.
#2 Family – I am devoted to my wife & daughter!
As a husband and father I am committed to spending the time needed to nurture these precious relationships. Often I can become so busy at work that I my schedule becomes so full that Beverly and Kaitlyn end up with my leftovers. This isn’t something that I intend to happen but it can happen if I don’t take a careful evaluation of my work load and calendar.
Before God formed the institution we call the “church” He first formed the FAMILY. I have a responsibility to love my family and hold them close to my heart. Living life with joy is very important. We not only need the spiritual aspect of God in every part of our lives but we also need the physical enjoyment of just “having fun together”. We enjoy watching a good movie together, eating at new places, backyard barbecues, football games and cultural elements.
Some of our greatest memories have been made on vacation – away from it all. Laughing and enjoying one another. I know we’re in a busy world and you would think that with all the technology we have available to us that we would be afforded more time for ourselves. But that is not the case! I’m busier than my grandparents ever were.
So, we have to learn to take time to breathe. After pastoring for several years I finally committed to taking Mondays off. I’m so glad that I accepted that word of wisdom. You see, till then I thought I had to be SUPER PASTOR. You know…the pastor who’s at every hospital in town, preaching every wedding and funeral, making every phone call, etc… I thought it couldn’t be done unless my hand was in it. When I disciplined myself to take Mondays off, after awhile I began to catch my breath and learn to balance my family life.
I say this from my heart. I don’t want to spend time trying to build everyone else’s family and end up losing mine all because I was an absentee dad. God help us all to keep our families high up on the priority list!
#3 Work – I am devoted to working to provide for my family!
Everyone has to work. The Scriptures teach us that “if we don’t work, we don’t eat”. What is wrong in America? Why is it that so many people have the mindset to let the government take care of them? I realize that not everyone is lazy, but some people just don’t know the value of a good work ethic. In today’s society, people quit jobs just because their boss gets rough with them. People quit jobs because they want to take a vacation.
God has called me to provide for my family. It’s every man’s desire to be able to be the bread winner. Most men take pride in their ability to do this. It’s built in my DNA to want to do this. I’m fortunate at this point in my life that my work happens to also be my ministry. But that was not always the case. I know full well the juggling act of family, work, ministry, etc. I know how demanding life can be and I know also that when you hold a job you can’t just drop everything to run and have more leisure time or to pursue other points of interest.
We would solve a lot of problems in America today if we broke the dinner plate of some of these guys who are free loaders and lazier than a couch potato. When God blessed you with a family it is your responsibility to carry the load to meet the needs of that family. If you are in a situation where both you and your wife are working to provide an income, benefits, etc. – still strive to keep it all in balance and make sure you keep a good line of communication open.
#4 Ministry – it is a joy to work for the Lord!
All of my life I dreamed of doing what I’m doing now. I truly believe that my parents were very instrumental in positioning me at a young age to hear from the Lord. They were there to channel my energy in the Lord’s direction.
When I wanted to learn to play an instrument, my parents made sure I had what I needed. I first learned to play the violin in the fourth grade. I actually got quite good playing this instrument and learned how to read sheet music. I even learned to play by ear and was taking the violin to church and helping during congregational singing. When I reached Junior High I was embarrassed to play the violin anymore. I thought “I don’t want to play in the orchestra, I want to play in the marching band”. So, I laid the violin down and eventually lost the skill and knowledge to play it. Oh how I wish I could play it again.
When I wanted to play the drums, my parents bought me a cheap set and said “go for it”. When I wanted to learn to play the bass guitar, once again, my parents bought me a bass guitar and together my dad and I learned the chord structures till finally I was playing for our family group and in church. When I wanted to learn to play the piano, dad and mom bought an old upright piano. It was on that old piano that I learned to flow in a minstrel anointing.
You see, there has always been a desire in my heart to want to work for the Lord. (i.e., youth ministry, mowing the church lawn, bus routes, Sunday school, puppets, music, teaching, preaching, etc.) However, ministry doesn’t take God’s place (He’s #1). Ministry doesn’t take my families place (They’re #2) and ministry don’t even take precedence over my work (#3) – as I already stated, I’m blessed to be able to do #3 and #4 simultaneously at this point in my life.
There will always be ministry work to perform. What we must be careful about is putting ministry ahead of everything else. When your priorities get off – you get out of balance. God is a God of balance.
It’s taken me longer than I’d like to admit – but I am finally living up to these priorities to the best of my ability. I’m sure I have a ways to go but I’m committed to this.