23 Oct Hopes & Habits (Because you can’t have uphill hopes and downhill habits) Part 9
As you know we have been sharing our “Four Biblical Habits” that will radically change your life:
- Focus on firsts (Matt. 6:33).
Four “First” Facets:
- What you do first reveals who you are.
- Whatever you prize you will prioritize.
- Whatever you put first you set up to meet your needs.
- First things have power
Last week we began sharing with you Three “First” Formulas:
- Give God the first of your month…scheduling and budgeting
This week we continue with…
2. Give God the first of your week…worshipping and resting
Again we put God at the first of our week. We worship at our church and we adhere to the Sabbath principle on Mondays (as we have church services on Saturdays and Sundays). In the New Testament, we are not to adhere to the Sabbath legally (see Col. 2:16-17, Gal. 4:9-10) but the Sabbath principle still exists. Jesus told us in Mark 6:31, “And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” Therefore rest is very important.
The Bible tells us, “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep” (Ps. 127:2). Mental depression and physical exhaustion is at an all-time high in this country. God never intended us to work seven days a week, rarely get outside, rarely exercise, eat fast food on the go and live behind our iphone!
Remember this: If we don’t come apart with Him, our life will come apart without Him!
A number of years back I talked with the President of a company who worked seven days a week. This was a fine Christian man who loved God and had integrity. However the man was burning his candle on both ends of the wick. It was starting to take a physical toll on him. When I talked with him I asked him why he felt he needed to work seven days a week. He responded along the lines of “If I don’t, the company will suffer for it.”
I then asked him if he was a tither (I knew he was but I was going somewhere with this conversation). He shared that he was a tither. I then responded and said, “You trust God with the first 10% of your finances and believe God will help you with the remaining 90%, right?” Then I followed up with, “Why don’t you do the same thing with your business? Take one day off to rest and trust God that He can do more in those six days than you could with all seven!”
Remember this: We don’t rest from our work, we rest for our work.
Join us next week as we share the third of our Three “First” Formulas…