"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.
John 14:1-4
I took some time this week and thought through how much time I spend planning or preparing for things. The list became long quickly. I plan my days, my grocery list, my meals, my events....the list was quite lengthy. I think I probably need a plan for my planning! ;) Sometimes even with a plan in place, the day gets away from me and life tends to feel quite chaotic. I'm not one for chaos, but if I'm honest with myself, it just seems inevitable. One meeting last longer than expected, one appointment doesn't start on time, traffic always seems to throw a curve ball at me, oh and my gas tank seems to always be on empty when I'm late.
I realized quickly that preparing for our days may be helpful, but at the same time, those plans aren't truly reliable. There is human error involved each and every day. And even IF we get it all right, others are involved that may not be as concerned with our plans as we are. But what about our hearts? What about the time you spend preparing your heart for the Lord. Do you commit yourselves to spend quiet time with God? Do you set aside a space where distractions are minimal? This takes intentionality on our part...and yes planning. But you see this planning enables us to prepare our hearts to hear from Him. And this preparation is key! This time spent with Jesus EVERY DAY will be the most necessary part of that 24 hour period. Yes, more essential than meetings or appointments and even eating and sleeping, because the truth is... He is our daily bread. This time is what starts your day on the right track and enables you to have a heart that is totally devoted to Him.
I have spent some time reflecting on this week, known as Holy Week. This week, guess what? Jesus had prepared for it. He had prepared for His arrest, His death on the cross, followed by His Resurrection. But He didn't just start preparing this week...His entire life lived on earth consisted of this preparation. He knew where the start and the finish would be. And knowing this, He prepared himself as well as His followers for what would happen next. I can't even imagine how difficult the anticipation of walking toward the finish line was for Him. I can't imagine how confusing it was for His followers. So much to the point that if there had been any other way, I would guess He would have taken it.
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42
He did it for us. It was ALL for us! Jesus prepared for the cruel death He would face on the cross and He did it for me, you, and everyone else. Why would we not plan our days around time growing in Him? I recently said to a group of women: Let's plan our day around Jesus and not plan Jesus around our day! The choice you make changes the outcome of every decision that follows that day. We may not know the actual day of our finish line as Jesus did, but we do, however know that it will happen...it's inevitable. So let's live our days preparing to meet Jesus and living a life worthy of entering the place HE prepared for us so long ago.
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.
John 14:1-4
This week's Bible Study:
This week's bible study is meant to be read to prepare your hearts for Easter Sunday. I challenge you to Dedicate a time each day to spend time in His word!
Monday: John 13-14
Tuesday: John 15-16
Wednesday: John 17-18
Thursday: John 19-20
Friday: Luke 22-24
Saturday: Mark 14-16
Sunday: Matthew 26-28
This week's verse to
memorize and meditate on:
John 14:1-4
Tips and challenges this week:
Find a space to dedicate time to the Lord.
Give Him your first and the best.
Plan your day around the Lord. Don't plan the Lord around your day.
Private Facebook Discussion Group
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Questions?
If you have questions or things that you read and don't understand, please email me your questions. I can't promise I have all of the answers, but if I don't have them, I will find them and get them to you.
Growing in God
Would you like a tool to encourage your growth in God? Check out my newly released 12-month spiritual disciplines book/journal. This journal will give you a brief understanding of 8 tangible spiritual disciplines as well as give you a space to implement these disciplines into your daily walk with God.
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