FIRST POST: A DEVOTION ON AUTHORITY

GREETS,

Well, I am starting a lot of new things in my life at about this time. I have just started a brand new accountability relationship with a good friend and youth ministry volunteer. Then, yesterday, Deanna and I closed on our second house purchase since we married in 1997, and, well... I also decided it was time for me to start journaling again and I thought that this would be a cool way to do it. I am not much for hand-writing anything anymore. It is so much easier and quicker to t-y-p-e things for me.

Anyhow, I kind of wanted to create this blog to be an accountability tool for myself. A map, of sorts, of my soul searching with God. Right now, I am currently spending some time reading a very cool devotional book written by one of my youth ministry heroes, Mike Yaconelli. It is titled, "devotion. a raw-truth journal on following Jesus". Today's reading was the second one out of thirty and it's focus was on authority.

I think a lot of times we forget about the authority that God wants us to have in our daily walk. We are supposed to be people of influence (Jesus sure was). I want to live my life with the full realization that I can choose the kind of life I live. I can choose what I believe. I can choose to control myself - or not. I have complete authority over my decisions. I can choose to be a person of authority - that people look up to and come to for answers when they seek help. Who wouldn't want that?

Here's my TOP TEN LIST of the TOP TEN THING I DO EVERY DAY THAT ARE MY CHOICE:

1) Spend time with God in Scripture and devotional reading
2) Spend time with God in prayer (pray continuously)
3) Express love to my wife and kids
4) Show that #3 is true by reserving time with family for fun and memory-making
5) Be a disciple of God, in a true sence of the word
6) Check and respond to e-mail
7) Journaling (although this is a new one for me)
8) Try to eat healthy
9) Stay active
10) Never waste time - time is precious!

... a list that is much harder to do than it is to write. Lord, help me to walk out Your authority in my life.