3 Things I Do Each Morning to Live God’s Purposes
If it’s not simple, I don’t do it
The longer I live, and it’s been over 6 decades now, the more I’m convinced that following Jesus and living God’s purposes is THE best possible way to live.
Jesus is THE WAY, TRUTH, AND LIFE (John 14:6, ESV)
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:3, ESV)
“The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us–” (1 John 1:2, ESV)
The Highest Level of Life Possible
The highest possible level of life is the life of God, eternal life, the divine nature. This is what God wants all of us to experience.
To experience the life of God, the fruit of God’s Spirit, eternal life can only happen as we connect with God and learn to live an abiding in Christ lifestyle. (John 15:5, ESV)
We are automatically united with Christ at the moment of conversion. Jesus comes to live inside us, and we are in Him before the Father that very instant. Learning to live in this reality and to experience more of it is an ongoing process.
For most of us, how we start the day plays a big role in living in the life of God each day.
Jesus taught us to pray “for our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11, ESV) because we need God’s grace every day.
Much has been written about morning routines. Unless you are a night owl, then how you start the day can either be a launch point or a staggering point for that specific day. (If you are a nigh owl, your evening routine may be the best launch point for you).
Here are the three things I’ve found that work best for me. (Full disclosure. I am definitely a morning person, so it’s easy for me to get up and get going. Some of you may need a little coffee to wake up, but something like this can still work for you.)
1. Spend time with God in the Bible, prayer, worship, statements, and planning
As a Bible reading Christian, and most likely a churchgoer, you have heard repeated messages on having consistent devotional times with Jesus.
Despite hearing that and believing it, still many have trouble doing it. We all have to deal with the flesh/spirit battles and the regular attacks of the enemy to keep us from connecting with God and receiving His grace, wisdom, and power for that day.
That’s why it’s important to set things up to make this as easy and natural as possible. For it to become a habit.
Once meeting with God becomes a habit, then it’s much, much easier to follow through.
What do I do when I meet with Jesus?
I intentionally keep a blend of repeated practices with flexible, sometimes spontaneous responses. This keeps things both consistent and fresh for the long-run.
First,I connect God easiest through the Bible (my wife connects easiest with God through prayer). So I almost always start with fellowshiping with God in Scripture.
Most often, this is not study time, though if I’m pressed for time, it can be. This is reading through passages of Scripture, then prayerfully thinking about it, asking God to help me live this or receive it into my life or to pray it for someone. I make this interactive with Jesus.
Second.From there I pray over my priorities and my day. I still use the Lord’s Prayer often as an outline.
Third. Something that has been very important for me is reading over, saying and praying specific Scriptures and Scripture-based statements. The Bible emphasizes our thought life and, in my case, setting my mind in the morning is a must.
I’m not a negative person, but I’m not naturally a super positive person either. So I’ve written several pages of Scriptures and follow up statements to get my mind right for that day.
I read them, pray them, and say them out loud. There is a day and night difference in my faith, hope, and love levels when I do this compared to when I don’t.
Fourth. I prayerfully look over my schedule, asking God for His blessing and wisdom to accomplish His will that day.
2. Workout
The Bible teaches that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17, ESV).
1 Timothy 4:8 tells us that physical exercise is of little profit compared to spiritual practices, but that is comparative. Eternal things have much greater benefit and priority than temporal things, but taking care of our body matters too.
Working out is important to stay healthy and mentally sharp.
I’ve discovered that short workouts can be very beneficial; they don’t have to take over 15 minutes if done with a decent amount of intensity. I’ve seen in my body that doing 2 or 3 safe, but high-intensity workouts, combined with 2 or 3 days of low intensity workouts (like walking and stretching) keeps me strong and increases my energy.
You can do your own research, but I would encourage you to make safe workouts a regular part of your life.
3. Write
In Habakkuk 2:2, ESV God told the prophet, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.
Writing down the insights and goals, the vision God gives us helps us and others God has joined to us, “run” or take action.
A big part of what I do involves writing: articles, books, courses, so this is always a top priority for me.
But, even people who don’t do a lot of vocational writing can benefit from putting things down on paper or your tablet.
Written goals have a much higher success rate than unwritten goals.
Writing plans and ideas helps clarify thought.
In my case, I’ve found that writing AGAIN ideas, plans, and goals helps imprint them in my mind at a deeper level and inspires me to action.
Even if your work does not include writing, try taking a few minutes to write prayers, ideas, goals, etc. and see if you notice a difference.
Those are three things I do 5–6 days a week (I take one or two days off a week; helps keep it fresh for me).
If you want more help on how to set up God-inspired goals, plans, and routines, comment below, let me know what you’re most interested in and I’ll send you some tools that have helped quite a few people
My website is www.TruVineMission.com for more resources, including a short, free book entitled Prayer for Busy People.
