God Archives - Page 7 of 14 - Leonard McElveen

Be Bold

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a conference at my church. The basis of the conference was to equip Christians to become bold witnesses for Christ. As I was listening to the minister I began to think about why Christians today are not as bold as they could be.

Why Not Us

This is not an indictment on Christians, but rather just my observations and what I think is necessary to help us grow into bold, confident believers. I see so many people of other faiths that are bold and it seems that Christians are lacking when it comes to boldness.

Are we, as Christians, willing to talk about our faith at work, in the community and just in everyday life? I’ll be the first to admit that I may not do this as well as others. I do however, understand who I am and who I represent.

Confidence in Who I AM

I believe confidence is one of the biggest problems that Christians face today. Too many of us do not understand who are. We are not sure what it means to be called of God. We read the Bible and there is a disconnect from what we read to how it applies to us.

If we look at other groups in society, they seem very solid and grounded in who they are and what they stand for.

I believe that boldness starts with confidence. Confidence in who God has called me to be. I must have confidence in what God has called me to do with my life. Christian boldness starts with these things.

I can’t speak to my neighbors, co-workers, friends and family about my faith and love for God if I’m not confident in that faith and love.

Spending Time With God

The purpose of spending time with God is to gain confidence in who He is. Gaining an understanding of God and being in a relationship with God also breeds confidence in Him.

This week, let’s look to build our confidence in God by spending time with Him. Then we can go into the world and be bold Christians that share His love.

The Morning Routine You Need

I like to get the most out of my day. I feel like it is a good day when at night I can look back and feel like I accomplished something. It’s a good feeling to have days where you feel productive. Productivity has a way of making you feel better in every area of your life.

Netflix & What Would’ve Been

I despise the feeling of having a day off of work or being on vacation and wanting to get so many things done, and yet somehow nothing gets done. If you’re like me, you have this day marked on your calendar and you expect having a “free day” to do whatever you need or want. However, the great plans that you had disappeared when you sat down to catch up on your Netflix queue. Before you know it, you’ve watched an entire season of House of Cards, it’s 6 o’ clock and you still haven’t showered!

Start the Right Way

One of the most important things that I’ve learned over the last couple of years is how important your morning routine is to the start of a great day. You can pretty much Google “How to have a great morning,” and get plenty of advice on how to get the most out of your day. What I see from these tips and morning routines are the biblical principles that God has laid out for us. So what does God say about how we are to start our day.

1. Plan the night before

The start to a great day actually begins the night before. Proverbs 21:5 Says that “the plans of the diligent leads to abundance”. A successful day actually begins the day before. Too many times we just let the day happen to us. We need to plan how we want our days to look in advance.

2. Praise & Worship

I like to start my day with some Praise & Worship. This helps me so that I’m not tempted to go back to sleep. Offering up praise and worship to God is a way get our blood pumping and our bodies moving. Having this time of praise and worship has a way of opening our hearts and helps us focus on God’s goodness at the start of the day.

3. Devotional

Having a good devotional is a benefit. Most devotionals give a daily scripture, some reflection and a prayer at the end. I really like devotionals because they offer a focus for the day. It provides context and gives me a reference for what I can refer to throughout the day. Joshua 1:8 says it best. We are to “meditate on God’s word day and night.” Devotionals are great for this.

4. Pray

By this point in the morning routine, there you should flow from one thing to the next. It can be easy to flow from the devotional prayer to a time of personal prayer. For me, I like to begin my personal time with expressing to God how thankful I am. Our prayer time should focus on God rather than ourselves. While there are times we do need to express issues of our lives to God, there should also be times where we are praying for our families, friends and communities.

5. Journal

I am a big fan of writing in a journal. For me, it’s a great way to reflect on the previous day, and a way to transfer the thoughts in my head out on paper. Sitting down to journal after a time of prayer is a great way of getting in the habit of writing the things down that God tells us. Making using a journal a part of your morning routine helps to value God’s voice and His word.

6. Confessions/Affirmations

Ending the morning routine with confessions or affirmations is an awesome way to build up our confidence and self-esteem before we step into the world. God’s word is most powerful when we speak it out of our mouths. We don’t just become the things we see and hear, we become what we say. Confessing God’s word over lives builds us up for so many things that we attack during the day.

Have you developed a morning routine? If not, what is holding you back? Let’s start today with getting the most out of our days.

Why Faith

Why I Wrote About Faith

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been writing about faith. What it is, how to use it and how to have Faith when all attempts of my own efforts fail. In my heart, I believe that people can struggle with their faith. For that reason, I wanted to share some of my own faith victories and struggles this time.

My Struggle

Faith for me was always something that I heard about in church. I knew I was supposed to have it, that I was supposed to use it and I even knew a scripture or two. Despite all of this I struggled with developing my own faith.

Rules & Laws Are Not the Way

I tend to be a person that likes steps and rules. The 5 Steps for this or the 7 Laws of that, tend to be right up my alley. That is how I think. It makes concepts and processes easy for me to understand.

What I failed to understand was that believing in God and then trusting in Him was more than 5 or 7 steps. It is more than fulfilling certain rules and laws. Following steps doesn’t build trust in God. It distances us from God and makes Him seem like an unapproachable boss rather than the loving Father that He truly is.

What I Really Needed

Following rules and laws are good, but it doesn’t help me develop a real relationship with God. I didn’t really trust Him. I was trusting more in the rules and laws to get the results that I wanted.

Today, I like to think that I’ve gotten better. I honestly still struggle with thinking that sometimes it would be easier to just follow the rules and then get the results. However, some of the best parts of being in a relationship with God have nothing to do with the “things” that come. Some of the best parts are the comfort that comes from being able to be open and honest with God. The peace that comes from knowing Him. He has helped me in more ways than I can count.

Be Honest

There is nothing wrong with being honest with God and telling Him that we are struggling with something. Even if it is trusting in Him. God will prove Himself to you. Just as He did for me.

Getting Better

My relationship with God is stronger now than it was in the past. I know that it can get better and as a result my faith will be positively impacted. I look forward to growing in this relationship, so that I can tell others about God and how He transformed my life.

What has helped you in your relationship with God? How does your faith come into play?