Date Night with God It's a Saturday night, I am a 27 year old single girl, you would expect me to be out on a date or enjoying time with my spouse and kids. Instead I have been "blessed" with the stage of singleness in my life. I am in a transition stage in my life. I'm finishing up school and getting ready to apply to jobs all over the country. I have decided to not pray for a particular job but to pray for guidance and to go where God leads me. So, tonight I had a date night with God. I read through my devotionals and read through the rest of Romans. God is my date until He places another man in my life to help me grow in this walk of life together. In the last 3-4 months, I have spent a lot of time with God and have grown stronger in my prayer life and my bible reading life. I have learned more in the past 3 months then I have sense I first got saved. I have read several books as well to help develop myself and become a stronger christian. I have also partaken in two 24 hour fasts. I have learned a lot about myself as well. I still have a lot more to learn and develop into but, when I am ready I am confident that God will place the right man in my life to be my permanent "date". Until then I am contend with my date nights with God. Here are two quotes from my two of the most influential pastors in my life.
"Your best days can still be in front of you if you put God at the center again." Bill Purvis
"Out of our greatest misery often comes our greatest ministry." Brent Purvis
So if you are in a stage of singleness in your life. I challenge you to have some date nights with God. When you are feeling lonely, spend sometime with God. He misses you, He wants your attention. Embrace your singleness as lonely as it can be.
- The fourth purpose in our life is serving God. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Each of us was placed on earth to make a contribution. God designed each of us to make a difference with our lives. "You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it." (Rick Warren).
YOU WERE CREATED TO SERVE GOD
- Whenever we serve others in any way we are serving God. Each one of us was placed on earth for a special reason/assignment. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations - that's what I had in mind for you." God shaped us before we were even conceived. He planned who our parents were going to be and what our assignment was going to be.
YOU WERE SAVED TO SERVE GOD
- 2 Timothy 1:9 says, "For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time - to show us his grace through Christ Jesus." We were saved to serve God. "In God's kingdom, you have a place, a purpose, a role, and a function to fulfill." (Rick Warren). Jesus gave his life to purchase our salvation. We need to serve God out of joy and gratitude and not out of guilt or shame. We own him our lives. "Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured." (Rick Warren). If you only have love for yourself, no desire to serve others, and are only concerned about your needs, you should question whether Christ is really in your life. "A saved heart is one that wants to serve. Every member of God's family is a minister" (Rick Warren). When we serve, we are ministering. We are saved to help others. We are saved to serve, not sit around and wait for heaven.
YOU ARE CALLED TO SERVE GOD
- Every Christian is called to serve, not just preachers. "Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help other, you are fulfilling your calling." (Rick Warren). Each one of us have a role in our local church. There is no small service, any kind of service matters. There is no correlation between the size of service and the significance. Every role matters because we rely on each other to function. Just like the body if one part fails to function, you get sick. When my thyroid stopped functioning correctly I became sick. Cancer invaded my body and I had to have my thyroid taken out and radiation. My immune system was down and I got sick a lot. It's important that each of us play our role and serve in our local church, so that the church stays healthy and continues to grow. YOU ARE COMMANDED TO SERVE GOD
- Serving is the heart of Christian living. "Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile." (Mother Teresa). If you are not doing God's work with a smile and a grateful, giving heart you might as well not do it. As christians we need to act on what we know and practice it. "Impression without expression causes depression." (Rick Warren). When we serve we are exercising our spiritual muscles. We need not to ask what someone can do for us but we need to ask whose needs can I meet.
PREPARING FOR ETERNITY
- When we go to heaven God is going to evaluate us on how well we served others in our life. He will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others. Romans 2:8 says, "But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness." If we live for ourselves and do not serve others, God will show anger towards us and we will lose eternal awards God has planned for us. "We are only fully alive when we're helping others." (Rick Warren). This is so true! When I am serving others in my work, I absolutely feel so alive. I feel so fulfilled, thats how I know serving others is my spiritual gift.
SERVICE AND SIGNIFICANCE
- Service is the only pathway to real significance. We all will give our life to something. It's what we choose to give it to that matters. You could choose your job, a hobby, fame, wealth, etc. None of those will have lasting significance. Through ministry we discover the meaning of our lives. God wants to work through us. "What matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of it." (Rick Warren). God uses even us misfits for his service. We need to stop making excuses and start serving.
Point to Ponder: Service is not optional. Verse to Remember: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 Question to Remember: What is holding me back from accepting God's call to serve him?
- God wants us to grow up, he doesn't want us to stay immature. "Spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes intentional commitment." (Rick Warren). Our commitments can develop us or destroy us. We become whatever we are committed to.
GOD'S PART AND YOUR PART
- "Christlikeness is the result of making Christlike choices and depending on His Spirit to help you fulfill these choices." We have to let go of our old routines and habits in order to grow. God took TJ out of my life for a reason. For me, it is routine and habit for me to text/talk to him. I need to change my habits or I'm not going to grow. Spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between us and the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:12-13 says, "Therefore, my friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." God has a purpose for us, it may not be what we have planned but it is always for good and his purpose. You can't add to your salvation once you are saved because you can't add anything to what Jesus already did. We have to work to develop what we already have.
CHANGING YOUR AUTOPILOT
- We have to change the way we think. Behind EVERYTHING we do there is a thought, negative or positive. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will." We have to deal with the root cause of our problems. "Change always starts with the mind." (Rick Warren). We have to change our thinking in order to get off of autopilot. "The way we think determines the way we feel, the way you feel influences the way you act." (Rick Warren). We need to not think immature thoughts or self-centered thoughts. "Selfish thinking is the source of sinful behavior." (Rick Warren). We need to think maturely and thinking of others is a mark of maturity. "Our deeds must be consistent with our creeds and our beliefs must be packed with Christlike behavior." (Rick Warren). We need to make thinking of others before ourselves as a lifestyle because thinking of others is the heart of Christianity.
Point to Ponder: It's never to late to start growing. Verse to Remember: "Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect." Romans 12:2b Question to Remember: What is one area I need to stop thinking my way and start thinking God's way?
- God's plan has always been to make us more like his son Jesus. We humans are the only things made in God's image. All people possess a part of the image of God - but the image is incomplete and has been damaged and distorted by our sins. God sent Jesus to restore the full image. "This desire to be a God shows up every time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and people around us." (Rick Warren). How many of us try to control our future? I know I do. I constantly think of my future. Who will I marry? When will I have kids? When will my debt be paid off? Why can't I live in the present? If I'm not living in the future I'm living in the past. Why did my past relationships not work out? Why did I end up getting 2 degrees and am going back for a third to figure out what I wanted to do? Why, why, why? We, including myself, need to live in the present! God's ultimate goal for us is character development. His goal is to change our character not our personality. Life is suppose to be difficult, it enables us to grow. We go through each of the difficult times in our lives to help us grow. We exist for God's purpose, not vice versa.
GOD'S SPIRIT WORKING IN YOU
- "It is the Holy Spirit's job to produce Christlike character in you." (Rick Warren). Sanctification is the process of changing us to be more like Jesus. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to make changes God wants us to make in our lives. Sometimes he nudges us with a gentle whisper or a huge tug. 1 Kings 19:12 says, "After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." Often times the Holy Spirit just talks to us in a gently whisper or through someone else.
WE MUST COOPERATE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT'S WORK - Obedience unlocks God's power. We have to be obedient in order to have the blessings God has in store for us. God often times waits for us to act first, its how our character develops. In order to grow spiritually we have to actively participate. We have to make an effort to become like Jesus. Surround ourselves with people who are on the same spiritual path as you. Listen to music that will help you growth. Get connected with your church family. We have to let go of our old ways. Change the way we think and develop Godly habits. Post break-up I am struggling with this. I have such habits of texting my ex and its not because I'm holding out for him, its my crutch. It gives me comfort. I know I need to stop messaging him but I continue to do it, its my crutch. I will get there but why can't I cooperate with the Holy Spirit?
GOD USES HIS WORD, PEOPLE, AND CIRCUMSTANCES TO MOLD US
- "God's word produces the truth we need to grow, God's people provide the support we need to grow, and circumstances provide the environment we need to practice Christlikeness." (Rich Warren). In order for us to become more Christlike we need to read God's word regularly, connect regularly with other believers, and trust God in difficult situations. Trust is hard for me. God ALWAYS comes through for me and I have no reason not to trust him yet, still when I am put in a difficult situation I question God and its is wrong and sinful. Often times God uses people rather than miracles. He wants us to connect with others not just be in isolation of prayer and bible study. We need to have fellowship.
BECOMING LIKE CHRIST IS A LONG, SLOW PROCESS OF GROWTH - Spiritual maturity is not instant or automatic, it takes an entire lifetime to reach full maturity. We
are only finished growing spiritually when we get to heaven or when Jesus returns. God is more interested in what we are more than what we do. He looks at our character not our job description. We have to make an effort to become like Christ or the world will bring us down.
Point to Ponder: I was created to become like Christ. Verse to Remember: "As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." 2 Corinthians 3:18b Question to Consider: In what area of my life do I need to ask for the Spirit's power to be like Christ today?
- God is LOVE! The most important lesson that God wants us to learn is to LOVE! We are most like God when we love. God wants us to love everybody but He specifically wants us to love others in His family, believers. He wants us to pay special attention to His family and love them because He wants His family to be known for its love. We can not learn to love in isolation. We have to get out and meet people and serve others. You have to be around people to love. You can't just stay in isolation. You have to go out and socialize. For some people this may be a challenge. Start with joining a group at your church. Through fellowship with other people we learn 3 important truths: 1. The Best Use of Life is LOVE
- Love should be our TOP PRIORITY in life. Rick Warren says, "Relationships must have priority in your life above everything else." I am really good at putting my romantic relationship top priority. When I am in a relationship I love so much and so deeply. I definitely make a HUGE effort for that person in my life almost to a fault. That person becomes the center of my world. I switch work schedules, I stop going to other activities, etc. This is good and bad. Yes, I am putting that person top priority and our relationship top priority but, thats just one person. I need to not neglect family and friends which I often times do. "Relationship, not achievements or acquisitions of things, are not what matter most in life." Rick Warren. A lot of people struggle with this one. For me I'd give up all my possessions and degrees to have my friends, family, and future husband and children. The enemy of relationships is busyness. We have to carve out time in our schedules for relationships. They should be our top priority. So often people get so caught up in their career and paying bills that they forget the best use of life is loving others. For me, I work in a career field where I can love on others all day. Life - Love = 0 2. Love Will Last Forever
- Love and kindness have the most impact on earth when you die. When someone is on there deathbed they don't ask to be surrounded by there diplomas, trophies, earthly possessions; they ask to be surrounded by the people they love. You have to love others and make relationships important to you now, we never know how much time we or someone else has left here on earth. When you die no one is going to remember you for your success in sports, degrees you had, career achievements, those will fade. What they will remember you for is the love you poured out to them and others. 3. We Will be Evaluated on Our Love
- God measures spiritual maturity by the quality of our relationships. He is not going to ask you when you get to heaven to tell him about your career or your finances, instead, He is going to ask you how you treated other people. We should love people like God loves the church. Random acts of kindness is a good way to show love to a stranger. Next time you are at a coffee shop pay for someone behind you, it will make someones day and you are showing love to a complete stranger.
THE BEST EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE
- The more time you give someone or something the more you reveal its importance in your life. Again, when I'm in a romantic relationship giving them my time is easy for me, I love them, I want to spend time with them, I make it a huge priority to me. I prioritize other things so that I can adjust my schedule to have time with them. Especially being in a past military relationship, TIME together is important and shows your love. They may get deployed, sent to the field, go to a school and be gone for months at a time. When they are home its important to spent as much time as possible together. Again, this may be a fault in me because I neglect other relationships in my life and I hope in the future once I get into another romantic relationship that I can balance it more. If you want to know a person's priorities look how they spend their time. Do they spend all their time at work, at church, with the ones that love them? Look at where they spend the majority of time and that will show you where their priorities are. The greatest gift you can ever give someone is your TIME. The most desired form of love is focused attention, especially for us women. I would take away all my earthly possessions to have focused time with the ones I love. That means no cell phones! This is hard for all of us in this day and age but we need to give the people we love our focused attention. Guys often times do not get this. They think I am providing for there every need, they should feel loved! For us women the focused attention, one on one time is so important. For those of you that have kids that means date nights without the kids as well. It's important for your relationship.
THE BEST TIME TO LOVE IS NOW!!!
- One day I will enter into another romantic relationship and I hope and pray that I can be more balanced in my love. I definitely make that relationship my first priority and it should be once we are married but I should not neglect my other relationships. Of course, my relationship with God comes first, then will be my spouse, then children. I pray for God to send me my future husband but until then I am going to spread my love, especially to His family. I challenge you if you are single to trust in God's timing, as hard as it is, it's his perfect timing! Pray for exactly what you want in your spouse. Write it out. Give God every detail. I heard God tell me after my last break up, tell me exactly what you want in your spouse. I wrote it out. I then had a lady at work tell me to tell God exactly what you want. I wrote out another list. Then again Pastor Brent Purvis from Cascade Hills Church preached on prayer and he said you have to tell God exactly what you want from hair color, to career, to height, etc. I then proceeded to make a 3 page list and left room to add more. Of course some of those I can budge on but some I will not. I challenge you, tell God what you want and in the meantime focus on your relationship with God. He will reveal things to you and others may often times confirm it.
Point to Ponder: Life is all about love. Verse to Remember: "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love thy neighbor as yourself.' Galatians 5:14 Question to Consider: Honestly, are relationships my first priority? How can I ensure that they are?
It's a Saturday night, I am a 27 year old single girl, you would expect me to be out on a date or enjoying time with my spouse and kids. Instead I have been "blessed" with the stage of singleness in my life. I am in a transition stage in my life. I'm finishing up school and getting ready to apply to jobs all over the country. I have decided to not pray for a particular job but to pray for guidance and to go where God leads me. So, tonight I had a date night with God. I read through my devotionals and read through the rest of Romans. God is my date until He places another man in my life to help me grow in this walk of life together. In the last 3-4 months, I have spent a lot of time with God and have grown stronger in my prayer life and my bible reading life. I have learned more in the past 3 months then I have sense I first got saved. I have read several books as well to help develop myself and become a stronger christian. I have also partaken in two 24 hour fasts. I have learned a lot about myself as well. I still have a lot more to learn and develop into but, when I am ready I am confident that God will place the right man in my life to be my permanent "date". Until then I am contend with my date nights with God. Here are two quotes from my two of the most influential pastors in my life.
