If...Then....(Replay)

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December 11, 2007

Good morning family, 

I pray that all is well with everyone. I don't know about where you are, but in Raleigh, the weather has been absolutely awesome. It's mid December and we are sitting at 80 degree weather, while the majority of the country has ice storms. It will not last long, but lets enjoy what God has provided while it lasts instead of missing it when it's gone. 

A lot of the times we tend to fall into a situation of missing something when it's gone. Then we find ourselves saying statements like, “if only I had......then......” With family members, when one passes away, we sometimes regret that we didn't do something and wish we had the chance to do it all over again. We are reactive people in stead of proactive people. To take it a step further, we like to put conditions on why we haven't done/didn't do something or when we will do something. This even trickles over to our relationship with the God. 

There are many times you here people say things like: 

• “If I can just get myself together, then I'll come to church and serve God.”
• “If only I had not done XYZ, then I would come to church and serve God.”
• “If I could just finish this work, then I would do more for the Lord.”
• “If I had money left over after bills, then I would tithe.”

See the problem here? In these examples, serving God is secondary and dependent upon the completion of another task. Well without any more hesitation, lets hop to some scripture: 

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;”

Malachi 3:8 “"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'"In tithes and offerings.” (see Exodus 23:16, where God commands that the people were to bring the 1^st fruits of their labor to him) 

God should not be secondary in our lives but first in our lives. If you place God first, your statements would change from “If..Then” to “God did”. Let's look at how placing God first changes the first statements: 

• “I came to church to serve God, and He put my life back together.”
• “I came to church to serve God, and He forgave my sins.”
• “Now I do more for the Lord and He gives me all the time and ability I need to finish my work.”
• “I tithe and I have money to pay my bills and some left over for my wants.”

God can turn your whole life around if you let, Him, but you have to learn to let go. Let go and let God have His way in your life. Until you learn to do this, your life will always be filled with a bunch of “If's” followed by a number of “thens”. Remember, God did do/is doing/and will do anything in your life. 

Be blessed gang and have a good Tuesday. 
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Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:  http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22