You’d never live in a house that didn’t have an architect but many people live in an un-architected life. In this sermon based in the book of Proverbs, Pastor Mark teaches on the importance of recognizing seasons and how to plan and organize a life you and your family can enjoy.
Many people only change when crisis demands it. We go on a diet after our doctors say we are in danger, make a budget after we are in significant debt, and go to marriage counselors or pastors after the possibility of divorce has been put on the table. It is far wiser and more hopeful to make changes before crisis demands it. This is the principle of the ant which Proverbs 6:6-11 speaks of saying:
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
In this, the final daily devotional for our study in Proverbs, I wanted to give you permission to make practical changes in your routine, relationships, and responsibilities. Considering these questions will help you make better plans for a better life.
Change your routine:
What top three things do you hope to change with yourself in this season of life? Your family? Your spouse? Your job? Your ministry? Your health? Your finances? Other?
What top three emotion, time, and/or energy-wasters do you need to drop immediately?
What three changes in your life would make the biggest difference right now?
What three things do you need the most (such as different car, gym membership, computer, home office, cell phone, high-speed wifi at home)?
What obstacles are keeping you from living by your convictions (for example, a cluttered house, no budget, lack of prayer time)?
Change your relationships:
List the people in your life who are life-taking and not life-giving. Prayerfully determine if you are to continue serving them, reduce your involvement in their lives, or shift the entire burden for their well-being back to themselves.
Who do you need to distance yourself from because they are taking time, money, or energy away from your first priorities?
Change your responsibilities:
List all the things you can hand off to someone else, for example:
Ordering groceries online and having them delivered
Paying someone to maintain your yard
Hiring a professional to file your taxes
Hiring a handyman for household projects
Having your kids run errands and do chores to lighten your load
Outsourcing ironing and other time-consuming tasks
Start saying “no” to things you have previously said “yes” to
Letting unimportant things slide a bit and not try to do everything perfectly
Proverbs is practical. It is about fearing God and architecting a life of wisdom to live in. Just as your home had an architect, you also need to architect your life with a plan.
What change(s) are most urgently needed in your life?
Do you want to have a great marriage that lasts? In this sermon based in the book of Proverbs, Pastor Mark gives four keys – faith, forgiveness, friendship, and fun – to have a great, Christ-centered marriage that you can enjoy for a lifetime.
In this super practical sermon on parenting from the book of Proverbs, Pastor Mark talks about how to raise kids you don’t simply just endure but actually enjoy, delighting in them instead of focusing only on discipline.
Are you married or about to be married and have different views on what your life and ministry should look like? This week, Pastor Mark discusses the options for how to proceed under these circumstances.
Have a question you’d like answered in a potential future Ask Pastor Mark video? Send an email to [email protected].
Being in community and among God’s people is important for our spiritual and relational growth. In this week’s Ask Pastor Mark, he answers the question of how to stay connected and go to church while working on Sundays.
Have a question you’d like Pastor Mark to answer? Email [email protected].
Getting married can be complicated! In today’s age, is it a sin for Christians to sign a prenuptial agreement before the big day?
Pastor Mark responds in today’s video to a specific scenario regarding remarriage to a previous spouse after infidelity. Is trust earned?
Do you have a question? Email it to [email protected] today.
This week’s question is from this month’s exclusive Marriage Content: “Pray together, play together, and lay together so you can stay together!” With busy schedules, how do you make sure to find time to connect with your spouse?
Watch Pastor Mark and Grace team up to explain the difference between Shoulder to Shoulder relationships, Back to Back relationships, and Face to Face relationships.
What should you do when you hear your Pastor teaching something that is conflicting with the Scriptures? There is no hell, God is only Love, the list of false teachings seen as “normal” in today’s churches goes on and on.
In today’s Ask Pastor Mark, I will discuss some of these false teachings and the importance of Bible-based teaching.
And if you have a question you’d like answered, email it to [email protected] today!
What’s the next step if you are walking with Jesus, but your spouse is walking away from Jesus?
And if you have a question you’d like answered, email it to [email protected] today!
If you had a few days to live, what would you say and what would you do? In the final week before His death, Jesus Christ came into a holiday crowd to reveal Himself as a peaceable King and teach us that the most important thing in life is to learn how to lose our earthly life so that we could gain eternal life.
For the thirtieth anniversary of our first date, my wife Grace and I took a trip to New York. One of the fun things we did was go see the Broadway play Hamilton. What struck me most about the play was the music. You can see the actors on the stage, but what you cannot see is the massive band and orchestra that plays the live soundtrack throughout the play. You can only hear them. The musical quality was impeccable and flawless.
Overseeing the entire musical performance was one conductor. So long as everyone followed the conductor and played their part at just the right time everything worked together. But, if someone was off on their timing, things could have become a mess quickly.
Life is like that. God is the conductor, and we need to not only know our part but know when to play it. Timing, as they say, is everything.
In John 7 Jesus is keenly aware that His part to play is dying on the cross for our sins. That is the will of God for Jesus. But, Jesus is also aware of the timing, which is why we read things like John 7:6 where Jesus says, “My time has not yet come…” Jesus says this same thing in various ways on multiple occasions.
In Jesus’ words, we are given an extraordinarily helpful principle. Knowing God’s will is only half of it; knowing God’s timing is the other half. We’ve all been guilty of doing the right thing at the wrong time. We open ourselves up emotionally and rush into a relationship too quickly. We see a ministry need and step up into a leadership role too quickly. We hear of a business opportunity and chase it before the timing is right. The key is to both know God’s will and God’s timing as Jesus did. This comes from time in Scripture, prayer to God, listening to God, and seeking wise counsel from godly people.
Is there any area currently in your life where you are not in God’s will, or not in God’s timing? What changes need to be made?