There is a hole to be filled. Like drug addicts, people do more and more to gain temporary satisfaction. Once that satisfaction runs out they look to a new place or spend more money. There is a hole inside that needs to be filled, but everything being put in is just seeping through. Nothing is a perfect match for what they need The conclusion naturally follows that this is just how life is, and the new mental norm is created. The gaping hole that is in need of being filled is called ‘normal.’ The constant  quest for temporary satisfaction is now normal and people are left with tons of worldly toys, junk, gadgets and memories but no happiness or lasting satisfaction.

But what if… what if we had what they need? What if we had what fills the hole, the missing piece to the puzzle? What if we had a million dollars that never ran out? Would we share it with anyone and everyone at any given chance or would we keep it for ourselves? Would we give into social pressure and contemplate what someone might think about us if we talk about it? What if they think that I’m weird or dumb? What if?

What if I reached out and touched someone, helped someone? What if I reached out and gave that person what they’ve desired for 20, 40, maybe even 60 years? What if I gave freely what has been freely given to me? What if a life was changed and then they changed a life and then more and more lives were changed? What if  5 minutes of wholehearted witnessing saved 5 million lives? What if I put the ‘re’s back in ‘prioritize’ and evaluated and refocused the lens of my life on what was important?

What if I hit the streets and a holy ghost fire was started? What if God spilled out of my words and conversations and people began getting tears in their eyes and that hole in their hearts began to take notice? What if I prayed for some and they began to cry and drop to their knees and speak in unknown tongues?  What if, instead of watching the waters  and analyzing them every day, I stepped out of the boat and began to walk on water with Jesus? What if God had his way in my life? What If?

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God”  — I John 3:1

Many of us in the United States celebrated Father’s Day recently. As a nation we honor our Dads with gifts, cards, and cookouts. I hope you had the chance to spend some time with a father figure in your life this weekend and thank him for his influence in your life. But as we thank our fathers, we should take time to focus on our Heavenly Father.

One thing I have been working on lately is seeing God as my father. I don’t know about you, but when I think about God, I tend to picture the vast expanse of the night sky, the microscopic complexities hidden within the cells of a human body, or how He can measure the waters of all the oceans in the palm of His hand. Now, while the majesty and power of God are things we need to stand in awe of, here in the wake of Father’s Day is an excellent time to dwell on some of God’s other characteristics.

God is not only the absolute ruler of the universe, he also notices when a single sparrow falls. God is to be feared and respected as the King of Kings, but He is not an untouchable monarch: he is as close as the mention of his name. Though he is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, he is also Abba Father, who loves giving good gifts to his children.

Like every good father, God cares about the smallest details of our lives. He never sleeps or takes his eyes of his children; he has every hair on their head numbered. He knows what we need before we ask, and yet he wants us to share all our needs with him, as well as our troubles and joys. God is not a distant cosmic being who is too preoccupied with running the universe to listen to the cries of humanity. He is a loving father who delights in His children.

How much could a pair of shoelaces matter? Not much, right? Their only purpose is to hold your shoes together. Still, I think shoelaces are pretty important. Just try tying your laces too tight for a few days and see if it makes a difference! Normally that’s what I do: tie the laces as tight as possible so the shoe doesn’t slide around. The problem with that approach is that once I sit down to work for a few hours, extra blood goes to my feet and they get bigger while the shoes don’t. Since I don’t enjoy being uncomfortable like that, the other day I tried tying the laces a bit looser . . . and had a wonderful day. Shoelaces made the difference between a bad day and a good day.

There are hundreds of little things that affect us like shoelaces do. In some sense, you can decide what kind of day you’re going to have by adjusting these “shoelaces” in your life. Can you think of what they might be for you? Here are a few ideas:

• Setting aside time to pray
• Reading the Bible in the morning
• Talking to family members or coworkers
• Driving a little slower to work instead of fighting traffic
• Listening to music that encourages you

As you can see, “shoelaces” take on many forms, but they always affect the way we think and interact with the world around us. Here’s some even better news: we have the ability to affect other people as well. Actually, that’s both good news and bad news, we can affect them positively or negatively, but let’s focus on the positive ways we can affect others. Here’s a hint from the book of James: “Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” (James 3:4-5)

What we say can change how someone feels about their day or even their life. Proverbs 15:23 reminds us that “a man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” How much could ‘a word spoken in due season’ matter? I think it could matter a great deal. The video clip embedded below is an example of that. The story is fictional, but human nature is the same. Take a few minutes to brighten up your day and get inspired about helping others with the power of a good word!

Now it’s your turn to validate somebody, because you — you are great. You have the ability to take someone’s day and make it better with only a word. You have enormous potential just waiting to be used. How about practicing on someone right now? Leave a comment on this post to let us know how it goes!

Continue reading in Part 2 of this series!

In my case it’s usually everyday things like washing clothes, cleaning my room, keeping my desk clean, doing school work, and playing video games. All these things distract me; I forget that I can keep my attention upon God through the repetitive aspects of the day. Also, sometimes I play more video games than I should — I have to break that cycle by putting aside my amusements and spending a little extra time with God.

You could substitute anything for games: shopping, weight lifting, cooking, cleaning, boys/girls, a job, etc. Anything that gets your attention away from God keeps your mind from being wholly given to Him. I find that in these situations it’s best to just step back and refocus. Perhaps I need to spend a little more time in prayer and praise than usual — time that I’d otherwise spend doing the mundane tasks that are always needed.

When I take the time to pray, read, and praise, I often find either that the tasks that seemed so menial don’t drain so much energy, or that I have a spring in my step as I go to do them. Prayer brings a joy that I otherwise wouldn’t have had while doing the very things I often loathed to do beforehand.

Psalms 121:1 says it this way: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” The Lord is our help. He is the one who brings us through the day. When you’re down, when you’re depleted of all energy . . . lift your eyes to Him. Put Him in His rightful place as number one and see what He will do! He is the one who brings us through all tests and trials if we keep our eyes focused on him.

Be challenged this week to do just that: put God in His rightful place in your heart (and time priorities!), and see what He will do. Share some examples of distractions you’ve overcome in the comments section and the results that have followed.

I was stunned. It wasn’t because of the beauty of several dozen stickers — far from it. They did, however, lead me to think some things over. Admittedly, the stickers on my ceiling are not noteworthy, meaningful parts of my life. But somehow they got me to question my actions and the motives behind them. How often do I run around with all my energy focused on the task at hand, missing the “insignificant,” beautiful things in my quest to do something important? Am I trying to get to the end of a lesson and keep the class from an off-topic discussion, or did I just miss a chance to share the love of God with a child in a Sunday school? Am I so focused on trying to succeed in life that I forget to live it? I often find myself doing the same thing in prayer. In my rush to get to the “good stuff” — God’s ministry to me — I skip a vital part: the praise and worship. It seems less important to my silly mind, and yet so often praise is where I find strength, healing and hope.

It’s all too familiar; the beautiful sunset becomes nothing more than glare on the windshield. We miss the grandeur of the forest because of a few sticky pine cones. Our lives are so crowded with imperative nothings. In a misguided society where we face a constant onslaught of illusory importance, we all need to step back, look up, and remember what truly matters in the end.

Psalms 119:37 “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”

What has caused you to take note of the truly important things lately? Are there worthless things you’ve left behind? How do you tell the difference?

The phone beckons you from its corner. You walk over to it and look at the caller ID. It’s Jesus! At that instant you decide whether to pick up the phone or to ignore the call and go about your day, eventually forgetting that the call was even made.

We do this time and time again, and each time we wonder why God isn’t talking to us – when all along He has been tirelessly calling us. This is a problem that many people face nowadays: we go through our day wondering where God is while He’s trying to talk to us every second of the day. He calls us and wants us to answer so He can have an open connection with us. I’ve been guilty of this many times over. I ask Him to speak to me, but when He does I seem to just leave the phone on the hook.

Scripture says in Isaiah 55:6 to “seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” We need to take every opportunity to answer that call. His call is a privilege; we are privileged just to get this call. Romans 8:28 tells us that “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” We are the called! And if we are the called we need to answer the call!

Let’s stand up and answer, because if we answer we will get our answer! Maybe it’s a tongue twister, but that’s really how it works! I know that from this point on, I will focus on trying to listen more intently to the call. I hope you will, too, because if we do, we will finally be able to call ourselves “those who answer” and not just “those who are called”!

Do you intend to become someone who answers God’s call? Will you start to pay more attention to your inner caller ID and pick up more quickly when He speaks to you? Practice a little bit by answering those questions in the comments!