Now that it’s officially SUMMER TIME, I can finally take a break from all that I’ve been doing……...and start working a summer job.
Starting Friday night, I got back to my job as a waiter at the Mexican restaurant in my town, and I’ll be working from this morning until this Thursday night, sunrise to sunset :)
Yesterday was my only free day for the rest of this week until the following weekend, and for some reason, I decided to turn my day of rest into my day of working on the house from 1pm-10:30pm.
Crafting shelves for the basement storage room, clearing out space to put my college dorm-room stuff, and then using the Shop-Vac to vacuum an entire civilization of spiders and their cobwebs in each and every nook and cranny of the basement.
That was way more fun than I expected it to be!
Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Before my big day of cleaning the house, I went to our church’s “Men’s Prayer Breakfast” where a handful of dad, grandads and older fellas come together early in the morning for a cup of joe and Casey’s breakfast pizza to pray and engage in fellowship.
While I was downing my 2nd thermos of coffee, Pastor Steve, one of our main pastors, happened to bring up the analogy of a bullseye target being a symbol to represent how we can be praying.
But what he said next was a little different…
“Guys, I think the best kind of prayer, the kind that we don’t often do because we’re men, is prayer for ourselves.”
Uh…...I think I’ve been selfish enough in my life, already. No reason to pray for myself unless I’m struggling through something, am I right?!
“It’s not selfish to pray for yourself,” said Pastor Steve.
I think you can imagine what my face looked like after he said that.
"The center of the bullseye is you, you are the center."
Ok now I'm really feeling arrogant. There's no way I'm praying for myself more than I pray for others......turns out that's not what Pastor Steve meant.
"The rings that surround the bullseye are your family, your spouse, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, strangers, e.t.c. Don't pray for the rings on the outside the least or the ones on the inside the most, but start praying for yourself to develop a stronger relationship with Him so that you'll be able to pray for those that surround you."
Now we're making more sense, cool beans!
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Before I started building the shelving unit for the basement, I took a minute to pray in the garage (as Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses played in the background) just about myself and my day ahead, that I would serve God with my attitude towards my parents, others, and that He would watch over my heart entering this week.
After praying for myself, I decided to think during the next 10 hours about how I could get rid of some of the things in my day-to-day life routine that lead me towards sin.
Some of those things included not listening to Eminem and listening more towards 80's bands and Christian rappers, such as Lecrae and Andy Mineo (super good dudes and tunes), as well as choosing to watch TV shows and movies that have a little bit brighter of a message in them.
As much as I love the movie Step Brothers (shake and bake), there really isn't anything in the movie that honors God with the story line.
Ephesians 4:22-24 & 27
So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to - the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy. Do NOT give the devil a chance!
Vacuuming out the cobwebs of my basement and every spider (that looked big enough to eat me in 10 bites or less) was so thrilling! And in the same way, getting rid of the things that bring sin into my life is even more thrilling!
Having a stronger, healthier relationship with God is something you can't explain unless you experience it for yourself.
Watching God work in my life this past year, reflecting on the things He has given me and looking at the reasons as to why He might have made me wait, has been more exciting than the ending of Avengers: End Game. Not even kidding, God's impact on my life this past year was and is greater than one of the best movies and fight scenes in the history of mankind.
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The message I hope to leave you with this morning is this:
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God is always there for you, but you have to clear the cobwebs that have been placed between you and Him before you can see and experience His presence.
If you stay away from sin and temptation, it won't cause you any trouble! Says it right in James, chapter 4 verse 7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
Pray for yourself, first. Clear the cobwebs. See God in a new light.
Questions to ask yourself:
1. What cobwebs stand between you and God?
2. How can you pray for yourself? Do you need strength? Patience? Protection?
3. What can you do RIGHT NOW to clear a cobweb that stands between you and God?
Pray that your faith would become stronger, having the courage to stand up to anything and everything that tries to keep you from feeling God's love and comfort for you, that God would open your eyes to your sin and that you would store all of those sins in your Shop-Vac by getting rid of any and all sins that rob you from hanging out more with Him.
With that said,
Live, love, and be loved.
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