Back to the Basics

Years ago, I wanted to play the acoustic guitar. 

My goal was not to play in public ~ that simply didn’t appeal to me.

I was led to play the guitar as an act of worship to the good Lord.

My prayer was that my guitar would be dedicated to God and would remain to tool of worship. 

If the good Lord could listen in for a few minutes every morning and smile ~ then I would be successful. 

My playing however hit a wall.  I just couldn’t seem to develop my skills beyond a certain point. 

So I went back to the basics. 

                                                                                                       

In my haste to play ~ I failed to learn the fret board notes and how to play scales. 

So I have incorporated mastering the basics into my morning quiet time with God. 

I have a friend that likes to talk about the Christian life as a 3 legged milk stool. 

As long as all 3 legs are on the ground ~ it is sitting solid ~ but when one leg is missing ~ the stool becomes unstable and definitely unusable.

Leg #1: Daily Bible Reading ~ God talking to me

Leg #2: Constant Prayer ~ Me talking to God

Leg #3: Christian Fellowship ~ Us talking together 

On the surface, this may seem incredibly simple ~ but in practice ~ it requires a great deal of discipline. 

Face it, a great deal of the world thinks this is not important and are so busy scurrying about their lives ~ that they neglect what is important. 

I heard this illustrated using AIR.

AIR is crucial for life ~ and when you have plenty of it ~ you forget its there.  But when you are short of it ~ you can’t think about anything else. 

God’s Word:

“Show me the right path, O Lord;

Point out the road for me to follow.

Lead me by Your Truth and teach me,

For you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in You.”

Psalm 25:4-5 NLT

Prayer:

“Father, today I will face many decisions.

Decisions that impact my attitude.

Decisions that impact my relationships.

Decisions that impact my actions.

My pray is that my decisions are guided by Your Word.

I pray that my decisions today bring a smile to Your face.

And Father, may the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight (Psalm 19:14). Amen!”