Giving God 1% of your day

Giving God 1% of Your Day

If you desire to be spiritually strong you can do it by giving God 1% of your day, you must replace attitudes that are weakening you, with habits that will strengthen you.

A Daily Time With God.

The first and most important habit is a daily time with God.  The bottom line is, you were created to have a relationship with Him.  That’s why Jesus came – to make that relationship possible.

How Much is 1%

We all have the same amount of time.  If you are rich you can’t buy more time.  If you are a scientist you can’t invent more time.  Even if you are frugal you can’t save time one day and use it the next.  Every day our time account is credited with 24 hours with is the equivalent of 1,440 minutes.  1% rounds out to 15 minutes a day.

The Contra Code

Growing up I played the video game Contra, my gaming never elevated to elite Contra status.   Then one day, my friends and I learned something.  Something life change.  Earth-shattering.  History-making.  Something that would forever change my contra playing future.

It went like this.  UP, UP, Down, Down, left, right, left, right, b, a, b, aa, select, start. With that formula, I had endless lives at my disposal.

People that do well know something that others don’t. Spiritually speaking the 1% principle is the code that will change the quality of your life.

Here are 5 ways to Maximize the 1% Principle from Jesus example in Mark 1:35.

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35

  1. He Got Up

For some of you, this may be the most difficult step.  We must set the alarm clock without hitting snooze.  We must be intentional to connect with God.  Your spiritual habits are the doors that access God.

“We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be. True, there are times when we would like to know a deeper intimacy, but when it comes to the point, we are not prepared to pay the price involved.”  J. Oswald Sanders

  1. In the Morning

Notice that Jesus spent time with the Father before daybreak.  I’m not legalistic and suggesting that this is the only time that you can spend time with God, but for me personally, I notice that my mental, emotional, relational and spiritual life rises and falls based on my time alone with God in the morning.

“If we do not fix our hearts on God in the morning, they will fix on the next thing that comes along.  When temptation comes, our hearts will fix on that, and we will sin.  Or when an opportunity comes along that may not be God’s will, our hearts will fix on that opportunity.  Then if we go to God at all, we will go not for guidance, but for permission, and there is a vast difference between the two.” Clyde Cranford Embracing a Life of Holiness

  1. Without Distraction

Jesus went to an isolated place.  Have you noticed how difficult it is to be in an isolated place without distractions?  Our smartphones today have become weapons of mass distraction with all the notifications, texts, apps, social media, email, etc.

“Among the enemies to devotion, none is so harmful as distractions.  Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us… that is a distraction.  The world is full of them.  Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it has given.  – Henry Blackaby

  1. Alone

On commercial airlines, before they take off the stewardess will come on and read the safety flight instructions.  “In case of emergency, be sure to secure your own oxygen mask before attending to others.”   The same is true for us.  We must be alone with God and secure our own private 1% with God before attending to our children, work, spouses, business, school, etc.

  1. Consistent

Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Notice this is a pattern in Jesus life.  More important than reading the bible for quantity read the bible for consistency.    Shoot for seven days a week but if you hit five call it a success.

“For the Christian, his entire life is to be an intimate walk with God.  But that intimacy is developed one day at a time as he sets aside, each day, some increment of time exclusively for communion with his God.  There is no substitute for this time.  This is where intimacy begins.” Clyde Cranford

My favorite way to read the Bible is by choosing a Bible reading plan on my phone.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on your spiritual habits that have been effective for you?

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