Copied from Lysa TerKeust email to my wife
I’m the kind of
girl who likes to get her day started bright and early. I want to answer
emails, text messages, and be totally caught up on social media hours
before the first alarm goes off in my house. And as long as everything I
read and see is positive and encouraging and completely wonderful, I
can say with enthusiasm, Yes! I can take on this day!
But in reality there’s usually something I click on that is less than awesome. And when I choose to give the first moments of my day to those things… those shouts of the world… instead of spending them with God, I sense my soul getting a bit parched. Small things annoy me. The Lord seems a little farther away from my life that day. And I just can’t shake that nagging feeling that I’m not measuring up.
Even if you’re not an early riser, I have a sneaking suspicion that you know what I’m talking about. I want to start giving my first thoughts of the day to the Lord. So, here are 3 reasons that we should reach for God’s Word in the morning instead of social media, email, and other distractions:
1) What feeds us, affects us. When I wake up, my mind is like a dry sponge. What I soak up first will saturate me most deeply. If I don’t want to be consumed with the stresses of my day, I must soak up what will renew my mind instead: God’s Word. Even if it’s only for 5 minutes, I’ve got to put the world on hold until I’ve checked in with God.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
2) There are scientifically-proven benefits. I read some research by Dr. Caroline Leaf recently that revealed something so fascinating. When we sleep our brains produce baby neurons. How we use those new neurons first thing in the morning determines so much about our patterns of thought for that day. And that process is called… neuroGENESIS! How cool is that?! Giving the Lord our first thoughts – our genesis thoughts – each day can really help us process life in healthier ways. So from a spiritual and scientific standpoint our first 5 minutes really matter!
“ …We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5b (NIV)
3) God desires to help us. He wants to give us the exact instruction and comfort we need to handle all He sees coming our way—how to act and, even more challenging, how to react in every situation. But we can’t experience that if we aren’t spending time with Him. Giving Him our first thoughts each day is the perfect way from the start to receive His protection and direction for that day.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you…” Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)
At Proverbs 31 Ministries, we think it’s so important to give the first moments of our day to God. And our brand new app, First 5, is designed to help you do just that! You can set your morning alarm in the app and when you turn it off, the first thing you’ll read is a 5-minute teaching from the Bible.
We’re excited to announce that First 5 is ready for download and our very first in-app study of the book of John begins TODAY!
All you need to do is download the free app to get started. Find out more at www.First5.org.
See my latest BLOG Post
But in reality there’s usually something I click on that is less than awesome. And when I choose to give the first moments of my day to those things… those shouts of the world… instead of spending them with God, I sense my soul getting a bit parched. Small things annoy me. The Lord seems a little farther away from my life that day. And I just can’t shake that nagging feeling that I’m not measuring up.
Even if you’re not an early riser, I have a sneaking suspicion that you know what I’m talking about. I want to start giving my first thoughts of the day to the Lord. So, here are 3 reasons that we should reach for God’s Word in the morning instead of social media, email, and other distractions:
1) What feeds us, affects us. When I wake up, my mind is like a dry sponge. What I soak up first will saturate me most deeply. If I don’t want to be consumed with the stresses of my day, I must soak up what will renew my mind instead: God’s Word. Even if it’s only for 5 minutes, I’ve got to put the world on hold until I’ve checked in with God.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
2) There are scientifically-proven benefits. I read some research by Dr. Caroline Leaf recently that revealed something so fascinating. When we sleep our brains produce baby neurons. How we use those new neurons first thing in the morning determines so much about our patterns of thought for that day. And that process is called… neuroGENESIS! How cool is that?! Giving the Lord our first thoughts – our genesis thoughts – each day can really help us process life in healthier ways. So from a spiritual and scientific standpoint our first 5 minutes really matter!
“ …We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5b (NIV)
3) God desires to help us. He wants to give us the exact instruction and comfort we need to handle all He sees coming our way—how to act and, even more challenging, how to react in every situation. But we can’t experience that if we aren’t spending time with Him. Giving Him our first thoughts each day is the perfect way from the start to receive His protection and direction for that day.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you…” Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)
At Proverbs 31 Ministries, we think it’s so important to give the first moments of our day to God. And our brand new app, First 5, is designed to help you do just that! You can set your morning alarm in the app and when you turn it off, the first thing you’ll read is a 5-minute teaching from the Bible.
We’re excited to announce that First 5 is ready for download and our very first in-app study of the book of John begins TODAY!
All you need to do is download the free app to get started. Find out more at www.First5.org.
See my latest BLOG Post
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