SERIOUS BUSINESS!

I remember when me and my wife were dating, I would always look forward to spending time with her, and I still do. There was an excitement surrounding it. I would get dressed up, make sure I smelled good, and make sure the little bit of hair that I had was combed and neat! The time that I spent with Amanda wasn’t a dreadful or boring thing. I didn’t have to spend time with her, I got to spend time with her; it was a privilege.

 This morning, we read Exodus 19-21. Those passages are always though of when you think of the Ten Commandments, and that certainly was a great read this morning! But, i want to focus on chapter 19. Moses is summoned by God, and called up to Mt. Sinai. There, God communes with Moses, gives him instructions for the people, and eventually gives the Ten Commandments from that mountain.

 But what I find interesting from these verses, is that Moses going to meet with God was a big deal. Even for the people. They had to show reverance. They had to be pure. They had to understand they were communing with and hearing from a HOLY GOD.

 You and I get the PRIVILEGE to commune with God whenever we want to. There are no dedicated times. God does not have open and closed hours. HE is always available. I truly don’t think that we take our time with Him as seriously as we should. I want to share a few practical things this morning on our SERIOUS BUSINESS of communing with God.

 1. Make it a priority. In our life, so many things demand our attention and focus. Kids, work, school, church service opportunities and activities. We can get so caught up with doing other things, and good things they are, that we will neglect the most important thing we can do every day. Spending time with God is never a wasted time. It is never a time you will regret. I promise you will never look back at your time with Jesus and say “I wish I could have that back”. Make your time with Jesus a priority.

 2. Don’t look at it as something you HAVE to do. There are certain things in this life we have to do. Pay taxes is one, and do any of us like to do that? Pay for car repairs is another. While we know that it is a good thing to fix an issue with our vehicle, it is still something we have to do, and therefore we dont enjoy it. Paying bills, waking up early, I could go on and on. As I said earlier, it is a privilege to spend time with God. And we ought to look at our time with Him as a cherrished time; a time that we look forward to. Remember, it is a privilege, not a right!

 3. Be authentic. Did you know that GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU; your thoughts, dreams, intentions, desires—they are all known by our Almighty God. When we spend time with Him, we should be able to be ourselves with Him more than anyone else. So don’t pray empty and vain prayers, pray real and honest prayers. Pour your heart out to God. Cry, laugh, dream with Him. JUST BE YOURSELF!

 The most important thing I will tell you today is this, take your time with God seriously! Make sure you are spending time with your Savior and Creator. He wants to spend time with you! Remember the words of this old song as I leave you on this Labor Day—”Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died. Drawe me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord. To Thy precious bleeding side!”