John Markum

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Minute to Lose it

Posted on by johnmarkum

I watched a very exciting episode of the new game show, Minute to Win It, with my wife the other day. It’s a very creative idea for a TV show and seems to be very family oriented: a breath of fresh air in such a value-deficient media. And who said only bad news sales?!

But as I got thinking about the concept, I began thinking of things that take a considerably longer time to earn, yet could be ruined in a brief moment of poor judgement. Doubtlessly, you can think of others to add to this list:

  • A good marriage. Takes half a lifetime to get right. Easily ruined in a variety of ways, and in less time than it takes to say “I did.”
  • Respect. You can work your whole life to develop the respect of your peers, children, spouse, and co-workers. One whoops can ruin a thousand at-a-boy‘s.
  • Health. Probably the first on the list that can be lost innocently. You can workout, lift weights, do routine cardio-aerobics, etc… One bad hit during a pick-up game and your limping for weeks (or longer).
  • Sobriety. From any substance. As Mark Twain once said, “Breaking the smoking habit is easy… I’ve done it hundreds of times.” You haven’t touched a drop of alcohol in years, and one tough day can push you to urges you haven’t given in to for a long time.
  • Purity. Once you cross those lines, you can’t uncross them. Losing something so precious and valuable to someone who has no intentions of committing to you is why God insists that sexuality be reserved for the safety of marriage. Plus, it saves you from a very uncomfortable conversation with the person you will marry.
  • Friendships. Some develop faster than others, but the best ones are always those that are forged by time. Good friendships are all too often torn apart by one act of betrayal, gossip, or selfishness.

Did you notice? None of these things are worth any amount of money. You would likely be very willing to empty every bank account you possess in order to keep the things on this list or in order to get them back. Don’t trade your most valuable possessions for something that is temporary and worth far less!

Blessings,

John

Spiritual Habits: Prayer

Posted on by johnmarkum

Prayer (noun): communion of the soul with God.

Little prayer, little power. Much prayer much power.

Daniel 6:10 tells us that Daniel prayed 3 times a day “as was his custom.” In other words, he was in the habit of having “communion of the soul with God.” As followers of Jesus, this sounds like something we should greatly desire. Unfortunately, prayer becomes a last resort when we’re in trouble, instead of our primary tool for living by faith.

3 rules for having your own habitual communion of the soul with God…

  1. Set a regular time. There is a lot of merit to praying first thing in the morning everyday. The Bible certainly advocates it. Can you think of a better way to begin your day? Imagine if everyday, before your boss was breathing down your neck, bills needed to be paid, and children began screaming, you made time for your soul to commune with God. But if you just can not pray in the morning, anytime is better than no time.

    2. 

  2. Protect your time. It is easy to get distracted! Protect your time by refusing to allow other good things get in the way. We don’t normally miss our prayer time because we were too busy robbing a 7-11 to pray for a few minutes. Usually, it’s other important – but less important – stuff that deviates us from our time of communion with God. Plan ahead and protect your time.
  3. Have a plan. I’m a little torn on this point. On one hand, familiarity breeds contempt. But on the other hand, there is something very powerful about having a consistent routine. While my prayer routine is the same almost every time, the words that I pray are nearly never exactly the same. My prayers usually flow like this: 
  • Praising God for who He is and all that He’s done.
  • Repent of any sin in my life and claim the promise of forgiveness in Jesus.
  • Call upon  God’s promises according to His Word. (“God has not given us the spirit of fear…” ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he grows old, he will not depart from it.” “There is now therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “He who began a good work in you, will perform it til the day that Christ returns.”)
  • My character and integrity with God.
  • Family.
  • The Church (Not just The Awakening, or Edgewood).
  • Specific people.
  • Thank God in advance for how He will work.

If you’re struggling to build a consistent prayer life as a spiritual habit, doing these things could help you get out of a spiritual funk, and into sommunion with God.

Blessings!

John

The phrase no pain, no gain has been a mantra for athletes and fitness junkies for years. And what they understand about physical pain needs to be broadened to a much more general use in all of our lives. Pain hurts. That's the whole problem. No one enjoys it, and if someone does, we rightfully

The Premium of Pain