One of the things I have been struggling and studying through has to do with this idea of loving your neighbors like you love yourself.

I have heard this many times but this time the words, “Like you love yourself” really stood out to me. It seems to me as I ponder this that You need to

1. take care of yourself
2. so that you can serve others and
3. by serving others you are loving them and
4. by loving them you are expressing love toward God

Before this I always looked at this passage as I need to love my neighbor. I never really considered the second half of the verse and what that meant.

So my goal should be to keep myself in good shape so I then can be guided by the Holy Spirit to really love my neighbor in whatever way I am called to. In doing that, I am showing God honor and bring Him glory which is what He is calling me towards…

What do you think?

Just recently received the following devotional from Zondervan and it hit me where I am at. Jim Cymbala makes a really good point here. Especially as we enter a time of year where our focus “we say” is on Christ and celebrating His coming to Earth. If we are really trying to follow God and reconnect with Him than shouldn’t we really look like him?

One of the greatest spiritual self-deceptions is the idea that we are living close to God even though we care little about the people around us. This simply does not square with 1 John 4:8: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” We can study the Bible as diligently as the Pharisees did; we can boast in our doctrinal statements; we can raise lots of money and build impressive church campuses. But if we are not loving others, including those who are unlike ourselves, we are ignoring the truth of 1 John 4:20, which says, “If we do not love a fellow believer, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we have not seen.” It’s as simple as that. (You Were Made For More)

I have really been trying to pray more, but things have not slowed down like I expected them to. How do I still pray to God and keep my “on the go” lifestyle?

I suppose the first question should be, am I spending my time on valuable, God-honoring things. But, of course, I can not know what God is calling me to do unless I first communicate with Him.

It’s a catch-22 situation. How do you have honest open communication with God when life won’t let you slow down?

The only thought that comes to mind, is that you have to make time for it. You are not going to make communication with God a priority unless you choose to. So what kinds of things can we deliberately do to make time for prayer to God?

First, we need to find the gaps (or make gaps) in our schedule for prayer. All of us, if we look hard enough, can find or make time. Whether it’s getting up a little earlier or staying up a little later, we can do it.

Second, we need to make it a priority. If we set aside time to spend with God, we need to guard that time like we would an important business meeting. God is our Father and you can not have a relationship with your father if you don’t talk to him. Protect the time you make and if it does not work then choose another time.

Third, you need to show up. Not just physically but mentally as well. If you’re meeting a friend for lunch, you don’t show up and promptly fall asleep, do you?

Then why would you do something like that to God? Treat your prayer time as something that is important to you. Because it should be.