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BEGIN THE DAY EMPTY · THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST

• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Today as we begin our devotion, there's a gentle breeze
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: blowing across the hill where I live. And I just
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: feel the sense of the Holy Spirit just moving in
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: a powerful way today. So I pray that we're all
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: attentive to what He wants to speak to us today
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: as it comes out of Psalm 4610. We've used this
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: scripture from time to time before, but the Lord leads
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: me back to it this morning. It simply says, Be
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: still and know that I am God. And as I
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: read that this morning, each morning, before my feet even
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: touch the floor, I do my very best to just
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: thank God for the gift of another day. And then
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  Speaker 1: I begin by just saying, Lord, I surrender my thoughts
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  Speaker 1: to your thoughts, my actions to your actions, and my
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  Speaker 1: will to your will. Because I don't know everything that
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: today will hold, but what I want to try to
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: do as best I can is I want to meet
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: with the Lord today. before anything else has my attention.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: And that's very important because then as I rise, before
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  Speaker 1: I ever read scripture, before I ever continue in prayer,
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  Speaker 1: what I try to do is sit still for a
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  Speaker 1: few moments. And to be honest, this is often the
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  Speaker 1: hardest part of my morning routine, is to get my
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  Speaker 1: mind still. Because if you're like me, my mind wants
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  Speaker 1: to get ahead of me. It reaches for what needs
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  Speaker 1: to be done or a conversation I need to have
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  Speaker 1: or something I'm still carrying from yesterday. So I pause
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  Speaker 1: and I try to let those thoughts pass without trying
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  Speaker 1: to follow them in whatever direction they're trying to lead me.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: And then I begin to try to get mental pictures
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  Speaker 1: like maybe a picture of a small river running gently
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  Speaker 1: through the mountains or maybe a beautiful sunrise and the
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  Speaker 1: sound of nature as it comes alive. Just something to
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  Speaker 1: kind of pull my thought process into a centered place
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  Speaker 1: of peace. And for a few moments, I try to
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  Speaker 1: allow my mind to be empty and my heart to
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  Speaker 1: become quiet. And let me tell you why that's important
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  Speaker 1: when we are able to do that. Because when I'm
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  Speaker 1: able to do this, the stillness prepares me to listen
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  Speaker 1: to what God is trying to tell me. Because if
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  Speaker 1: we're honest, listen, How can I ask God to fill
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  Speaker 1: me with His Word and His presence if I'm already
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  Speaker 1: filled with something else? Have you ever tried to read
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  Speaker 1: some verses of Scripture while you're already thinking about your schedule?
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  Speaker 1: Or maybe speak a prayer while you're engulfed in a worry?
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  Speaker 1: We all have all probably done both. So be still
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  Speaker 1: and know that I am God is an invitation. It's
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  Speaker 1: a simple invitation, but it takes a lot of practice
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  Speaker 1: and a lot of forethought to try to be able
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  Speaker 1: to do that. Because stillness gives us a chance to
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  Speaker 1: remember who God is before we begin telling Him what
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  Speaker 1: concerns us. See, the day may still bring decisions, responsibility,
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  Speaker 1: even unexpected interruptions that you know they will. But we
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  Speaker 1: simply don't have to carry them all into the quiet
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  Speaker 1: moments of that we meet with Jesus in the morning.
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  Speaker 1: So after I sit for a while, then I open
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  Speaker 1: my Bible. Often a familiar passage will jump out at
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  Speaker 1: me in a fresh way because now I'm ready to
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  Speaker 1: pay attention to the Lord. Because before I ask Him
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: to fill me with His Word and with His presence,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: I took time to empty me of myself. I hope
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  Speaker 1: that's important for resonates with you this morning because it's
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  Speaker 1: very important. See, then I begin to pray about what's
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  Speaker 1: on my heart, including the things that I maybe have
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  Speaker 1: set aside for a few moments. Now I can bring
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  Speaker 1: them back and find room to bring them before the
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  Speaker 1: Lord with a clearer vision of what He wants to
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  Speaker 1: speak to me. So maybe your morning feels full, for
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  Speaker 1: maybe you can't even find a few moments of silence
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  Speaker 1: because there's so much going on in your mind right now.
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  Speaker 1: But you don't need an hour. Just start with a
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  Speaker 1: few minutes. Before the phone. Before the news. Before the
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  Speaker 1: demands of the day. Just take a little time. To
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  Speaker 1: just take a little time. And spend some time with Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: And just thank God for the day. Surrender it to him.
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  Speaker 1: Sit still long enough to notice his presence. Then bring
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: your thoughts into his word. Your concerns into your prayer.
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  Speaker 1: And you will feel a closeness and a fellowship with
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  Speaker 1: the Lord that you could not get when you were
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  Speaker 1: full of everything else. So tomorrow morning, before your feet
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  Speaker 1: touch the floor, try to begin empty. And watch how
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  Speaker 1: it begins to change the rest of your day. So today,
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  Speaker 1: you be safe, you be strong, and you be blessed.
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  Speaker 1: And Lord's will, we will see you back here again tomorrow.
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  Speaker 1: Have a great day.