Today I want to share with you about intimacy with God. Psalms 42: 1-2 says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?.” I love this passage. David is saying that he is thirsting for God, hungering for God. I hope that it is your heart and your desire to want to be in the presence of God; to have a devotional life – to read the Bible and pray; to be intimate with Him.

There are three ways to enter into God’s presence: 1) Prayer 2) The Word of God and 3) Worship.
Prayer is simply talking to God, the Word of God is God talking to you as you read the Bible. Worship is the act of adoring and blessing God. It’s not just singing, it does involve music whether you sing a hymn, a chorus, listen to a CD or music praising Him. I encourage you to choose the one out of these three that gets you the most emotionally involved and excites you. There is not a right or wrong answer to this. Some people just enjoy praying; others get lost reading the Bible and others just love to sing or listen to music praising God. Which one do you enjoy the most? I always begin by reading the Word of God because I love to read, then I move into praying and then I move into worship. You just need to choose the one that gets you emotionally involved first because you want your quiet time to be a delight, not drudgery, duty or discipline. We are talking about being intimate with the God of the universe – the one who died for you. You want to be emotionally engaged in this time with Jesus Christ. So begin with the one that you enjoy most, then on to the second and then the third one.
I want to encourage you if you are a seasoned Christian, and you are already enjoying great quality time with Jesus to add a few minutes to your devotional time. Be more intentional throughout your day.  If you are just beginning this journey and launching into spending time with Jesus, I want to help you by telling you to begin with five minutes a day. Let me give you a few little hints to start this process.
First of all, I encourage you to have a time of preparation. Practically, that means you need to be physically and mentally alert. Some of you are morning people but others are “night owls.” I prefer morning, I am alert, fresh, and my mind is ready so I always have my quiet time first thing in the morning. My wife Vickie is the opposite, she prefers night time. She stays up until 1 or 2 am and feels that she is at her ‘best’ at night so for her to have her quiet time in the morning would not work well. Determine what time is best for you and make sure that you are physically and mentally alert.
Next I advise you to select a time and a location and keep that consistent. For instance, if it is at 6 am in the morning, then try to keep it around 6 am daily. If it is in the afternoon, keep it in the afternoon. Keep that specific time and then focus on finding a specific location. I have a chair that I have had for many years that is in the sitting area of my bedroom. I use that chair every single day. I read, pray and worship in that chair every day. Even as I write this, I think of that chair and I know how it feels and even what it smells like as I kneel  there so often.
Intimacy with Jesus…thirsting for God. The number one priority of the Christian life is spending time with Jesus Christ.  It is vital for a healthy, growing relationship.
Tomorrow I will share my detailed process with you.

Robin Williams’ character in the movie, “Dead Poets” says, “carpe diem, seize the day boys; make your life extraordinary.” That is great advice. Carpe Diem is a Latin phrase that means, ‘seize the day.’

Too many of us are living ordinary lives instead of the extraordinary life that God has for us. I am not talking about rock star status or saving 10 children from a burning building. I am talking about seizing the day and making a difference in people’s lives. What do you need to do to seize your day?

Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 16 tells us to “redeem the time because the days are evil.” There are two words in the New Testament for time; “chronus” – clock, time or measured time and “charos” meaning season of time or opportunity, fixed point in time. The word in Ephesians is ‘charos’. We must seize the opportunity that is in front of us…seize the day, the moment, the opportunity.

It is one thing to talk about what you are going to do or what you are going to accomplish. IT is quite another to actually do it; to reach that goal; to finish that project; to start writing that book. Make today count! What task will you accomplish today no matter what? Seize the day! Act on this moment. Go do it!

Here are four ways you can seize the day today:

· Organize

Clear your desk, clear your mind. Have a well-organized, highly systematic approach to get that goal, project or idea done.

· Prioritize

Remain focused on what’s important. Do that one thing that will give you your desired results.

· Optimize

Remember, time is a gift. You must make excellent use of your time.

· Synergyze

Create chemistry with those who can help you and you can help them. If your dream is big, you’ll never be able to do it alone. And more than likely, you will discover people with the same goals as you. Create powerful interpersonal synergy.

Let me encourage you to seize the day. Make your life extraordinary. Life is too short for the ordinary.

Laertius Diogenes was a 3rd century biographer of the Greek Philosophers. Though I don’t agree with a lot of what he said, I love his quote, “Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.”

How do you spend your time? Is your day wasted away with non-essential things? Do you struggle at the end of the day wondering where the time went? Do you find yourself in a state of panic most of the time, trying to complete a project or keep up with never ending appointments?

Every second is important. Every second is unique. Every second is fleeting. Use your time wisely. Are you making the most out of one of the most precious gifts of life…time? A.W. Tozier said, “when you kill time, remember that it has no resurrection.”

What about your family? When is the last time you made ‘real’ time for them? Have you dated your spouse lately? If you don’t make the time, it won’t happen. What about that quality time with your children? Trust me, I know about this – I have six children! I can remember bringing each one of my kids home from the hospital as newborns…changing diapers (okay, maybe not many!), the cute little onesie pajamas with ‘feet’ in them, having those babies grab hold of my finger with their little hands, hearing them say “Da-Da” and the countless other memories that are so awesome! Then before I knew it, my oldest son was married and in June, I will be a grandfather. Wow, where did time go?

Ovid said, “neither the wave that has passed can be recalled nor the hour which has passed return again.” Hey, you got a second or are you too busy trying to find that lost piece of information or pursuing the American dream or surfing the internet. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” The time is NOW for you to make a change in how you approach this issue of time.

Here are my top 5 suggestions to help you deal with your time:

1. Make a list of the things that only you can do. (things that cannot be delegated) Prioritize them according to your purpose in life. There should never be more than 4 top priorities in one day.

2. Create a not to do list. Drop some things – don’t do them anymore!

3. Schedule everyday – everything! Put on the calendar date nights, family nights, alone time, everything! If you don’t handle your schedule, someone else will and time will disappear.

4. Guard your time on line – email, Facebook, Twitter, etc…You will be surprised to find how much of your time is spent on these things.

5. Review all of your work at the end of the week and then plan for next week!

We don’t need more time, we need to manage the time that we have more effectively. Why don’t you make time right now to begin practicing these suggestions that I have given you. You got a second?

“The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder; a waif, a nothing, a no man…” Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881
Many people don’t have a clear sense of purpose and direction for their life. They don’t know who they are and why they are on this planet. Everyone needs a strong sense of purpose and mission. Do you know what you are supposed to do with the one life – the ONLY life you have to live? Every moment of our lives has value, and every decision we make either adds to our purpose and mission or takes away from it.

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. “ Paul understood why Jesus took hold of him…do you? Our task in life is to “lay hold of that which Christ laid hold for us.” My purpose is to make plain the gospel so that people can enter into a relationship with Christ and grow to their full potential. I love waking up each day knowing why I have been created. I have a spring in my step and a smile on my face because not only do I know my specific purpose, but I am living it every day.
What is your purpose? Who and what are you living for? When you know your purpose, you live with energy and passion. Knowing what is truly important and living that way is a powerful position.

What changes in your life are you going to have to make to live out your purpose? You are going to have to be more intentional in what you do with your time; what you say “yes” to and what you say “no” to. I am not saying that it is going to be easy because it’s not. Please don’t wake up one day and discover that you lived your life for years but not according to your purpose!

Here are some things for you to do right away:

1 – Discover your purpose

2 – Develop your purpose

3 – Deploy your purpose

Persevere No Matter What the Obstacles:
In Acts, chapter 14, we read where Paul was being stoned at Lystra. He was doing what God called him to do…preaching the gospel and seeing God do the miraculous. After a man who was crippled was healed, Jews from Antioch and Iconium stirred up the crowd and the Bible says they stoned Paul. Can you imagine having rocks thrown at you? (the physical kind) The Bible says in verse 20 that Paul got back up and went back into the city. Listen – be prepared – people are going to oppose you and will throw rocks at you. They may not be actual rocks but you will on occasion be knocked to your feet and even flat on your back. Do what Paul did; get back up! Go and continue what you have been called to do. Persevere no matter what the obstacles. I know it is easy preaching and hard living but let me encourage you to get back up!
Paul didn’t quit. People and circumstances will do everything to bring you down. You are going to want to throw in the towel. I speak from personal experiences, I have wanted to quit several times in my life. I love this quote by Booker T. Washington, ”I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed.”
I love the story of Florence Chadwick. She was 34 years old in 1952. It was July 4th. The California Coast was covered in fog. Twenty-one miles to the west of Catalina Island, Florence waded into the water and began swimming toward California, determined to be the first woman to do so. She had already been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.
The water was numbing cold that July morning and the fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats in her own party.

Millions were watching on national television. Several times sharks, which had gotten too close, had to be driven away with rifles to protect the lone figure in the water.

As the hours ticked off she swam on.
Fatigue had never been her big problem in these swims -
it was the bone chilling cold of the water.

More than fifteen hours later, numbed with the cold,
she asked to be taken out.

She couldn’t go on.
Her mother and her trainer alongside in a boat told
her they were near land. They urged her not to quit.
But when she looked toward the California Coast,
all see could see was the dense fog.

A few minutes later, at fifteen hours and fifty five minutes, she was taken out of the water.

It was not until hours later, when her body began to thaw, that she felt the shock of failure. To a reporter she blurted out, “Look I’m not excusing myself. But if I could have seen land, I might have made it.”

She had been pulled out only a half mile from the California Coast! Later she was to reflect that she had been licked not by fatigue or even the cold – The fog alone had defeated her because it obscured her goal. It had blinded her reason, her eyes, her heart.

It was the only time Florence Chadwick ever quit.

Two months later she swam that same channel.
And again fog obscured her view. But this time she swam with her faith intact. Somewhere behind that fog was land.

Not only was she the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, but she beat the men’s record by some two hours!

Persevere, don’t give up! No matter what blocks your view, no matter how many people doubt you, or who says you cannot make it. Persevere no matter what the obstacles!