have you ever had a moment where you've quietly said to yourself I need to do better I have to start doing better you could have said this at your job you could have said this after you forgot something important but I guess the good thing is you've identified that there has to be an improvement in some area of your life and so I'd like to ask you have you ever stopped and thought I need to do better when it comes to things of God when it comes to how much effort you're putting into reading God's
word have you ever said to yourself I have to start doing better when it comes to my prayer life when it comes to my priorities there is always always room for improvement when you're a Christian there's always another gear another level of effort you can reach no one on this Earth can ever say I've maxed out all I can do in terms of my relationship with God none of us can ever get to know God enough none of us can ever spend enough time seeking the face of Jesus Christ I once heard someone say the
devil doesn't mind how many times we go to church in a week it's only when we live with the awareness of the presence of God and allow his Spirit to control our lives that the devil gets upset it takes much more than a few hours per week to be a Godly Christian who makes an impact on the world it takes suain stained time in his presence how true is that time alone with God is crucial for every believer we need to abide in him to be still and know that he is God we need sustained
time in his presence we all need to do better let me give you a couple of verses to keep in mind the Amplified translation of 2 Timothy 2:15 says study and and do your best to present yourself to God approved a Workman tested by trial who has no reason to be ashamed accurately handing and skillfully teaching the word of Truth First Corinthians 9: 24-2 says do you not know that in a race all the runners run their very best to win but only one receives the prize run your race in such a way that you
may seize the prize and make it yours now every athlete who goes into training and competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things they do it to win a crown that Withers but we do it to receive an imperishable crown that cannot wither let's do better people of God when it comes to studying the word do better when it comes to prayer do better when it comes to self-control I encourage you to do better many people wonder why they are not growing in their relationship with the Lord the reason may be
that they are not putting in the work required to grow in a greater understanding of the Lord God made us in such a way that we need to seek Him daily by seeking God daily we grow in a relationship with him the Lord reminds us often in scripture of our daily need for him while Jesus was praying The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:1 he said give us this day our daily bread many of us live in a time and Country where we do not need to worry about getting our daily food we can go to
the store and buy enough food for weeks we can then go home and store that food in a refrigerator however the crowd that Jesus was talking to did not have that privilege they did not have access to stores or ways to store Mass amounts of food for long periods of time they often had to wait for God to provide food for them the day they ate they needed to seek God daily for for Provisions the children of Israel were in the exact spot when traveling through the Wilderness they needed food however God did not open
up a grocery store for them in the middle of the Desert god did not miraculously tie their stomachs so that they wouldn't need any food instead he gave them just enough bread for them to survive each day Mana fell from Heaven daily they had to look to God daily Exodus 16:4 says then the Lord said to Moses I will reain down bread from heaven for you the people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day in this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions if they
ended up taking more than what they needed for the day the bread would become uneatable he gave them just enough bread each day so that the people of Israel would take time to seek the Lord each day seeking God every day should be the way of life for a Christian God commands us to seek Him daily and not even to worry about tomorrow as Jesus preaches the sermon on the mount he says in Matthew 6:34 therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has enough trouble of its own since
tomorrow is not promised God wants us to focus on trusting him today in the moment we do this by running to God daily we may worry about a health crisis or a financial situation but God wants us to trust him in those daily moments instead of worrying about what could or will happen Lamentations 3: 22-23 says the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning great is your faithfulness God has given us enough Mercy in the day to make it to the end why worry
about life when God gives us new Mercy each morning when we seek Him Now let us pray Precious Jesus we give you our hearts and we give you our praise and adoration we are in your care Lord Jesus we are in your mercy dear Lord we're looking to you at every moment and for everything you are the one who provides for us the one who defends and fights for us we thank you King Jesus for being our Rock and our pillar thank you for being our rescue in this world we will rejoice always and I
will give you my thanks in all circumstances because you have a plan for our lives a plan that is divine and for a greater purpose so we trust that all of our steps are ordered by you fill us with your love and joy as we earnestly seek you today I declare your word in Psalm 103 verse 1 through 2 bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits we praise you because you are a God who forgives
all we praise you because you are a God who heals restores and makes us whole again we praise you because you are a God who has saved us from destruction and shown us loving kindness and Tender Mercies we will bless your holy name as long as we live we will lift up our hands and praise Only You Lord Jesus Holy Spirit help us to have a heart filled with praise so that when things are good I will bless the Lord with all my soul and all that is within me I will praise His holy name
and when life is challenging or difficult I will still bless the Lord with all my soul and all that is within me I will praise His holy name We Praise You Lord Jesus because you are the one who can quench my thirsty Soul you are the one who Faithfully loves me you are the lifegiver and you alone are the one who can make me feel new and refreshed again it is in your presence that we are made whole we praise you because of your abundant and unfailing mercies for as long as we are alive we
will lift up our hearts our voices and hands to worship you father 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 only your presence Lord Jesus can bring transformation in our lives only your presence can revive and refresh us father rekindle our flame for you so that we can have have a strong desire to chase Holiness and live righteously we invite your presence Lord into our lives Lord may your love and mercy Reign Be My Sanctuary Lord my place of
safety and refuge we bless your precious Name Lord thank you for hearing this prayer amen [Music] do you not know that in a race all the runners run their very best to win but only one receives the prize run your race in such a way that you may seize the prize and make it yours now every athlete who goes into training and competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things they do it to win a crown that Withers but we do it to rece receive an imperishable crown that cannot [Music] wither
therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has enough trouble of its [Music] own the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercies never come to in they are new every morning great is your faithfulness bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits
