Organizing the Inside 365 Days
Empowering Christian Women To Get Organized and Discover God's Plan for Their LivesArchive for Environment
Organizing the Inside – Day 326 Organize Your Environment From the Inside Out & Outside In
6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NLT)
Does Your Environment Honor God? When I consider organizing the inside I think about how my environment can either help or hinder my efforts. The God we serve is fully aware of all the challenges we are faced with daily. Nevertheless many of the things in our environment that affect our lives adversely can be changed. If you truly want to you can reorganize your environment to reflect a life of loving obedience toward God. Moses wanted the Israelites to be prepared to live differently in the promise land. He wanted them to remember the importance of their relationship with God and how it would influence their lifestyle in the new land they were about to enter. Today we know that our relationship with God is often reflected in how we live. If I love God then the things around my home will reflect that relationship. Organizing a godly environment for you and your family begins with an inward change. The disorder and ungodliness in one’s own environment is simply an outward manifestation of an inward condition.
What is the condition of your environment? Take a closer look at the many influences in the immediate area around you. Do things closely reflect Christian values? The Word of God is what gives us our standard for setting an environment that promotes a godly way of life. Does your environment’s overall condition show submission or rebellion? When Moses gave the Israelites God’s commandments he also gave them instructions for creating a godly environment. The first thing he told them was, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord alone. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4, 5 Those instructions continue to serve as a type of school master for organizing our environment; start with the inside (your heart) first. Moses then went on to tell them what to do about the creating the right environment. He told them to surround and immerse themselves in God’s Word. (see verses 7-9)
Think about ways to make your environment more pleasing to God. If Jesus knocked on the door of your home this very moment would you be happy or embarrassed to let Him in. Here is an Environmental Inspection List. Make the necessary changes as God leads you to make sure the environment around you and your family is one that pleases God above all else.
- What are the lyrics in the songs you or your children listen to?
- What kind of magazines are in your home?
- What kind of plots and storylines are in the most recent movies you’ve seen?
- What do you do for fun?
- Who do you look up to and try to emulate?
- What do you discuss during personal phone conversations?
- What does your DVD collection look like?
Sin and the world can be very entertaining. The enemy is thrilled when a Christian woman spends her time doing anything other than what God told her to. If your environment diminishes your testimony ask God to help you make changes. What track are you on as a Christian woman? If you are married, whether your husband is saved or unsaved, leading or lagging you should honor him; (Ephesians 5:22 as unto the Lord) but you must also do what God puts on your heart to have an environment that keeps you and your children on the right track. Bottom line is that our environment is a reflection of our relationship with God. Do you agree? Share your thoughts.
Organizing the Inside – Day 285 God Organized First
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Genesis 1:1-5 (NIV)
God is a God of order. The first 25 verses of the bible, shows God making an investment by preparing things for Adam. He spent time organizing the earth so that Adam could be both productive and prosperous. Before creating Adam and Eve God organized their environment. When children are disorganized it’s often because their environment is disorganized and missing structure, systems and order. There are many accounts in the bible of God setting things in order before moving His people forward to the next phase of His calling. God demonstrates the principle of organization again when He gave Noah instructions to build the ark. He organized Noah by giving specific plans, instructing him how to prepare for the destruction of the world.
Is your life organized? A common mistake many people make is to not take time to organize before starting a project or taking on a new task. If you pile one project on top of another disorganized project eventually you have nothing more than clutter and chaos. God wants our lives to have order and focus. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33a (KJV) We simply cannot go from one day to the next leaving behind a trail of unfinished tasks. Take time to assess the organizational systems in your home and office and devise a plan to address problems. One of the best investments we can make in our future is to take time daily to establish order and allow God to direct our path. When your life is organized everything is less complicated and you are free to receive all that God has for you.
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Organizing the Inside – Day 229 The Truth About Our Environment
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed…
Genesis 12:1-4a (NLT)
Upgrade your environment.
God told Abram to leave his native land, perhaps because He knew that Abram’s relationship with Him would be influenced negatively by family and friends. God had plans to upgrade Abram’s environment. Abram obeyed, by leaving his father’s household as God had instructed him. I often wonder how my life is affected by family and friends. I’m inclined to think in a positive way for the most part. As I consider my relationship with God and the things and people around me I pause. Is there a need for some things to change in my environment?
Perhaps it’s time to decontaminate your environment.
When you consider the things around you each day, ask yourself if you need to make a few adjustments. What are the environmental influences surrounding you? Now we can’t leave the world completely. Jesus prayed that we would be in the world, but kept from the world. 15I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. John 17:15-17 (NLT) We are made holy by the truth of God’s Word that sanctifies us. But we must receive it, if we reject the truth how is it able to change us? No one is suggesting you live in a holy bubble, just be open to the Holy Spirit.
Something to consider
What things in your environment are polluting your relationship with God? Are there things that you need to remove from your environment? Or perhaps there are things that you need to bring into your environment. If God is speaking to you about making some very serious changes; then do what He is leading you to do. Start by considering what you do in your down time.
- What are you watching on television?
- Where do you go online?
- What are you listening to?
- Who are you listening to?
- What are you reading?
- What spiritual food are you eating?
It’s our own responsibility to make certain the things in our environment are things that will help strengthen and encourage us in our relationship with the Lord. The people you spend time with, whether you want to admit it or not, influence your life. Strong positive friends who don’t compromise in living the word of truth are a source of encouragement. As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) People, who are lazy, lack-luster, and slothful in the things they do will certainly not
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