Maria
February 8, 2006
By Maria ML #3563 9/05
Dearest Family,
1. I love you so much, and Peter and I pray for you daily, for the supply of your needs‚ for your encouragement and strength and health and protection‚ and that you will grow closer every day to the source of everything good in our lives and existence—our wonderful Husband, Jesus.
2. This is the second Letter in the series on quality Word time. The fact that the Letters on this topic are short and have been spaced a few months apart has hopefully given you a good opportunity to apply the Word and work to make quality Word time a habit before this next batch of counsel on the topic has come along. So in order to make this Word revolution a reality in your life—or keep it alive and fresh—make time to study the answers, solutions, and ideas the Lord gives in this Letter. Pray and ask Him which ones will work best in your life, and then start implementing them right away!
3. These first excerpts of counsel were given in answer to the question, "Do I have my priorities straight in putting first the things that are most important, or can I stand to improve in this area?" That's a good question to ask the Lord frequently, so after reading His counsel here, you might want to ask Him if He has anything specific to tell you along these lines.
(Note: The messages that follow are from Jesus unless otherwise indicated.)
4. It is My Word that is most important, not My work. My work is very important, yes, but it is My Word that I have exalted even above My Name. It is My Word that shall never pass away. It is My Word of which I spoke when I said every jot and tittle of it will be fulfilled. I am My Word‚ and My Word will endure forever, and its presence in you is vitally important if you are to do My work as you desire (Psalms 138:2; Matthew 24:35; 5:18; John 1:14).
5. So make this daily time in My Word a sacred and holy matter which even My work cannot interfere with. Tell yourself that you must have it if you are to do My work properly, and then be faithful to take it without fail. Consider it part of your work if you must. Put it on your to-do list; consider it a project with a deadline that must be met on a daily basis.
6. Things are different for you since having three children, but you have kept doing things the same way, without making the needed adjustments in order to have at least the minimum of quality Word and time with Me. It was much easier for you to get it when you had only one child. Your workload has increased greatly since then‚ yet you haven't made any adjustments. You somehow hoped that it could still work the same way it worked before, but it can't.
7. I have blessed you with your children, and I will also bless you for laying down your life and time to raise them in My nurture and admonition. Each new baby brings a big change into your life, and with each big change you should be asking Me about it and reevaluating your schedule, your way of operating, your ministries, the way you spend your time.
8. You've been so preoccupied with all that needs to be done by a busy mother, thinking that because you are the mother, you have to manage, and the main chunk of the load rests on your shoulders, so you'd better go to it and do it. You've kept on going like this even when it didn't work out for you to have solid, feeding Word time for long periods of time, thinking that was just a part of the sacrifice of motherhood.
9. It's true that there are some sacrifices that having children brings, but you must remember, My love, that you are a disciple above all, even above being a mother or a wife. That's where your priorities are off. You've been trying so hard to fulfill all the duties and requirements of a good mother and wife that you've neglected the main requirement of a disciple—your time with the Master!
10. It's not that I don't want you to get all these other things done. It's not that I want your room to be messy and disorganized, your laundry not washed‚ and your children not taken care of. But I want you to trust Me enough to put My Word first and these other things second. Trust Me that you will be able to get the other things done even more efficiently, that you will be more inspired about those tedious jobs that you have to do every single day, if you are getting your quality time with Me. All you have to do is ask Me how to fit everything into your day, starting with your Word time. Once you've had your Word time or have scheduled it, you can schedule all the other things.
11. It can't continue as it has been, My love. Something's gotta give! Sometimes it can be your husband that's doing the giving, sometimes you have to give and reschedule something, but your Word time can't keep giving! When you allow your Word time to be crowded out, it's like exchanging your gold for some plastic trinkets—the little daily jobs and cares of life. Put your Word time first. Be most faithful with that, and then with all the other little things. Everything works better that way!
12. There are many things that waste your time throughout the day. Much of the time you're thinking about and being burdened with things that you shouldn't be burdened with. You take upon yourself cares and worries that I would not have you carry. These waste your time. They cause you to put emphasis and priority on things that you shouldn't have to be spending time on. And the only reason you have these cares and these worries and these burdens is because you're not spending the necessary time with Me.
13. I want to deliver you from the worries and fears that waste your time. Our time together will be a time of confidence‚ love, reassurance, and learning. In these times you'll learn that My love for you does not fail. You'll learn that My love for you can teach you and help you to grow. You'll also learn that My love can guide you through and around the obstacles in your day. I can show you and teach you the difference between the burdens that you do not need to carry and those which you must deal with. And with that clarity and confidence, you can go through your day much better.
14. When you don't have a clear and defined confidence and faith in My love for you and in what I want you to do, your day is wasted because you get tossed about by anything and everything that comes along. You often let yourself get carried away with new ideas or thoughts and seeing where they can lead. These thoughts and ideas are not bad, but they need to be prayed over more, and you must find the strength of will to place them where they belong and deal with them in their time.
15. The most important thing you can do is to get your time with Me first thing in the morning, in the early hours, if possible. Once you've done that, everything else will fall into place and be clearer. When your burdens have been lifted and your cares have been cast upon Me, your vision will be clearer and you will know where to direct your attention‚ your time, and your energies.
16. Through this time of our communion‚ first thing every day, you'll also grow in faith and in strength. You'll have greater willpower. You'll have greater conviction to deal with things according to their priorities rather than according to your desires. It all comes back to our time together first thing in the morning. Once this is in place and in order, all the rest will fall into place and be clear.
17. Your evening activities have mainly been centered around satisfying your need for fun and relaxation. I understand your needs and don't have a problem with you having fun and relaxing. But when it hinders your time with Me, which it has been, then it's not good; you've gotten things out of balance. You've put the cart before the horse.
18. You'll soon find out that by putting My Word and your times in the morning with Me first, your priorities will change and you'll have a better balance. You'll be getting your kicks from Me by putting Me first, looking to Me in the morning to be your main event of the day, rather than putting so much importance on your evening or "fun" activities for your relaxation.
19. Once that switch happens, all other things will fall into place. You'll start to feel more satisfied in life because you're putting Me first instead of yourself, and then I will start to satisfy these needs and desires of your flesh as well. But by trying to satisfy your flesh—or the needs of your spirit by relying on the things of the flesh—you miss the mark.
20. I want to rearrange your life now to where you fill your needs by seeking Me first. Once you learn to fill this hole with Me, then you'll see that everything else will fall into place. If you can simply accomplish the feat of putting Me first, that will be half the battle won, and will shift your priorities into the proper gear.
21. It's just like riding your bicycle—when you ride over different terrain, whether it's flat‚ steep, or rugged terrain, you have to shift into the proper gear in order to get the most output from your input, and also to make sure you can keep going and that the gears match the energy output you are able to supply.
22. In like manner, you now have to shift into the major gear for this ride into the Endtime, and that gear is putting Me first. Shift into that gear and all other things will fall into place: Your personal life, your work life and time and accomplishments‚ your times of relaxation and recreation—absolutely everything else will fall into place. Once you've shifted into that gear—that is, of putting Me first—then I will begin to show you the other little gears and how to shift them depending on how your day is going‚ your week, your month, your personal life, your work life, everything.
23. These other gears are your work time, your intercessory prayer time, your personal time‚ all the other things you need to do in your life. I will show you when to shift into these gears and how long to stay in them. But you see, these little gears must all be coordinated within the one big gear of putting Me first. I am the first gear that you must shift into. Once you have successfully shifted into that gear each day, I will show you how and when to shift into the other gears.
24. What tempts you most and most often pulls you away from your time with Me is other people—specifically your close friends and those you are emotionally attached to. It's not wrong to be close to people and have friendships, but you have to watch out about letting them and their desires or needs, or your desire to be with them, encroach on what should be our sacred time.
25. As you establish the habit of making your Word time sacred and set regular times to hear from Me personally, it will become pretty obvious what times you shouldn't be "hanging out" or chatting, or when enough is enough. You'll find it necessary sometimes to say, "Sorry, I can't stop and talk right now‚" or "I can't stay long‚" or "I can't go watch that movie with you, or at least not at that time." If appropriate, tell your friends and co-workers about your plan of when you'll be having your time with Me and the things that I've asked of you, and explain from the start that while you love them as much as ever, sometimes you'll just have to come around less often, or say no to something fun, or tear yourself away in order to make sure you've had your Word time. The goal is not to have less fellowship and fun but to have more time in the Word, and sometimes you will have to sacrifice your time with others in order to do that.
26. You and others need to learn more about respecting others' Word time, as well as protecting your own time with Me. Those who are taking Word time should make it easy for others to be good and not distract or interrupt them. You can possibly do this by putting a "Quiet Time" sign on the door of your room or on the floor outside your room so that others won't bother you unnecessarily. Or, if that's not appropriate in your situation, I can give you other ideas of how you can have undisturbed time with Me. You need to protect your time with Me, and learn to not worry that you're going to offend someone if you say you can't talk with them right now, nor be sensitive or bugged if someone can't talk to you right away. That's the real‚ down-to-earth meaning of making Word time sacred and making it a priority. It means making it time that won't be disrupted.
27. Be instant to obey in regards to your time with Me‚ hearing from Me, and reading My Word (2 Timothy 4:2). Delayed obedience hinders you from receiving My blessings. If you put off what I have asked of you, or a special moment with Me that I want to give, the moment is then past and that blessing, that treasure, is often missed altogether. There are other opportunities—I always bring them again—but that surprise is gone, for the moment has been missed. So be instant to receive My surprises.
28. Sometimes just as I offer you something new, you turn away‚ thinking that this is not the time and this is not on the schedule‚ so it must wait till later. Then later you're too tired, or your mind is on something else, or you're already weighed down by other things because you missed that precise moment of My love.
29. So learn to be an instant lover—a lover who responds instantly to My love and yields to My gifts and surprises. For if you only enter into our love relationship when it is perfectly scheduled, I won't be able to interject things when you need them. You'll still receive My help and power, but not at the exact moments when I wanted to give them, and in the perfect ways that I would and could have given them to you.
30. It's all about having a balance. If you just do what you feel like doing, you'll never get around to doing the things that need to be done but that maybe aren't as pleasant or as relaxing. This is a spiritual war and you have to learn to fight, and you won't learn that by looking for the easy road.
31. You must each decide what you are willing to forsake in order to accomplish the goal that I have set before you. What are you willing to forsake in order to do My highest will? Will you only do the minimum, or will you strive to do more?
32. My blessings are measured out in proportion to what you give to Me. If you give 100 percent, then I in turn will give you 100 percent. If you give Me less, then you can expect to receive less as well.
33. You would have an effective safeguard if you made it a habit to not take time to personally relax or fellowship with others until you've had your Word and prayer time for the day—which preferably you will have taken in the morning. But if you haven't, then you should take it when you come back from work.
34. When you come back from work, leave the cares and worries at the door and don't bring them into our bed of love. If there are concerns on your heart or things that you need answers to, then bring them to Me so that I can clear your heart and mind in order for you to be able to be fed from My Word.
35. Many times you bring the cares of your day with you, and they are prominent in your mind and weigh heavily on your heart, and you let them remain there on your mind. If you are to be fed from My words, then you must let go of those thoughts and worries, which sometimes will mean stopping your Word time for a few minutes in order to pour out your heart to Me in prayer and ask Me to take care of them. For you to try and carry them and sort them out in your own wisdom is pointless‚ for it takes not only the time that I could be speaking to you and giving you the answers, but it also takes away from the peace that only I can give.
36. I want you to pray about your rest days, My love. Stand up for your convictions and stand by what I've shown you, even if it means having to turn down someone's invitation or not do this or not be involved in that. While it's good to be involved with others, to not isolate yourself, and to be a friend and companion to others‚ that time on your rest day for extra infilling and deep feeding from Me is a very priceless and special gift. This is a very special opportunity to have even more of Me.
37. Don't merely be swept along with the flow of others or the desire of others to be on the go and out and about everywhere. Even though I realize you're trying to be sociable and friendly in doing this, if you allow yourself to consistently be swept along with others' plans without first coming to Me, in the end your spirit and walk with Me will be found wanting. Not wanting in the sense of starving—as you'll be taking daily quality time with Me throughout the week—but wanting in the sense that your spirit won't be "fat and flourishing" (Psalm 92:13-14) and full of My Spirit and energy to meet any demand or situation that may come along.
38. If you're faithful to tank up on your day off, then you'll have those "reserves‚" which come from those special deep and long feeding times that rest days can afford you.
39. The primary distraction in your life, which often keeps you from My Word‚ is being a "Martha" in the sense of cleaning up, being distracted by the kids, or carrying the burdens of others or the Home on your shoulders. These are the things Obstacon can easily use to distract you from getting quality Word time. He tempts you with thoughts like: Put the dishes away before the kitchen ends up a mess, Go see if the towels need changing, See if the kids are doing what they should be doing‚ Think about this person who is having a battle and how you can help them, etc. These are just some of the tactics that Obstacon uses to get you to not fully focus on My Word and drink it in.
40. Before starting your Word time, ask Me if there is anything that you need to take care of—with the emphasis on the word need. Ask Me if there is anything that you've overlooked that will come up in the middle of your time with Me. Also at this time give Me all your burdens, cares‚ worries, concerns, etc. Pray for those who are on your heart, but then leave it all on My shoulders to take care of. This should be a daily habit before you start your Word time or time with Me.
41. Having done these things, you are then ready to absorb, apply, study, and receive from the Word what I want you to. It's important that you start off in this way, because then if Obstacon tries to distract you, you have the faith that you have asked Me ahead of time if there is anything important to do before reading, and you've committed your burdens to Me, so there is nothing at all for you to do except rebuke Obstacon and continue on with reading My Word.
(Note: For information on Obstacon, see Link, issue 3, page 11.)
42. It's difficult for you to set everything else aside and be deeply fed from the Word, focusing all your attention on Me‚ at the end of the day. You're too spent, too tired, and your body isn't physically able to give Me your 100 percent. Taking time with Me at the end of the day is like giving Me the leftovers. By the end of the day you're tired and can't concentrate or suck enough to receive from Me. Maybe some people can, but you can't.
43. Of course, you can be fed somewhat from the Word that you read at night, and it is relaxing and gets you in the spirit and cleanses you from the cares of the day, so it has its place too. But it's not your prime time to be deeply fed, to really study My Word. When your work in the morning pushes aside your time with Me, and you hope to retrieve it in the evening, it just doesn't work. It's not practical, and it's not the time when you are the freshest‚ most alert, and most able to receive from Me.
44. I want your prime time. I deserve your prime time. I deserve the very best you can give Me. That's what I desire of you each and every day without fail.
(The following excerpts of counsel were given in answer to the question, "What safeguards can I put in place for myself that will help me not to neglect the time I need to read, study, memorize, and apply the Word in my life?")
Make it a habit!
45. One of the best safeguards is building a habit. That's why I'm pushing for you to get your Word time first thing in the day, at a set time, all the time. I want to help you to form a habit. When you're doing it at all sorts of times and places, there's not enough consistency for you to build a firm habit; therefore it becomes easier to skip this time.
46. What safeguards do you have to make sure you brush your teeth? None. You don't have a chart that says, "Did you brush your teeth today?" with little checkboxes. You don't have someone coming by each day to ask you if you've brushed your teeth. You only have the force of habit that you've developed by doing something in the same way‚ in a recognizable pattern, time after time. And you have come to depend on it so that if you ever forget, that dirty feeling in your mouth lets you know that you forgot to brush.
47. The more consistent you are, the more glaring will be the times when you miss it. That's how you form a habit, and that's how to get in a positive groove that doesn't even require safeguards, because it becomes a part of you—just like brushing your teeth.
Just do it!
48. The best and in fact the only truly lasting motivation will come from determination and conviction to obey My Spirit, to just do it. Other safeguards can help, and they can certainly make it easier for you, but you shouldn't count on them entirely. Because when all is said and done, you're accountable to Me‚ and only I know how it's really going. If you fear Me and respect Me enough, you'll take the necessary Word time and make it quality, because you know that's the only way to get My blessings in your life.
49. Some type of buddy system could also be helpful. This is something you can pray about. You may want to seek someone out personally to be your buddy, at least for a month or so while you're establishing better habits. You could set up some simple check-and–balance method between yourselves to touch base every day somehow‚ or check each other's charts‚ and affirm that you took the time with Me that you needed to. And if one of you is tempted with feeling that, "Well, today I just can't do it, I don't have time," the other can help to encourage or correct you.
50. If you have a buddy like this‚ it would be good to share with them the messages you've received from Me about your personal Word revolution, so that they know what the standard is that I have laid out for you and can help monitor you specifically—and vice versa. It would also be fun to pass on to each other little quotes and jewels that you find in your Word time.
It helps to be accountable to someone
51. Being accountable to someone for getting up and getting your time with Me in the morning is important. If you feel that someone is going to check up on you, then you will be much more faithful to follow through and you will be more accountable to make sure you wake up and take that time with Me. And if for some reason you don't or you can't, then you will be responsible to explain why, and to account for when you did have your Word time.
52. Also, getting a buddy who checks up on you regarding your time of intercessory prayer will help you to be faithful to get it done on a daily basis.
53. The safeguards that will be best for you are the ones where you need to feel accountable to someone.
Put it on your to-do list
54. The safeguard that will probably work best for you is if you include your Word time, your prayer vigil time, and praise times on your daily to-do list, and then are faithful to go down your to-do list every evening before bed and make sure that none of your times with Me were missed. If they did somehow get missed, then you should try to make it up then and there before bed. Or if that's not possible, then get up and do it early the next morning. Most of the time this won't be necessary, because your priorities will be straight, but it's a good safeguard.
Don't allow yourself to make exceptions
55. If you're going to make it a habit, you have to be faithful every single day and you can't allow yourself exceptions. You have to be strict; otherwise you'll slide and lose your conditioning.
56. It's like when you run. It takes you months of conditioning and running at least a few times a week in order to get up to the point where you can run 10 or more kilometers without any trouble. But it only takes a week of not running to lose half of that conditioning—and in a month you're pretty much back to square one, right where you were before you started.
57. So be aware that if you want to make progress, it's going to cost you something. It's going to take work, and you can't let up. But when it's a habit, it'll be worth it, and your life will be changed forever.
[In several boxes throughout:]
I like how you like to get things done, and your accomplishment orientation is a talent I endowed you with, but I'd like you to let Me change your focus so that your primary focus is on accomplishing your Word time and quality time with Me.
You are so approachable that sometimes others don't respect your time in the Word. For the most part it's very good that people feel that you can be approached and talked to; but on the other hand, it's not good when people become familiar with you to the point that they don't respect your time in the Word.
I know how much you love to do physical work. You enjoy being a "hands-on" type of person as well, and this is not bad. People respect you for this, and it can be a very good quality and good sample. But your tendency to sometimes be drawn away from your time with Me is not good. You must resist the urge you get to do physical work on the things that you enjoy at the expense of your time with Me.
When the birds of distraction start flying over your head, rebuke Obstacon and his flock in the power of the keys, so that you can be freed to focus on My Word, for it is the most important thing you have to do. Everything else will wait and can wait, but My spiritual power and strength and life and faith being poured on you each and every day cannot wait.
Anything that would take the place of a good solid daily feeding in My Word should not be allowed in your life.
As My disciple‚ one who has given your life to Me, you are responsible to give Me the time that I have asked for. When you choose not to, you are going your own way in disobedience, thinking that you can do it on your own, that you can make it on your own, that you're above the need for My power and strength. I know you don't consciously think that, but your actions speak louder than your words, feelings, or thoughts. What you do shows your choices, so be sure you make the right choices. Get in My Word. Take the time. Make it your priority.