What does "being purposeful" look like?

Welcome back!  Those who are visiting again, must be a glutton for punishment.....

Today, I would like to ramble on about what "being purposeful" looks like.  So often, we can become intimidated by the Bible.  After all, it is a big book with really small print and limited pictures.  In fact, the Bible I use doesn't even have pop-ups.  That said, where does one start?  Genesis 1?  That will probably work for some as they muddle through the history of the patriarchs and the founding of the nation (really in Exodus).  But what about the rest of us.  I mean, we want to read this in order to be able to apply it into our lives.  As the apostle Paul said, all scripture is God breathed and worthy of teaching.

A simple suggestion is to start with something more familiar....perhaps the book of John in the New Testament.  We will get more on this later.  I would strongly recommend that wherever you start in the Bible, it is accompanied by prayer.  God will show you what you need if you listen.

Prayer can be as simple as a conversation.  He knows your thoughts, so share them with Him.  You do not have to be a brilliant theological mind to pray.  Believe me....The point is to keep at it. 

There is a story about a soldier who snuck out of camp one night to be alone and pray.  Upon his return, he was caught by the security guard and taken to the night officer.  The officer wanted to charge this soldier with treason, conspiring with the enemy.  The soldier insisted that he only went out to be alone to pray.  The officer, not believing, told him that he'd better start praying now, because he was in a heap of trouble.  At that, the soldier knelt down and started to pray.  After a few moment, the officer told the soldier that he could leave, and that no charges would be pressed.  He noted that anyone who could pray under pressure must be one that was in a routine or practice of praying.

Today's question is "Are we in shape enough to pray under pressure?"  One way to get into shape is practice.  You will probably not be able to run a full marathon if you have not been in the habit of running already.