Energize

So lately it seems that I have been reading articles, in a conversation, or just thinking about getting back to making Christ the center of my life.  I have heard the term "Centrality of Christ" used in a conversation with my Brother in-law and the need to get back to Christ being the reason behind and in everything we do.  

The other day during my quiet time I started to read Ecclesiastes.  As I continued reading hoping that it would get better it kept going back to the point of everything being "meaningless."  The more I read the more depressed I got till I got the big picture of this book in the Bible.  I then continued to read simply to see if there was a point to why the author was depressed and found no purpose for all he had accomplished.   The author continued to do all these different things to please himself and found nothing out of it.  How often do I do the same thing with my life yet find it to be meaningless?  This book in the Bible helped me see the importance of what I found in the final chapter 12:13-14 "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.  For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."  This spoke volumes to me.  I need to live for Him not me.  My life should be centered on His purpose not my own because I am not here for me but for Him and His purpose.

We are starting a series called "Energizer" this Sunday night for the Student Ministry and I am so excited about it.  In 2008 I made a personal goal to take the Student Ministry to the next level and in some ways it happened in others it didn't.  My goal for 2009 is simple make Christ the center of everything.  The church I serve at is a purpose driven church which covers the Five Biblical purposes that a church should strive to achieve within the church.  Worship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Ministry, Fellowship make up the five purposes of our lives as well as our church.  The interesting thing is while programing and planning out all the things we do I have lost sight of the important part which is Christ being the center of my life, my marriage, my ministry, my relationships.  I need to return to putting Christ at the center not everything else that I have done here lately.  

This may sound weird but when I first got into ministry Christ was the center.  I focused in on my quiet times and spending time in worship.  By doing this I was energized, I had more energy then ever before because Christ was the center.  I need to get back to that in my life so that it pours out into the rest of my endeavors.   I can honestly say that I thought at the beginning of my ministry career that I would never loose sight of this simple concept but I have.  I have lost sight of having Him as my center and for 2009 better yet for my life my goal is to make Him my center.  I want to preach more Christ then ever before, I want to go back to the basics of a relationship with Him and let all else come after that.  That is my goal to let Christ be the "Energizer" in my life not all the other stuff I have attempted to bring me energy.  My prayer for this series is that God will become the "Energizer" of my students, my student ministry, my marriage, and most important my life.