It is said by many that the twelfth chapter of Romans is a good summation of living a life as a follower of the Christ. If so, then the twelfth verse of that chapter might just some the whole thing up
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 (NIV)
What do you think?
One quick thought for today, as I have been occupied from first note of the morning alarm today.
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5
Last week I mentioned that I had found several old documents in some files I was cleaning out. Among those documents are typed copies of a few devotional talks I gave on Wednesday nights at my church in my younger years. Here is one from the mid 90’s entitled Seek Ye First. Enjoy!
During Thanksgiving I was fortunate enough o have a little time to read. The main book I was reading was First Things First by Stephen Covey. His book discussed how we as people usually feel that we are not doing the things we want to do. His discusses evaluating your lifestyles and priorities and changing them so they conform and help you reach your goals and dreams. In the second chapter of the book he asks the following question: What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have significant positive results in your life?
I started thinking about the question and I started to think of the things I find important — clothes, food, shelter, my car, my job, relationships, and…… But then I read Matthew 6. Here in the middle of the sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us not to worry about the things that most of us worry about. He tells us God will take care of those things. And then he tells us how. In verse 33 he says
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
He tells us the answer to Covey’s question. If we seek his kingdom first, we will definitely have positive results. Listen to what he says. Seek first his kingdom and ALL these things will be given to you as well. The things we put first and spend so much time on are not the things that should be FIRST. The Bible give us our priorities.
Then Covey asks another question. If the answer to the question will give you positive results in you life, why aren’t you doing it?
A few years ago I wrote about a story that I kept in my Daytimer when I was in college. Earlier this week I found another that I carried with me and read quite often. I had forgotten about this story of The Hiker. This is from on the On The Anvil, by Max Lucado. Enjoy….
In the barren prairie, the hiker huddles down. The cold northerly sleeps over him, stinging his face and numbing his fingers. The whistle of the wind is deafening. The hiker hugs his knees to his chest, yearning for warm.
He doesn’t move. The sky is orange with dirt. His teeth are grainy, his eyes sooty. He thinks of quitting. Going home. Home to the mountains.
“Ahh, the mountains.” The spirit that moved him in the mountains seems so far away. For a moment, his mind wanders back to his homeland. Green country. Mountain trails. Fresh water. Hikers hiking on well marked trails. No surprises, few fears, rich companionship.
One day, while on a brisk hike, he had stopped to look out from the mountains across the neighboring desert. He felt strangely pulled to the sweeping barrenness that lay before him. The next day he paused again. And the next, and the next. “Shouldn’t someone go there? Shouldn’t someone try to take life to the desert?” Slowly the flicker in his heart became a flame.
Many agreed that someone should go, but no one volunteered.
Uncharted land, fearful storms, loneliness.
But the hiker spurred by the enthusiasm of others, determined to go. After careful preparation, he set out, alone. With the cheers of his friends behind him, he descended the grassy highlands and entered the desolate wilderness.
The first few days his steps were springy and his eye was keen. He yearned to do his part to bring life to the desert. Then came the heat. The scorpions. The monotony. The snakes. Slowly, the fire diminished and now… the storms. The endless roar of the wind. The relentless, cursed cold.
“I don’t know how much more I can take.” Weary and beaten, the hiker considers going back.
“At least I got this far.” Knees tucked under him, head bowed, almost touching the ground. “Will it ever stop?”
Grimly, he laughs at the irony of the situation. “Some hiker. Too tired to go on, yet too ashamed to go home.” Deep, deep is the struggle. No longer can he hear the voices of friends. Long gone is the romance of the mission. No longer does he float on the fancifulness of a dream.
“Maybe someone else should do this, I’m too young, too inexperienced.” The winds of discouragement and fear whip at his fire, exhausting what is left of the flame. But the coals remain, hidden and hot.
The hiker, now almost the storm’s victim, looks one last time at the fire. Is there any greater challenge than that of stirring a spirit while in the clutches of defeat? Yearning and clawing, the temptation to quit it gradually overcome by the urge to go on. Blowing on the coals, the hiker once again hears the call of the desert. Though faint, the call is clear.
With all the strength he can summon, the hiker rises to his feet, bows his head, and takes his first step into the wind.
I found a quote last night while going through some old files. Actually I found a lot of stuff when I went through these files, and I will be sharing some of it over the next several days.
But I thought this is a pretty good quote to help as we start heading towards the weekend.
Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else . -James M. Barrie
There’s so much meat there that I could probably write all day. I think all of us have days when work is really work because we would rather be doing something else. What struck me as interesting when I reread this quote was the possibility of finding something that we always want to be doing even when were sitting with work that we don’t want to do. And surprisingly the common denominator for me was that almost all work involves being with people, the the utmost creation of the Creator. So if you find yourself with work that really feels like work spend a few moments investing the people around you and see if that changes the way you think about the day.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)