Do Not Be Deceived; We Do Have Time for Kingdom Work Each Day
TOO BUSY for A REAL RELATIONSHIP: Have we ever said, “We
are just tooooo busy” or “I don’t know how to spend time in meditation or
service with my busy schedule?”
At this point in my life, as an educator
and administrator, I can see all the things I have spent my time doing and most
of it is just dust in the wind. I see all the projects I have managed, grants I
have written, policies and guidelines I have invested time in and presented to
my district, and equipment I have purchased—dust in the wind.
As a young person, I spent 9 years in
piano lessons, 12 years in voice lessons, won countless contests, sang in 7
musicals and participated in multiple play productions. Won scholarships to both
Abilene Christian and to UT Austin—dust in the wind. I have owned a small cattle ranch, 8 different
dogs, 6 cars, 2 trucks, one super tricked-out van, a scooter, and 2 tractors—dust
in the wind. I attended 9 colleges for 5
degrees and 6 certifications – dust in the wind. I have had 12 different jobs
and 2 different careers –dust in the wind. These are dust in the wind because
they did not turn my heart to a closer relationship with my God or to my
calling in Christ Jesus.
Although I can praise God for being
blessed to have taught many the Gospel in my home, from house to house, from office to office, in Bible classes, and
overseas, I realize now how much time I have wasted not being in step with the
Spirit. Don’t wait until you are my age to make that realization!
SCRIPTURES:
2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass
away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the
earth and its works will be burned up.
Matthew 3:10 The
axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire
1
Corinthians 3: 13 each man’s
work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be
revealed with fire, and the fire itself
will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work
which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will
suffer loss;
WORK
THAT REMAINS
The First Century Christians took the
Gospel into the entire known world (Col
1:3-6, 23
)
Please humbly consider just these few
examples of what previous generations did NOT have.
They
did NOT have:
·
Grocery Stores (picked the grain, ground the grain, made the bread,
·
Stoves, microwaves, slow cookers (cooked over open flame, could not walk away from food preparations for
hours)
·
Dishwashers, Vacuum Cleaners, or
Washing Machines (hours were spent cleaning clothes,
houses, utensils)
·
Refrigerators (had to gather food almost every day from different food sources in the
field or in the market, could not keep food overnight in most cases)
·
Cars (had to walked or ride a donkey everywhere, made about 2.5 miles an
hour)
·
Telephones, radios, television,
Internet (communicated mouth to mouth which
would seem to be a real disadvantage and slow process, yet with the power of
God the message spread)
·
Electricity (collect the wax, make the wicks, dunk the candles, keep a flame or
coals going at all times)
·
Shopping Malls (raised the sheep, sheered the sheep, carted the wool, spun the wool,
weaved the material, cut the garment, sewed the garment for each member of the
family)
· Rights or Freedoms (they were restricted in when and where they could assemble, they were persecuted for spreading the Gospel, they lost homes, businesses, children, husbands, wives, as they proclaimed the free Gift of God to mankind.
They
GLADLY MADE TIME to:
(1) Share the Gospel from house to house (What
was the “sign” that these folks “believed”?)
Acts
2: 44-47 44 And all those who had believed were
together and had all things in common; 45 and they began
selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as
anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in
the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals
together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day
by day those who were being saved.
(2) Learn and Grow in “all things pertaining
to life and godliness”
2 Peter 1:3 seeing that His divine power has
granted to us everything pertaining to life
and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His
own glory and excellence.
(3) Witness and testify concerning the glory
of God
1 John 4:14
We
have seen and testify that the
Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
(4) Spread the good news where ever they went… moment by moment
1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith; take
hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good
confession in the presence of many witnesses.
(5) Serve the brethren and their neighbors
Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom,
brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for
the flesh, but through love serve
one another.
(6) Take seriously their “calling”
2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all these things are from God,
who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
WE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE
In this age and time where the Word
of God is so readily available with tools like Hebrew and Greek lexicons, Bible
dictionaries, concordances, reference books, atlases, sermons online, etc, the
only way the Devil has of making these tools useless, is to convince us
that we are tooooo busy to take advantage in them.
The
Devil has done a great job in creating “noise”, chaos, discontentment, and a
rushing-about life-style. We are like dogs chasing our tails. We are never
satisfied, but always seeking the next “new” thing.
If we are tooooo busy, we have placed
into our lives things of little or no importance, especially when we look through
the eyes of Christ. We are even diverting our children’s attention by involving
them in every kind of activity except daily Kingdom activities. Unfortunately,
we will reap what we sew.
Let us take our schedule this week and
pray over it, asking the Spirit to prioritize it, making Kingdom work a daily
event. If we are truly to be “known” by God then we need a daily communication
and participation with Him.
Can you imagine your child not
participating with your family or communicating with you except one time a
week? Not relationship-building…not acceptable behavior. Our relationship to
God must be built moment by moment, step by step, heart beat by heart beat or we
may find ourselves in the position of those in Matthew 7:21.
BEWARE OF THE AMERICAN FILTER – A Message
for the Church in the Western World
God gave us all, since the dawn of
creation, 24 hours in a day. It is God’s time which He gives to us. Are we
being deceived by Satan to “spend” time in pursuits that do not build strong
relationships to our God? God has given us soooooooooooooooo much, we should be
ashamed to give Him a pittance of our day or week. We cannot “pray without
ceasing” if we are not reflecting on Him step by step. We are the temple of God
at all times, not just 1 hour a week therefore His mission must be our mission.
His eyes, must be our eyes, His priority, our priority.
As a privileged country, we have “advantages”
that no other nation has ever had in any previous time period. We have “free”
time which we then dedicated to entertainment, extra-curricular activities, developing
nouveau riche talents, extended educational opportunities, and these we have begun to call necessities of life.
Our reasoning is filtered by the influences of our peers, our neighborhoods,
careers, and fleshly desires.
What we think we “need to do” and what we “want to do”
have merged to blocked out “what God calls us to do today”.
Suggestions (just a few examples):
(1) Family devotional time: Take a night out of
the week and instead of dance lessons or baseball, spend time studying,
witnessing, mentoring, and discussing with your children the reasons they
should have a close and personal relationship with Jesus
(2) Service time: Take on a weekly
service project “in the name of Jesus”. We
often donate to the Red Cross or to Good Will, but this may not bring glory to
Christ. “A cup of water in my name”
is the difference between a sheep and a goat, the left or the right hand of God
on the last day
(3) Prayer time: Make a family or
personal prayer journal which will allow you to keep track of your requests for
praise and thanksgiving.
(4) Meditation time: “Take time to be
Holy, Speak oft with thy Lord” and cut off all disruptive devices so that you
can hear the sweet whisper of His voice. Commit yourself to listening for the
voice of God.
(5) Multiply time: Make a list of those
you would like to see come to the truth and to receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. Start creatively plan, pray, and communicating with them through love
and persistence the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
VIDEO : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vllUDgVps7M
This video is not just to watch, it is
something we MUST reflect on and respond to with a spirit-led heart!
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