Luke 10:40-42

“Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.”

                                                                               Dion Boucicault

Look at your clock. Do notice something unique about the time? The second hand never stops (unless your battery is dead). Time. Where do we find the time to accomplish everything we need to accomplish, let alone what we want to accomplish? It never stops - the vicious cycle of doing things within time. Running errands, cleaning the house, picking up the kids, putting in extra time on your project at work, studying for another big test. You just keep going and going with no end in sight. 

It can even become a pattern in your spiritual life. Helping with prayer meeting, keeping the nursery, teaching Sunday school, visiting the sick, calling last week’s visitors. It goes on and on and on until you’re spending all this time working for the Lord but you’re not spending time on what He desires from you most: your fellowship.

The disciple described as the one Jesus loved, John, wanted to share the good news of Christ so others would come to know Him and fellowship with Him. He knew what the most needful thing in his life was, intimacy with Jesus. We need to remember that as well. Mary knew it was better to sit at the feet of Jesus, loving Him and sharing with Him, rather than preparing a five - course dinner like Martha. 

Oftentimes, we become so busy for God, that we become too busy for God.  God wants us to find a place of rest in Him. To know Him more intimately, we must spend time with Him. Out of this closer relationship, our love for Him grows and we desire to serve Him more. When Jesus becomes our sole focus, nothing can shake us. If we make fellowship with Him a priority, He will make Himself known to us like we have never known Him before.

It is at the time of my surrender to schedules and clocks that God usually throws something new into my spirit. The Bible gives us a picture of the heartbeat of God when it says, “He came to seek and save that which was lost.” People are never lost. If God sees the sparrow and knows the number of hairs upon the head, surely he knows where every individual happens to reside. What was lost in Eden was fellowship between God and man. We are cursed with time because of the sin in Eden, and from then until now God is seeking that time, or fellowship, that was lost.  Do you have time for the Master?  Is it time for you manually to unplug the clock or remove the batteries and let time stand still for a little while in the presence of true Love?

I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 92:1-2

“Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.”

                                                                    Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The death of a child. The abuse of a loved one. The report of cancer. The betrayal of a friend, the closest friend. A rebellious child. The searing pains of life that leave us marred and overflowing with depression. The phone call relaying the message that a loved one is not returning from war. What emotions well up? Anger. Resentment. Fury. Self-pity. Despair. Hopelessness. Thankfulness?                                                                                                                                                Many divine commands seem perfectly reasonable—for example, no adultery, no idols, and no murder. However, the Lord also gave some instructions that ostensibly make little sense. One of those commands is the seemingly impossible task of giving thanks in everything. 

The Scriptures clearly teach that giving thanks is meant to be a way of life, not just a seasonal event. The problem is that we often do not feel appreciative, particularly when facing painful circumstances or tests of our faith. In fact, expressing gratitude for bad news seems irrational. Our limited claim to rationality, however, cannot compete with God's greater knowledge of what is best for His children. Just like the natural parent realizes that the struggle a child has to learn their “ABC’s” will one day allow that child to read, God knows that sometimes the struggle and disappointments of life prepare us for future blessing. As a result, we live a successful Christian life only by choosing to thank Him for everything He sends or allows across our path.

What the Lord knows is that gratitude powerfully impacts the believer. Tribulation can leave us feeling isolated, but thanking God for His ongoing care or provision reminds us of His constant presence. Equipped with the knowledge that He is in control, we can submit our will to His. Though our circumstances remain the same, our attitude is divinely changed through trust. Paul wrote in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for the believer's good. That releases assurance that the Lord has a purpose for every event He orchestrates or permits. Thankfulness motivates us to seek His purpose. In God's perfect time, the divine plan is revealed, and we can tell Him with sincere hearts, "Lord, thank You!" 

Take the pain, abuse, detrimental doctor’s reports, betrayal and all of the other things that seem to destroy us, and wrap them up in thankfulness. When we are able to do this, all of heaven’s attention walks into our lives to begin a performance only worthy of the best Audience. Watch your life become the drama that pleases the Lord.

Romans 13:1-14

“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.”

Mohandas Gandhi

I saw an interesting scene the other day. I saw a father and a little boy about five or six years old walking a dog through the park. It was a large dog. The leash was pulled tight by the strength in the dog’s muscles. The father, walking behind the boy, let the leash go so that the boy alone was holding the dog. I watched as a bird flew across the path of the dog, and the dog became very excited. I noticed every muscle the dog possessed tighten and explode. Needless to say, the boy lost control as the dog began to drag this little boy around the park. It was not until the dad regained control of the leash that the dog once again came under obedience.  The little boy, with an angry tone asked, “Why did you let the dog do that to me?” The father responded gently, “You were so intent upon holding the dog, you failed to realize that the leash went from the dog to your hand, but then it went to my hand. The whole time you thought you were walking the dog, I actually was.” We, too often, are just like the little boy. The big dog, called life, seems to be in control. We think we have it on the leash and we are holding to tight to all of our schedules, goals, dreams and plans. It does not matter what comes up against us, we are in control because we are holding onto the leash. It amazes us, however, that when a little “bird” crosses our path, we lose total control. All of a sudden, life seems to be dragging us around the park of time, and we do not understand where God disappeared. Could it be that God never disappeared? Could it be that while we thought we had a hold of the leash in our life, really, it was Him that had control, and as long as we allowed him to hold the leash, everything else seemed to be in control? In the park that you are walking in who holds the leash on your life? Turn around and make sure that God is still in control.

Matthew 10:16, Philippians 4:8-9

“Laziness has become the chief characteristic of journalism, displacing incompetence.”

      Kingsley Amis

In one of the last scenes of the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, the four companions stand in a dark room before the Great and All-Powerful Oz. Towering flames rose on either side of the face of Oz. The four shook in fear. Then, a small dog pulled back a curtain off to the side, revealing a man operating a control board. This meek man behind the curtain was the impostor who claimed to be the mighty Oz. Things were not as they had seemed to be. 

  If you watch, read or listen to the daily news, this world is quite depressing. The news is filled with nothing but one story after another of shootings, kidnappings and more. There is almost no good news at all. It is frustrating because I know all the news in this world is not bad. Pull back the curtain and see what God is doing in the midst of this world.  I know the bad, or more spectacular, news is what sells advertising time. It is all about the money and what sells. Reality seems to be a secondary concern. The disheartening wail of the world is in full voice. This world system will attempt to grind us all into powder and convince us that we are all too small and too insignificant to do anything about all the ills of the world. I know people who do not want to try because "it just won't help".  

Then, in contrast, I read an article by the Christian author Phillip Yancey. He wrote that he had received an anonymous email that claimed that a number of things had not changed or had gotten worse since 1980. His curiosity was piqued and he began to investigate if the claims made were true. He began to dig for the facts. To make a long story short, the claims were unfounded. So many are willing to take at face value what appears to be obviously true. I am not saying the world is perfect, or even well off. There are Christians who live in fear of their lives on a daily basis. More than 4,000 children die every day. There are people, however, who are motivated by a wide variety of reasons that are making a difference. Many of them are taking the gospel with them as they go.  Jesus instructed us to always be ready; that his return would be at a time we will not expect. The world rails against Christianity. It has always does so, and the world’s desire is to turn Christianity into a bowl of polluted views that would ultimately cause Christianity’s demise.  In that light, the world is still at war with Christ. As a counter point, while people go out and build homes for the poor, educate teens about social pitfalls, and raise the standard of living where they can, Jesus warned us that we would always have the poor. Just as that is no reason to stop trying to reach out to the world with hope and help, it also makes sense to defend our hearts and our minds against the lies and poisons of this world aimed at our very core. Be willing to doubt the doomsayers. Feed your heart and mind on good things.  All is not lost in the world.  Revival is taking place.  The church is being effective.  More than that, we know that, regardless of how the world ends up, a trumpet is going to sound and we will be caught up together in the air to be with the Lord.