Teague Bible Church

TIME KEEPS ON SLIPPING INTO THE FUTURE

I was 28 when I pastored my first church. I was full of optimism. I assumed that the small group wanting to start this new church had carved out the time to do so. An older Christian, from back home, told me something I have never forgotten.
” If your people have not seen that sharing Christ, by making disciples, is the to be their focus in life, then they will have their lives jammed-packed with other things. These will normally be good things, but not the best things for them, and certainly not the best for those who are around them. Their life does not shine out for Christ. They never surrendered their time to the Lord. The Lord is not first in their life and their schedule shows it. They are preoccupied with the mechanics of daily life and the enemy will make them feel rushed all the time. Their good thoughts are that they will really serve the Lord as soon as they get all these personal things taken care of first.”
What an eye-opening experience to hear that! It is God’s creation, and our life belongs to Him. His incredible grace has saved us, and yet if we focus on,” fixing our problems first; then we will serve the Lord,” we find that day never comes. The life we could have had, the adventure we could have been a part of, in the Lord, passed us by as we were, “busy doing other things.”
As a kid I heard the old statement, “cleanliness is next to godliness.” Of course that is not true, but it is good to be clean physically. Another false statement bought today by many Christians is, ” busyness is next to godliness.” Many draw their self-worth from this, instead of their walk with the Lord.
I pray we learn the deep things that come by putting the Lord first in all things. If you feel a time conflict, and wonder how this can be done, you will find that God will make a way for you because you put Him first. You also find that folks around you see the light of the Lord coming out of you and want to know what has happened to you! The powerful and dynamic life of Christ shines out now and you find yourself in the middle of making disciples.
There is nothing to compare with this. There is no substitute, in all the world, for this. Live a full, clear, intention life for Jesus. Be that infectious Christian, not the nice religious guy or girl who seems to be, always, ” preoccupied.”
Matthew 28: 16-20 JWP