WHAT TIME IS IT? The
minutes are ticking away, and with Thanksgiving just around the corner, there
is so much to be done! And never
enough time to do it in! Or so it
seems. With all that has been a part of
our lives these past weeks and months, God is ever reminding me that He will
always provide the exact amount of time to accomplish ALL that HE wants us to
do! Most likely not everything on MY
list – but HIS list! There are times
when He strengthens me as I “burn the midnight oil” – and there are times when
He pushes me down the hall and into my bed!
Lesson learned: schedules and
lists are changeable … and my rested body is a much better vessel for
God to use the next day. God can more
easily show His glory through a “rested me” than a “frazzled, frustrated me!”
What time is it? It’s
time to listen to God’s idea to thumb through hundreds of penned manuscripts
from years ago and share something that resonates in my heart that He gave me
back then. Sometimes the intensity of
recent days can leave my mind reeling.
So God, I give in. You show me
how to condense this writing from another time in my life and make it relevant
for where we are in this place!
What time is it? It’s
almost time to enjoy a bounteous Thanksgiving feast with family and friends …
but first, it’s time to drink in. It’s
time to drink that precious spiritual water that flows from God’s Word. And with God’s idea, I am going back in time
to share what one of God’s chosen vessels challenged us with nearly twenty
years ago at a conference in Grand Rapids. Michigan. With God’s anointing on his lips, our evening
speaker said. “It is time for God’s glory to be shown!” Rev. John DeVries, President of Mission
21 in India, shared some challenging thoughts that I want to share with
you! He stated that if we look around
us, we’re quickly reminded that every decade since the 1950’s, the natural
disasters in our world have doubled.
That, in itself, brings heartache and discouragement and fear. Challenge:
we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus – not on the devil! Talking about circumstance and worship,
DeVries said, “We don’t worship – or put God to the test – because things are
so bad … but because the Father is so great! God is standing there waiting for us to come
to Him and say, ‘Daddy, we need You to fix things on our street. We told everyone You could, because You’re so
great!’” What if … just what if … we
would pray like that – because after all, we do believe it, right? Or do we really? If we do, then we need to act on it! Our speaker continued to share that God’s
instructions always come with a touch of irrationality. After all, who else would have thought of
spitting on the ground, making mud with the saliva, and then using it to heal
the blind man’s eyes? (John 9:1-7) God doesn’t fit human logic! God also doesn’t need spiritual
marketing! He wants His church to move
by His Spirit, so the world will see that it is God’s church! DeVries made the bold, but true statement
that we in America don’t pray like we should. We don’t pray
like the Christians in persecuted nations around the world. They pray in a deeper dimension of
faithfulness, commitment, fervency, and expectancy. And what we need to know is that when we pray – God works – and things
change, people change, we change! We don’t need big plans and
strategies – we need to pray!
What time is it? It’s
time to pray in our community, to realize that we are living stones for one
purpose – to be cemented together in spiritual houses, God’s glory will shine through us into our
community! Suddenly we will see lives
changed and transformed. We will see His
wonders. We can pray like those in
persecuted countries, if we just will!
What time is it? It’s time to
start saying, “My Dad can fix it! Let’s
go tell Him. Let’s let everybody on the
street know how great He is!”
What time is it? It’s
time to go to the people! Do we think
just inviting someone to come to church or to come to God will fix it? Dr. DeVries reminded us that Jesus didn’t
invite us to Heaven, He came to earth to us! He wore our flesh, our clothes. He expects us to do the same; not to invite
the people, but to go to them. We
must flip open the door, and let the gospel flow. God will do the work if we focus and not
flounder! Lesson, re-stamped upon my
heart: “One of the greatest temptations
of the devil is to tell us we are called to do the good God hasn’t
called us to do, so we will be so busy
– that we won’t have the time to do what God has called us to do” God’s blueprint! We need it before we can begin – our day, our
work, our plans! I challenge you as I
was challenged: “Go with power. Go with dignity. Make
your spiritual walk continuous, not an event. Continuous
ministry in prayer! Become a living
stone – build a new house of prayer!”
What time is
it? It’s time! Time to be a vessel built into a spiritual
house – that shines forth the glory of God!
REMEMBER . .
.
“As you come
to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to
Him –
you also,
like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy
priesthood,
offering
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For in
Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious
cornerstone,
and the one
who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’”
~ I Peter
2:4-6
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
