First Things First

If you have ever read Stephen Covey, you are familiar with the term, "First things first" - keeping the most important as first in priority..

A Christian can't experience God's grace, new life and growth out of a vacuum. We encounter his growth and grace in our lives from an overflow of meeting with the Savior. As a pastor I am called to give of myself often (my time, attention, prayers, equipping etc..), but as I do this, I must give out of the overflow of meeting with Jesus. Meeting with Jesus isn't merely having a designated "quiet time" every day. Even though uninterrupted time is essential, it also means that I need to experience his continual presence throughout my day. My struggle is with cultivating that all the time, throughout my day. Believe me, I am as busy as you, (and NO beside what you may think, I don't just work one day a week! :-) )

Busyness isn't about doing all the wrong things, it is about doing good things. These "good things are certainly things that the church and the people of God need me to do. But as "good" as they are, they take a backseat to the "best", which is sitting at the feet of Jesus (do you see the Mary and Martha allusion here?) Cultivating my inner life of prayer and communion means that I have to be intentional. It ain't just going to happen. It means that I have to take a day every month or so, to spend extended time with the Lord, even though it may be at the worst time and during the thick of busyness. I made that decision to this a couple of weeks ago, and even though it wasn't convenient, I have no regrets spending that time with Him. It also means that I need to be consistent to take Sabbath rest and weave it into the rhythm of my week. I need to take a fast from information and noise. That means that I need to turn off my blackberry, turn off the Internet and reduce the amount of noise in my life. How can I hear from God when I am always filling my head with the noise of the day.

Here is the upshot, I need to be serious and intentional in walking and hearing from Jesus. It won't just fall into place on its own. And if I don't, by His grace and strength, abide closely with Him, I will open myself up to spiritual burnout and turn toward other things/people to fill the void. (a.ka. make myself vulnerable to spiritual and moral failure)

Pray that I would seek Jesus with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. And that I would be consumed with loving Him over loving the work of ministry. Would Jesus never take a back seat to anything else in my life.