Who Will You Listen To?

And now, my child, listen to me,
   and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Keep your way far from her,
   and do not go near the door of her house;
or you will give your honor to others,
   and your years to the merciless,
and strangers will take their fill of your wealth,

   and your labors will go to the house of an alien;

and at the end of your life you will groan,

   when your flesh and body are consumed,
and you say, “Oh, how I hated discipline,

   and my heart despised reproof!

I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

   or incline my ear to my instructors.
Now I am at the point of utter ruin

   in the public assembly.

                            (Prov 5:7-15 NRSV)

Taking the advice from others; learning from their pasts, takes a pretty strong person. Our nature tends to make us want to do things our way. We'd rather not listen to teachers, or parents, or anyone that God has put in authority over us. We'd rather do what pleases us than what pleases God.

But, we are reminded in the book of Proverbs not to be following in the ways of those who do not follow the way of the Lord. Do not be following the advice who will lead you away from the Lord to a point of utter ruin. Do not follow those who will lead you away from "The Way." Rather, follow those who God has appointed to teach you. 

Do not listen to those who would lead you away from God. They do so in order to justify their own selfish existence. They do so for their own benefit. Incline your ear to those who would show you "The Way" in which to go. 

Be careful who you listen to! Be careful who you follow!

God's Peace - Pr. J 

 

Time Management

Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. (1 Peter 5:8-9 NRSV)

Be prepared. I am really big into time management. It takes a bit of self-discipline; but, it is well worth it in the long run. I understand that people can get a bit frustrated with me for being so persistent in wanting to plan ahead; to organize my time and schedule. 

I like to organize my time. My desk is not always very organized. But, I do like my time to be organized so that if an emergency comes up I can rearrange my schedule in order to meet that emergency head on and still stay on track with those other things that I have planned to do. I also like my time to be organized so that if I decide to do something spontaneous (like take a nap or jump in the kayak) I can easily find time to rearrange my schedule a bit and just do it. 

For instance, I begin working on my sermons on Sunday after worship or early Monday morning. I do this just in case an emergency comes up on Friday or Saturday and I won't have time. I like to be prepared for Sunday morning and to be ready for anything else that may jump in front of me in need of my attention.

The devil is always going to be there looking for ways to get the upper hand on you; to distract you from the path you should be following. He will throw many temptations in your path so that you are side-tracked from doing what is good and right for you and for the people around you.

Discipline yourselves and keep alert so that you might be prepared for the walls and miry bogs the devil might set before you to lead you on a path around them that you should not enter on.

Be prepared; discipline yourself; keep alert!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Consider the Cost of Following Jesus

Billboard of Former Parish

"Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?" Luke 14:27-28

We can either follow Jesus or we can follow someone or something else. But, know this: following Jesus is not always going to be a walk in the park. Following Jesus requires taking up the cross, an instrument of torture and death. Being a follower, a disciple, of Jesus requires a bit of self-discipline. It is not easy going against the grain of society. It is not easy putting aside our own desires to follow in Jesus' footsteps doing the will of our Father in heaven; but, that is exactly what Jesus tells those who are considering following him must do. 

God does not force anyone. But, he does want everyone to follow his only begotten Son into His Kingdom. The way is not easy. It was certainly not easy for Jesus to blaze that path before us. It will not be easy for us to follow him on that path. There will be trials and temptations. There will be persecution. The way is not always easy and many will try to entice us to go in another, easier and less costly, way. There is no other way if our desire is to be reconciled with our Father in His Kingdom.  

"Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

God's Peace - Pr. J

Run The Race!

"Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one."  1 Corinth 9:23-25
Before the sun comes up, I often find myself thinking about running for exercise. I imagine myself running like the wind. This thinking about it doesn't burn me any calories; it doesn't lose me any weight. It doesn't do my body any good. When I rise, I go about morning devotions and then to work. I can usually find a few minutes to exercise in the living room a few times a week. But, I almost always put off the running 'till another day. I do not exercise a lot of self-control or discipline when it comes to physical exercise.

St. Paul compared the discipline runners employ to the discipline that we need to exercise in order to be spiritually healthy so that when we finish the race here on earth we will receive the imperishable prize that has been prepared for us. We do not want any one to procrastinate and say "I'll get to know this Jesus you talk about, later. I'll have more time to follow him after I retire. I'll have more time to serve, tomorrow." For procrastinators, tomorrow rarely comes. Tomorrow may be too late. Today is the day to get to know Jesus and to live in his presence; in his Kingdom.

Jesus died for you. He died so that all people might live in the presence of God our Father for all eternity. What are you waiting for? The time is now. The Kingdom of God is at hand.

God's Peace - Pr. J  

Run The Race!

"Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one."  1 Cor 9:23-25

Before the sun comes up, I often find myself thinking about running for exercise. I imagine myself running like the wind through the woods. This thinking about it doesn't burn me any calories. It does not lose me any weight. It doesn't do my body any good. When I rise, I go about morning devotions and then to work. I can usually find a few minutes to exercise in the living room a few times a week. But, I almost always put off the running 'till another day. I do not exercise a lot of self-control or discipline when it comes to physical exercise.

St. Paul compared the discipline runners employ to the discipline that we need to exercise in order to be spiritually healthy so that when we finish the race here on earth we will receive the imperishable prize that has been prepared for us. We do not want any one to procrastinate and say "I'll get to know this Jesus that you talk about, later. I'll have more time to follow him after I retire. I'll have more time to serve, tomorrow." For procrastinators, tomorrow rarely comes. Tomorrow may be too late. Today is the day to get to know Jesus and to live in his presence; in his Kingdom.

Jesus died for you. He died so that all people might live in the presence of God our Father for all eternity. What are you waiting for? The time is now. The Kingdom of God is at hand.

God's Peace - Pr. J