|
We are in the middle of the Christmas season. Our churches are busy with all the activities that come with the Christmas season. Sometimes in our busyness we forget the most important things. Someone once called it – the Tyranny of the Urgent.
Every day we are given a precious gift. Everyday we're given 86,400 seconds to live. We do nothing to deserve them, and we have a way of taking them for granted. But that is not a wise thing to do because, in fact, they are not a right or a prerogative, they are a gift. We can spend them any way we want to. Just one rule: when the day is done, we can't have any of them back.
They are ours to spend. They are not the responsibility of our boss, or our friends, or
our spouse or our kids. They are yours and mine. And when we add them all up
together, eventually what we have is a life, just a life. As I travel throughout our
region, spending time with pastors, preaching in many of our churches, I believe that we need to declare war on the great enemy of our souls. It has to do with this
business of time and the kind of overcrowded schedules and over-committed lives
that are all around us. Hurry and busyness will destroy our soul. Hurry and busyness will keep us from the abundant life that God desires for all of us.
The truth is we'll never get anywhere on being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ until we begin to make some headway on this business of time and how we use it. Because my guess is that for most of us in this region, the great danger that we face is not that we're going to deny our faith. It's not that we're going to renounce Jesus. It's that we're going to get so busy and hurried and distracted that we get rushed into a mediocre version of Christianity. That we just skim life, we skim faith, we skim Jesus, and we end up superficial. The apostle Paul reminds us:
"Do not worry about anything. But in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7
So, as we walk through this busy holiday season, let us not forget to feed our souls.
Our calling is to live as people who are cared for by an awesome loving God. Let us
use our 86,400 seconds wisely for God and the Kingdom of God.
As I continue to serve this region, I am so thankful for the calls, emails and words of
affirmation. Continue to pray for our region, our staff, and our leadership. Thank
you for your financial and prayer support which is always appreciated and needed.
I want to wish all of you a blessed Christmas. Let’s make this Christmas special and
loudly proclaim the peace that comes with a relationship with Jesus. Let us celebrate
that Christmas reminds us of the greatest gift of love- when God sent his son to offer
us eternal life. May the new year be a year that our churches loudly proclaim the
good news of Jesus Christ, our savior.
Your Servant in Christ,
Ron Bouthillette TABCOM Associate Executive Minister
| 
