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By John | June 20, 2009
From the Word: Make commitments cautiously (from Matthew 5:31-48)
”But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.” (Matthew 5:34-37 NASB)
Lord, again may I take to heart this admonition to exercise restraint in making commitments. So many things I could commit myself to, yet for everything I say yes to, I am inadvertantly saying no to a future opportunity. And even at a lesser level, I need to figure out how to carry out the daily responsibilities that overwhelm me - it seems like I just have too much that is screaming to be done. O Lord, help me to spend enough time with You so that my priorities are clear, and that as I devote myself to the necessities of our lives, that I include the things that are truly necessitites, such as devoting myself to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).
How can I implement this today? What should I be doing to advance Your Kingdom? You know where I feel the pressure which might compel me to do things that are not ultimately for Your purposes. In the midst of the mundane and routine issues, and I can’t do them all, not today at least, help me to see what it is You want me to do today, Lord. Amen.
Please pray with us:
Dick and Jeannette Taylor (local Navigator missionaries who normally serve with us here in the Philadelphia area) are taking a missional adventure this summer and will be serving as Chaplains at Crater Lake, Oregon National Park from June through September.
In a recent update from Dick: “…The opportunities to talk and meet people are wonderful. Just today on the employee shuttle going up I talked to a young unwed Mom working here who has left her two young kids about 50 miles away with relatives….she is hurting and wants to study the Bible. I was greeted at the rim (where the employee dining hall is) by Animal….he is a 55 yr. old mechanic and Hell’s Angel ….he now knows Jesus…he asked me if we could have another service during the week (he came to our first service Sunday) and he said we need more of this…..we’ll see!… ”
Pray for God’s leading in all they do and say as they work with approximately 200 international college students and others, many who do not know the Lord. Pray for their ability to communicate and live out the love of Christ clearly as they work and live alongside them daily serving visitors to the National Park.
Thanks.
John
Topics: In the Word and Prayer |