Priorities

So often we discover that the challenge of the Christian life is to stay focused on the big picture of what’s eternally significant. While the demands of everyday life shout for our attention, it’s the issues of supreme importance that usually sit quietly in the back of our minds while we run to our next appointment. As any good time manager will suggest, the distinction between “the urgent” and “the important” has to be assessed on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the time management books fall short of accurately defining what is truly important. Jesus understood the difference. And while there were several onlookers whose expectations and demands weren’t met by Christ, at the end of his life he could confidently say to the Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (Jn.17:4). May God grant us the strength and the fortitude to pause often enough to see his heavenly agenda through the clutter of earth’s pressing concerns. May we strategically live our lives with our eyes fixed on divine priorities so that one day we will be able to say that we have fulfilled God’s call for our lives.

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

Fleeting Life

Talk about perspective! The lyrics of Psalm 39 boldly prompt the worshipper to consider the brief nature of his or her time here on earth. Verses four and five read: Show me, O Yahweh, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. While that may be a depressing part of the Bible for our youth-idolizing culture, God isn’t trying to make us feel bad, his goal here and elsewhere is to get us to reprioritize our lives and motivate us to invest wisely with the days we have left. Consider the book of Ecclesiastes that reminds us that our short lives are often wasted chasing after things that, in the end, amount to nothing. Today, it is variously reported that the average American lifespan is approximately 75 years. That’s only about 27,394 days. It is enlightening to do the math and see how many days you have already spent and how many days you might expect (but not presume) to have left on this journey. If you do the math, don’t get depressed! Get motivated to make each remaining day count. Let us consciously invest in things that matter for eternity. May this daring perspective drive us to step up and stop waiting to make a difference for Christ!

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/