Courage and Time Management

It's been a while since there was a new post in this blog. In the meantime, I got married! Was also involved in a whole lot of activities at Church and in our local prayer group. 2008 has been an exciting time so far. And unbelievably, almost 2 months are already gone! Time is flying away so fast ...

So what's Courage got to do with managing our time? Read on ...

I was reading this particular devotional from ODB about "Courage: Live it" by Dave Branon. He says:

Perhaps you need someone to tell you: Volunteer for that job at church—they need you. Have lunch with your co-worker to discuss matters of faith. Or join that small group.

Be courageous for Jesus. Sometimes it takes just that first step of courage to serve our majestic God.

Just last Sunday, when we had a discussion in a small prayer group, we all agreed on one thing. All of us lead busy lives. But when we make time for God and the things of the kingdom of God, inspite of pressures from our job, our personal work, our family, etc. , God does something marvelous. He works for us in parallel, even as we're working for Him. He fulfills our most pressing needs. Isn't God so amazingly loving?

Just a few years back, I used to give one excuse for not going to Church, for not taking time to do something for God. And that excuse was: my job. I said I had to be in office 7 days a week, and often spent a few continuous days living in office! I was so self-righteous about doing my job. After all, my job was a God-given responsibility! This slowly hit my prayer life, sin creeped in and finally I was far, far away from God.

When I started making time for God in my life, He started working for me in my job. He made me realize that when I seek His kingdom first, everything else I need is automatically added to my life. He changed my life.

That's why when I read what Dave Branon wrote, I felt compelled to write about it. It needs courage to steal time for God from our busy schedule, but it's well worth the effort. As you start doing this, You'll rediscover what an amazingly loving God He is :)

Pillars of His Church

In the days of King Solomon, when the temple was getting built, there was a demand for lots and lots of Cedar wood. King Hiram of Tyre met the huge demand, by cutting Cedar trees in his kingdom, and floating them to Israel via the sea. These Cedar logs were then received off the sea, made to dry under the hot sun, cut into precise lengths, and used as pillars in the temple. The pillars were then covered with gold. (I Kings 5)

There are some interesting parallels between these Cedar logs and the life of a Christian in the body of Christ. This was shared by a Pastor in a new Church inauguration meeting.

When the word of God convicts a person and s/he receives the call of God and commits his/her life to Him, then it is like the cutting of the Cedar wood. From that point onwards s/he has no link to this world. The journey has started!

The transportation of the logs by sea is like the baptism of the person in water. From that point onwards, the true walk with God starts. Conflict between the flesh and the spirit happens everyday.

By persisting in seeking God, meditating and following His word, the flesh becomes weaker and weaker, and the spirit becomes stronger and stronger. This is the drying of the wood in the sun. This needs to happen continually, otherwise the person does not grow, but becomes spiritually weak, like wet wood that starts bending when bearing load.

Once the spirit is in control (wood is dry), the person is ready for greater use in the body of Christ (that is, His Church). Then the person needs to humble himself/herself and become a pillar in the Church. This is the cutting of wood into precise lengths stage. Everybody is equal in the house of God, there is no place for ego in His Church.

If after all these stages the person becomes a pillar in the Church, and if more such pillars are ready, then the Church can be built perfectly. And God honours such a Church, by filling it with His glory (covering of the pillars with gold)!

Which stage are we in today?