FOCUS: On What Matters Most!!

"...but only one thing is needed.  Mary
has chosen what is better, and it
will not be taken away from her."
(Luke 10:42 NIV)

Happy New Year Sisters!  I'm wondering if you've been as busy as I have since the calendar turned from 2018 to 2019.   We're only a couple of weeks into the month and already I'm scheduling appointments and events that have taken me well into the Spring of the year!

There's lots going on in my part of the world...actually a lot is going on all over the world!  So, maybe that's why I think it's a good time to talk about an old Nemesis of mine, time management!  Actually, the phrase time management is a misnomer.  We can't really manage time!  It goes on no matter what we do!

Yet, we try to get more of it any way we can don't we?  Many of those wonderful New Years resolutions we made were designed to do just that.  Who cares that they very rarely work! But don't be discouraged dear ones.  I believe there  is a way to get, if not more time... more out of the time that the good Lord has given us!

Over the past few weeks, the Word of God has been pounding an undeniable message into my head and heart.  This year focus only on what matters most!  Let me tell you how I know this message is for me; not just for this year but for the duration of my life!

First, this scripture verse screamed in my spirit after hearing it on my church's morning prayer line!  It was only a day or so into the new year:  "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).  To put this principle in context you really need to include what Moses said in verse 10: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by  means of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away"

If you're like me with more years behind you than in front of you, those verses can stop you in your tracks and make you start thinking about what's important in life, then question how you're spending the gift of time!

Second, our quarterly Sunday school curriculum recently moved us into a new unit of study that began in 2019.  Guess what the study was entitled:  What Matters Most!  These wonderful lessons are giving us opportunities to examine whether we are living out the gospel in our daily lives; if our character is standing up to culture, and if our bible training in godliness can endure to the end!

Third,  each year my pastor casts a vision for our church.  He gives us a theme to meditate on and provide scripture as a focal point for growing spiritually throughout the year.  This year is a very special one for our church.  We will be celebrating 100 years of ministry!  I can only believe that it was the providential will of God that stirred his heart to choose as our theme.....Wait For It!!!!!!  What Matters Most: Leaving a Legacy that Lasts!

Time is elusive, a mysterious and ethereal thing like our lives!  It can appear for a while and then suddenly disappear like a vapor (James 4:14)   It behooves us to treat this precious gift with both wisdom and respect, focusing attention and resources on that one thing that is really needed!  This is the powerful lesson Christ was teaching Martha in Luke 10:38-42.

Her sister, Mary chose the better part...that which mattered most, sitting at the feet of Jesus!  We should do the same. When deciding between what is good and what is best, choose the one thing that glorifies God, makes a kingdom difference, and leaves a legacy of godly wisdom.  Remember my dear sisters:  Only what you do for Christ will last!

Books for suggested reading:  Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanna Weaver (Waterbrook Press) and Life Management for Busy Women, Elizabeth George (Harvest House Publishers)

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

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