priorities ..

we live in a foreign land
we Jesus followers do ..
it's not homeland

and the more we adopt that understanding
the better we be

that worldview is intrinsic in the discipline
   (think disciple)
necessary to follow Jesus
to relegate the backburner stuff to the backburner
and move the Jesus stuff up front
fired
cookin'
moving us forward for the good of the kingdom

for it is not flesh and blood that we wrestle
it isn't the coworker
it isn't the classmates
or the neighbour
or the inlaw
it's not the spouse
nor the children
nor the church member across the pew ..

there are powers of darkness that rule this worldsytem
that look to undo
   to breakdown
   to destroy
anything that smelllike lookslike tasteslike feelslike God

.... . ..  .

far far too too often
we allow the backburner stuff to sit on the frontburner
and the frontburner has no more room for Jesus

we then squeeze the Jesus stuff in wherever and whenever we can
and it suffers
badly

we're simply overwhelmed by all the other drama
we're inundated with the things of this life
too full
too worked
too tired
too strapped for money
too whatever
to give the Jesus stuff any greater priority

and we fail
bigbigtime

we miss out

and God misses out  ..

hear that
   we who have ears to hear
let it sit there for a minute ..

selah.. ~

we lose the potential for kingdomness that God presents us with
we lose this opportunity and that opportunity
to be Jesus ..

and people miss out ..

selah ..~

some say "God doesn't need you to do it
he wants to use you
but he can use anyone " ..
ya .. well .. that's just plain disingenuous as far as i'm concerned
if he doesn't need me why on earth has he called me
put this fire in my soul  ?

i'll give you that he can redo that in someone else ..
but think of the effort he put in to getting you (me) to do it ..


or do you think there's no effort in being God  .   ... ..   ....... .  ?


selah ..~


think of the loss ..
the lost time
the lost work he's done in my heart
the lost people that were passed over in the meantime ..
   that person that had no food last night because i wasn't there
   the one that could have used a shower
      in a warm place with a clean towel that left without
   that wanted someone to talk to
      a shoulder to cry on
      a listening ear
just someone to be there
right then
cause they needed someone ..


they needed Jesus
and i wasn't available     .. . ..... .


think about it


selah ..~

God wants to use me
   and you
in the very place he calls us to
at the very time he calls
and when we flounder and flipflop
we fail

when we are distracted by the pompasettin'
and making impressions
and pandering to whoever
to accomplish this or that
... God gets the short end of the stick
and the kingdom suffers ..

when we allow the distractions to distract us
it becomes a miss
as in miss-the-mark
as in .. sin
   (check your bible hebrew/greek definitions)

we undo what God intended to do
with us
through us
for his kingdom
and the opportunity is lost ...
gone

that's a sobering thought ..

selah ..~

point is
we have to carve out distance
distance from the world
distance from the stress
distance from the worry and concerns
distance from the work
from the church
from the family
and make space
make room for God to stoke that fire
to keep us tuned
so we can be active for the kingdom
moving in that direction
doing as God directs
minute by minute

cause all that matters is that God's will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven
through me
now
and in the next hour
and tonight and tomorrow and next week ...

that's what matters ...

i know i know
those other things matter too ..
balance is crucial

but
we mostofthetime
   most of the time
allow kingdom to fall into what's leftover
we leave Jesus' stuff till last ..
last mind you
last

i'm just trying to balance
and give that Jesusstuff the place it deserves in my life

just a thought
to think on ..


peace