156 Sermon Illustrations on Priorities

Sandra Schmirler was that rarest of athletes whose celebrity actually transcended her sporting achievements. To be sure, there was no shortage of sporting glory in her short life. Three-time Canadian women's curling champion. Three-time world champion. Olympic gold medallist. All in the span of six seasons. "Schmirler the curler" they called her.

Schmirler was that quintessentially ordinary Canadian - a humble gal from Biggar, Saskatchewan, who never got rich off her game, and even at the height of her fame could be seen in the local Safeway pushing the shopping cart down the aisles with her two daughters. Her day job was supervisor at the local recreation centre. Her full-time job was wife and mom.

She and her team won the Canadian and world curling championships in 1993, 94 and 97. In 1998 they won the first Olympic gold medal in curling. But her glory was short-lived. One year after the gold medal victory, Sandra was diagnosed as having cancer of the esophagus. Five months after that, she died on March 2, 2000, at he age of 36. She left behind her husband and her two daughters, aged 2 and nine months.

Along with being a fierce competitor who brought women's curling to a new level, even outdrawing the men's Briar tournament in 1998, Schmirler was a devoted mother. She was pregnant with her first girl during her 1997 tournament and was a nursing mother during the '98 Olympics. While Schmirler wore many hats in life - curler, Olympian, television personality - those who knew her best say the one role she savoured the most was the one cancer shortchanged her of - that of mother.

While Schmirler was pregnant with her first child at the world championships in Switzerland in 1997, she was asked how pregnancy affected her. She said, "It gives me more balance." When asked in what way, she answered, "Both ways." That statement captured her perfectly - balanced on the ice and balanced in life.

Those special people that we call "mothers" succeed in all aspects of life - in the community, in the workplace, in the church, in social life, even on the world stage. But they also know that all those achievements rank a distant second to the high and holy calling of being a mother to the children that God has given them.

*

I was in a hurry.

I came rushing through our dining room in my best suit, focused on getting ready for an evening meeting. Gillian, my four-year-old, was dancing about to one of her favorite oldies, "Cool," from "West Side Story."

I was in a hurry, on the verge of being late. Yet a small voice inside of me said, Stop.

So I stopped. I looked at her. I reached out, grabbed her hand and spun her around. My seven-year-old, Caitlin, came into our orbit, and I grabbed her, too. The three of us did a wild jitterbug around the dining room and into the living room. We were laughing. We were spinning. Could the neighbors see the lunacy through the windows? It didn't matter. The song ended with a dramatic flourish and our dance finished with it. I patted them on their bottoms and sent them to take their baths.

They went up the stairs, gasping for breath, their giggles bouncing off the walls. I went back to business. I was bent over, shoving papers into my briefcase, when I overheard my youngest say to her sister, "Caitlin, isn't Mommy the bestest one?"

I froze. How close I had come to hurrying through life, missing that moment. My mind went to the awards and diplomas that covered the walls of my office. No award, no achievement I have ever earned can match this: Isn't Mommy the bestest one?

My child said that at age four. I don't expect her to say it at age 14. But at age 40, if she bends down over that pine box to say good-bye to the cast-off container of my soul, I want her to say it then.

Isn't Mommy the bestest one?

It doesn't fit on my resume. But I want it on my tombstone.

________

By Gina Barrett Schlesinger from Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul, Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff

Barry Bryson tells about a woman he knows who accepts with quiet dignity the fact that her husband and children ignore her and take her for granted but would shoot to kill anyone who dares squeeze the tube of toothpaste from the middle! Barry also tells about another couple who would hire anyone, even Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, as a babysitter as long as the price is right, but would spare no expense to get their poodle groomed.

While researching the subject of New Year’s resolutions I came across the following quote: “He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool.” The person from whom this quote flowed is obviously as much a pessimist as a cynic when it comes to making a fresh start on Jan. 1st.

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes,” wrote English author G.K. Chesterton. “Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”

In recent years, the making of New Year’s resolutions -- or rather the breaking of them -– has become fodder for late-night comics. That said, I agree with Chesterton that there is something noble about seeking to better oneself with the making of resolutions.

Once a person reaches the point that he or she sees no value in seeking to become better by resolving to change, that person has given up on living life and has settled on simply existing. This, if you think about it, is in and of itself a resolution –- a resolution to settle for mediocrity.

The problem with too many resolutions is they lack imagination. It seems everyone makes the same resolutions and some make them year after year. According to a federal government website the following are some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions:

• Lose weight.

• Eat right.

• Manage debt.

• Save money.

• Get a better job.

• Quit smoking.

When it comes to making New Year’s resolutions, I have found that less is more. By making only a few resolutions, I am able to concentrate on two or three aspects of my life that I really want to change. As a result, I give myself a much better opportunity to follow through.

Trying to make wholesale changes to your life in a year’s time is difficult at best. However, making only one or two changes annually, over time, you can change almost every aspect of your life. If you altered two things a year for 10 years, you will have changed 20 aspects of your life. And that, my friend, is significant change.

I recently came across something titled “Wisdom for Life” written by business and ministry consultant Bobb Biehl. It is short and to the point. In it, he quotes author Stephen R. Covey.

“I have ... found that by making four simple assumptions in our lives we can immediately begin leading a more balanced, integrated, powerful life,” Covey wrote.

What are these four assumptions? They are as follows:

1. “For the body, assume you have had a heart attack; now live accordingly.”

I found the first assumption sobering, because if I don’t change certain aspects of my life, I could well be a candidate for a coronary. So by assuming, or pretending, I have had one, I simply need to ask, “Will this help or hurt my health?

2. “For the mind, assume the half-life of your profession is two years; now prepare accordingly.”

Being an editor of what currently is primarily a print publication, this is not a difficult assumption for me. As a result, I must constantly be looking to the future to not only seek to retool my publication, but also my own knowledge base and skill set.

3. “For the heart, assume everything you say about another, they can overhear; now speak accordingly.”

The third assumption also is a sobering one and reminiscent of Jesus’ words, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Enough said.

4. “For the spirit, assume you have a one-on-one visit with your Creator every quarter; now live accordingly.”

As a believer, I don’t have to wait three months to visit with God. I can, and should meet with Him constantly. However, the thought of scheduling a regular “performance review” with the Lord could and should have an impact on my daily decisions and thus my life.

As a result of Covey’s wisdom, I have resolved this year to make four “New Year’s assumptions.” And while I likely will fail from time to time, I believe the effort will pay off and I will be better for it this time next year -- which makes me no weakling and certainly no fool.

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #17090]

Some years ago there appeared one day in the same daily newspaper, two accounts, one of an American women who had just spent $70,000 for a dress from Paris; and the other of a woman, a beautiful Christian character, who, being questioned in a legal matter, modestly admitted that she had given many millions of her estate to various righteous causes. "Well", as someone remarked, "it is a matter of taste - Paris gowns or heavenly crowns."

A crowded gather of distinguished scientists had been listening spellbound to the masterly expositions of Michael Faraday. For an hour he had held his brilliant audience enthralled as he demonstrated the nature and properties of the magnet. He had brought his lecture to a close with an experiment so novel, so bewildering, and so triumphant, that for some time after he resumed his seat, the house rocked with enthusiastic applause. And then the Prince of Wales... afterwards King Edward VII rose to propose a motion of congratulation. The resolution, having been duly seconded, was carried with renewed thunders of applause.

Suddenly the uproar ceased and a strange silence settled over the audience. The assembly waited for Faraday's reply. But he did not appear. Only his most intimate friends knew what had become of him. He was an elder in a little Sandemanian [*] church... a church that never boasted more than twenty members. The hour at which Faraday concluded his lecture was the hour of the weeknight prayer meeting.

__________

*Sandemanians, or Glasites, were a Christian sect, founded in Scotland by John Glas. It spread into England and America, but is now practically extinct.

Glas dissented from the Westminster Confession only in his views as to the spiritual nature of the church and the functions of the civil magistrate. But his son-in-law Robert Sandeman added a distinctive doctrine as to the nature of faith which is thus stated on his tombstone: “That the bare death of Jesus Christ without a thought or deed on the part of man, is sufficient to present the chief of sinners spotless before God.”

In a series of letters he maintained that justifying faith is a simple assent to the divine testimony concerning Jesus Christ, differing in no way in its character from belief in any ordinary testimony. In their practice the Glasite churches aimed at a strict conformity with the primitive type of Christianity as understood by them. [From www.fact-index.com]

Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail's pace of the other.

Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.

One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship's cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.

God has entrusted cargo to us, too: children, spouses, friends. Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches its destination.

Yet when the program takes priority over people, people often suffer.

How much cargo do we sacrifice in order to achieve the number one slot? How many people never reach the destination because of the aggressiveness of a competitive captain?

__________

In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado, Word Publishing, 1991 Page 97-98

*

Soon after Angi and David's sixth anniversary, the couple's home

burned to the ground. Angi's first act, when they were allowed to

hunt through the blackened remains, was to search for their photo

albums.

When she went to tell David that the pictures had indeed

survived, she found him carefully placing in a box some charred,

folded pieces of paper -- their courtship love letters."

As I watched David kneeling there in the ashes," she says, "I was

overcome with the certainty that we were meant for each other. There,

in the face of our greatest tragedy, our first thoughts were not of

our material loss but of the potential loss of these precious parts of

our life together.

As I knelt to help him with the letters, I was certain that we

hadn't lost anything that mattered after all." Reader's Digest, August, 1982

The old adage reminds us that “People don’t plan to fail but a lot of people do fail to plan.” During a war, we find a tank operator and a general. Which function is more important? It is probably the general, at least in this sense. One can be the best tank operator on the line, get out there everyday and shoot off more rounds of ammunition and shoot them more accurately than anyone else on the line, but if he is not shooting at a target that makes any sense, then his whole day is wasted. The general, through advanced planning, decides where the tank operator ought to go and thereby increases his “productivity”.

A lot of people run their days like a tank operator without a general. Awake in the morning, get dressed, off to work, grab the first fire hose someone throws their way, get caught up addressing the demands coming from the loudest voices shouting in their direction, come home at night, sometimes beat and exhausted, get rested, get up the next morning and repeat the cycle. That is living life by accident. I encourage people to live their lives on purpose.

I want each of us to be a general. And there’s a war out there in that either you are in control of your time or someone else is. And the best way for us to be a general and in control of our own time is doing effective Daily Planning every day.

Here’s five nifty Planning Principles to help maximize your Daily Planning

1. Do your planning the night before. I try to set aside time each night for Daily Planning. I’ve wound down from the workday and I am less pressured. The major benefit, however, it that by having a plan of action completed the night before, we go to bed with a sense of certainty and control about our next day and with a sense of anticipation we would not ordinarily have.

After getting into the habit of accomplishing our Daily Planning each night, the quality of our sleep will be enhanced because we have established a plan each night that gives us the roadmap or game plan for the next day eliminating the need to wrestle with all the loose ends in our heads during our sleeping hours, interfering with the quality of our sleep.

2. Put the plan into writing. There is extraordinary power in the pen. Putting our plan into writing helps us to increase our feelings of control and, indeed, the reality of control. When we try to keep track of everything in our heads, things tend to slip through the cracks.

3. “Have to’s” and “Want to’s”. Good planning involves more than just properly administering our “Have To’s”. Sure we ought to better handle our “Have To’s”, but we also need to do a good job taking care of our “Want To’s”. Plan out not only the things you “have to” do, but, more importantly, the things you “want to” do.

4. Over plan your day. “If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.” The more you plan to do, the more you can get done because you take advantage of Parkinson’s Law which says, in part, that a project tends to expand with the time allocated for it. If you have one thing to do for the day, it will take all day.

If you have three things to do for the day, you’ll get all three done. If you have twelve things to get done for the day, you might not get all twelve done, but probably will get nine completed. See, having a lot to do creates a healthy sense of pressure on us and we almost automatically become better time managers.

5. Prioritize your list. Our list will almost always include “crucial” as well as “not crucial” items. Some items are more important, others less so. Without some direction, we tend to gravitate towards the “not crucial” items because they are typically easier to do, take less time, and may even be more fun than many of our “crucial” items. A simple numerical listing will suffice.

Put a “1” next the most important item on your list, the one item you would want done if you could only accomplish one item. Then place a “2” next to the second most important item, continuing the process until all the items on your list are prioritized in order of their importance.

“Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off.

How many are left? Answer: five.

Why?

Because there’s a difference between deciding and doing.”

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #6337]

During a flood in the hill country of Texas in 1978 there was a

lady who needlessly lost her life. Her daughter told reporters, "My

mother did not climb the tree with us. She lost her way before we got

to the tree. See, she always kept every little bill and slip and

stuff. She would not let go of her purse with those papers in it."

It was revealed that the family was trying to make a chain, holding

hands to get through the water. But the mother had her insurance

papers all gathered up in her hands and wouldn't drop those

documents. So she just washed away.

Many Civil War scholars would consider the Battle of Gettysburg as the turning point - or certainly one of the turning points - of that bloody war. And Civil War buffs have discussed for decades what factors actually decided the outcome of the battle that may have decided the outcome of the war. One key factor happened before the real battle actually began those three days in July of 1863. Soldiers from both North and South were on the move as Lee's troops launched an invasion of Union territory. Union General Buford unintentionally encountered some of the advance Confederate forces. Well, sizing up the terrain around Gettysburg, he decided that the ground called Cemetery Ridge would be decisive high ground when the forces of Blue and Gray finally came to blows. He determined to keep the advance Southern troops from having that ground. And he succeeded. In so doing, he secured for the North ground that would indeed help decide the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Choosing Your Battles.”

Throughout military history, victories have been won because someone knew which battle was worth fighting and which battleground was best to fight on. It might be an important part of whether or not you'll win in some of the battles you're fighting in right now - as a parent, in your work, in keeping people together, or in your church.

King David was a veteran warrior, and he understood that it was important to be sure that you're fighting the right battles. In 2 Samuel 5, beginning with verse 18, our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible says: “Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go and attack the Philistines?’ ... The Lord answered him, 'Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you.’ So David went ... and he defeated them.”

Later, the Philistines invaded again. What does David do? “David inquired of the Lord, and He answered, 'Do not go straight up...'“ Now, notice - David did not undertake a battle until he had checked with God to see if it was a battle he should fight. That's a powerful model for you and me.

Some of us - as parents, as leaders - tend to make everything a battle. We just can't keep our mouth shut, we can't let anything pass. And even if you're fighting good battles, if you're always fighting, people become immune to you. And when you've got a really important issue to fight for, they'll just say, “Oh, here she goes again, here he goes again.” That's not good. Some of us parents so want our kids to do the right thing that we're all over them all of the time. And they eventually just turn us off. Same with any of us who are always fighting.

So don't make every issue a battleground. Don't make everything a battle. Fight for real issues, not over every incident. Don't try to settle issues based on an incident that's got everybody all inflamed right now - deal with it at a time when there's not an incident. Save your ammunition for the battles that really matter. And above all, always check with God to see if this is His battle; one He thinks is worth your fighting. Choosing your battles, choosing your battlegrounds - and sometimes holding your fire - those are keys to winning the battles that decide the war.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #4665]

We may be known by the following, according to A.W. Tozer:

1. What we want most

2. What we think about most

3. How we use our money

4. What we do with our leisure time

5. The company we enjoy

6. Who and what we admire

7. What we laugh at

-- Michael Green

Jack Finegan told about one of America’s great industrialists - James L. Kraft. His food products have been on American grocery shelves for decades and most of us have bought them.

When Kraft started out in Chicago many years ago, he sold his cheese products out of the back of a horse-drawn wagon. He and his horse, Paddy, weren’t doing so well and Kraft was about to go broke. He worked hard during the day and stayed up half the night trying to figure out what to do, but things continued to go downhill.

One day as Paddy was pulling the wagon down one of Chicago’s streets, Kraft asked, “What are we doing wrong, Paddy? What’s the matter with us?”

Kraft suddenly realized he had been trying to build his business with out divine help. From that moment, he determined to let God become his business partner.

Beginning with a sixty-five-dollar investment, Kraft built his business into a multi-billion-dollar business which is known all over the world. In later years when Kraft told the story of his life and recounted his success, he always told how things turned around when he started trusting God and listening to Him.

________

Jack Finegan, AT WIT’S END (Richmond, VA: John Knox Press, 1963) 14

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Another version from Rev. Steve Shepherd:

When Dr. W.A. Criswell, pastor of the largest Southern Baptist church in the world at one time, was preaching in the North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago, he was entertained at the home of deacon James L. Kraft, who was superintendent of the Sunday school and founder of Kraft Foods.

Kraft said that as a young man he had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese, and began as a young fellow with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy.

After making his cheese, the youth would load his wagon, and he and Paddy would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. As the months passed, young Kraft began to despair because he was not making any money, in spite of his long hours and hard work.

One day he pulled his pony to a stop and began to talk to him. He said, “Paddy, there is something wrong. We are not doing it right. I am afraid we have things turned around. Our priorities are not where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place him first in our lives.”

Kraft then drove home and made a covenant that for the rest of his life he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.

Many years after this, Dr. Criswell heard James Kraft say, “I would rather be a layman in the North Shore Baptist Church than to head the greatest corporation in America. My first job is serving Jesus.”

When asked why he had been so successful, Tom Landry responded to a crowd of more than two thousand students at Baylor University, “In 1958, I did something everyone who has been successful must do, I determined my priorities for my life - God, family, and then football.”

______________

Cited in Dallas Morning News, March 2, 1978.

Joe Torre has learned to focus on his obligations regardless of what’s going on around him. His brother Rocco, a retired cop, died in June at age 68. Rocco had just watched the first game of a Yankees-Indians double-header on TV. Torre was in Cleveland, and his sister, Sister Marguerite, a Catholic school principal who gave Torre one of his first baseball gloves, wasn’t sure he’d been notified. So she turned on her TV. “I wanted to see Joe’s eyes, to see if he knew Rocco had died. I knew by his face. He knew.”

Torre was crushed, but decided to stay for two more games before heading home for the funeral. It was too late to help Rocco, he says, but he could still help his team. “My players needed me. If there’s nothing you can do about something, focus on what you can control.”

________

Jeffrey Zaslow, Win One At A Time, USA Weekend, March, 21-22, 1997, p. 6.

Only in America would a housewife hire a cleaning lady so she can

volunteer at the day-care cent that the cleaning lady's child attends.

- Joyce Mattingly, {The Courier-Journal, }May 12, 1997, p. H7

If you give your child a quarter for the Sunday offering and later

give him three dollars to go to the movies, you may be teaching him a

set of values he will keep the rest of his life.

III. THE CHALLENGE TO REARRANGEMENT IN A DAY OF MISPLACED PRIORITIES

Remember the days of Haggai when they were building their own sealed houses while the house of God laid waste (Haggai 1)? Remember the day of Malachi when they were offering the lamed, the maimed, the deformed, the speckled and the spotted (Malachi 1)? Yes, God was being given the second best, he had been relegated to second place. The first of the decalogue was, "Thou shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). Also, "The first of the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God" was God's instructions to his people (Exodus 23:19). To the one who said, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father," Jesus replied, "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:59-60). Matthew 6:33 still reads, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

While dying, Christ cried, "My God, My God." And, as it were, in that awful moment God turned away and put us first that we might have the privilege of putting him first today. Let us never forget that he who puts God first will find God with him at the last!

-- 1992 Fort Worth Lectures

In May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful, Robert Russell tells this story:

"In Kentucky, there is a huge rivalry in college basketball between the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky. The story is told that at one of the recent 'Dream Games' between the two schools, an elderly woman was sitting alone with an empty seat next to her. Someone approached her and said, 'Ma'am, I have rarely seen an empty seat in Rupp Arena, let alone at the Dream Game. Whose seat is this?'

"The woman responded that she and her late husband had been season ticket holders for twenty-eight years, and the seat had belonged to him. 'Well, couldn't you find a friend or relative to come to the game with you?' the observer asked.

"'Are you kidding?' she replied. 'They're all at my husband's funeral.'"

Side by Side

(Author Unknown)

They lie on the table side by side,

The Holy Bible and the TV guide.

One is well worn and cherished with pride,

Not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

One is used daily to help folks decide,

No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

As the pages are turned, what shall they see,

Oh, what does it matter, turn on the TV.

Then confusion reigns, they can't all agree,

On what they should watch on the old TV.

So they open the book in which they confide,

No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

The Word of God is seldom read,

Maybe a verse as they fall into bed.

Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be,

Not from reading the Bible . . . from watching TV.

So then back to the table side by side,

Lie the Holy Bible and the TV guide.

No time for prayer, no time for the Word,

The plan of Salvation is seldom heard.

But forgiveness of sin, so full and free,

Is found in the Bible . . . not on TV.

I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what others would've done had they known that they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, or for whatever their favorite food was. I'm guessing; I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

If you received this it is because someone cares for you. If you're too busy to take the few minutes that it takes right now to forward this, would it be the first time you didn't do the little thing that would make a difference in your relationships? I can tell you it certainly won't be the last. Take a few minutes to send this to a few people you care about, just to let them know that you're thinking of them. "People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there." I don't believe in miracles. I rely on them.

-- Author unknown

*

As we drove through Utah that day I kept "oohing" and "ahhing" at one magnificent view after another. Majestic mountains, rugged terrain, fabulous vistas - I loved it. Then my wife reminded me that I'd seen all this before. Or, more accurately, I should have seen it before. See, I had traveled these same scenic highways on a bus with our Native American outreach team a couple of years ago. But much of the time, I had my head down, I was buried in work or preparation, or I was busy talking with one of the team members. In the process, I totally missed some of this country's greatest beauty.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Busy for the Beauty."

So I missed some wonderful beauty because I was too busy. Unfortunately, that's not the only time in my life that I've made that mistake. And I don't think I'm the only one who's made that mistake. In our overheated, overscheduled lives, it is so easy to speed right by some things that are too beautiful to miss - in our surroundings, in our son, our daughter, our grandchild, our mate, in the blessings that God is unfolding right in front of us. Even in hearing the voice of God.

Many of us have been "Martha-ed." No, that's not a word, but it's an all-too-familiar reality. Let's watch busy, busy Martha missing the beauty around her in our word for today from the Word of God. In Luke 10, beginning with verse 38, I see what I'm like sometimes, and maybe it's a mirror for you, too.

"Martha opened her home to Jesus. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better.'"

Now, Martha has the Son of God in her home! Mary realizes what an opportunity this is - Martha's so busy that she misses it. And she turns negative toward her sister and starts attacking her. Martha is the patron saint of all of us who are sometimes too busy to stop and see the beauty right in front of us. For someone listening today, God is trying to say to you, "Would you slow down and smell the flowers?" You are missing precious, never-again moments in the life of your child, or in your relationship with your husband or wife, moments that will never come again. Or maybe beauty in other people you care about. Your busyness may have made you mechanical, robotic, brittle, maybe even insensitive or mean. That's too busy.

And maybe, like Martha, you've even become so busy that you're even missing time with Jesus. Your time to listen at His feet has been crowded to the edges instead of being the sun around which all your other planets revolve. You're missing God's voice. You're missing God's fingerprints all over your day. You're speeding right by a lot of things that really matter.

It's time to look at those priorities, isn't it? So many beautiful things are right in front of you, but you're doing so much, moving so fast that you're missing them. These are moments, memories and opportunities that may never be there again. Don't let them slip through your fingers.

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. 'Practical Answers to Real Life Issues'

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Life can be greatly enhanced by asking questions! But it is significantly important that you ask the right questions! There are MORAL and ETHICAL questions that should be asked, such as:

-- Is this decision ethical?

-- Is this that I am about to do morally right, especially with God?

-- Is what I am about to do really putting first the kingdom of God

and His righteousness? (Matthew 6:33)

There are also some PRACTICAL questions to ask:

-- Can I afford this?

-- Is this part of my already accepted priorities?

-- Will what I am about to do affect others adversely, especially

my friends and family?

-- Is the timing right?

But there is another question that one must ask, which David wisely asked. This question has subsequent questions that would follow. David asks, in Psalm 24:8,10, "Who is the King of glory?" Then David waits for an answer, or answers it for himself, "Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty. The LORD mighty in battle...Who is the King of glory? The LORD of hosts. He is the King of glory..."

David was wisely asking, "Who is it Who controls everything? Who is over all the affairs of men, and therefore over my life also?" David wanted to know if there really was Anyone who was in control, and directing his life, and the lives of those around him. Now, this is the right question to ask, for everything else is determined by the answer! But if you ever ask this question, it is crucial to wait for the answer, and not try to guess!

In the answer David gives, there are several important words. Key to this answer is the word, "LORD!" In all of life, is there someone who is LORD? If so, everything else will fit together. If the LORD is real and present, He can "work all things together for good, to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose..." (Rom. 8:28). If He is LORD, then everything He purposes and plans, and even thinks, is certain and sure, and life can be based securely on His Word (see Isaiah 46:9-11; 14:24,27; Jer. 29:11-13).

If (or since) He is LORD, it is wise to seek His counsel, and then obey what He says. This is true in your personal life, your family life and your business or work place. It certainly would be true for your church life. Then David adds, this One who is LORD, is "strong and mighty" and He is the "King of glory." "Glory" means, He does it all, openly and before a watching world. He "reveals openly" who He is, and what He does. This is true for your life also. The world may see Him in your life -- how He is LORD and King to you. If you are asking THIS question and waiting for His answer, you are where you ought to be and now need to wait on Him, and obey Him when He speaks to you.

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Never found the Time

I knelt to pray but not for long,

I had too much to do.

I had to hurry and get to work

For bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,

And jumped up off my knees.

My Christian duty was now done

My soul could rest at ease.

All day long I had no time

To spread a word of cheer.

No time to speak of Christ to friends,

They'd laugh at me I'd fear.

No time, no time, too much to do,

That was my constant cry,

No time to give to souls in need

But at last the time, the time to die.

I went before the Lord,

I came, I stood with downcast eyes.

For in his hands God held a book;

It was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said

"Your name I cannot find.

I once was going to write it down...

But never found the time."

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Southern Baptist executive Morris H. Chapman poses the question, "What does God have planned for us now?" Personal questions are coming to the fore through the new "Empowering Kingdom Growth" convention-wide emphasis:

"Am I a Kingdom person? If not, how can I be? If so, how shall I live?"

The new emphasis states: "Empowering Kingdom Growth is an initiative designed to call individual Southern Baptists to renew their passion for the Lord Jesus and the reign of His Kingdom in their hearts, families, and churches from which God can forge a spiritual movement marked by holy living, sacrificial service, and global witness."

The EKG vision statement, meanwhile, is "to seek first the King and His Kingdom," Chapman continued.

A number of truths -- accompanied by questions of spiritual significance -- were then listed by Chapman as worthy of every Baptist's attention:

• "The Kingdom of God is about kingdom identity, the state of my relationship with him. Do I talk with him often and listen to what he says?"

• "The Kingdom of God is about kingdom character. Do I obey his kingly rule in living life daily? Is my heart's desire to glorify his name?"

• "The Kingdom of God is about kingdom priority. Am I willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ? Is he first, foremost and forever as he was when I was saved, or when he called me to preach the gospel? Is there any chance that upon looking into the deepest recesses of my heart, I will discover that in reality, I no longer posses an all-encompassing abandonment in my allegiance to him? Even though unintentional, have I lost my first love?"

• "The Kingdom of God is about kingdom family. Have I led my family to have a spiritual purpose with definite kingdom practices?"

• "The Kingdom of God is about kingdom perspective. Am I willing to set aside lesser goals such as personal aggrandizement and pursuit of the things of the world? Do I value the ministry of other Christians....? Do I lift them up in prayer or tear them down in criticism?"

• "The Kingdom of God is about kingdom calendar. Do I work with a sense of urgency that Christ is coming soon? Do I value the importance of 'redeeming the time because the days are evil' (Ephesians 5:16)?"

Chapman recounted that years ago he heard someone say, "What a person loves the most is what he or she talks about."

"Do I find myself talking about Jesus?" Chapman asked aloud. "Can others tell what means the most to me when I speak?

"In conversation with me, do you readily come to know I first love Jesus?" Chapman continued. "Even though God has given me a most wonderful and devoted wife, beautiful children and gorgeous grandchildren, my first love could not and today cannot be my family.

"My first love cannot be myself, but Jesus," Chapman said.

"My first love cannot be my ambitions, but Jesus.

"My first love cannot be things of the world, but Jesus.

"My first love cannot be the church, but Jesus.

"My first love cannot be the convention, but Jesus."

Vital EKG-oriented questions, Chapman noted at the outset of his message to the Executive Committee, flow from the renewed Southern Baptist conviction over the past two decades that "the Bible is the inspired, infallible, Word of God, inerrant in the original manuscripts."

"Why else preach the Bible if it is not the absolute, authoritative Word from an almighty God?" Chapman asked.

"Why would a man of faith spend his time defending the right to preach a watered-down gospel if he is going to decide what is true and what is not? It makes absolutely no sense."

Chapman reminded that "preaching God's Word [will] mean we will often find ourselves in conflict with the world's standards."

"God has an absolute, once-for-all-time standard that never changes," he said. "The world has an ever-changing standard. Those people who hold to nothing more than the world's standard will find the waters of the world swirling around them and washing over them. Ultimately if they do not trust in Jesus, confessing him as Savior, Lord and King, they will be swept away spiritually by the rushing waters of the world."

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