Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Devotional 110209

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Two meetings took away my quiet time with the Lord. But if this is what the Lord allows, then I learned to accept the interruption for the love of Him. We want to be in control of our time and agenda most of the time. But as a servant (slave) of God, we don’t operate on our own agenda as though we were the Master. Yes, we should be a good steward of time and resources that our Master has given to us. But if a needy person emerges unexpectedly we learn to accept it as a divine interruption. Jesus said, “'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). None appreciates interruption especially when you have your own priority in life. In the midst of busyness, we are called to exercise compassions; and that is very challenging for modern day saints.

" You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast (focus), because he trusts in you" (Isaiah 26:3). Is your imagination stayed on God or is it starved? The starvation of the imagination is one of the most fruitful sources of exhaustion and sapping in a worker's life. If you have never used your imagination to put yourself before God, begin to do it now. It is no use waiting for God to come; you must put your imagination away from the face of idols and look unto Him and be saved. Imagination is the greatest gift God has given us and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. If you have been bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, it will be one of the greatest assets to faith when the time of trial comes, because your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. Learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in Nature - the sunrises and the sunsets, the sun and the stars, the changing seasons, and your imagination will never be at the mercy of your impulses, but will always be at the service of God.

"We have sinned with our fathers; . . . and have forgotten" - then put a blade in the place where you have gone to sleep. "God is not talking to me just now," but He ought to be. Remember Whom you belong to and Whom you serve. Provoke yourself by recollection, and your affection for God will increase tenfold; your imagination will not be starved any longer, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.

Learn to exercise your imagination. Don’t let your work and world took away your creativity that God has given to you as a special gift. Use it to enjoy your communion with Christ.

Love you because of my union with Christ,
Lawrence

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