Devotional 160810

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Last week flew by very fast when I was fully engaged in meetings with leaders of my denomination at New Mexico. It was an annual report time to the Mission Committee of my denomination since they support a portion of my salary in serving at GOI. Many brothers and sisters did not know that GOI expects me to help raise for the general fund which includes my own salary. I am thankful that my mother church supports 10% of my salary and my denomination supports another 5%. I praise God for many brothers and sisters like you who pray for me and support me financially. I believe my Lord will provide our needs one way or the other – this is exactly the lesson of faith that He wanted me to learn as I answered His call. In my quiet time, the Lord keeps on reminding me that His grace is always sufficient for me… It is indeed a miracle to see how God provides for GOI. I strongly believe that the Lord of the Harvest will surely provide for workers in His harvest field.

Active listening requires unhurried leisure, even if it’s only for five minutes. Leisure is a quality of spirit, not a quantity of time. Only in that mood of leisure do persons know they are listened to with absolute seriousness, treated with dignity and importance.

Speaking to people does not have the same personal intensity as listening to them. The question I put to myself is not “How many people have you spoken to about Christ this week?” But “How many people have you listened to in Christ this week?” The number of persons listened to must necessarily be less than the number spoken to. Listening to a story always takes more time than delivering a message, so I must discard my compulsion to count, to compile the statistics that will justify my existence.

I can’t listen if I’m busy. When my schedule is crowded, I’m not free to listen: I have to keep my next appointment; I have to get to the next meeting. But if I provide margins to my day, there is ample le to listen. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place (Mark 6:31-32).

I hope you will find time to rest (give yourself leisure time) to listen to God and others. Our heart will fill with fear and worry when our lives are always on the fast lane. It is hard for modern people to slow down and truly listen. We are always pre-occupied by many things and issues in mind. We discover our significance when we rest in Christ.

Love you because of His presence,
Lawrence