The Tyranny of the Urgent

 

By Andrea Merrell

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this:

‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.  

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,

all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:29-31 NLT

 

It was one of those weeks when my to-do list seemed three miles long. After being quite ill, I was behind in my household tasks and all other normal routines.

Voices screamed at me. Dust me. Clean me. Fix me. Pay that bill. Run that errand. Do it now! In an effort to quiet those voices, I neglected important matters that needed to take priority—especially my time with the Lord.

Some call it the tyranny of the urgent, much like the proverbial squeaky wheel that always gets the attention above all else. It’s a self-generated expectation that puts us under unnecessary pressure. It steals our peace and joy and keeps us from being led by the Spirit of God.

Jesus said, “The most important commandment is this … you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength … and your neighbor as yourself.”

We can get so caught up in trivial matters that we forget, ignore, or neglect what God is calling us to do. Even in the church, we can get so busy serving Him that we neglect loving Him—and others.

Solomon sums it up quite well in Ecclesiastes 12:13: “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commandments, for this is everyone’s duty” (NLT).

Our relationship with the Lord comes first. Everything else can wait.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

One-Stop Shopping

 

By Andrea Merrell

 

My God shall supply all your need 

according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 NKJV

 

“Where do you shop for groceries?” my friend asked.

“Several different places,” I responded. "Mostly at Walmart, Ingles, and Lidl. But I also love Food Lion and Publix.”

She frowned. “Why so many different places? Why not settle on one store? Or even two. Sounds too complicated and time-consuming.”

My response was immediate. “Because I can’t get everything I want in one place, even online. Each store has certain items that I can't get anywhere else. For me there is no such thing as one-stop shopping when it comes to material items. I’m willing to go out of my way to get what I want or need."

The good news is I don’t have to go out of my way when it comes to mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. As the song says, “where could I go but to the Lord?”

God has many names including El Shaddai (the all-sufficient One) and Jehovah Jireh (my provider). He is my creator and sustainer. My healer and my strength. My wisdom. My counselor. My protector. My peace and my joy. He is everything I could ever want or need. The total package. I need not look anywhere else.

That’s one-stop shopping at its best.

 

 Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Salvation and Transformation

By Andrea Merrell

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

The story is told of a group of friends attending their twenty-year high school reunion. They spent the entire evening comparing notes about their life. After much discussion, one of the men was asked, “Hey, dude, what happened to you? You’re nothing like the rowdy, mischievous guy you used to be. What changed?”

“Everything,” the man answered. "I met the Lord, and everything changed.”

The Bible tells us that when we are “in Christ” we become a new creation. A new person, shedding our old way of life and embracing a new life in Him. But how often do we encounter someone who has been saved yet there is no change?

I had a family member who told me she had her “ticket to heaven,” but I never saw any difference in her. Her worldly lifestyle remained the same until she passed away.

The bottom line is this: salvation should equal transformation. How does that happen? We find the answer in Romans 12:1-2. We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord and to be transformed by renewing our minds. The MSG puts it very plainly:

So, here’s what I want you to do, God helping you. Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

One writer says that the same One who saved us longs to remake us. That only happens when we seek Him with all our heart.

Does your salvation equal transformation? 

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash

Time to Destroy Bad Habits

 

By Andrea Merrell

You shall conquer them and utterly destroy them.

Deuteronomy 7:2 NKJK

The man’s addiction threatened to destroy his marriage. “I’m sorry,” he told his wife. “It’s become such a habit, I can’t break it.”

Bad habits can dictate our lives and cause harm, not only to us but to all those around us. They produce a cycle of negative thoughts, words, and behaviors. The Word for You Today (TWFYT) says, “Habits are like machines; they consistently turn out the same product.”

When God’s people entered the Promised Land, He told them to utterly destroy their enemies. Sounds gruesome, but God knew if the enemies remained, they would eventually rise up and destroy His chosen people.

That’s the way it is with bad habits. Negative behaviors can become an idol, taking our focus away from the Lord. When we give in to them, we end up in a prison of our own making instead of enjoying the freedom Christ died to give us.

TWFYT also says, “Anytime you keep falling into the same traps, making the same mistakes, jumping into the same relationships, getting hooked on the same habits, it’s time to take your problems to Jesus.”

The man finally did just that, and Jesus set him free.

If you’re struggling with bad habits of any kind that are keeping you bound, maybe it’s time to wage war on them and utterly destroy them by giving them to the Lord.

 

 Photo by Manan Chhabra on Unsplash

Who Has the Final Say?

 

By Andrea Merrell

God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true.

He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Psalm 18:30 NLT

 

“My marriage is in trouble,” the woman told her friend. “We’ve reached a stalemate. We tried to agree to disagree, but we can’t even agree on that.”

This couple had reached a point of no return. Neither willing to compromise. No going forward or finding a resolution. They were stuck. And both wanted to have the final say. 

Pride can get us in a lot of trouble, especially when we’re unwilling to admit we’re wrong or even consider another person’s feelings or opinion. The Bible says, “Pride leads to conflict” (Proverbs 13:10 NLT). When we always think we’re right and have the attitude that it’s “my way or the highway,” we’ve already lost the battle.

But we really get in trouble when we carry this attitude into our relationship with the Lord. With Him there is no stalemate. No negotiation. He doesn’t agree to disagree.

Psalm 119 tells us, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven” (vs. 89 NKJV). That means it's etched in stone. Unchangeable.

God will patiently listen to our complaints, but in every situation, He has the final say. Case closed.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Sira Anamwong.