Word for Today, Tue, 28 Feb 2006: The Clutter in Our Lives

#1 · February 28, 2006, 9:19 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on February 28, 2006, 9:19 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 28 Feb 2006: The Clutter in Our Lives
Dear friends,

My friend Larry Davies writes about office clutter in this week's edition of
his Sowing Seeds of Faith devotional series. What he really is addressing is
the identification of what is urgent versus what is important. About twenty
years ago now I read an article called "The Tyranny of the Urgent", which was
published by permission as part of a Navigator's 2:7 Discipleship series that I
was leading. I know about what is urgent versus what is important well, as
many of us do. However, when it comes time to put what I know into practice,
knowing does not always translate into practice and action. Can anyone relate?

It is vitally important that we put God first in our lives. We are going to
fail and fall short, even when we make an honest attempt to honor God with our
lives. I know God can handle that. He gave us Christ to pay the full price
for our sin, and I know for a fact that all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. The Bible tells me that in the book of Romans, and I believe the
Bible at its Word, plus my life experiences have shown me that the Bible is
trustworthy in what it says.

What can we do then? Well, first of all, we can regularly take inventory of
ourselves, then we can agree with God that we are in dire need of help. Then
we can continually call on the God of the Bible to save us and direct us in a
different path. When I say "save" in this context, I am referring more to the
aspect of "working out our salvation with fear and trembling" because the gift
of salvation itself is just that - a gift, we can accept the gift, but we
cannot earn or make what we cannot do.

What else can we do? Well, once we agree with God, we can read His Word, so
that we know what it says, and we can start examining the promises of God.
Some promises are unconditional, other promises do come with a condition. Why
don't you get out your own Bibles and see what those promises are, and decide
for yourselves which promises are unconditional and which ones come with
conditions?

Then get rid of that clutter, and put God first. I have to be purposeful about
this every day. How about you?

Yours in Christ,
Brian

_____________________________________________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

"Office Clutter" Larry Davies

"I found your office looking on the Internet," a relative said when we were
visiting my wife's home town."

"Oh really," I answered, wondering why she would be so interested?

"We've never had a chance to visit your church so I decided to check it out on
line. Your sanctuary is beautiful and the family life center is interesting but
have you seen your office?" she pressed on.

"Actually, I haven't. Why do you ask?" Now, I was really curious. What was her
point?

"I made a copy for you. Maybe you should take a peek." She said with a
mischievous grin.

Preserved in glossy 8 by 11 Technicolor was my office in all it's... (gulp)
glory? Maybe a better word would be extreme clutter or disaster area or "this
site should be condemned" or maybe a bomb crater? Papers were strewn all over
my desk. You could hardly see my computer for the mess. A lamp shade was tilted
at 45 degree angle. In the background were pictures, books and old mementos
scattered all about.

I was embarrassed, ashamed and yes humiliated. I knew something needed to be
done but it wouldn't be right to eliminate my entire family? Would it? Okay,
get serious Larry, but something needed to be done.

Clutter often involves more than just our office. Chuck Swindoll in his book,
"So, You Want to Be Like Christ?" writes a chapter on "Simplicity, Uncluttering
our Minds." At one point Chuck shares five steps toward achieving a cluttered
mind. As I read each statement, I was forced to declare myself: Guilty!

1. Say yes every time someone asks you to do something.

2. Don't plan any time for leisure and rejuvenation.

3. Don't be satisfied with your accomplishments - keep moving.

4. Max out your credit cards beyond what you can repay.

5. Acquire all the latest technology so you can simplify your life.

Yes, I say yes far too often. Yes, I plan very little time for leisure and
rejuvenation. Yes, I am seldom satisfied with my accomplishments. I do keep
moving. Yes, I've taken on too much debt this year. Yes, I've often acquired
the latest technology hoping for a simpler life only to find myself maintaining
yet another gadget. Where does it all end? I confess! I am also guilty of a
cluttered mind and a cluttered life.

Max Lucado wrote in "Cure for the Common Life:" We are a nation that believes
in having it all. In 1950 American families owned one car and saved for a
second. In 2000 nearly 1 in 5 families owned three cars or more... Americans
shell out more for garbage bags than 90 of the world's 210 countries spend for
everything. In 1900 the average person living in the US wanted 72 different
things and considered 18 of them essential. Today the average person wants 500
things and considers over 100 of them essential."

Our prosperity however carries a hefty price tag. Most of us feel the stress of
a hectic, cluttered lifestyle.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians: "I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God
himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ. But I fear
that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ,
just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. You seem to believe whatever anyone
tells you..." (11:2-3) When our lives are cluttered we can more easily be led
astray.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote a beautiful poem that begins: "One ship drives east
and another drives west with the selfsame winds that blow: 'Tis the set of the
sails and not the gales, which tells us the way to go."

Two ships driven by the wind, yet one stays on course. Are you sailing where
you desire or caught in the gales of a cluttered lifestyle? The answer is found
in the word: simplify. We must learn to simplify our lives. The reward is a
life less complicated, not more. You will have more time, not less. And the
fruit is the opportunity to enjoy a long-lasting, satisfying, rewarding,
intimate relationship with almighty God.

Next week: "I want to get rid of the clutter in my office and my life... but
how?"

Would you like to see the picture of my office for yourself? Click here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Clutter1.htm

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our prayer team
today. Check it out by clicking here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds Ministry
partner. Click here: www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain,
glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket!
Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 28 Feb 2006: The Clutter in Our Lives
Dear friends,

My friend Larry Davies writes about office clutter in this week's edition of
his Sowing Seeds of Faith devotional series. What he really is addressing is
the identification of what is urgent versus what is important. About twenty
years ago now I read an article called "The Tyranny of the Urgent", which was
published by permission as part of a Navigator's 2:7 Discipleship series that I
was leading. I know about what is urgent versus what is important well, as
many of us do. However, when it comes time to put what I know into practice,
knowing does not always translate into practice and action. Can anyone relate?

It is vitally important that we put God first in our lives. We are going to
fail and fall short, even when we make an honest attempt to honor God with our
lives. I know God can handle that. He gave us Christ to pay the full price
for our sin, and I know for a fact that all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. The Bible tells me that in the book of Romans, and I believe the
Bible at its Word, plus my life experiences have shown me that the Bible is
trustworthy in what it says.

What can we do then? Well, first of all, we can regularly take inventory of
ourselves, then we can agree with God that we are in dire need of help. Then
we can continually call on the God of the Bible to save us and direct us in a
different path. When I say "save" in this context, I am referring more to the
aspect of "working out our salvation with fear and trembling" because the gift
of salvation itself is just that - a gift, we can accept the gift, but we
cannot earn or make what we cannot do.

What else can we do? Well, once we agree with God, we can read His Word, so
that we know what it says, and we can start examining the promises of God.
Some promises are unconditional, other promises do come with a condition. Why
don't you get out your own Bibles and see what those promises are, and decide
for yourselves which promises are unconditional and which ones come with
conditions?

Then get rid of that clutter, and put God first. I have to be purposeful about
this every day. How about you?

Yours in Christ,
Brian

_____________________________________________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

"Office Clutter" Larry Davies

"I found your office looking on the Internet," a relative said when we were
visiting my wife's home town."

"Oh really," I answered, wondering why she would be so interested?

"We've never had a chance to visit your church so I decided to check it out on
line. Your sanctuary is beautiful and the family life center is interesting but
have you seen your office?" she pressed on.

"Actually, I haven't. Why do you ask?" Now, I was really curious. What was her
point?

"I made a copy for you. Maybe you should take a peek." She said with a
mischievous grin.

Preserved in glossy 8 by 11 Technicolor was my office in all it's... (gulp)
glory? Maybe a better word would be extreme clutter or disaster area or "this
site should be condemned" or maybe a bomb crater? Papers were strewn all over
my desk. You could hardly see my computer for the mess. A lamp shade was tilted
at 45 degree angle. In the background were pictures, books and old mementos
scattered all about.

I was embarrassed, ashamed and yes humiliated. I knew something needed to be
done but it wouldn't be right to eliminate my entire family? Would it? Okay,
get serious Larry, but something needed to be done.

Clutter often involves more than just our office. Chuck Swindoll in his book,
"So, You Want to Be Like Christ?" writes a chapter on "Simplicity, Uncluttering
our Minds." At one point Chuck shares five steps toward achieving a cluttered
mind. As I read each statement, I was forced to declare myself: Guilty!

1. Say yes every time someone asks you to do something.

2. Don't plan any time for leisure and rejuvenation.

3. Don't be satisfied with your accomplishments - keep moving.

4. Max out your credit cards beyond what you can repay.

5. Acquire all the latest technology so you can simplify your life.

Yes, I say yes far too often. Yes, I plan very little time for leisure and
rejuvenation. Yes, I am seldom satisfied with my accomplishments. I do keep
moving. Yes, I've taken on too much debt this year. Yes, I've often acquired
the latest technology hoping for a simpler life only to find myself maintaining
yet another gadget. Where does it all end? I confess! I am also guilty of a
cluttered mind and a cluttered life.

Max Lucado wrote in "Cure for the Common Life:" We are a nation that believes
in having it all. In 1950 American families owned one car and saved for a
second. In 2000 nearly 1 in 5 families owned three cars or more... Americans
shell out more for garbage bags than 90 of the world's 210 countries spend for
everything. In 1900 the average person living in the US wanted 72 different
things and considered 18 of them essential. Today the average person wants 500
things and considers over 100 of them essential."

Our prosperity however carries a hefty price tag. Most of us feel the stress of
a hectic, cluttered lifestyle.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians: "I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God
himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ. But I fear
that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ,
just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. You seem to believe whatever anyone
tells you..." (11:2-3) When our lives are cluttered we can more easily be led
astray.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote a beautiful poem that begins: "One ship drives east
and another drives west with the selfsame winds that blow: 'Tis the set of the
sails and not the gales, which tells us the way to go."

Two ships driven by the wind, yet one stays on course. Are you sailing where
you desire or caught in the gales of a cluttered lifestyle? The answer is found
in the word: simplify. We must learn to simplify our lives. The reward is a
life less complicated, not more. You will have more time, not less. And the
fruit is the opportunity to enjoy a long-lasting, satisfying, rewarding,
intimate relationship with almighty God.

Next week: "I want to get rid of the clutter in my office and my life... but
how?"

Would you like to see the picture of my office for yourself? Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Clutter1.htm

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our prayer team
today. Check it out by clicking here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds Ministry
partner. Click here: http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain,
glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket!
Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
mail.yahoo.com