CD - The Second Petition - Mark 4:26-29

“I’m but a stranger here, Heav’n is my home; Earth is a desert drear, Heav’n is my home. Danger and sorrow stand Round me on ev’ry hand; Heav’n is my fatherland, Heav’n is my home.” Thomas R. Taylor lived less than twenty-eight years in this life. We might say that his was a short visit to this world and the words he wrote in the familiar song I’m But a Stranger Here, echo his faith that he knew where his home was and it was not on this earth which he was visiting.

We say that our faith is important. We say that church is our number one priority. We say that we are preparing ourselves for heaven, but are we? Thomas Taylor’s life and hymn put things into their proper perspective. We do live in this world for only a short time, especially when we compare the time we spend in this world to the time we will spend in eternity. Our life’s journey is sixty, seventy, maybe a hundred years. Our life in eternity will be forever, hundreds of thousands of millions of years and beyond. The ratio is something like one to one “billion billion”. Is the time we spend on this life compared to the time we spend getting ready for our real life at the same ratio?

The devil is not stupid as we might think. He is alive, well, and very cunning. He does not tell us to “not go to church,” to “not read our Bibles,” to not “go to Bible class or Bible study.” Instead he tells us to tell the world that these things are our priorities. And just saying that they are our priorities makes us feel so much better. Unfortunately, the devil then moves to get us involved in the things of this world. We get involved with work, putting in over time, working our way up the corporate ladder, wanting to keep our job, looking for job security, and so on. We get involved in going to school or going back to school. We get involved in special clubs. We get ourselves put on committees. We get ourselves involved in so many things of this world that when it comes time to be involved in the things of God’s Kingdom, we find we do not have any more time.

We like to think that we have certain priorities, and that our being in the Lord’s Kingdom is the highest, but is it? If you want to be “brutally” honest with yourself, do a priority check. A priority check consists, not with what you say to people concerning your priorities, but on what you actually do, how you act, how you live your priorities. If you want to know what really are your priorities then take the following test. First, open your checkbook and see where you spend your money. Do you spend your money on food, clothing, entertainment, house payment, electricity, car payment? How much of “your” money do you return to the Lord? (Here, the better question might be, “how much of the Lord’s money should you keep for yourself?) Next, make a time schedule for the week. Write down how much time you spend doing whatever you do. How much time do you spend sleeping, working, eating, playing, yard work, praying, reading your Bible, going to church, going to Bible class? This could be an eye opening experience. Next, think about what you do when you get discouraged or depressed. Where is the first place you go, what is the first thing your do? Do you go shopping to make yourself feel better? Do you get a stiff drink? Do you reach for some medication? Do you open the Bible and go to the Lord in prayer? Finally, take a look at your living. Do your consciously show that you are a Christian? or do you get embarrassed and try to hide the fact that you are a Christian? Do you put the best construction on everything or do you look for the worst in people?

Jesus was quite frank in discussing priorities. In speaking in monitory terms, He says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). In other words, we can find out what our priorities really are by looking at how we spend our money, our time, how we use our talents and what are our attitudes.

As a word of encouragement to you, remember that you are not perfect and God knows it. That is why He sent the Holy Spirit and that is why He gives us the means of grace. Make use of these means that He gives and by the grace of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit you will be prepared for the coming of God’s Kingdom.

Dear Father in Heaven, forgive me when I get my priorities confused. Forgiven me when I spend all my time, money and energy on the things of this world instead of on my preparation for my coming into Your Kingdom. Gently move me back into Your Word and fill me with Your Holy Spirit working through that Word that I might be prepared for the coming of your Kingdom. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.