Pitfalls of Procrastination

This morning I was discussing with someone about a critically ill friend from a previous church affiliation. I mentioned how Debbie and I had been talking about needing to go by and see him before he got any worse. I had no more than just gotten home and checked email to learn that Joe had passed away very early this morning. You can imagine the sick feeling in my stomach. How could we be too “busy” to make such an important visit? There simply is no excuse. I will have to live with my neglect.

Joe had been an elder in the church where I served for several years. He had stepped down at age 75. Two phrases in Paul’s instructions to Timothy regarding the qualities an elder of the church must possess jump out at me concerning Joe. He absolutely had all of the qualifications necessary. “Gentle, not quarrelsome”, (I Timothy 3:3) is in the midst of the list of requirements for elders. I immediately think of Joe Bryson as one of the most gentle, kind men I have ever known. He would go out of his way to avoid being quarrelsome. His wonderful wife, Bobbye, is the same type of person. His children and grandchildren are exemplary human beings. Simply put, Joe was the very definition of what any Christian should be.

I beg the forgiveness of his family and that of God as well. Procrastination is not bad in and of itself. We need to think before we act most times. However, like any other sin, when allowed to get out of control it is just plain wrong. James said in chapter 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Joe, Bobbye and all the family, I know you would likely say something like: “that’s alright; I know you had good intentions and you are busy like most other people.” I will seek you out in eternity, Joe, and say I’m sorry, I love you!

Would you pray for this family in the coming days? Pray for me too.

Humbled and grieved I am:

Mike

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Drought vs. Flooding



Dry weather: Ball players love it; gardeners and farmers detest it. Rainy weather flip-flops the attitudes. The same weather for both- two opposite reactions.

The weather news of late has emphasized the very dry condition of the Southeast and excessive rains of the Southwest. Every day many people are saying, “We need rain.” On the other hand, much of the Southwest already has, and is getting too much rain! People in those areas are saying, “We need for this rain to stop!”

Yesterday, my grass cutting was more like creating a dust storm. Crooked, winding cracks in the earth stirred up thoughts more like the month of August. It is just May! What in the world is going on?

Activists are not without theories of why this is happening. Try as they might to make their explanations they aren’t going to satisfy the masses. Confusion from all the varying “causes” of the drought and floods only adds to the worry of many. As troubling as the extremes of drought and flooding are, I am reminded of extremes of a spiritual nature.

There are human beings experiencing two extremes in their spiritual lives. Some of us are going through “downpours” of excessive immorality and disregard for God’s design for living. Others are crumbling in a “parched” propensity of worry and hopelessness. What does God say?

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit” Jeremiah 17:8, 9.

Jesus said; "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Matthew 6:25 NKJV

God is still in control. We either trust Him, or we murmur against Him.

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Make a pleasant day,

Mike

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Today my friends I'm sharing another nice insight from Tom Moore of Malvern, Arkansas. Share with others and let's help direct the younger generation to God!
Mike

 

The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once had a discussion with a man who argued that children should not be given any religious training, but should be free to choose their own faith when they were old enough to decide for themselves. Coleridge later invited him into his garden. It seems our Mr. Coleridge was a great poet but not a great gardener. “Do you call this a garden?” the visitor asked. “There are nothing but weeds here!” “Well, you see,” Coleridge replied, “I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was just giving the garden a chance to express itself.”

Solomon said, “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (Pro. 29:15). This is the reason this wise king said, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Pro. 22:6). Parents and grandparents let us not leave our precious children to themselves – in doing so we are setting them up for spiritual failure. Of Abraham it was said, , “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him” (Gen. 18:19).

Think About It!

Have A Great Day
Tom

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