Thinking about Priorities

Scripture: Romans 12:1-3

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

Insights: There are two things that are difficult to get people to do.  The first is to think.  When I was a youth pastor and my youth did something stupid I would often ask them, “What were you thinking?”  I cannot tell you who many times the response was, “I don’t know.”  The second is to do things in the order of most importance after having thought about the subject at hand.  The people of Israel in Nehemiah’s day followed their leader’s example and prayed the longest recorded prayer in the Bible in Nehemiah chapter nine.  Their prayer reveals that they did both of these things.  Before we return to the Scriptures in Nehemiah, let me conclude today’s Thoughts by Scott with some thoughts on thinking.  One, thinking is hard.  Because of the busyness of society and the pressures most people feel, a lot of people just don’t want to think about their situation when they have a free moment.  They would rather veg-out watching TV or on the computer than to think about their life.  This problem stems from the fact that thinking is hard.  Two, thinking includes prayer and quietness.  When facing a challenge you absolutely need the guidance of our Lord, and more often than not, He speaks in the quiet places of life.  In other words, when we have gone to a solitary place without distractions is when He speaks.  Third, thinking calls for projecting.  What I mean by projecting is thinking has a future direction in mind.  We are on this journey called life and God is taking us somewhere.  We are, through His guidance, prioritizing our lives in order to get there and thinking helps us to do that very thing.  Beloved, over the next few days we are going to look at four areas of life these Israelites prioritized after thinking.  I encourage you to evaluate your life and do the same.

Questions:

1. Are you making time to be alone in prayer and for quietness?
2. On what subjects are you thinking in regards to your priorities?

Prayer: Father, life is so very busy.  Help me to make time for prayer and contemplation in a place of quiet rest.  In that time speak to my heart and help me to prioritize my life properly in accordance to Your will. Amen.