Philip, Tyanna and David Lott, three of Sister Tarpley’s four grandchildren, all are growing up healthy; all glory to God.
By: Shirley Tarpley
NDG Religion Editor
“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” — Psalm 147:10.
Mammon and power are the ruling strongholds of the community. If you possess either of these, then you will be courted by those who serve the community in hopes of increasing market share.
It is a competitive environment even in the workplace that often gives way to decisions and actions that are dictated by the financial bottom line.
A recent newspaper article stated that employers are requiring workers to put more time into their jobs, often requiring weekend work in order to be more competitive.
For the Christian worker, this brings pressures on the family and will result in “lost market share” in the spiritual realm.
The Lord has a different measuring stick. The Lord is not impressed with your ability or what you can do for Him. Only one thing delights Him, people who fear (reverence) Him and put their hope in His unfailing love.
What does it mean to fear God and place our hope in His love? It means we acknowledge that God is the source of all that we are. He is the one who gives us the ability to work, plan, and execute.
God does not want us to look to our abilities, but to His abilities. Sometimes it is difficult to balance these two perspectives. However, if we ask God to show us how to maintain this balance, He will do it.
Put your hope in His unfailing love today. Then you will know that your heavenly Father is looking on you as a proud Father.
We can only do this if we, “Following Only the Father’s Commands.” “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.'” – John 5:19.
Have you ever thought about a typical day in Jesus’ life? Perhaps He might have had questions like these, “Who am I going to heal today? Who will I visit today? Which person will I deliver from demons this day?” Etc.
The demands on Jesus’ time were great. Yet we see that Jesus allocated His time very deliberately. We don’t get the idea that Jesus was flustered or stressed from the activity He was involved in.
He often sought times of prayer and reflection away from the disciples. His life appeared to have a balance of quiet moments and active ministry into the lives He came in contact with.
How do we determine what we will be involved in each day of our lives? What keeps us in sync with the will of our heavenly Father for the daily tasks He calls us to?
Jesus tells us that He was only involved in those things the Father was involved in. Nothing more, nothing less. So often we determine our participation in an activity based on whether we have the time to do it or whether we desire to participate.
The real question we should ask is, “Does the Father want me to participate in this activity?”
“Lord, should I add this Bible study to my schedule? Should I spend an extra night out on this committee this week? Should I take on a new business that will take me away from home more?
Should my daughter be involved in music lessons?” These are the daily challenges for the world we now live in. We are an activity-based society that often encourages more and more activity, often in the name of Christian virtue.
Our lives will become less cluttered, less stressful, and more fulfilling when we follow the model Jesus provided. It may not always please everyone. Jesus never sought to please everyone. Ask the Lord each day this week how you and He are to spend your time.
Yield your schedule to Him. Let Jesus direct your every activity. You may discover that He desires you to cut back some things in order to spend more time alone with Him.
He will be faithful to show you. And you will become more fulfilled because you are centered in His will for you.
