Simplifying Our Lives and Our Faith
I am continuing to read Alan Hirsch's book, "The Forgotten Ways." I know I said that I would finish it in a couple of weeks about 2 months ago, but I have had a few things come up, to say the least. Even though my reading is slower than I would like, it does allow the concepts to sink in. I am intrigued by the things he presents. In reality, it is nothing new, it is all of the the things the church has forgotten over the years.
One thing I was reading today was the need for simplicity. If a thing is simple it makes it easy to transfer to another person. If we simplify our lives, we have time to do the most important things. When we put those two things together we have a great combination. We have time to transfer to others the things that are really important.
In order to simplify in the right way, we must decide what things do not really matter. That applies to our own personal lives and to our faith in Christ. We need to begin by eliminating the things that don't matter. If we do not do that, we will not have time for the things that do matter. We will be too busy, and things will be too complicated, instead of simple. Then, we must decide what are the most important things, and we must focus on those things all of the time. So, I challenge you to make these two lists, and decide to eliminate the unworthy things and to maximize the essentials.
That is what I have tried to do with our church, but I am afraid everyone is too busy and set in their ways to grasp the concept so far. If we stay focused, stay connected, and stay on mission our lives will be invested in the things that matter. How many of us have a daily "unhurried time?" Are you still saying that you don't have time, you need to eliminate something(s). How many of us have a commitment to weekly worship? If you have too many other things that interfere, you need to eliminate them, so you can stay focused. How many of us are building strong relationships with believers and unbelievers? If not, we must eliminate less important things, because relationships are important. Finally, how many of us are "on mission" all the time? We can answer that by how many times we have shared the Gospel or our testimony in the last week, or how many hours we have spent discipling another person. If we are not doing those things, there is no doubt, we need to eliminate less important things.
This simplification is not just a concept or an idea for us to consider. It is life or death for the people who need the Lord around us. Please, help me get this across to as many people as possible as soon as possible.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 26-27 and Mark 14:27-53.
One thing I was reading today was the need for simplicity. If a thing is simple it makes it easy to transfer to another person. If we simplify our lives, we have time to do the most important things. When we put those two things together we have a great combination. We have time to transfer to others the things that are really important.
In order to simplify in the right way, we must decide what things do not really matter. That applies to our own personal lives and to our faith in Christ. We need to begin by eliminating the things that don't matter. If we do not do that, we will not have time for the things that do matter. We will be too busy, and things will be too complicated, instead of simple. Then, we must decide what are the most important things, and we must focus on those things all of the time. So, I challenge you to make these two lists, and decide to eliminate the unworthy things and to maximize the essentials.
That is what I have tried to do with our church, but I am afraid everyone is too busy and set in their ways to grasp the concept so far. If we stay focused, stay connected, and stay on mission our lives will be invested in the things that matter. How many of us have a daily "unhurried time?" Are you still saying that you don't have time, you need to eliminate something(s). How many of us have a commitment to weekly worship? If you have too many other things that interfere, you need to eliminate them, so you can stay focused. How many of us are building strong relationships with believers and unbelievers? If not, we must eliminate less important things, because relationships are important. Finally, how many of us are "on mission" all the time? We can answer that by how many times we have shared the Gospel or our testimony in the last week, or how many hours we have spent discipling another person. If we are not doing those things, there is no doubt, we need to eliminate less important things.
This simplification is not just a concept or an idea for us to consider. It is life or death for the people who need the Lord around us. Please, help me get this across to as many people as possible as soon as possible.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 26-27 and Mark 14:27-53.