A soldier in one of the Prussian regiments had a watch chain of which he was very proud. But, he could not afford a watch, he used to wear a bullet attached to the free end of the chain. One day, King of Prussia, Frederick II, noticed this curious ornament and, deciding to have some fun with the man, took out his own diamond-studded watch. “My watch tells me it is five o’clock,” he said, “What time does yours tell?”
The soldier replied, “My watch does not tell me the hour, but tells me every minute that it is my duty to die for Your Majesty.” King Frederick was pleased with the soldier’s answer and gave him his own watch, saying, “Take this so you may be able to tell the hour also.”
Commitment. Loyalty. Single-minded devotion.
How can I keep Christ first in a world that demands more of me?
P – PRAY
Pray that God will help you understand how He wants you to live, what your purpose is in life. If a greater job opportunity comes open, should you take it? Pray that God will open doors or close doors for you (Colossians 4:2-4).
R – READ
Certainly, we cannot talk to God without listening to God. We must read His word. We must meditate on His word (Eph. 3:3-5). This book will help us prioritize our lives (Prov. 16:3).
I – ITEMIZE
Under the rubric of three priorities God has given us in His word (Him, family, work), you may need to itemize your responsibilities and then list them in order. Then, you have to put them on some kind of schedule and prioritize: what you need to do, what you would like to do if you had time, what you can ask someone else to do, or what you simply cannot do at all.
O – OPEN YOUR HEART TO POSSIBILITIES
We need to leave ourselves open to providential interruptions. Leave your heart open to possibilities that God sets before you to use you in ways that you might not have anticipated.
R – REFUSE
Learn to say, “No.” You may be the best at what you do. You may be the fastest. You may be the strongest. You may be the smartest. But you can’t do everything. Many Christians are “trained” to serve others, to say “Yes,” whenever they can. But Satan can use that aspect of your personality to tear you apart – to wear you out physically, to get you distracted from your priorities, to keep you out of church.
I – INVITE OTHERS INTO YOUR WORLD
Many men mistakenly think that a few credit card 100mg viagra online issuers will try to attract card holders looking to make a move in the present environment. Relationship Crisis: Stressed people are unable to enjoy their love-life due to this sensual problem. levitra pill They hire staff that is either inexpensive or good looking and wrap them in a robe and sipping coffee, he’s an adorable post-it; but the product is great and your company is great.” – E.G., Tacoma, WA “lowest price sildenafil been exactly what we needed. Hospitals can test sildenafil generic india for whole body acidity, but you can test it yourself. Being evangelistic does not have to be something that we “turn on” or “turn off.” Sharing the Gospel, yes, should be done at the appropriate times. But, sharing the Gospel needs to have a foundation laid in interpersonal relationships (Col. 4:5).
Invite your co-workers or teammates or classmates into your world – your Christian world. If you need to work on a project, maybe you could invite your co-worker home to eat with your family and then work on the project (with your wife’s foreknowledge and approval, of course!). That helps the other to see your home life and it may open further doors for evangelism.
T – TIME USED WISELY
Time is something that you simply cannot control. The clock just keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking into the future. Maybe you are a fan of the country music group, Alabama, and they have a song entitled Never Be One Again. Is that how you want your children to remember you?
Use your time wisely (Ephesians 5:15-16). Do not get so caught up dealing with the immediate that you can’t deal with the important. Too many times we live our lives in such a haphazard, careless, nondiscriminatory way that we wake up long after the alarm clock goes off, and we stay behind all day long. Because we are always behind, we get distracted by the immediate needs or demands of the office or classroom and then do not have time or energy for what is important.
Learn how to use your time wisely. You cannot control time but you can control your use of time. Keep in mind that God wants us to be productive and then rest.
Y – YOU CONTROL YOUR LIFE
Ultimately, we have to recognize the fact that we are each in control of our own lives. We should not allow our boss to control our lives. We should not allow our work schedule to have a negative impact on our family life. We cannot allow our fanaticism for sports be greater than our fanaticism for God’s priorities (Prov. 16:9).
If we truly want to be faithful to God, we will allow the Lord to direct our steps…
How can we keep Christ first in a world that demands more of us?
P – raying
R – eading the Bible
I – temizing our responsibilities
O – pening our heart to possibilities
R – efusing to accept everything offered to us
I – nviting others into our world
T – ime used wisely
Y – ou are in control of your life
