Devotional Thought for the day:

²⁹  So the people of Israel—every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the LORD had given them through Moses—brought their gifts and gave them freely to the LORD.   Exodus 35:29 (NLT)

63 But after a man is converted, and thereby enlightened, and his will is renewed, then he wills that which is good, in so far as he is reborn or a new man, and he delights in the law of God according to his inmost self (Rom. 7:22). And immediately he does good, as much and as long as the Holy Spirit motivates him, as St. Paul says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”8
64 This impulse of the Holy Spirit is no coercion or compulsion because the converted man spontaneously does that which is good, as David says, “Your people will offer themselves freely on the day you lead your host.”9

In the world of today, when people are so burdened with duties and their problems, which oftentimes have to be solved with great haste, range through so many fields, there is considerable danger of dissipating their energy. Priests, too, involved and constrained by so many obligations of their office, certainly have reason to wonder how they can coordinate and balance their interior life with feverish outward activity. Neither the mere external performance of the works of the ministry, nor the exclusive engagement in pious devotion, although very helpful, can bring about this necessary coordination. Priests can arrive at this only by following the example of Christ our Lord in their ministry. His food was to follow the will of him who had sent him to accomplish his work.21

I remember back in the day there were those who thought Franklin Planners and Day Runners were the key to success.  Just use all the little tabs, the priority tools, the calendar and you would be a success in business.

That is of course, assuming you were able to keep track of the $120 leather bound notebook!  We complain about our cell phones being leashes these days! Those things took the place of God in our priorities!

Seriously though, as I read the Book of Concord and the words from Vatican II this morning I was taken back to those days, to friends who assured me that having a organized and structured life was the key to successful ministry, and those who insisted that instead it is a pastor’s duty to first spend extensive time in devotion and prayer.  Not measured in minutes -but hours a day, a day a week – a week a year.  That only then will a pastor be able to endure.

And of course, each was backed up by Biblical examples.

There are still those who put forth those answers today.  That want me to read these books they found – by Steve Covey or by Dallas Willard.  (representative of the two thoughts)  I am torn between the two often – there are people that I need to go see, things I need to plan, and yet there is also the need – a desperate need, to be still, to know that He is God, He is my God, my loving, merciful benevolent Father, and I am his child.

So how do you strike a balance?  Or can you?

I have tried for far too long, more than 3 decades tried to discern this balance.

And the answer is far more… simple.. and thus more overwhelming.

Follow Christ’s will….

There are going to be times we have to lay aside everything and go.  There are times where we have to manage our time.  And there are times – where if we don’t seek God’s face, where we don’t encounter His presence, we will be worthless.

How do I know the difference?

By being in tune with Christ, with knowing He is walking with me.  To understand that I am not the messiah – and I draw my strength from knowing His mercy for me personally. (This is why I have absolutely no problem with a daily celebration of the Lord’s Supper!)    I need to know His presence, I need to know His cleansing work within me.

Then it is simple to hear his voice, then it is simple to know how to give, how to spend that time.

It has to be the Holy Spirit who coordinates that – I can simply keep focusing on Jesus, and depend on Him to make it work.

And so He does.

That is what “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner” is all about.  AMEN!

Tappert, Theodore G., ed. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press, 1959. Print.  Formula of Concord: Solid Declaration:  II Free Will or Human Powers

Catholic Church. “Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests: Presbyterorum Ordinis.” Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2011. Print.