Prior Commitment
Theme of the Week: 'Be Silent, and Know…'
Gordon MacDonald
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray (Mark 1:35). Bonus Reading: Colossians 3:1—4
What are your non-negotiables? Most of us who complain that we are disorganized simply don't know. As a result, the functions that will make the supreme difference in our effectiveness miss getting onto the calendar until it's too late. Do nonessentials crowd into your datebook before the necessities do?
The other day a man caught up with me and asked if we could have an early morning breakfast on a certain day. "How early?" I asked.
"You're an early riser," he said. "Why not six?"
I looked at my calendar and said, "I'm sorry, I've already got a commitment for that hour; how about seven?" He agreed on seven rather quickly but looked quite surprised that my calendar might reflect plans for that early in the morning.
I did have a commitment for six that morning. In fact, it started earlier than that. It was a commitment to God, who was first on the calendar that day. It's where He belongs every day. This isn't the sort of commitment one compromises. Not if one wants to seize time and keep it under control. It is the start of an organized day, an organized life, and an organized private world.
—Gordon MacDonald in Ordering Your Private World
My Response: Does God have a priority slot in my DayTimer?
Thought to Apply: Put morning devotions into your grooming. You don't go to work with a dirty face. Why start the day with your soul unwashed?
—ROBERT A. COOK
Adapted from Ordering Your Private World (Nelson, 1984, 1985) by permission.
Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click
for reprint information.
1 of 1
 share this page
If I'm to really meet with You daily, Lord, I need to create space for that encounter. Please show me how.
Men of Integrity
Connect with God | Transform my Mind | Live by His Power
Relate Better | Make an Impact
Home | Archives | Contact Us
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Try an Issue of Men of Integrity
Free!
|
 |
|
No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders.
If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.
Give Men of Integrity as a gift
Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| 
RSS Feed
