Praise the Lord for Day 2 of 21 Days of Prayer!

I remember hearing a story of a young boy who had accidentally turned over his wagon load of corn. A neighbor walked out and when he saw what had happened, he offered the boy to come in and have a bite to eat before getting the wagon back on the road home. The boy told him he didn't think that would be a good idea because his Dad wouldn't like it if he put off taking care of the wagon. But the neighbor insisted, telling him "He won't mind, it'll be alright". So, the boy reluctantly agreed and went inside for a mid afternoon dinner. When they finished, the boy thanked his neighbor for a wonderful dinner but said, "I know Dad is going to be real upset". But the neighbor said, "Don't be foolish, like I said, everything will be alright and by the way, where is your Dad anyway?" The boy said, "Oh, he's under the wagon!"

Isn't that just like us? We know that there are things we really need to take care of but either outside influences or the desire to do something else that will make us feel better, comes up and we put off things until later that we should take care of now. Proverbs 27:1 warns us, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring."

And yet, with good intentions, many people do what the young boy did. That is, leave things that genuinely need our time and attention, in order to accept the invitation to something else that should really wait its turn in line. This year, our success will depend greatly on how we answer the invitation of putting off until tomorrow, those goals, dreams, priorities and plans that should be handled today.

There are two things you must do to make that happen.

1) Change the way you think about priorities before the "tomorrow invitation" hits; the Bible calls this renewing your mind (Romans 12:2). Here are a few quotes to consider as you meditate and renew your mind.

* "It's always easy the night before to get up early the next morning." Anon

* "Hard work is often the easy work you do not do at the proper time." Campus Life, May 1980

* "The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." Richard Evans, Bits & Pieces, 1993

2) Invite God to go with you through it all. I John 5:14 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.".

Our Prayer for Today:

Lord, let this moment be my epiphany of truth, seeing my own distraction from the path of completion for what it really is - procrastination.

By the grace of God, in 2018, I will not procrastinate! Instead, I will turn my good intentions into actions.

Delighting in your presence, I open my heart to hear your voice.

Guide me along the path that leads to Christ-like character, infused with strength to do all things through Christ. That is my declaration!

I am a doer and not a quitter.

I am a finisher and not a slacker.

My help comes from You O Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth.

And now, I receive Your wisdom, Your ability and Your peace, in the name of Jesus Christ. Tomorrow starts now, amen!

Inspiring Hope, Seasoning Faith, Pastor Sean

HIGH HOPES CHURCH