On through the world we go, an army marching with listening ears,
Each longing, sighing, for the heavenly music he hears;
Each longing, sighing, for a word of comfort, a word of tender praise,
A word of love, to cheer the endless journey of earth's hard, busy days.

They love us, and we know it; this suffices for reason's share.
Why should they pause to give that love expression with gentle care?
Why should they pause? But still our hearts are aching with all the gnawing pain
Of hungry love that longs to hear the music, and longs and longs in vain.

Thus on we tread, and thus each heart in silence its fate fulfils,
Waiting and hoping for the heavenly music beyond the distant hills.
The only difference of the love in heaven from love on earth below Is:
Here we love and know not how to tell it, and there we all shall know.

It is interesting that the author of one of the most meaty book in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews, teaches on such subjects as the Melchizedek priesthood, and laments that he can only share with his readers, milk and not solid food! Is there even a church in the world today that understands the book of Hebrews which the writer calls baby food?

We must be discerning of what the Lord is doing within us, and be happy for what He is doing in others but not feel that we need to chase everything that is going on in the body of Christ. This kind of maturity and discernment comes from being properly grounded in our relationship to the Lord so that we know what He is doing in us and are secure in it.

It is shocking the way so many believers will follow those with a nature that is actually contrary to Christ. Again, we are in a most desperate need of discernment in the body of Christ.

You are like a telescope.
If I look through this telescope, then I see worlds beyond;
but if I look at this telescope, then I don´t see anything but that.
You are a thing to be looked through, to see that which is beyond.

No one ever says on his deathbed, ‘I wish I’d spent more time at the office‘

I fly through my week at an Internet access, call-me-on-my-mobile-phone pace with barely enough time to breathe between the symphonies of beeps coming from the phone.

Even though we in the church are supposed to work toward a Sabbath rest, I am just as bad as the unchurched - maybe worse - at over-scheduling meetings, ministry, etc.. It seems the more I strive to be Christ-like, the more I develop a very unChrist-like characteristic: busy-ness!

You’d never think of Jesus as a hurried person. He never seemed hurried or concerned about getting a lot done.

I can hear the corporate consultants now as they give Jesus advice, "You’d get a lot more done if you had more than twelve assistants." "You really need to attend that council meeting in Capernaum if you want to make headway with the Pharisees!" "Why are you still here in Galilee? Your ministry would be so much bigger if you’d move to Jerusalem."

The disciples of Jesus actually did ask him that last question (John 7). They thought He’d be better served by speaking to larger crowds, and so they tried to convince Him to come to Jerusalem with them, but Jesus told them the timing wasn’t right (He eventually followed them to Jerusalem, but He did it on His own terms).

Jesus had been sent for a purpose, and He adhered strictly to that purpose.

So managing my time well begins with understanding who I am and what I am really supposed to accomplish. I can do things all day and not accomplish anything.

Maybe there are things I am doing that God never intended for me to do. Am I doing them out of guilt or because I thought I had to or because everybody else is doing them?

But do they fit into my purpose? Imagine if God created you to be the Michelangelo of this age, but you stayed so busy doing all kinds of things - good things - that you never got around to painting and sculpting. What a disappointment that would be.

So, instead of making a "to do" list this week, I made a "not to do list".

It actually appears like Jesus was working off a different clock from everyone else. Instead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to Jesus meant Eternal Standard Time.

He’s born at exactly the right time to be in Bethlehem with His parents, right as the stars have aligned to announce the birth of Israel’s long-awaited king. He studies Scriptures in the temple, even though His parents have left to return home. Even though others think He’s late, He arrives at the tomb of Lazarus just in time to perform a miracle.

So becoming Christ-like calls for godly discernment to keep focused on my real purpose.

Timing is everything. It might mean saying "no" to the urgent in order to stay focused on the really important. Think about Olympic athletes. They have just as many hours in the day as you and me, but they don’t allow their day to be filled with busy-ness because they have a larger purpose in mind.

I think part of the reason we’d never think of Jesus as rushed is because He always took time for individuals. He understood that people were part of His purpose. He stopped and listened. He sought out the one while the 99 waited.

When it came to relationships, Jesus started with God and kept relationships at the forefront.

Jesus on His deathbed: His concern is not for how His ministry will be continued; rather He’s concerned for those around Him.

Pouring myself into those around me: Imagine what would happen if we all decided to invest our life in 12 people? In other words, rather than spreading ourselves too thin, we’d asked God for a list of twelve whom we would invest love and significant time.

That´s why I made some major decisions this week. I resigned from some of the „jobs“ in order to focus on the main thing: God, His Son Jesus Christ and the flock that He trusted me with.

We were made for a relationship with God, His Son Jesus Christ and with another, but he waits for us to choose him.
He is ready to comfort, guide and direct us through our grief. But it's your choice.

God could have eliminated all evil from our world by simply removing our ability to choose it. He could have made us puppets, or marionettes on strings that He pulls. By taking away our ability to choose it, evil would vanish. But God doesn't want us to be puppets. He wants to be loved and obeyed by creatures who voluntarily choose to do so.

Love is not genuine if there is no other option.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself. Luke 10:27

Let´s build bridges, not walls.

“God desires and is pleased to communicate with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills, and our emotions. The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the souls of the redeemed men and women is the throbbing heart of the New Testament.”

'God, I love these people, and they love me.
I love you and you love me and you love these people and these people love you.
There is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out all fear.
They are not to be feared; this is a family to be loved.
So love these people through me.'

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35