Peaceful Priorities

I’ve noticed my inability to keep my home office uncluttered; and since I have an unquenchable thirst for books, my bookshelves are overflowing. Books are not only packed into every bit of the normal vertical space available, but now there are horizontal stacks of books in front of the vertical rows of books. I guess my books are now, officially, double-parked!

As I looked around the office I realized how life can get cluttered and out of kilter. The honey-do list becomes long and lustrous, while problems of the private and business aspects of our lives get overwhelming. We move from productivity to survivability and can feel as though we’re drowning in the tasks that await our attention.

So how do we keep from succumbing to it all: Overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, and feeling a bit inept at taking care of what used to be a carefree life? For me, there are days, hours and sometimes even a few minutes when I just need to disconnect and grab hold of something solid. Perhaps for you it’s taking a drive down memory lane—or just taking a drive to get out of the house! Sometimes I’ll enjoy watching a movie or spending some quality time with my wife, Nancy. I try to bring roses home when she least expects it even though she tells me they just die in a few days. I want her to know that she’s still the best thing that ever happened to me! We still enjoy each other’s company after all these years (thank goodness!) and grabbing a breakfast taco at one of our favorite “hidden” places is always a nice diversion from the pressures of life.

But, what I’ve found to help me the most is some daily time of solitude with God and His Word—the Holy Bible—the Scriptures. Since I’m a morning person, that’s my time to shut myself in my office (my recliner) with a cup of coffee and the Scriptures. I find myself following Billy Graham’s regiment of reading the Psalms and a chapter in Proverbs every day—as I’m able. The Psalms give me encouragement and Proverbs gives me wisdom, which I know I need more of today. Sometimes I change this up and use a “read the Bible in a year” schedule instead.

There is something about being quiet with the Lord that helps refocus and re-prioritize things in my life. We don’t always have to talk to God in prayer—we can listen as well. Psalms 127:2 shares how God grants sleep to those he loves—another translation says “while they sleep he provides for,” which tells me that if I keep God first and rest in him—he’ll take care of keeping peace in my life. I pray that you will find the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7) as you work to prioritize all those cluttered heaps of goals that await your attention today.

Blessings!
Marshall

Social Sinning

I recently removed Facebook from my smart phone because it was consuming my time. I was either getting notifications about something or trying to consistently post something relevant that my “friends” would see. I was always checking my phone to make sure I didn't miss any important notifications from my "friends"!

Today, the social networking frenzy has taken the word friend and devalued it immensely. Our “friends” are no longer the handful of folks with whom we could trust our life; they are now often, just connections in our rapidly expanding network that will help us promote our agendas and ourselves.

Now, I know this is not always the case. As a matter of fact, many people even use social media as a ministry platform as well as a means of nurturing their close network of friends. But more often, I notice that people (me included) have a multitude of “friends” who they don’t even know. Too often today, we will spend hours online to see what our friends are doing while our place of employment pays for our online enjoyment. Is that appropriate? If you were an employer how would you feel about your employees spending their work time keeping up with social media (unless, of course, that just happens to be your job)?

Interestingly, many places of business and churches realize the monumental shift towards social media and have replaced costly web sites with free social media pages. But as Christians, we must continually guard ourselves, and what we view and post online; realizing that whatever is posted online cannot be removed. We must honor God with our time, our talents and refrain from inappropriate online habits. Every once in a while we ought to disconnect from our online world, if possible, and relax with a little solitude and spiritual soaking.

Admittedly, I still check my social networking sites when I’m working online and appreciate the technology that provides opportunities to reconnect with old friends. I love celebrating successes with my friends and lifting them up in prayer when adversity comes. I pray that as we embrace more technological advances in the years to come, we will never lose the love we should have for our Savior. The greatest connection you could ever have is the one with the Creator of the universe, who provided a way to experience that relationship with Him through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). May He always be the greatest connection in your life!

For Him,

Marshall M. Windsor, D.Min.

Riding The Metro

Dr. Marshall M. Windsor

Several years ago, we made our first exciting trip to the Washington D.C. area. In riding the Metro train from Manassas into the city on our first morning there, we rode in seats facing backwards, so the entire trip was viewed from a “where we've been” perspective. In walking all over the Washington Mall area, we became a bit disoriented but still made it back to the right Metro train for our return ride home. The problem came as we began to pull out - the train was going backwards once again. For a moment I thought that we were on the wrong train—and I began to panic! 

Then I thought the train needed to go farther into town before turning around and heading back to where I thought we needed to go. But in reality we had taken seats that were exactly opposite of the seats we sat in while coming into town, and even though we were traveling backwards, we were still heading in the right direction. Even though it did not feel right – it was right, because the Metro operators were operating their trains according to their standards. As I look back on this experience, I smile and imagine how hilarious this sounds to someone who has grown up in any city that has a rail system of transportation!

Ironically, our Christian walk can seem like we’re going in the wrong direction even though God may just want us to gain a different, "where we've been," perspective. Things don’t look right or feel right, but you sense God’s leading nonetheless. When these times of uncertainty happen, there are three key ways we can work to gain God’s perspective in the differing situations we find ourselves in:

1. Prayer – It is wonderful to know that God will always hear our prayers. In Isaiah 65:24, God says: “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear” (ESV). Even before we seek God in prayer, He is working on our behalf! Communicating with our heavenly Father is the surest way for us to find true direction and peace for our lives. Each one of us should have some time every day to spend with God in prayer.
2. Scripture = The Psalmist told us in Psalm 119:105 that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (NIV). As a Christian, our walk often involves faith in God’s Word because our feelings will deceive us. God’s Word must be our standard, helping us hold fast to the “best” way. 
3. Godly Friends = The wisest man who ever lived, king Solomon, told us in Proverbs 11:14, “Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances” (The Message). Sometimes we get so consumed with a matter, we lose sight of other important issues. Gleaning wisdom from others inside and outside our realm of influence will only enhance our understanding.

In the face of difficulty or uncertainty, we can hold daily to God’s promises by: seeking Him in prayer, meditating upon His Word, and seeking wise counsel. Just because our situations may not look right or feel right, that does not mean we have drifted from God’s will for our lives. God is a promise keeper and His Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Although the promises of God sometimes tarry, we must wait for them. God is working in the hearts and lives of loved ones for His divine purposes, and delights in seeing his children succeed – not fail.

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!

No matter who you are, after a time you will cross paths with folks who are less than honest. Some people are downright liars. So what should we do in these types of situations? As one veteran evangelist told me once: “Marshall, you always take the high road.” He meant that we must not allow others who are dishonest and hurtful to bring us down to their level of character. When you run into folks like this, you just have to move on and leave them behind. Their lack of character and integrity will catch up with them, but our responsibility is to pray for them and leave them in God’s hand. He is the judge and he alone knows what can bring them back to a right relationship with Him.

I must admit that I struggled with this aspect of ministry when we first started. I thought that we would have a wonderful time ministering to God’s people and have some great fellowship with the church leaders. But through the years, I have discovered that this is not always the case. The local church isn’t full of perfect people or perfect leaders—we’re all striving to do our best to pay our bills, raise any children we may have, share the love of Jesus Christ the best way we know how, and make it to heaven when Jesus calls to take us home.

When those people you respect or who are in leadership hurt you, the only option we have is to take the hurt of betrayal to the cross. God has called you and I to be men and women of prayer, because it is in God’s presence where mountains are moved, people are changed, and healing takes place. So whatever you have to walk through along your life’s journey, Jesus Christ will walk through it with you if you let him. I pray that you will, if you haven’t already, experience the realization of his nearness—because it will change the way you live your life. 

Be blessed,
Marshall