The Spiritual Discipline of Creating Margin

If you were unable to get ahold of me last week, I am sorry I was out of the office for most of the week. 

I wasn’t on vacation, and no before you even ask, I wasn’t being lazy. 

 
I was doing something very strategic.  Something very important … I was creating margin in my life.  I'm guessing your life is pretty busy.  I know mine is.

 As far back as I can remember my life has been pretty full.  There are some days I feel like I am constantly running from one thing to the next.  And I am desperate for a few extra minutes in each day in order to do everything I want to get done.

Last week I was out of the office – gathering with a group of other men who want to create margin in their lives.  It was a time of great refreshment and encouragement.  And as I have gotten back in the office this week – I am reminded that I need more margin in my life.

When you look at Jesus and His ministry – He was extremely busy.  He was always doing His Father’s work, and people always wanted Jesus to be with them, help them or heal them.  He was constantly in demand.

Luke 5:15-16:

“Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Jesus was doing amazing things!  He was doing things that were worth doing – and yet it says OFTEN He withdrew.  We see Jesus do this over and over again in the Scriptures (Matthew 4:1-2, Matthew 14:10-13, Matthew 14:23, Matthew 17:1-3,  Luke 6:12-13).

I believe Jesus did this often because it was essential to accomplishing His mission.  He understood that His margins would be filled with times to refocus, and to clarify what God had placed before him.

I have to confess I don’t have enough margin in my life.  I don’t make enough time to clear my head, to focus, to clarify, and to do much of that through prayer.

There is one thing that I am sure of when it comes to the spiritual discipline of creating margin:

Margin is not something that just happens. 
                     You have to fight for it.

I know I’m ready to fight for some more margin – to get away and pray.  To share more about what’s going on inside of my heart, than about what’s happening outside all around me.

I think this spiritual discipline is something Jesus modeled for us – so we would know that even if you are God himself – moments of solitude and reflection are essential.

I hope you will join the fight – and create some margin in your life.

My Hero is a 5th Grader

I know it sounds weird to say, but it's true.  One of my heroes is a 5th grader.  I know what you are thinking ... and no he's not my kid, or my nephew or my cousin.  He is just a boy I know.

He doesn't have some outrageous story of how he overcame all the odds, or how is the most gifted prodigy in some area.  From all outward appearances this 5th grader is "normal".

But there is something special about this 5th grader.

Something very special.


His name is Killian O'Conner and while I could spend a ton of time talking about all of the times I have seen how big of a heart he has, or how kind and compassionate he is;  I just want to share about one thing that I think makes this 5th grader so special.

One thing you need to know about Killian is that he believes God.  When I say that I don't mean that he believes in an almighty power out there, what I mean is really BELIEVES God.  When Killian reads the Bible, he takes it seriously.  When God asks him to live a certain way - Killian does it.  Because he believes in God and he loves God.

Recently Killian went on a retreat and through that experience God challenged him to make a difference by helping out another organization who helps others.  So this 5th grader decided to partner with another great organization who helps kids like Killian.

The organization is called "Imagine If" - and it's a FREE after school program for students.  It provides a safe place, games, an opportunity to discover the Bible, and time for students to finish up their homework and get assistance in areas where they need some adult help.

So when Killian decided that he was going to help Imagine If - he could of done one of a hundred things to support their ministry.  But God put it on his heart to raise some money for them.  The thing that Killian didn't know and maybe doesn't realize - is that for Imagine If - their greatest needs are funding.  As you can imagine a  FREE after school program isn't "free" by an means to run and operate.

So Killian thought of a way to raise money - and he made the video below inviting others to join him in supporting this great ministry.

"WATCH  KILLIAN'S  VIDEO"

 

 

Through Killian's efforts he raised - $1050.00

 

Killian isn't my hero because he raised a bunch of money - although I am super impressed by that.

 

Killian is my hero because he took seriously what the Apostle Paul said to his friend and student in ministry, Timothy when he said,

 

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

This 5th grader is special because He heard God's call - and he stepped up to the plate - and he set an example for all of us to follow ... especially me.

Killian reminds us - that it doesn't matter what grade you are in - or if you have moved past the "grades" stages of life - God wants to use you to make a difference.

Will you hear His voice and will you step up and follow just like Killian did?



A Matter of Life and Death

So I think I have known this for a long time, but honestly the reality of it all comes and goes. There are days when I know this and live like it...and then there are days that if you saw me, you would never know that I believed this :

 

The heart is a matter of life and death.

 

I really believe that all of life hinges upon how we handle our heart . . . not that physical thing that pumps blood throughout your body, but that intangible thing that makes you, well you.

Others call it your soul, but whatever you want to call it . . . it is the thing that truly defines who you are, and what you do with your life. How you treat it, guard it, share it, use it truly is a matter of life and death.

Jesus had an encounter with the Pharisees where he tried to help them understand why "the heart" is so important:

Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.” “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

(Matthew 15:1-20) 

The Pharisees were worked up and concerned about what people were doing.  Jesus wanted them to see that what matters is what is happening in your heart.    If you guard your heart and do the hard work of making sure it is in the right place – then you won’t be one of those people who say they follow Jesus but actually miss the point.  (“They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”).

I hope that this week you will do the hard work of working on your heart, because your heart is precious to God, and it is worth the time invested on it.  It defines who you are and who you will become, so in the words of the great theologians Switchfoot:

"This is your life; are you who you want to be ? " 

If you feel your identity is out of whack, it’s because your heart is not lined up with the way that God has made you.  If you are willing to let Him,  I know God will do the necessary heart surgery that each of us needs, if we just commit to take the time and allow him to do his marvelous work, to restore our hearts, those sometimes beautiful sometimes wretched things.