June 23, 2021 -- Ecclesiastes 9:10 & Romans 12:11 -- Throwing Down Procrastination

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 ESV

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Romans 12:11 ESV

Putting things off. Procrastinating. Avoiding. Finding other (sort of) worthwhile things to do instead of the very thing that keeps staring up at me from my desk. Perhaps you are just as familiar with this ability to evade specific, distasteful duties as I am? Seriously, sometimes I think if there were a prize for dodging certain duties I’d win it…but find several other things to do before I ever picked it up.

Ecclesiastes is blunt, while you live, do what is useful and necessary and do it with all focus and strength and perseverance until the task is completed. The reason appended to this is once you hit the grave, Sheol, there is no more work, no more second chances.

Romans picks this theme up and reinforces it with positive imperatives, commands. Our lives belong to the LORD. We are called to serve Him heart, soul, mind (using our imagination and our mental energies). Be zealous for good in the service of the LORD. Do not put off serving God as you do not know how long your life will be and what can overtake you in an instant. With your eye focused on the glory of God, your heart thankful for the work of Jesus Christ Who has set you free from the powers of hell, your hands and minds engaged by the powerful Spirit Who is present in you—serve the LORD. What you’d been dragging your feet about may, instead, be something quickly accomplished and set to right so that your time and your desk, your heart and your hands are freed for greater, zealous service to our King.

TRUE RELIGION

Lord God Almighty, 
I ask not to be enrolled amongst the earthly great and rich,
but to be numbered with the spiritually blessed.
Make it my present, supreme, persevering concern
   to obtain those blessings which are
   spiritual in their nature,
   eternal in their continuance,
   satisfying in their possession.
Preserve me from a false estimate of the whole
   or a part of my character;
May I pay regard to
   my principles as well as my conduct,
   my motives as well as my actions.
Help me
   never to mistake the excitement of my passions
   for the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
   never to judge my religion by occasional
   impressions and impulses, but by my
   constant and prevailing disposition.
May my heart be right with thee,
   and my life as becometh the gospel.
May I maintain a supreme regard to another
   and better world,
   and feel and confess myself a stranger
   and a pilgrim here.
Afford me all the direction, defence, support,
   and consolation my journey hence requires,
   and grant me a mind stayed upon thee.
Give me large abundance of the supply of
   the Spirit of Jesus,
   that I may be prepared for every duty,
   love thee in all my mercies,
   submit to thee in every trial,
   trust thee when walking in darkness,
   have peace in thee amidst life’s changes.
Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief
   and uncertainties.
"TRUE RELIGION" The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions, page 118

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