Presenting ...

... a weekly letter of encouragement.

1 January, 1997 - Singapore
Good Morning!

ARE YOU ENGAGED or ENTANGLED?

"No one engaged in warfare ENTANGLES HIMSELF with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier." (2 Timothy 2:4)

You and I have a challenge before us: "How to be ENGAGED in fulfilling our earthly responsibilities and yet remain UN-ENTANGLED in the affairs of life in order to fight Christ's battles."

What is the difference between being ENGAGED and ENTANGLED:

- The trolley cars in San Francisco are ENGAGED in the cable beneath the surface of the street.

- A bird is ENTANGLED when it cannot get its foot out of the trap.

How do we know when we are ENTANGLED?

• When we are irritated or consumed over our situation.
  
• When we fail to see God in control of our circumstances.
  
  
• Strategically, we become ENTANGLED when we make the pursuit of the secular our primary focus, and then try to fit the spiritual around it. Remember the aspiring disciples of Christ in Luke 9:57 - 61 who expressed interest in following Him? " But first" they had to attend to their private affairs and interests.
  
  When the " but firsts'" dominate our lives, we are entangled. Jesus allows us no such privilege: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
  
  Let me ask you:
  
• When you open your Bible to spend time with God, is your mind easily distracted?
• Would you be free (within a reasonable period of time) to uproot and move to another part of the world to minister, if God were to call you?
  
• When spending time with your spouse or children, are you there 100%, or are you just putting in an appearance?
  
  
• Whether we are ENGAGED or ENTANGLED is a question of focus, values and priorities. It is a question of whether we WANT to invest in the eternal, or simply expend our lives on the temporal.
  
  My prayer is that you are having a great week!
  Dwight Hill
  
  • 1 Coleman Street #02-34 The Adelphi - Singapore 0617 .
    
  • Phone: 337 6498; Fax: 336 9913
    
    

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  (c) Copyright 1996 Dwight Hill. Unlimited permission to copy or use is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.

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