Many people are busy. It is a buzzword of our day. Sometimes it seems like it is a standard answer to the question "How are you?". But what's the big deal about that?
Jesus told His disciples in a parable, "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). But Jesus wasn't talking about just filling up our time and busying ourselves as a distraction to pass the time, nor simply making efficient use of our time, which is a much voiced topic as well.
It seems from the context that His emphasis lay on what the occupation was. He was teaching His disciples about stewardship, taking care of the business of the master who is away. Jesus is that very master, and as His full-time occupation was ministering God's love and God's Word to all around Him so should ours be.
The last several months we have particularly felt pressed for time. There is just so much that can be fit into a 24-hour period and a 7-day week, and as two people we are doing our best to walk circumspectly, with the 2-3 established ministry times per week, family, school (homestyle), and "tent-making" (Dejan plods away at translation when he can and Julie teaches music and prenatal classes once each per week).
At the start of His ministry, after coming out of the wilderness, Jesus preached alone. He went about this preaching, the Bible tells us, before He called Simon Peter, John, James, Andrew and the others to come follow Him. Once the others joined Him, we read much more of what happened through His ministry (the part of His solitary preaching is actually just one line of one gospel account!). This is not to say that before He had disciples His ministry was unimportant or insignificant, it was just different.
We feel that we are in these same types of days here in the work the Lord has set before us. We are fully doing, but we do it in a solitary way. And the work is slow, perhaps seemingly insignificant. This is particularly the case with Dejan and interfacing with the outside world. He is in the marketplace weekly, but it is just him. Julie's ministry comes as she and the kiddos are out and about.
We are blessed to be able to be here. Amazingly blessed! It is such a thrill to be involved in a new work, and we know that Jesus has promised to build His church. Sometimes it just seems like all that we are able to do is like a drop in the bucket of the one million souls that surround us in this great city. Will you pray with us?
Our prayer is for God to show us how to do this work in this season, the second year; to bring us opportunities that are ordained by Him, and to see both those inside the church and those outside of the church to come to know Jesus more and more. And if we had others join us, great! Jesus in effect multiplied Himself through the calling, equipping and sending of the disciples, and we'd love to see co-laborers here. Until then, though, we must remain occupied and faithful to do what we can with the resources of time, energy, availability and opportunity that we have been given.
In Him,
Dejan and Julie <><
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