December 11, 2018 ARISE AND SHINE
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Ephesians 5:14 “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Isaiah 40:31 “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Sometimes we lose sight of the truth; we forget the basics; we become dull; we begin to coast and live on auto pilot; the routines of life become just that-routine; we live without vision; and we become responders more than initiators. Sorry for starting off this blog on such a negative thought! However, I know that in my own experience of life, I sometimes fall into one or some of these tendencies. Unless we guard against it, our familiarity with the scriptures, and even with our view and understanding of God, can cause us to lose the newness, the freshness, and the power of what it means to be a part of God’s kingdom. In God’s kingdom, there is no room for boredom and ho-hum living-no matter your age or your plight in life. One of the main ways of not becoming a casualty of ‘familiarity’ is to actively apply, or put into action the admonitions and the commands found in God’s word; if we fail at this point then we are living according to our own ways, and our ways always puts us on a downward slope. Let us hear the warning of Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Walking in the ways of God always leads to life. Can we realize afresh, may the Spirit of God remind us, of what it means to be joined to Him, to be re-born, to be a child of God, to be forgiven, and to be the temple of the Holy Spirit? Because Jesus rose form the dead, we too can walk in newness. Romans 6:4. If our faith, our knowing God the creator does not energize us for life, then we are overdue for a spiritual check-up. Many mistakenly segment or compartmentalize the gospel and view some things they do in life as ‘spiritual’ and some things as secular or non-spiritual. The gospel of God, when the truth of it is grasped, dramatically impacts every part of our life; God living in us through His Holy Spirit makes all things new and takes us out of the ho-hum life and causes us to live a super-natural life. As believers, we go about many of the same task and routines as non-believers-we work, we play, etc., BUT there is a world of difference. As we walk with the Lord, as we live out of our new identity in Him, all that we do has purpose-has life- and is energized by God. The call of God for us to rise and shine has no age restrictions, nor any other restrictions, but is a call to every believer “for our light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us”. God is not limited; God has done what is necessary for us to live life to the fullest-even in the difficult times. Daniel 11:32b gives us a tremendous promise: “but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Are you, am I, doing exploits as a result of knowing our God, or are we living in a rut, on auto pilot, just taking life as it comes? God the all-powerful One, the creator, the life giver, lives in us-how can life be monotonous or boring? If we have lost the zest for life, let us take time to rekindle our love for Him; let us read His word to renew our acquaintance with Him; lets us obey what He says to us through His Spirit and through His Word; and let it be our heart to please Him in all we do. Go ahead-do some exploits!
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law is happy.”
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”
Blessings,
Buddy
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Ephesians 5:14 “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Isaiah 40:31 “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Sometimes we lose sight of the truth; we forget the basics; we become dull; we begin to coast and live on auto pilot; the routines of life become just that-routine; we live without vision; and we become responders more than initiators. Sorry for starting off this blog on such a negative thought! However, I know that in my own experience of life, I sometimes fall into one or some of these tendencies. Unless we guard against it, our familiarity with the scriptures, and even with our view and understanding of God, can cause us to lose the newness, the freshness, and the power of what it means to be a part of God’s kingdom. In God’s kingdom, there is no room for boredom and ho-hum living-no matter your age or your plight in life. One of the main ways of not becoming a casualty of ‘familiarity’ is to actively apply, or put into action the admonitions and the commands found in God’s word; if we fail at this point then we are living according to our own ways, and our ways always puts us on a downward slope. Let us hear the warning of Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Walking in the ways of God always leads to life. Can we realize afresh, may the Spirit of God remind us, of what it means to be joined to Him, to be re-born, to be a child of God, to be forgiven, and to be the temple of the Holy Spirit? Because Jesus rose form the dead, we too can walk in newness. Romans 6:4. If our faith, our knowing God the creator does not energize us for life, then we are overdue for a spiritual check-up. Many mistakenly segment or compartmentalize the gospel and view some things they do in life as ‘spiritual’ and some things as secular or non-spiritual. The gospel of God, when the truth of it is grasped, dramatically impacts every part of our life; God living in us through His Holy Spirit makes all things new and takes us out of the ho-hum life and causes us to live a super-natural life. As believers, we go about many of the same task and routines as non-believers-we work, we play, etc., BUT there is a world of difference. As we walk with the Lord, as we live out of our new identity in Him, all that we do has purpose-has life- and is energized by God. The call of God for us to rise and shine has no age restrictions, nor any other restrictions, but is a call to every believer “for our light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us”. God is not limited; God has done what is necessary for us to live life to the fullest-even in the difficult times. Daniel 11:32b gives us a tremendous promise: “but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Are you, am I, doing exploits as a result of knowing our God, or are we living in a rut, on auto pilot, just taking life as it comes? God the all-powerful One, the creator, the life giver, lives in us-how can life be monotonous or boring? If we have lost the zest for life, let us take time to rekindle our love for Him; let us read His word to renew our acquaintance with Him; lets us obey what He says to us through His Spirit and through His Word; and let it be our heart to please Him in all we do. Go ahead-do some exploits!
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law is happy.”
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”
Blessings,
Buddy
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