No Time to Waste!

 

The other day I had the opportunity to walk down a path I'd never been before, literally.  One of the local parks had opened a new walking trail.   What an enjoyable walk it was, in the beautiful springtime weather!  However, I was by myself; and, it was an unfamiliar path.  As I walked, I looked around carefully at my surroundings, even though there were other people walking on the path also. 
Although I didn't see any that day, I have in the past seen deer, gophers, snakes, rabbits, birds of prey, etc.  If I had not been carefully looking, I'd have not seen them which, in some cases wouldn't have mattered and in others could have been dangerous.  Truth be told, I'd have not seen some of them at all, had I not been walking with a friend.

Today's text is Ephesians 5:15-21 (NET).

15Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise, 16taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for each other in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

In the King James Version of the Bible, the crux of verse 15 is translated "walk circumspectly".  This means to look all around you (like looking in a circle) as you walk, to intercept hidden dangers.  This is wise behavior.  Fools just go blithely skipping along, singing "tra la la la la", oblivious to dangers lurking.  Paul goes on to admonish us to keep a clear head, and the example he gives is that of getting drunk.  If you are drunk, or overmedicated or negatively influenced by some other "excess" (such as not getting enough sleep), you can't think clearly.  Consequently, you may make foolish, ill-conceived decisions.  Who among us has not ever experienced "morning after" regret?

Why is it important to avoid excesses of this nature? 

One reason involves excesses becoming habits of life which have long-term, negative impact.  That occasional drink, to use Paul's example, becomes an every-day habit.  Health becomes adversely affected.  Effectiveness for the Lord is diminished or extinguished entirely.  Testimonies become compromised.  Relationships become either strained or broken.  This is often referred to as "carnal living" - - pinging back and forth like a pinball, without spiritual discipline, according to the whims and cravings of our flesh.

A second reason Paul gives (as if we needed another) is that time is short to accomplish God's work!  Our lives are short, when viewed in light of eternity.  None of us is promised another day to do what He has called us to do.  Our lives can end in this next hour.  No one knows.  But, in addition to that sobering thought, none of us knows when God will pull back the scrim separating Heaven from Earth and send the Lord Jesus here to receive His Bride!  This will effectively end the Church Age.  What God has called us to do, we should pursue soberly, unhindered by "loose living" of various stripes. No time to waste!

"Nature abhors a vacuum", as the old saying goes.  So, if we don't fill our bodies and souls with frivolous pursuits (which does not mean we can't ever have any fun, by the way), how then should we live?

1.  We are to submit to the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives, allowing Him to "fill us" day-by-day.  So often, we fill ourselves with "counterfeit god", when our true hunger can only be truly satisfied with the "righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Ghost", as the song says.
2.  We are to build Christian community by worshiping together joyfully.
3.  We are to give thanks to the Lord for one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
4.  We are to submit to one another, which basically means walking in humility together, viewing others as precious, beloved children of God.  We can help each other be "circumspect", as my walking friends have helped me see things on the walking trail.

The "submit to one another" admonition frames the more specific "submission" admonitions that follow in Ephesians 5, and which we'll look (back) at in the blog post for tomorrow.

Lord Jesus, teach us to walk circumspectly, filled with your Spirit, in right relationship with both You and our fellow believers.  Help us to use our time and resources wisely, for Your honor and glory.  In Your incomparable name I pray, amen.

Embraced and Unfazed

The little boy played his heart out, gave his all.  He can't bear to look at the scoreboard again, as he walks off the field.  His lip is bruised; he got a cut on his ear from sliding into third that last at-bat. He is dirty, exhausted and ... the final indignity: defeated.  Barely holding back tears, he looks for his father...scanning the crowd. There he is, waving and walking toward his son!  Approaching his dad, perhaps the boy makes the "L" symbol on his forehead...Loser.  When they meet, the father takes a knee and opens his arms wide to gather his son up.  "Son!", he exclaims.  When those strong arms wrap around the son, the tears begin to flow.  Tremendous disappointment, regret, self-recrimination for mistakes made or opportunities lost - - - all flow from the boy's eyes and in the words which tumble from his lips.

What does the good, good father say? He reminds his son of who that child is, and assures him that his love for that boy is greater than any failure.  He promises that, while this disappointing game is over, there are wonders and joys ahead because that boy is his.  He probably echoes a lot of what God tells His very own beloved children in Romans 8.

When we left chapter 7, we probably felt a lot like that child: defeated.  But, then, Romans 8 dawns like a glorious morning.  Because of his deep understanding of the Christian life and a deep intimacy with Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul was able to re-frame for us the adverse circumstances of life in our fallen world.  This is why Romans 8 is one of the most beloved chapters, in one of the most beloved books of the Bible.

God recognized the problem and devised a solution.  He saw that the Law was serving merely as a leaking bandage on an oozing sore.  He realized that the system was broken and that a deep healing was needed, a healing that would begin from within, down in the very core.  In fact, He knew all this before Earth or a single soul on it was ever created.  He has always known.

His solution was to send His Son, purposefully and personally taking on the human condition, clothing Godhead in human flesh.  Born as a human baby, Jesus engaged the fractured mess called humanity, in order to set things right, once and for all and forever.  Jesus "put skin on" to take up residence here so that His Spirit could take up residence in us, so that we, although still experiencing daily the limitations of sin, can live life on God's terms: the Spirit-filled life.  With His Spirit living and breathing in us, we are delivered from our former, dead lives.  We are set free.

Jesus' resurrection life, which He beckons us to walk in, is not a life that keeps looking back and longing for the former, dead lives we lead.  It is not a life that draws us to go regularly to place flowers on a grave of regrets.  No!  It is an expectant life, a life that asks our Savior, "What's next, my Love?  I am ever Yours!  What's the next adventure?"

God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!

Romans 8:16-17  (The Message)

All our skinned knees, black eyes, cut lips and broken bones are healed, forever healed from within, by God's Spirit who lives within.  And then the love, OH the love that is ours!

Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Romans 8:35-39 (The Message)

Embraced and unfazed!  It is the assurance of His love which enables us to look up to Him and anticipate the future, both here in Brokenville and later, in Foreverville!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zunQ--S7RM

Lord, I think of that beautiful testimonial that sings, "No power of death, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from your hand....", and I thank you.  I humbly thank you.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

 "In Christ Alone - Philips, Craig & Dean." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.