Getting Off the Fence

 

There is a popular saying that runs the gamut of Christian circles every dozen or so years. It claims that we do not want to be “so spiritually minded that we are no earthly good”.

That is a lie from the pit of hell. Look at Noah...He preached for 120 years, and he and his sons spent much of that time building an ark big enough to protect anyone who wanted to be saved.

However, since it had never rained before this time, people scoffed at them as if they were so spiritually minded they were no earthly good.

Many wanted to get aboard the ark after it started raining, but it was too late. God already closed the door (Genesis 7:16). A shallow consent to accept Christ in times of trouble brings no real change to a life and requires no total surrender for the glory of God.

Many who claim the name of Christ are oblivious to the destruction they inflict upon the Kingdom of God by sitting on the fence and exhibiting carnal words and actions (Matthew 7:16-23).

Contrarily, authentic Christians can never be content with participating in ritualistic, religious motions. We seek relevance in every aspect of our life. Even our hobbies are Christ-honoring.

Our spirit and soul are grieved by anything that grieves Christ, because He dwells within us in all of His fullness. We refrain from participating in anything that is remotely sinful.

We exhibit the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which is the result of the refining fire of His sanctifying process in our life. We belong to Christ and we no longer live in the fleshly, carnal, worldly realm of life (1 John 3:9).

Prayer:

Father God, draw us by Your Spirit until we get off the fence and make a sincere and complete commitment to You and Your Kingdom on this earth. We grow in Christ and we are no longer in love with our self or addicted to sin. We lay down our idols – anything, which we want more than You. We submit to the total control of Your Spirit.

We remove our self from the throne of our life and put You in Your rightful place. We get off the fence and wholly commit our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We make a difference in Your Kingdom by following the leading of Your Spirit moment by moment. We fall more in love with Jesus with each passing day.

Thought for the Day:

As we serve our Lord, we show greater and greater enthusiasm as we allow His Spirit to lead us in service and obedience to Him.

If We Faint Not

Read: 1 Thessalonians 2:4-6

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9

Sharing the gospel of Christ with an unbeliever and watching the light dawn in their face is extremely satisfying. God’s truth transforms them as we witness real change in their life. This happens so infrequently, however, that over time we tend to get discouraged and frustrated. We take our eyes off of Jesus and look instead at the lack of our results as we minister for the Lord.

Noah preached for 120 years and only his wife, sons and daughters-in-law believed his message. The entire known world at that time scoffed at his faith and message. Yet, he did not give up. Noah served God with His life of obedience and God saved all of those who trusted in Him. Noah faithfully preached as he built the ark and watched as God sent animals two by two, just as He said He would.

Noah and his family even trusted God as they entered the ark. Their friends, neighbors and even some of their family refused to join them. Then, God shut the door and they were locked outside when the rains came. I know that Noah must have grieved over losing these precious people in his life. He had a whole year in the Ark to mourn over their demise.

God brings the harvest in His perfect timing. There is no need for us to struggle or strain, because the battle is the God's (2 Chronicles 20:15) and He is the Lord of the Harvest (Matthew 9:38). We plow, we sow and we trust that our seed will eventually bear fruit. We may win one person who will eventually win a multitude, just because we took a moment to share a testimony of what God did in our life. When we arrive in Heaven, a host of Believers will welcome us, some of whom we never met before that day.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I look forward to standing in Your presence and seeing the full impact of my service to You. Therefore, use me now to share a smile, a hug, an understanding word, a listening ear and the word of my testimony in Your precious name.

Thought for the Day:

Always point people toward the One who loves them more than His own life.