Habitual or Ritual

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (Ephesians 6:10-11)

I'd like to think I am more than a weekend warrior - just attending church and then forgetting about the pursuit of God's best for my life the rest of the week. Sadly, there are far too many Christians who are weekend warriors. They attend church regularly, but their lives are kind of devoid of much in the way of 'substance' when it comes to study of the Word of God, time in prayer, or even looking after the needs of others as scripture reminds us of is so important. The Apostle Paul puts it very well - this is no weekend war - it is a life-long, active, full-engaged investment of ourselves into the pursuit of all things godly.

Before anyone goes off on me and tells me I am being a little too 'churchy' or 'preachy', let me just say this type of pursuit doesn't look at all 'religious'. In fact, when we pursue God with our full heart and mind, the 'religious' stuff isn't all that evident. What is evident is a shift in our focus - our attitude changes and we begin to manifest different choices. Not in a 'preachy' or 'better-than-thou' kind of way, but through loving actions, gentle words, and benevolent giving of ourselves. We don't have to carry our Bible around with us, reading it at every break we have in our day. We can 'carry his Word' around with us, though - in our hearts and minds - repeatedly meditating upon what we have read earlier in the day until it sinks in, brings change where needed, and directs our steps. 

If someone were to tell you that going without water, food, and rest for your body would eventually lead to your death, would you continue down that path? Not likely! You'd belly up to the table, begin eating regularly, and adjust your water intake to bring life back to your body as quickly as possible. So, why is it we have such a hard time 'bellying up to the table' when it comes to a regular 'diet' of God's Word, or taking time to think upon it for the value it could add to our lives? It is quite plain to see there is a force at work that wants to keep us from the pursuit. It isn't just our own 'laziness' that keeps us away from those regular and consistent times, it is the distractions of this life that Satan intends to use to waylay us!

The primary thing we need is determination to engage in the pursuit of the things God asks of us - taking in his Word, meditating upon it, worshipping him, and reaching out to a hurting world. It begins with sitting down, taking in, then allowing it to begin to 'digest' within us. As it does, we soon begin to discover our priorities change little by little, until one day, the 'pursuit' is no longer difficult - it is habitual. Just sayin!

God's ready...are you?

What do you maintain as 'confidential' in your life? In the healthcare arena, many things are kept as "confidential", with very limited access to the information - it is kind of like a 'need to know' coupled with a 'permission to know' environment. Many times people want to "know" what we have access to, but we have been bound by rules of confidentiality to keep silent on matters of your healthcare unless you permit us to share it with another. This is definitely not the case with our message of hope and trust in Christ! We have been given a deep knowledge of grace and we are actually encouraged to share it with everyone! We aren't going to 'breech' some line of 'confidentiality' if we share the message of grace - but how many times do we 'hold up' on letting others know, either because we don't feel confident sharing it, or because we feel they won't be comfortable hearing it?

God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. (Titus 2:11-14)

God's readiness to give and forgive is to be public knowledge - a thing to be proclaimed with boldness and confidence in both our words and actions! He gives us salvation (freedom from the penalty of sin) and forgiveness (the ability to walk in total release from sin's hold and guilt). His readiness to give and forgive is something we display in our walk everyday. It is grace being worked out in our every action, until the message of Christ's work becomes a thing others can count on seeing evidenced in our lives consistently. It is in the daily choices we make over and over again that Christ's forgiveness becomes evident in our lives. As we make solid choices, perhaps quite different from the selfish and self-damaging choices we used to make, there is evidence of his "giving" and "forgiving" within us. He gives us the very strength to resist the pull to live as we would please. He forgives us the mess-ups along the way. In it all, God's grace becomes the "public" evidence of his readiness to give and forgive.

Here's the place where the rubber meets the road. God is showing us how to live this life of total and absolute freedom - we have the choice to receive his instruction or totally resist it. We don't "get" how this whole "godliness" thing really translates into our lives the very first moment we ask God to take control of our lives (that moment where salvation is given). It is over the course of walking it out with him choice by choice we become keenly aware of just how self-indulgent we have been in our choices and how very different it is to be turning our backs on these selfish choices. In the evidence of making the better choices in our lives, we find out just how truly awesome this life with him is! Even this small blessing of living choice by choice is nothing more than a whetting of our appetites for more of his grace, the deeper intensity of his love within, and this continually renewed hope for all walls of self-resistance we want to so freely put up to be fully destroyed. When our appetites are truly whet, we are keenly aware of what it is that will truly satisfy them! We become eager to pursue what gives us the finest pleasure of all!

God's giving and forgiving are not without purpose. He desires a people who live free lives. Free from rebellion, unburdened from enslaving habits, and without "dark" places within. It is a pure life he is creating with each choice we are afforded. The moment we choose to take what he gives (unlimited grace), we start to make the correct choices in life. Sometimes the very thing which frees us from rebellion is an extension of grace - grace to make the right choice in the right moment. We were certainly unburdened from our enslaving habits by an action of grace at the cross and now we begin to make choices that show we are not longer enslaved. Spiritual appetites are stimulated by grace! As grace is "devoured" in our lives, we seek it more and more - until it has done its full work within. Maybe instead of 'saying grace' at mealtime, we need to take a moment to thank God for the grace we have been given throughout the day already! Are you in need of a little grace today? Take it in! Allow it to whet your appetite for more! God's got a plan in grace - US! Just sayin!