Friday, January 6, 2012

Living for Christ or Living With Christ

My Utmost For His Highest


“Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be.”


We went to church Wednesday night and I noticed that there were not many people there for the study … then I realized two things were missing .. they were not serving supper and they had not started the new set of studies … the only one going was the pastor teaching out of 2 Corinthians.  But it is not Sundays or Wednesdays where my spirit is refreshed and strengthened .. it’s in the early morning … as I read the Word and reflect on it … as I think about the Lord and my life and those around me.  This discipline of sharing my devotions actually helps me be more consistent with my time in the morning … it is too easy to let other things push this time aside …
 

I saw long time friend at Wal-Mart last night … I have not seen her or her husband for over 10 years … But it made me think about he and I, and our time together in the military … and our close relationship with them that seemed to have faded somehow … but the truth is that it faded because it was neglected … and that is the same with our relationship with the Lord … Devotions don’t happen naturally, they are deliberate … it’s a discipline …
 

We cannot possibly walk with the Lord if we don’t spend time with Him … everyday …. That is my motivation for posting these thoughts … that as you read them you are mindful of your Father in heaven and your life in Christ …


Our Daily Bread

 Philippians 1:21-28

21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

I was talking to someone the other day about the trouble missionaries had in Jacmel, Haiti.  I was explaining that God is sovereign and the living or dying, for the Christian is a Win-Win … I either live for Christ or live with Christ … we are all dying … for some it takes longer than others .. but at the point of death … we all step into eternity .. what we are in eternity we will be for eternity … By the way, did you know that they don’t have Gold’s Gym or Weight Watchers in Heaven …


27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, …… stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation,[b] and that from God.



It matters what you do and what you think … Most Christians don’t live each day mindful of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us .. I think largely because we think of Him as a man … not God … and we think of the cross as the end and not the means … Jesus understood the eternal consequence of Sin and the price that He would pay to redeem us … if we really understood that and appreciated it  .. we would live our lives in a radically different way … pray for understanding ….

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