“Our God”: Featuring Lacrae, Performed in Passion 2011 from the “Here for You” CD
Wake Up!
Painting of the First Thanksgiving by Philadelphia painter Jean Leon Gerome Ferris . 1912-1915. Image via Wikipedia
Romans 13: 11-12 “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”
Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
Many are the blessings of the righteous and the wicked alike. The good Lord showers the entire earth with good things. This past Thanksgiving I made a point to count my blessings: I am grateful for everything in my life family, friends & loved ones, opportunities, gifts, food, shelter, work, talents, city, states nation, nations, planet, planets, solar system, galaxy and universe. Even my problems (yes, even the bills) are great blessings.
Thanksgiving & holidays in general are a great time for remembering our blessings and renewing our determination to live a godly, Christ-like life. They are also culturally condoned opportunities for self indulgence. “Nothing’s wrong with kickin’ back” you say. Well, that all depends on the spirit in which you kick it. I find that before I decide how to kick back, it helps to remember those who are less fortunate: It keeps you grateful and humble. Pride is a good thing to avoid, being that it “comes before a fall” (Proverbs 16:17-19).
There are many ways in which Believers fall asleep. As much as I love to be comfortable, I must admit that comfort is a serious narcotic. The opportunities to bathe in comfort abound. We are immersed in a culture that worships comfort. Messages that command the necessity of comfort as a precursor for happiness shout to all our senses from all media all hours of the day. The message is echoed even in the pulpit, as those who call themselves Ministers of the Gospel teach their congregations to measure their worth in the eyes of God according to their bankrolls rather than according to the sacrifice of the shed blood of Jesus.
This past Thanksgiving I gave thanks, but I also fell asleep. I sat down to a full feast with friends and neighbors, after which we all…dozed off in our comfortable velvet and leather chairs while watching the football game on (widescreen) HDTV. The next morning I awakened in a sun-filled bedroom, opened one lazy eyelid and noted that I was still drowsy. “Serotonin the the turkey,” I reasoned. As the day unfolded, I thought more about drowsiness.
There are many ways in which Christians are asleep that are downright dangerous. We are often slow to help one another, even family members. Some are slow to increase their usefulness at work, forgetting that wherever we work and whatever our work, we are to “work as unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:23-24). We are also told that we are to do whatever we do with “all our might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Gluttony, self pity, self righteousness and getting lost in the slough of despondency are other ways of falling asleep. Whenever we fall asleep, something doesn’t get done. Too often our sleep takes that place of kingdom work. Failure to be at our posts for the defense of the Gospel costs the lives of millions. Does drowsiness have you in its grip today?
The state of death is the most profound level of sleep, and from this we can surmise that comfort and drowsiness can have deadly consequences. For Christians, this means that comfort, like a narcotic, can make us less alert. Parents in pursuit of comfort ignore the needs of their children, some of whom perish as a direct result of being neglected spiritually, intellectually and physically. When senses and reflexes are dulled, we become less alert to wrong thinking and sin. Once we have become acclimated to this state of dulled senses, we will act to perpetuate it. Why? Because human beings are creatures of habit and we tend to defend or fight for that which be believe we have a right to. We tend to cling to that which we consider necessary for our lives, whether or not it is good or evil.
For reasons and want of comfort we ignore wrong doings at work. Clinging to ease we tolerate relationships that we know are dysfunctional and ungodly. Wanting to have access to the in-crowd we adorn our bodies with garments that are too revealing and we say words that are out of character for a child of God. This is the very soul of duplicity. The Apostle Paul warns us that this state of sleep is to be rejected.
As Christians we are without excuse. We know what time it is: “that now it is high time to awake out of sleep.” The building is on fire even though the experts are telling us it is not. We are responsible because we have been told that the fire is there. So, dear child of God, act accordingly, get busy “redeeming the time” because “the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-17). Wake up! Now!
Hypnogram of REM sleep, highlighted in red. Image via Wikipedia
Reflection:
Knowing that the Bible calls for me to maintain a level of alertness and that my senses should remain sharp with respect to the will of God and in firm opposition to the strongholds of sin in my life, what then is my prayer? My prayer is this: Heavenly Father, I thank You that You have sent Your Messengers in the Bible and in my life to warn me of danger when I am asleep. Help me to want to serve You, Lord. Help me to want to be vigilant and to cultivate the habits of vigilance by studying and obeying your word. Abba Father, forgive me for the many times I have not listened to Your warnings. Forgive me my dull and sluggish spirit grown fat from feasting on the things of this world. Give me strength and endurance to heed Your warnings. I ask these things in Jesus’ precious name. Amen!
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