Trust God And Get Busy

Last night I was going through the channels.  This is usually short as we only have over the air television.  I stopped because I saw a Veggie Tales episode.  It was “Gideon – Mighty Man Of Valor”.  This just happens to be my favorite episode of the series.

While I was sitting there our son came in and sat down in the chair next to me and began to watch.  This is no surprise.  I love the music during Gideon and Israel’s battle.  It is like school fight music and would make good music to exercise to (if I were bent on exercising).  I always try to slap my hands against my legs in time to the music and sometimes our son tries to imitate me.  His fine motor skills are not what a young man his age should be so this is difficult for him and it is hard for me to see, truthfully.

I began to think about Gideon.  There is a lot we can learn from him and his life.  We should all take time and make a concentrated effort to study Gideon.  He was told by an angel that God had chosen him to lead the Israelites in battle and then he reduced the size of the army a couple times.

God used Gideon’s great faith and many other characteristics to form him into a great leader.  Look at Judges 6:27, “Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him:  and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.”  Even great leaders have time of fear and failure.  Gideon destroyed his father’s idol worship in the night fearing his father and the men of the city who were involved in the same paganism.  Yet, he did what God instructed Him to do.

Over and over Gideon proves himself.  What about you and I?  God is looking for us to fulfill His plan.  He has called us all to some thing.  We may not see it as great; but, I can assure you it is necessary.  The world needs you and I to stand up and serve God in a way that points them to Him; but, we seem to be failing miserably at this.  May God help us to get back to work where He has called us.

So, how are you doing?

Are You Drifting? 1

Hebrews 2:1, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”

The next truth about drifting is that you never drift upstream.  There is a current that will carry you if you do like we talked about yesterday.  If you do not paddle the boat then the current will carry you downstream.  This may be where you intend to go; but, the current is now in control.

Some people are so lazy that they do not like to be in control.  They are happy to just be in the boat and on the river.  Yet, this is a dangerous attitude to have in life.  One day you will look up and wonder how you got where you are at.  Guess what?  It is your fault.  You have drifted here.  We need to be like salmon and run upstream against the world, the flesh and the devil.  These are our enemies.  We must resist them.  We must resist drifting.

There is an old saying, “Good things come to those who wait.”  I understand the thought here about being long suffering about things.  However, when it comes to the Christian life we need to be yielded to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead and guide us.  This will keep us from drifting.

So, how are you doing?

Are You Drifting?

On October 14, 2013 I shared a post on “The Dangers Of Drifting”.  I fully intended that to be the first post in a series on “Drifting”.  I learned a long time ago to not force things that will not go.  So, we will begin today a series on the thought “Are You Drifting?”

Look at Hebrews 2:1, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”  The word “let” means to run out as leaking vessels.

First I would like to look at the truth if you are not paddling the boat then you are drifting. Far too many people in life just want to coast along.  This does not work in life.  You have to put forth effort.  If you do not put forth any effort then you are aimlessly drifting.  This is a bad thing.  Drifting is an unconscious process.

Jesus never teaches in the Word of God to “go with the flow”.  As a matter of fact, He teaches quite the opposite.  To a lost and dying world we look odd or different.  We should look different, talk different, act different and we should be different.  Christianity is not a religion of being a chameleon.  We cannot just change our colors so to speak to blend in with the crowd.

The Christian life is a life of effort.  Drifting takes no effort.  It takes work to pray, to share the Gospel, to attend Church and the list goes on and on.  In no way do we work to be saved.  We work because we are saved.  So, if you are moving downstream in the Christian life and you are not paddling, you are dangerously drifting.

So, how are you doing?