For thought and meditation

[rl69]

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you… JOHN 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, “…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

[Thundarstick]

He's still working on me. My prayer is that I strive to be submissive to his will. I hope any of us would consider how submissive we really are.

[Blackwater]

Amen. Today's message makes me think of a lady in our church. She passed her 80th birthday a few years back, and yet, in spite of some serious medical conditions, she still gets out several days a week, often when an opportunity, or as she sees them "obligation" presents itself. Someone is ailing or in need - she never hesitates, except to think about how best to help provide what they need. She has the most beautiful blue eyes, and a smile that could light up a concert hall. She is soft spoken, but always very positive, and she is so very thankful and humble! Those last 2 are her major traits, apart from that wonderful smile of hers. But she never hesitates when an opportunity, need or "obligation" presents itself. And it seldom matters what she feels like or what kind of mood she's in. She knows that when she does something for others in need, her mood and feelings will be relieved. And they always are. This woman is the kind of Christian that makes the rest of us feel a bit lacking.

All of us encounter opportunities to make a difference, and to do it as a service to God as well as the people who need help of some kind. And that's not the best time to evangelize. Just do what's needed, fill their necessities, and later, you can come back, and they'll likely be in a much more receptive mood. If nothing else, you can at least invite them to church. If you're not up to evengelizing just yet, bring someone with you who is, introduce them, and let the one who knows how do all the evangelizing. Way back when this was routine, especially among us rural folks, there was a real "spirit of community," and things worked so very much better and more easily than they do now. Nowadays, it's all "competition," and nobody cares about the "losers." But Christ always did, and we are to care about them, too, however rare it is to see that these days. Going forward and doing good things because we feel the need to emulate Christ is one of the most reliable ways to grow in Christ. When you've done your "good deed," the feeling you'll get will be very uplifting. Discovering that it's as easy to do something for people, as it is to do something against them (as in "competition"). Christ has always given us the greatest and most reliable and fulfilling advice we could ever hope to have received. If only we'd just FOLLOW it!