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Power Point:
Oh
my! How time flies. It seems that it was only days ago that 2013
began doesn't it? I hear people saying
all the time, "Where did the time go?" and "I can't believe its only 25 days until Christmas! " Those statements are usually followed by, "I was going to get
my shopping done EARLY!" or "I was going to lose 50 pounds this
year." or "I was going to..." You fill in the blanks!
It's
always interesting at the end of the year to remember those things you
had planned at the beginning isn't it? We usually start out with an abundance of
enthusiasm and energy for the year ahead, with great plans to save more money,
or to lose weight, or to stop certain activities or start certain activities. Usually Christians vow that they are going to
spend more time with The Lord. And then
life happens. We get busy or we lose our
enthusiasm. We begin to let things slip.
And then by the end of the year, we are often at the same place we were
last year.
Are
you ready for a fresh start? How about
getting a jump on next year by starting now?
In the book of Hebrews Paul is really
encouraging us to think about where we are and where we want to go. They were good folks. They had loved righteousness-they had been "delighted
in integrity, virtue and uprightness in purpose, thought, and action." They
had embraced the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Yet somehow they had let some things slip. Paul puts it this way, "...we ought
to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest
in any way we drift past (them) and slip away. "
It's
easy to do isn't it? Recently, I found
myself slipping into some bad habits that I thought I had defeated. You don't really notice at the beginning of a
slide. It's like being in a boat and just letting it drift in any direction the
current takes you and suddenly you find yourself adrift somewhere you had no
intention of going. We know that
scripture says that "The Word of God is alive and full of power-making
it active, operative, energizing and effective." Could it be that God's Word is the perfect answer to counteract slipping
and sliding away and just drifting along?
Our spiritual life needs the same zeal, the same
passion as our physical life. If we
truly digest the plans God has for us, the power He has given us, and the
anointing He has poured out on us, then we are less likely to drift off. I tend to "drift off"at night while
watching TV. My daughter will say, "Mom,
you need to go to bed!" "But I was just resting my eyes." I'll
exclaim indignantly. "I didn't miss
a thing!" But I did. In the natural
we can "drift off" too, can't we?
When
you really dig into God's Word you begin to realize that you are going to need
all the energy it promises. If you find
yourself drifting off course, then it may be time to make a change of
course. In order for us to grow and
enlarge our territory we are going to need God's Word aren't we? If it is alive and full of power; if it is energizing
and effective for us, why wouldn't we want to be "full"of it? Why wouldn't we want to meditate on it day
and night. Why wouldn't we want it to
transform and renew our minds day by day?
Well?
You
may have slipped in a few areas this year that you were really intentional
about last year. I heard Graham Cooke
say recently, "God is not into behavior modification!" And that's
true. He's not into changing the old man, He's into adding more of what we need for the new man to become all that He has lovingly prepared for us to be. So don't look back! Look ahead to the Promise of the new year for your new man. Look ahead to growing more, knowing more and being more by
letting the energy of God's Word, create a new energy in you.
Let
His promises fill you with enthusiasm and joy for all those good things He has
planned for you. He is the Promise Keeper after all.
So, if
you've been sliding down a slippery slope of lethargy, it's definitely time to
regroup. Paul says, "Strip down!
Throw off whatever is causing you to ignore the vibrant energy and
purpose of heaven. Start running again, with patient endurance and steady and
active persistence!" (Hebrews 12:1, Suzanne version) This is your time
to run for the gold, to be energized and anointed and empowered with all that
heaven has to offer you. Are you
ready? Then "brace up and
reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands, and
strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees." (Hebrews
12:12)
As my mama used to say, "Get up! Get out! and Get going!"
Power Thought:
Did you know that "It's Time To Power UP!", the book, is available on Amazon?
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