Verse of the Day 9/26

 

Romans 13:11  Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).    Amplified Bible (AMP)

 Most of us can admit at some point in our lives that we've been in a funk, in the doldrums, some would call it malaise where life is just kind of blah and nothing we do really matters or makes a difference, the next day we wake up and do it all again.  An old Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" epitomized the feeling.  What was it that snapped you out of it?  It may have been an event or perhaps a book or a message from our pastor, or perhaps even a song but something woke us up to the fact that there is more to this life. 

 

Steven Curtis Chapman's song "More to this Life" brings these thoughts together.

 

Tonight he lies in silence staring into space,
And looks for ways to make tomorrow better than today,
But in the morning light it looks the same;
Life just goes on.

But there's more to this life than living and dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see,
And there's more than this life alone can be.

So where do we start to find every part
Of what makes this life complete;
If we turn our eyes to Jesus we'll find
Life's true beginning is there at the cross where He died.
He died to bring us...

 

More to this life

 

If you find yourself in that place, Paul encourages and challenges us to "wake up to what God is doing" and be roused to reality, that our salvation, the message of the cross is just as true and as real as when we first believed.  When we see the chaos in the world around us we should realize that it is a critical hour and that we should put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and go out and prove that there is more to this life.

 

"But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing!" Romans 13:11 The Message

 

Blessings,
Mike
Follow the verse of the day at http://www.mikesvotd.blogspot.com/

 

Romans 13:11-14 The Message

^11-14 But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!