Devotional 200209

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. The weather forecast said that another rainstorm would come on Sunday. But today is another gorgeous day. Let’s fully enjoy this day that the Lord has made for us. It is a great joy to be able to utilize what He has given us at work; whether it is in the market place, at home or in a mission office. God is our ultimate boss. We are called to serve Him in wherever we are. It is not by coincidence that we are in where we are today. God has a wonderful plan that He wants to accomplish through us. The first challenge is whether we aware of His plan for us today or not. The other challenge is whether we have the courage to follow His plan. The latter requires 'trust and will' to do so. But ‘trust and will’ begin with a loving relationship. Love and trust are two sides of the same coin. And whenever there is love there is a will – determination to do good for your lover. Is your Lord Jesus really the lover of your soul today?

Jesus said, "Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here” (John 14:29-31). Dreaming about a thing in order to do it properly is right; but dreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. After Our Lord had said those wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected that He would tell them to go away and meditate over them all; but Our Lord never allowed, "day dreaming." When we are getting into contact with God in order to find out what He wants, dreaming is right; but when we are inclined to spend our time in dreaming over what we have been told to do, it is a bad thing and God's blessing is never on it. God's initiative is always in the nature of a stab against this kind of dreaming, the stab that bids us "neither sit nor stand but go."

If we are quietly waiting before God and He has said - "Come set yourself apart," then that is meditation before God in order to get at the line He wants; but always beware of giving over to mere dreaming when once God has spoken. Let Him be the source of all your dreams and joys and delights, and go out and obey what He has said. If you are in love, you do not sit down and dream about the one you love all the time, you go and do something for him or her; and that is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Dreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.

Don’t misunderstand that our Lord is a driven, type A person. When our Lord appointed his 12 apostles, his expectation for them was, “that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:14-15). It is a balance between abiding in Christ and preaching the gospel, or relationship and task. If the order of assignment signifies priority, then relationship is before task. As we talk about taking action to obey and do God’s will, we need to spend time to listen to what our Lord really wants from us. If a Christian only serves without spending time with God in silence, his or her service will soon wither. That’s why Jesus reminded Martha, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her – that is spending time with Christ” (Luke 10:41-42). Jesus is not a slave driver. We are our own slave drivers. Take time to smell the roses or appreciate the Nature. He wants to whisper His love for you.

Love you because He loves us first,
Lawrence