Devotional 110309

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Praise God for another wonderful day. There was an old hymn kept ringing in my ears recently. It is called ‘Some Golden Daybreak.’ It was the chorus that caught my attention: “Some golden daybreak Jesus will come. Some golden daybreak battles all won; He’ll shout the victory, break through the blue. Some golden daybreak for me, for you.” I don’t know why this chorus kept coming back to me every once in a while. Besides the beautiful melody, it is the lyrics that remind us of our hope in Christ Jesus no matter what kind of trials that we may be in today. Yes, the whole world is going through difficult times. If He allows us to live in this historical moment of time, He must have a mission for us to accomplish before He returns on some golden daybreak. I am reminded and encouraged once again by Paul’s commitment, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil 1:20). May this also become your mission statement for the rest of your life! Amen?

Paul said, "I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven" (Acts 26:19). If we lose the vision, we alone are responsible, and the way we lose the vision is by spiritual escape. If we do not live out our belief about God into practical issues, the vision that God has given will disappear. The only way to be obedient to the heavenly vision is to give our utmost for God's highest, and this can only be done by continually and deliberately recalling the vision. The test is the sixty seconds of every minute, and the sixty minutes of every hour, not only during our times of prayer and devotional meetings.

"Though it delays, wait for it." We cannot attain to a vision; we must live in the inspiration of it until it accomplishes itself. We get so practical that we forget the vision. At the beginning we saw it but did not wait for it; we rushed off into practical work, and when the vision was fulfilled, we did not see it. Waiting for the vision that delays is the test of our loyalty to God. It is a threat to our soul's welfare that we get caught up in practical work and miss the fulfillment of the vision.

Watch God's whirlwind. The only way God sows His saints is by His whirlwind. Are you going to be an empty seed? It will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of what you have seen. Let God send you out, and do not go until He does. If you select your own spot of soil to land, you will prove an empty seed. If God sows you, you will bring forth fruit. It is essential to practice the walk of the feet in the light of the vision. Apostle John said, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).

Oswald Chamber reminded us to live by the power of divine vision/purpose. God has a plan for each one of our lives. We don’t live for living sake. We don’t live for seeking success or self-actualization. We live for a higher purpose – vision from above for our lives. We don’t need to search too far or think too hard to find out His vision for us. The Bible has already made it clear to us that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 1:10). Therefore, in whatever we do, we are compelled by the love of God and energized by His vision from above.

I came across an article on the Internet about Marketplace mission. I like the way the author, Michael Mcloughlin, said, “Marketplace mission is about displacing faith that animates the dominant work culture with a Christian faith that serves a different Lord. This new faith is not just something we take with us to work. It is something that motivates a whole new way of working. It is a faith that provides a ‘completely different starting point’ for work. It is a faith that empowers a new way of work.” The bottom line to me is that we exist not for ourselves, but for our Lord. Therefore, in whatever we do, we are driven by this divine purpose and keep realizing our vision from above. This is the kind of abundant life that Christ offers to us today.

Love you with this abundant life,
Lawrence

Ps. Please pray for my trip to El Paso, Texas tomorrow morning. Will return on Monday morning.