Devotional 160409

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is such an enjoyable day…there is no need to be concerned of your head being blown away. Right?:) Such beautiful weather just makes you feel like working out door instead of sitting in front of the window at awe with her beauty. Indeed Nature is a revelation of God’s attributes. She shows us how wonderful and beautiful our Creator is. I don’t know about you. But Nature does drive me closer to my Heavenly Father; I want to draw close to my Creator God whose creation alone is fascinating and magnificent enough, not to mention the depth of His nature. I want to know His plan for my life on earth. I want to understand the kind of person (character) He wants to build in my life today…Amen?!

"You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light" (John 12:35-36). We all have moments when we feel better than our best, and we say - "I feel fit for anything; if only I could be like this always!" We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight or special revelation from God, which we have to live up to when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for this workaday world when there is no high hour (mountain top experience). We must bring our commonplace life up to the standard revealed in the high hour.

Never allow a feeling that was stirred in you in the high hour to evaporate. Don't be complacent with your past or put your mental feet on the display-shelf and say - "What a marvelous state of mind to be in!" Act immediately, do something now, if only because you would rather not do it. If in a prayer meeting God has shown you something to do, don't say -"I'll do it someday"; do it now! Take yourself by the neck and shake off your incarnate laziness. Laziness is always seen in cravings for the high hour; we only like to talk about climbing to the spiritual peak with no action involved. We have to learn to live in the grey day according to what we saw on the mountaintop.

Don't cave in because you have been ignored once, but try to get at it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by your own act. Never revise your decisions, but see that you make your decisions in the light of the high hour.

God expects His children to be proactive and active in enjoying His presence. I don’t mean to be busy bees, but always aniticpate and prepare to serve at all time. I like the way John described his Master’s reaction at the Passover meal, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist” (John 13:3-4). With the insight of knowing who He was and the kind of power He possessed, Jesus got up and served. It contradicts the common reaction of mankind; if we know we are a super Being and possess supreme power, we will kick back and wait to be served; It shows that we are higher than other commoners, "Since we are the most beloved children of God, we should deserve a special kind of royal treatment." But our Lord Jesus showed us something different. His spiritual insight prompted Him to do humble service to His disciples. While His disciples were still puzzled by such service from His Master, Jesus said to them, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand… I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you… Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:7, 15, 17). Our spiritual insight must always produce action or service to God and to others. And when we do follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to serve, we will be blessed at the end according to the way our Lord has promised.

Love you because you are His beloved,
Lawrence