ON THE FLIP SIDE You ever wonder if God is slapping you in the face with a thought, concept, idea or a change you need to make in your life. I know He’s done that to me many times, and today was one of those days. You see (and to brag on God a little bit), God is doing some amazing things in my local church. We just concluded our annual missions conference where not only did we totally blow away our goal of $140,000.00 for the 2014 Missions Year by almost $30,000.00, but 5 people surrendered to full-time missions or ministry work. AND, several other couples, including yours truly and my wife, are considering the same. To continuing bragging on God a little, our pastor and youth pastor baptized 5 weeks in a row leading up to the missions conference. Lives are being changed and people are testifying publicly that God is moving in their lives. I love it, and we should all be rejoicing at what God is doing. But there is a flip side – thus the reason for the title for today’s devotion. The slap in the face I got today from God came after our pastors message out of 1 Thessalonians 5 last night, a devotional my wife and I read this morning before work, which focused on a verse from 1 John 2, and a personal devotional from Matthew 16. Let me explain. We all love the “mountain-top highs” we get from various retreats, camps or conferences. Inevitably though, there seems to be a return from that mountain-top experience back everyday life, which often turns into “valley-low” experiences. If we are not careful, the valley will hit us square in the face sooner than later. In 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, the bible says, “…hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” It’s easy for us to get comfortable where we are. We do it all the time. Heck, our comfort zone includes sitting in the same seat at church, parking our car in the same spot at work or church or eating the same meal every time you frequent your favorite restaurant – which by the way for me is Chick-fil-A (just saying). Comfort-zone Christianity is exactly what Satan wants to see in us and the flip side of what God wants to see. You see, when we “hold fast to that which is good,” we do so by choice. It doesn’t just happen. We have to purpose it, just like eating healthy and exercising. We aren’t going to drop those extra 30 pounds by staying comfortable. We need to choose right and do right so we can be right! We can’t get too comfortable, which is why ever believer should struggle with the possibility of serving on the mission field. Abstaining from the appearance of evil can also be difficult, especially when tempted by what the world has to offer. 1 John 2:15 says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him.” As FoTW, we must be careful to recognize when our focus is worldly instead of eternal. This is vitally important in a marriage, and doing so requires accountability to your spouse. God takes great joy, I believe, when a husband and wife are serving Him through the ministries and activities of their local church. If you are married, I would encourage you to take stock in or assess where your focus is. In fact, if you’re single, you should do the same thing. Is your focus more worldly (you place greater importance of things, sports, self and your money is your money) or is it more eternal (you serve God at church, have an active prayer and bible study life and you tithe)? It’s often said, “Where your money goes, there goes your heart.” I love that my church puts so much emphasis on giving to missionaries and missionary agencies. I believe God does too. My final slap in the face as I stated earlier came from a personal devotion which shared Matthew 16:18. The bible says here, “… and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” FoTW are not a part of the world, they are a part of the church – amen? It is a privilege to be a part of the eternal, invincible church. It’s also cool to know that when our focus is on God, we have the confidence, the promise, the guarantee, that we WILL NOT be defeated. Looking back at 1 Thess. 5:24, the bible says, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” Let’s stay focused on the God who delivers, who blesses, who changes, who loves each of us. Let’s also stay focused on our God because He loves to see His children step out on faith to serve Him with their lives and marriages. And, if you see a fellow FoTW struggling to keep their focus on God, go alongside them, encourage them, and hold them accountable. BTW, I hope God slaps me in the face again tomorrow. Be blessed and highly favored today. – Paul F.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 21:06:28 +0000
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