Greetings: The other evening while I was driving to put some air in my car tires, I was reminded that tires usually lose air pressure very slowly, but it can greatly affect the efficiency of your car in terms of ride comfort and fuel economy. I was also reminded that air in tires is so important that we now have to pay for it. How many of you remember the days when a service station provide tire air free of charge? If my car’s engine has a problem, I notice it pretty quickly. But I can still drive on under-inflated tires — just not very efficiently. Likewise, we lose “efficiency” in our Christian life the same way tires lose air pressure –– very slowly. When we finally are stopped dead in our tracks by sin or failure, it’s usually not because of a blowout. It’s because we failed to perform daily spiritual maintenance such as prayer, worship, Bible study, service to others, and obedience. Have you checked your spiritual air pressure lately? Are you operating for the Lord at peak efficiency? Be warned: failing to perform daily spiritual maintenance can ultimately leave you stranded. So how can we ensure that our faith won’t leave us stranded? How can we have a “pumped-up” faith that will go the distance? These answers are in 1 Thessalonians 3 where Paul states, “Afflictions are not accidents—they are appointments.” 1 Thessolonians 3:7-6 (Amplified Bible) says , “Brethren, for this reason, in [spite of all] our stress and crushing difficulties we have been filled with comfort and cheer about you [because of] your faith (the leaning of your whole personality on God in complete trust and confidence). Because now we [really] live, if you stand [firm] in the Lord.” Standing firm in the Lord is sometimes an uncomfortable place to be. But , if we are prepared and pumped up in our spirit we can march forth with confidence, like a well-prepared athlete who knows his or her ability because they have worked hard behind the scenes in preparation. If we want to build a rock-hard faith we will have to increase our intensity and prepare our faith. Faith is like a muscle — we’ve got to use it or you’ll lose it. Sometimes weve got to push ourself to the limit. If we really believed that Jesus was going to return today, would we would work out with a renewed intensity, vigor and sense of urgency. Prayer, worship, praise and service to others would not be a chore, but something we delight in. God has a purpose in all of the afflictions we face and we must depend upon him to bring us through the fire. The fire is not so hot if we have prepared ourselves and built up our faith. These morning messages are now available by email. Simply write me with you email address at schneider.nick@gmail, and Ill be happy to forward them to your in-box.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 09:26:08 +0000
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