"The Hour Is His" Part 2

"The Hour Is His"

Part 2

    

   

    Our fleshly humanity, inherited from Adam, rebels against the notion of belonging to God rather than ourselves.  "The flesh lusteth against the spirit" (Galatians 5:17).  Infected with the lie that "ye shall be as gods," the strains of devilish deception tempt us to believe we can govern ourselves far better than anyone else, including God.  Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ must therefore strongly and frequently affirm the inclination of our spirits, as motivated by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  "I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Romans 7:22).  We must put to death any fleshly notion that we can rule ourselves, or that we own ourselves.  We cannot, and we do not.  "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool… Ye are not your own" (Proverbs 28:26; I Corinthians 6:19).  The hour is indeed His because we and everything we are and have belongs to our Heavenly Father as His "purchased possession" through Christ (Ephesians 1:14).  

    Left to ourselves, we drift in the dark seas of independence, believing we are capable of navigating the journey of this life, or even closer to home, this day.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23).  We try, again, as tempted by the world, the devil, and the flesh (including and especially our own).  At best, futility results, especially regarding the primary purpose of our lives, namely, consistently walking in faith and faithfulness.  Sometimes we even court and encounter shipwrecks of disaster as the wages of sin lead to various forms of death (Romans 6:23).  The latter point speaks to a vital issue of Biblical truth, namely, the fact that the essence of sin involves the delusion of independence that we belong to ourselves and can thus govern our own existence.  Such deception began with Lucifer, the "light-bearer" who deluded himself into believing he could be a light be-er (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:17).  The devil failed in the attempt, dooming himself and countless other angelic and human hearts to the oblivion of seeking to be what they can never become.  God is God.  We are not.  No more fundamental Biblical truth illuminates, encourages, and challenges our hearts.  Thus, we belong to Him, and only by trusting and submitting ourselves to Him can we successfully journey through the seas of both time and eternity.  "Come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord" (Isaiah 2:5).

   Morning, noon, and night we do well to remember Whose we are, and who we are.  "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8).  We must consistently affirm that we belong to Another for the fulfillment of His purposes.  This may seem daunting and challenging as the questions arise, "Where might He lead me?  What might He call me to do?"  The specifics of His leadings and callings vary in thousands of ways.  However, the overarching truth is that He will lead us in light, peace, joy, and most importantly, in the manner that honors the Lord Jesus and fulfills the will of God.  This is life, the life of Christ revealed in those who remember and affirm the blessed and only tranquility available to human hearts…

"We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture."

(Psalm 100:3)

"O Lord, truly I am Thy servant."

(Psalm 116:16)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

(I Timothy 1:17)