“Look Up! Show Up! Get Up!"

"Look Up! Show Up! Get Up!"

       

     "Look up.  Show up. Get up."  The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures call us to these sensibilities of heart and mind that enable a consistent and enduring walk with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.    

    "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:2-3).    

    "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).

    "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

    First, we seek to remember and affirm the person and work of the Lord Jesus as the basis of our faith and faithfulness.  We "look up" to Him by looking into the Scriptures, seeking to increasingly discover who Christ is, what He has done, is doing, and will do forevermore.  This leads to confidence in His involved presence in our lives, which leads to specific steps of faith along the challenging pathways of our present existence in a fallen world.  We thereby "live through Him" as He lives in us, administering His love, wisdom, and enabling as the Life of our lives (I John 4:9).  Look up!

    We also "show up."  It has been said that "our greatest ability is availability."  Consistently appearing before the Throne of God with the prophet's attitude - "Here am I.  Send me" - leads to our Lord honoring our expression of devotion (Isaiah 6:3).  He motivates and empowers faithfulness for our callings as showing up before the Throne of God fosters showing up at earthly places and positions of responsibility with the proper attitude of willingness, dedication, and determination.  Show up!

    Finally, we will sometimes need to "get up."   While there is never an excuse for sin or failure in the believer's life, we do sometimes fail to look up and show up.  "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (I John 1:8).  If we could audibly hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in such times, we can be sure He would cry, "Get up!"  No reason exists for believers to wallow in the mires of discouragement because we have distrusted and disobeyed the Lord.  Our crucified and risen Savior intercedes for us at the throne of God.  The Word of God promises both restorative forgiveness and cleansing through the blood of the Lord Jesus.  And the presence of the Spirit within us enables us to arise and go forward as we look to our Savior in faith and repentance.  Get up!  

   Through Christ, God makes provision for all of life's possibilities.  Gazing upon the Savior leads to devotion to God and others, and also the confidence that if we fall down, we do not have to stay down.  Look up!  Show up!  Get up!  The Word of God and the Spirit of God call us to these Heavenly paths that lead and enable us along the earthly pathways of our present journey for the glory of God and the blessing of others.

"I will look for Him… I am Thine… I will extol Thee, o Lord, for Thou hast lifted me up."

(Isaiah 8:17; Psalm 119:94; 30:1)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Weekly Memory Verse

     We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 (Hebrews 4:15).