Wednesday, February 20, 2019

"Show Up!"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…

(a repeat from 2010)

"Show Up!"


   We often suggest in these devotionals that if born again believers could audibly hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, "Get up!" would be a frequent mandate we would hear. God's redemption is so effectual that sin and failure should never keep us down.   The gracious mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ is an incredibly powerful restorative.  "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7).   Thereby His Spirit works mightily to encourage and strengthen us as we trust the Word of God in times of discouragement and/or sin.

   Another two-word mandate we might frequently hear would be, "Show up!"  I think of this mainly in reference to the ministries God gives us for the purpose of honoring the Lord Jesus, and blessing other people with His love.  It has been said that our greatest ability is availability. When we take our callings seriously enough to consistently be where God has placed us, He leads and enables us to fulfill our privileged responsibilities.  It should also be said that "ministries"  involve far more than preaching, teaching, or other roles traditionally defined by the term.  Anything we do that involves participation with people and service to them should be viewed by the believer as ministry.  "Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).  The Apostle Paul also wrote that "unto the pure, all things are pure" (Titus 1:15).  The purity that Paul references involves the understanding that our complex lives are ultimately defined by one fundamental reason for existence: the glory of the Lord Jesus. Be it our home, our neighborhood, our workplace, our church, our marketplace, or wherever, when we show up anywhere with a trusting, submitted heart devoted to representing our Lord, we honor Him in ways that genuinely influence others.  

   Our Heavenly Father calls us to to show up. May our days begin with the grateful acknowledgment that we belong to the Lord Jesus. We serve as His ambassadors, and our callings provide opportunity to represent Him in both attitude, deed, word, and loving self sacrifice. His Spirit dwells within our trusting hearts.  As we consistently arrive at the venues of ministry to which God appoints us, we shall find guidance and enabling far more than equal to the task.

"I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?  Then said I, Here am I; send me."
(Isaiah 6:8)

Weekly Memory Verse
   In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him."
(I John 4:9)



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