"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. " -Romans 13:11-14
There is an urgency in this passage that has lasted close to 2,000 years now. The hour to awake out of sleep is now says Paul. We have no time to be passive about our walk with the Lord! We must get serious about our faith, we cannot afford to hit snooze any longer. We must shake off spiritual drowsiness and come out from under the covers of the world.
There are things that will desensitize us and make us asleep to the things of God; being nominal.. going to church but never really being the church, "practicing" sin while claiming to be Christians, not taking the soon return of the Lord seriously, and failing to put on the whole armor of God every day!
Listen just like we don't walk around in the clothes that we sleep in so too we must also take off our sleepwear and change into Christ especially now as we see the day dawning all the more. To put on Christ doesn't mean we don't already have Christ, it means we walk out what we already are in Christ. To put on Christ means to walk as Christ walked, it means to be led by the Spirit as Christ was, it means to not be led by the flesh and to walk victoriously in the knowledge of our redemption.
Professing believers usually fall under any of these or a combination of some:
1. THE SLEEPWALKER!
This person has a habit of walking in the dark. Because they walk in the dark they repeatedly stumble over people and over things. The Sleepwalker has a habit of leaving things open and out of place. They end up in places they normally wouldn't go if they were awake and walking in the light. The Sleepwalker usually lives with regret.
2. THE SNOOZER!
The snoozer is a chronic procrastinator. These people have the intention of waking up. They know what the right thing to do is but they never get around to doing it. They live as nominal Christians, unaffected by the word and ineffective for the Lord!
3. THE NIGHTOWL!
This person isn't necessarily in sin but they aren't walking fully awake either because they allow themselves to be drained by their liberties in Christ. Entertainement and pleasure take priority in the life of the Night Owl. This type of person has no room in their life for Jesus because they are too busy indulging in their liberties. Unfortunately the Night Owl has the habit of allowing his or her possessions to possess them!
Lastly we have the fourth type...
4. THE EARLY BIRD!
The person that not only plans to wake up but does so. This person prioritizes his or her schedule around Christ not Christ around their busy schedule. This person has accountability with other believers set in place in case he or she feels the urge to do some "sleepwalking". Because they are accountable to others, fellow believers are able to wake them up when they begin to walk in the dark. The early bird doesn't spend too much time on trivial or temporary things they tend to invest on eternity and are wise with their time so they can better serve the Lord.
Which one are you?
There are things that will desensitize us and make us asleep to the things of God; being nominal.. going to church but never really being the church, "practicing" sin while claiming to be Christians, not taking the soon return of the Lord seriously, and failing to put on the whole armor of God every day!
Listen just like we don't walk around in the clothes that we sleep in so too we must also take off our sleepwear and change into Christ especially now as we see the day dawning all the more. To put on Christ doesn't mean we don't already have Christ, it means we walk out what we already are in Christ. To put on Christ means to walk as Christ walked, it means to be led by the Spirit as Christ was, it means to not be led by the flesh and to walk victoriously in the knowledge of our redemption.
Professing believers usually fall under any of these or a combination of some:
1. THE SLEEPWALKER!
This person has a habit of walking in the dark. Because they walk in the dark they repeatedly stumble over people and over things. The Sleepwalker has a habit of leaving things open and out of place. They end up in places they normally wouldn't go if they were awake and walking in the light. The Sleepwalker usually lives with regret.
2. THE SNOOZER!
The snoozer is a chronic procrastinator. These people have the intention of waking up. They know what the right thing to do is but they never get around to doing it. They live as nominal Christians, unaffected by the word and ineffective for the Lord!
3. THE NIGHTOWL!
This person isn't necessarily in sin but they aren't walking fully awake either because they allow themselves to be drained by their liberties in Christ. Entertainement and pleasure take priority in the life of the Night Owl. This type of person has no room in their life for Jesus because they are too busy indulging in their liberties. Unfortunately the Night Owl has the habit of allowing his or her possessions to possess them!
Lastly we have the fourth type...
4. THE EARLY BIRD!
The person that not only plans to wake up but does so. This person prioritizes his or her schedule around Christ not Christ around their busy schedule. This person has accountability with other believers set in place in case he or she feels the urge to do some "sleepwalking". Because they are accountable to others, fellow believers are able to wake them up when they begin to walk in the dark. The early bird doesn't spend too much time on trivial or temporary things they tend to invest on eternity and are wise with their time so they can better serve the Lord.
Which one are you?
- THINK OF 2 WAYS THAT WILL HELP YOU WILL GET MORE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR FAITH. WRITE THEM DOWN, PLACE THEM WHERE YOU WILL SEE THEM SOON AFTER YOU WAKE UP, AND BE PRAYING FOR STRENGTH TO COMMIT TO THEM.
- "Don't pray for what you won't work for" -Levi Lusko