24-7-365
Living the Christian life is a 24 hour a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year affair.
The Psalmist says completely happy people are those who meditate in the Law of the Lord “day and night” (Ps. 1:2). The expression “day and night” is a reference to all the waken hours of the day. Thinking about the Lord and His Word is a fulltime job, from the time we get up and the morning until the time we go to bed at night.
Paul exhorts believers to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:18). Years ago, I heard a Greek professor suggest that the expression “without ceasing” was used of a hacking cough. In other words, it is not praying like a running faucet; it is praying like a dripping faucet. It may not be continuous, but it is constant. There is not a lot of time lapse between drips!
Living a spiritual life is like being a clerk serving one customer after another in a long line—the the job is never done. It is like driving a car: you must have both hands on the wheel, your foot on the pedal, and your eyes on the road—at all times. It is like breathing—if you stop you’re in trouble.
There are no breaks. There’s no “time out” for an extended lunch. There are no vacations.
It sounds so demanding, even oppressive. Demanding? Yes. Oppressive? No! No! No! A thousand times, “NO!”
Living the Christian life is first and foremost a relationship with a Person. This relationship is with a Person who loved us so much He died for our sins! How could you not love a Person like that? He loved us, therefore, we love Him. We love Him, so we crave communion with Him. Because we love Him, His commandments are not burdensome.
Living the Christian life is like falling in love and wanting to be with your beloved 24/7/365. When you are in love and apart, all you think about is being together. When you are apart, you email, talk on the phone, and send text messages and pictures. It never occurs to you that doing so is demanding or oppressive.
If you, as a believer, feel that living the Christian life is a drudgery, not a delight, maybe it is because you have lost your first love. In Revelation, Jesus told the Ephesians, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:2-5). Notice: 1) They were working for the Lord, 2) They could not bear those who were evil, and 3) They had left their first love. Jesus did not say they lost it; He said they left it!
If you have left your first love, you need to: remember, repent and redo those things you did when you first fell in love. Then you can enjoy the Lord again—24-7-365.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 5/30/2009
The Psalmist says completely happy people are those who meditate in the Law of the Lord “day and night” (Ps. 1:2). The expression “day and night” is a reference to all the waken hours of the day. Thinking about the Lord and His Word is a fulltime job, from the time we get up and the morning until the time we go to bed at night.
Paul exhorts believers to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:18). Years ago, I heard a Greek professor suggest that the expression “without ceasing” was used of a hacking cough. In other words, it is not praying like a running faucet; it is praying like a dripping faucet. It may not be continuous, but it is constant. There is not a lot of time lapse between drips!
Living a spiritual life is like being a clerk serving one customer after another in a long line—the the job is never done. It is like driving a car: you must have both hands on the wheel, your foot on the pedal, and your eyes on the road—at all times. It is like breathing—if you stop you’re in trouble.
There are no breaks. There’s no “time out” for an extended lunch. There are no vacations.
It sounds so demanding, even oppressive. Demanding? Yes. Oppressive? No! No! No! A thousand times, “NO!”
Living the Christian life is first and foremost a relationship with a Person. This relationship is with a Person who loved us so much He died for our sins! How could you not love a Person like that? He loved us, therefore, we love Him. We love Him, so we crave communion with Him. Because we love Him, His commandments are not burdensome.
Living the Christian life is like falling in love and wanting to be with your beloved 24/7/365. When you are in love and apart, all you think about is being together. When you are apart, you email, talk on the phone, and send text messages and pictures. It never occurs to you that doing so is demanding or oppressive.
If you, as a believer, feel that living the Christian life is a drudgery, not a delight, maybe it is because you have lost your first love. In Revelation, Jesus told the Ephesians, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:2-5). Notice: 1) They were working for the Lord, 2) They could not bear those who were evil, and 3) They had left their first love. Jesus did not say they lost it; He said they left it!
If you have left your first love, you need to: remember, repent and redo those things you did when you first fell in love. Then you can enjoy the Lord again—24-7-365.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 5/30/2009