Watching and Waiting

By Vernon Gray 

When this writer was at boarding school we would play a certain trick on an unsuspecting student. The victim would be placed on a sturdy board and blindfolded. Four of us would then bend down and “lift” him a few inches from the floor. In “lifting” him we would make a show of the effort involved with appropriate grunts and groans. This was to convince the victim that he was being hoisted high up towards the ceiling. The subsequent chatter assured the unsuspecting student that we had him standing on our shoulders when in fact he was mere inches from the ground.

Then, by bumping a piece of ceiling board on his head he was convinced that he was as high as the ceiling, and in a precarious place. Then at the right moment, one of us would pretend to buckle from the weight causing a collapse. The effect of the resulting “fall” on the student was, to say the least, entertaining. The deception convinced him that he was falling from ceiling height, when in reality he was only inches from the floor. The panic and sheer terror experienced by the student was a result of his belief. He believed himself to be where he was not. He did not reckon himself to be so close to safety. His piercing scream and unbridled terror were all unnecessary.

He suffered massive stress simply because he was deceived and lied to about his true position.

Are you too deceived as to who you are in Christ, and what your position in the family of God is?

Romans 15:4: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

But not all Scripture is written TO you directly; it is there for you to learn from and not apply to yourself as though it were written directly TO you.

Many of us have erroneous knowledge that does not work positively in our lives. For example, if you ask most people what is the one thing they know about the Ostrich, they will tell you that it sticks it head into the sand to avoid adversity. This is a falsehood; the ostrich does not stick its head into the sand. The reason for this myth is probably because “credible” people repeated the story with conviction. Even Africans, who live on the same continent as the Ostrich, use this false analogy. We all have a reservoir of untrue pre-programmed beliefs and assumptions that strongly influence our choices and decisions.

The question is this: Can we unlearn all the error we have accumulated over time?

I recall as a very young man going to Sunday school at the local Anglican Church. In time I was old enough to be “c” as a member of the Anglican Church. It was not something I wanted to do so I resisted the entire idea. My mother, in an effort to “encourage” me to comply told me that when I got older and wanted to get a job I would need to be confirmed before anyone would consider hiring me.

I complied reluctantly and got to kiss the Bishop’s ring. The point of this story is that for many years afterward I really believed that I would get work when I grew up because I was confirmed in the Anglican Church.

Defibrillation

Most people have probably all seen a scene in a movie where the paramedic or doctor bares the chest of a patient, and rubs together the two ends of disc-like “paddles,” and shouts, “Clear!”

He then administers the “paddles” to the bare chest of the patient who convulses violently, bouncing up and falling back in an undignified and somewhat comical manner. If the patient does not respond, the intensity of the machine is cranked up, and re-applied, resulting in even greater convulsions. This machine is called a “Defibrillator.”

Do you need a spiritual defibrillation in order for you to get back on track?

Have you become so remote from your first love that it would take something drastic to shock you back to reality?

How many of us need some drastic outer influence to bring our hearts back to life especially in this day and at this hour.

Are you excited for the soon return of Jesus?

Are you enthusiastic about the Word of God?

To digress slightly, it is interesting and worth mentioning here, that the English word “enthusiasm” is translated from two Greek words, “En” and “Theos.”

“En” means “to be in.” “Theos” means “God.”   Enthusiasm then really means, To have God inside; the result of this state of being, is the production of an ardent and lively interest or eagerness.

FOLKS IT REALLY IS LATER THAN YOU THINK! GET ENTHUSIASTIC.

This is a call to you, whom the Holy Spirit is speaking to. Is it going to take a dramatic shock, or a gentle massaging to bring your heart back from this world’s charms and its entanglements?

If the Divine Physician looks at you, will He find a pulse beating inside? 

Are you expressing your true Life from within? Is there a humble heart beating with excitement and anticipation for the things of God?

I would implore you to petition God to do a work in your life that will cause your heart to respond to the Christ within. Let His Life be your Life; living through you as you. This does not make you Christ, but it makes you Christ-like. It will not make you sinless, but you will sin, less.

You will be fulfilled, by living exactly as God intended you to, by Christ living through you as you are. Don’t wait for some dramatic shocking experience to jolt you to your senses. Respond to the Holy Spirit today, and become what you already are in Christ; a child of God, and one who lives and moves and has his being in Christ. The Lord is near.

Memory Stick Religion

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