February 6
Ex 23:14-25:40 | PS 30 | Prov 7:24-27 | Matt 24:29-51
There are 168 hours in a week, how do you spend them? If you were to be honest, how much of that time do you spend centered on God? If you sleep 8 hours per day, or 56 hours per week, do you thank God, consider God, praise God in those moments when you lie your head down before drifting off? Many proudly state that they go to church every week. That's great, but that represents only 1 hour out of 168. Some will read their bibles occasionally, weekly, even daily. Some will set apart some time for prayer. When one considers the time allotted it doesn't take long before one realizes that we don't sit on our rooftops gazing into heaven, nor should we. We are living life: working, engaging our families, recreating, etc. The question is: Do you invite God into each and every one of these areas, and if you invite Him, what percentage of the time are you engaging Him? Every interaction at work, even if He is not discussed, can have Him centered inside you, prepared. Every interaction with your family, every moment recreating, God can be at the center of it all. If you are in Christ, then you have been gifted with the presence of the Holy Spirit who resides within you, we must remember that He never leaves, it is we who choose to ignore Him.
We must soberly consider Jesus' words as we contemplate His return, as we read in Matthew 24:36-39, "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes." Life is continuing with work, births, weddings, etc. So many things: some good, some bad which busy us, occupy our thoughts and time. He goes on in 24:42-44, "“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected." In 24:45-51, Jesus describes what a faithful servant and an unfaithful servant looks like. May we consider His example and take it to heart.
Contemplate God's warnings to the Israelites as they were journeying to the Promised Land in Exodus 23:20-24, " “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars." This Angel is none other than Jesus. He was the cloud, the pillar of fire, the Rock, etc. They were told to sanctify or separate from the surrounding cultures, not assimilate into them. We must decide in our day to day lives whether or not we are more like a thermostat which sets the temperature of its surroundings or a thermometer who simply becomes the temperature of its surroundings. God is not Someone to be taken out or considered on those rare occasions when we want to feel holy. He must be in our every fiber of our being in every interaction, if so, we need not concern ourselves, in fact we can excitedly anticipate His calling, for we have the choice to be continually in Him or not.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: