For
you were once darkness, but now you are light in the LORD; (for the
fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth) proving
what is acceptable to the LORD. In the Greek text the English word
Spirit can be translated Light; Ephesians 5:8-10, we will be called to be a light for someone today; are you prepared?
People
suffer in many ways and if you have been on this planet for very long
you do not need someone like me to tell you; you have first hand
experience. Once responding to the home of an elderly woman who was
having difficulty breathing; oh! By the way; most of the calls from
elderly people are, difficulty breathing. If you read into this and
don’t let the problem become routine as many do, you will find that
difficulty breathing can be physical, mental or spiritual. Heart or
lungs, loneliness or fear, death or life; or any combination of these
conditions will trigger rapid or slow breathing. I remember this one
woman who did have a heart condition and we had taken her to the
hospital a few times over that past year. However this day she did not
show symptoms of her ailing heart, but she did seem lonely, so I stopped
the paramedic from responding too. We placed her in the ambulance and
headed for the hospital. She was very glad to see me and she had
remembered my name. She asked me how my wife was doing since on a
previous run I had explained to her that my wife had fallen off the
ladder into a bucket of paint and the details that went along with that
day. (Now that is another story; hmm)! Getting back to this elderly lady
she said; I am being bad you know; I am simply having an anxiety
moment, I am old… no one visits me and I am fearful of being alone. It
was just her and I in the back of the ambulance so I prayed with her for
comfort and peace. It is God who puts these moments in time together
and nothing about the moment is routine.
The other day I thought to ask the LORD about Romans 13:14.
I know about the indwelling Spirit, His fruit of love, joy, peace,
patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
I also know that I am commanded by God to walk in the Spirit and not in
the flesh. However! Do I really understand how to put on the LORD Jesus
Christ and make no provision (escape route) for the flesh?
As
a disciple of Jesus Christ; life should never be routine, even the
weakest believer has the strength to bear the burden of someone who is
hurting physically, mentally or spiritually. Have you noticed Romans 15:1-6
lately? The strong disciple should bear the burden of the weaker saint.
In the lust of the flesh this is impossible to do and still glorify
God. Then this section goes on to exhort you and me to please our
neighbor for his or her good and not for our own selfish pleasure. Also
there is this added kicker…why! For their edification.
The
weak require strengthening and the blind require guidance, the test of
this is whether or not I will follow the lead of Christ who never
pleased Himself, rather He allowed the zeal of doing the Father’s Will
in His bodily temple fall fully on Him. In His doing so we have a very
clear example to follow, Psalm 69:9; Matthew 26:39 and Philippians 2:5-11
all point to this one moment. We will be called by God to be a
comforter to someone; maybe even today. Will you have already put on the
LORD Jesus, or will you be trying to get out from under the influence
of the flesh while seeking to put on your shoes of peace and fumbling
with the donning of your helmet of salvation or waist belt of truth?
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