“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16 (NASB)
I LIKE COFFEE!! So much so that I drink about 40 ounces of the stuff before I get into work. By the time most of my co-workers have figured out why they came to work in the first place, I’m flat out gone…sometimes to the bathroom…but I’m gone. I also enjoy a special brew called “Valhalla Java” on the weekends. One 4-ounce cup of this stuff is all you need to get your weekend going…without so many trips to the bathroom. But I need to digress before I find an application for the Colony of Mercy in my mailbox one day for my coffee issue.
In his book “Kingdom Agenda” Tony Evans asks, “Have you ever suffered from “same-ole disease?” He goes into a long list of the “same-ole” actions that we go through in a day when we have this spiritual sickness. He then asks, “Have you ever felt like you need a little caffeine in your Christian cup?” Now I’m not gonna say that a cup of Valhalla Java will get you outta your rut immediately (if not sooner) but we do, at times, wonder the same things that Dr. Evans wonders. “Where’s the adventure in this? Where are the thrill and satisfaction that are supposed to come with serving the Creator of the universe?” If you are at this point then everything else in your life is just one same-ole thing after another.
When I take a look at the very beginnings of The Sermon on the Mount, I see ten characteristics that Jesus would expect us to have and if we do exhibit any one or two of those characteristics then it’s safe to say that we can identify ourselves with being a child of His, but then it gets better (after He tells us to rejoice and be glad because prophets were persecuted before us). Jesus tells us that as His children we become salt and light. But He says it in a way that has an underlining intention of confrontation. How is anyone gonna know if your salty if they don’t get a taste of your witness? Or how is anyone gonna know if you are the light of the world if you keep the lamp shade on in their presence?
Ya see, just like Jesus give us two commandments to live by there are two purposes to go along with them. You may the Christian that loves the LORD your God, with all your heart, soul, and might. You may be the Christian that loves his neighbor as himself BUT if you keep that corralled up in the same-ole neighborhood, the salt loses its flavor only to be thrown to the floor and your shining light loses its intensity as it goes under a lamp shade. Then you’ll be finding yourself waking up in the same-ole bed, with the same-ole wife, going into to the same-ole bathroom to look at the same-ole face in the mirror, wander into the same-ole kitchen to eat the same-ole breakfast, drink the same-ole coffee before you get in the same-ole car and head off to the same-ole job….you get the gist, right? Ain’t nothing wrong with a little mundane once in a while but one same -ole mundane after another just won’t cut it.
Now if you’re asking how to get that jolt you need to get you living according to your purpose, the best advice I could give is to go where God is working and make your way into His presence. Back in January, I went outside of my comfort zone of the same-ole things that were my same-ole go-to’s and I found myself in His presence on a beach, in below 32-degree temperatures, with the wind beating in my face and the sun blinding my eyes. That may not be what you’ll have in mind but I’ll tell you this, you ain’t gonna find the purpose you lost, sitting around waiting for it to find you. Jesus said go out so we gotta go out.
I would also recommend spending some time in God’s Word. Waiting to your Pastor to preach a message on Sunday may not help you out if you need a cup of Valhalla Java on a Tuesday afternoon. Yeah, that can seem to be a “same-ole” but if you spend time in those books that aren’t always referred to you might find that God has been waiting for you to get to there so He could speak to your heart and be the REAL cup of Valhalla Java that you’re looking for. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two grown children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.
The Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 8-10| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here
Daily Quote: “Too many Christians are living their lives without a sense of purpose. They’re settling for an existence totally defined by the limits of their houses and jobs and cars and churches. But when we as followers of Christ settle for that kind of life, we miss God’s reason for redeeming us and positioning us here on earth.” — Tony Evans
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. Psalm 42:5
