Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
As a young lad I loved music and began playing the piano and organ at an early age. Later I switched to the clarinet and then the saxophone, which I played in the high school band. I played second part. Another young lady also loved music and played first part clarinet. We fell in love.
That was sixty-one years ago and we have been making harmony together ever since, though she has never forgotten to occasionally remind me that she played first part and I played second. I have to remind her of Leonard Burstein’s famous quote “The hardest part to play in the orchestra is second violin, because without second part, there is no harmony.”
There were two things we learned in the band:
1. Make sure your instrument is in tune.
2. Stay in sync with the conductor.
Those are spiritual lessons as well. The goal is to always be tuned in to God and paying attention; listening so that if he has something specific for us to say or do, we can hear it and act appropriately. We want to know what God is up to in the situation and be able to respond accordingly so he can do his will through us.
You can bring your spiritual life into alignment by asking God to inspect your heart. Cry out to Him. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. He is sure to answer, as He’s always been right there beside you, watching and waiting even if you can’t see or feel Him near.
The moment we receive Christ, we step into a lifetime journey—a journey where we continually grow in right behavior. Little by little, day after day, our behavior improves. But it is vitally important that before you try to change your behavior, you know who you are in Christ. You must know that God loves you first.
Not only does He approve of you, He delights in you (see Psalm 18:19)! You need to get that so deeply rooted within your heart that nothing can ever take it from you.
When you’re rooted in God’s love, He’s going to help you stand up in faith and start walking. But you can’t go ahead of Him just like you can’t get ahead of the orchestra conductor, trying to do good works on your own. You have to know the Word. And it’s not easy to get the Word in you.
Is your life in sync and in tune with God?
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Some time ago in a door-to-door survey, a suburban Chicago church asked people in their community, “If you don’t go to church, why?
The five biggest reasons: 1) Boring, 2) Irrelevant, 3) Asking for money all the time, 4) I’m too busy already, 5) I feel awkward at church.
These ambivalent, indifferent, and apathetic, and accusatory attitudes are not just confined to non-attendees. Unfortunately, some who attend regularly and are identified as “members of the church” are less than enthusiastic about worship. At least, you could draw that conclusion by observing their body language, lack of involvement, and critical comments.
Psalm 122:1 expresses the feeling we each ought to possess whenever we attend worship. “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” The Preacherman
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Bill Maher is a social commentator, comedian, actor, and TV Host, who’s highly critical of religion. Several years ago he wrote and starred in a documentary entitled “Religulous”, a combination of the words “religious” and “ridiculous.”
Maher once described Christians as having a neurological disorder that keeps them from thinking. “Religion to me is a bureaucracy between man and God that I don’t need, Maher boldly claimed. “But I’m not an atheist, no. I believe there’s some force. If you want to call it God… I don’t believe God is a single parent who writes books.”
Bill Maher represents the thinking of an unbelieving world hostile to Christians, critical of Christianity and who speaks disparagingly of the Bible.
There’s probably not a whole lot we can say to convince those of Maher’s ilk otherwise. However, we can encourage one another to remain faithful, stand firm in the faith, and continue to shine as lights in a crooked and corrupt world. The Preacherman
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
Everyone’s weird. Some just hide it better. Anonymous
God’s silence doesn’t always mean “no.”
Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?”
BRIAN TRACY
Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are with the gift of your attention. JIM ROHN
The fraying of America’s fabric is fast becoming a national obsession. Adrian Rogers
Build a dream and the dream will build you. ROBERT H. SCHULLER
God will never call you to do anything that He will not enable you to do. Dan Shock
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become reality. EARL NIGHTINGALE
Thank God we can’t escape His presence. Dan Shock
When you die you will spend eternity in heaven or hell and eternity is a long time. Ken Whitten