January 7, 2007

Good morning, praise God at the dawning of a new day! Why does it seem that we need to be reminded, often, of who it is we belong to and how we are not limited by our own strength? The old sin nature wages war on the new nature granted to us by Christ. Throughout our lives we will have that negative reinforcement thrust upon us at the most inopportune times. When does that sin nature tell you that you are going to trip over your tongue and blow it? Right before you are to go on stage to make a presentation or speech of course. When does the sin nature tell you that you can’t do a task? Right before you begin working on it and certainly right before it is due. Procrastination is probably nothing more than the sin nature telling you not to start because you are sure to fail. In Christ nothing could be further from the truth! You may not succeed on the first try and you may have to practice for years to become proficient at your chosen task, but Jesus will strengthen you to complete the task and complete it well.
All of us have our work, our tasks, assigned by God to accomplish during our lifetime. The first task is usually finding out what the other tasks are! We may not know what our final task is until the end; God may not burden us with that knowledge. Can you imagine being saved at 22 years of age, just out of college and ready to take on life, and God sends an angel with a list of the tasks you must accomplish in this life. That list might overwhelm you or it might underwhelm you, to make up a word for today. You might stagger under the weight of the burden or be stopped short with a “Is this all?” on your lips. In either case, Jesus holds our list and lets us know through the Word of God that we are not to do our work alone. Jesus and you or I will do the work of God; none of us can accomplish anything on our own. Indeed, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Philippians 4:13

Bucky