…in Him…..
“For in him you have been enriched in every way–in all your speaking and in all your knowledge– because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” 1 Corinthians 1:5-9
I started reading in 1 Corinthians this morning and didn’t get very far. I really had to sit on these verses for awhile. I’ve been meditating over them all day. I know that Paul was writing to a church who had a lot of issues and questions going on and this book is about answering those questions and encouraging those believers. …..but I felt like the words really were written just for me… for this day.
In Him:
1. …….I am enriched in every way. In Christ, my speech is enriched… my knowledge is enriched. I always underestimate the fact that though I think very little of my thoughts and my “brain power” (I mean… I’m no emergency Dr like my husband… I’m no career woman…. I’m just a stay at home mom… trying to get through the ins and outs of my day. Some of my most difficult decisions are how I’m going to feed, bathe, and get everybody to bed all by myself and at a reasonable hour….) BUT in Him…. my words and my thoughts are able to minister to others and serve as a blessing. This is amazing to me.
2. ……I lack no spiritual gift. Paul was assuring this particular church that God had provided them with members possessing all of the gifts needed to meet the needs of the church and sustain it. On a smaller scale…being my family…. I, too,—in Christ, that is– am not lacking any spiritual gift to sustain us. So often Satan tries to tell me… “oh.. I can’t do that”….”Oh, if only Chris were home more”… “I’m a terrible mom because I don’t possess that quality”……..When I am in Christ… I truly believe that I can minister to the needs of my family. I have the gifts needed to serve my husband. I hold the qualities that MY children need.
3. ……I am kept strong until the end. I feel so weak. I am constantly told by Satan that I don’t have what it takes. And on my own…I don’t. But in Him… I do… for “God…. is faithful.”
4. …….I will bear much fruit. (John 15:5). I want to produce fruit in my labor. I can do nothing apart from Him.
So, I am left with this thought. How do I remain in Him? Well, of course the answer is staying in and around His word. Instantly at the thought of anything revolving around the notion of “quiet time in the word of God” my childish heart begins a list of excuses why this is near impossible for me. “I’m so tired, Lord… I’m so busy….How am I supposed to get any quiet around here….blah, blah, blah”….(that HAS to be what it sounds like to Christ.) As I was thinking those horrible thoughts… a passage was literally dropped into my head. It was one random passage that I read a few days ago in Malachi…..I know, random… and when I read it I was sort of like… “ok…doesn’t really apply to me… but thanks for the info, God”. Anyway… today… THAT passage comes to my mind and I read it again for NOTHING is EVER random when God is concerned…..
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. …….But you ask, “How have we shown contempt for your name?” You have defiled food on my altar. But you ask, “How have we defiled you?” By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.” Malachi 1:6-8
And there you have it…. my conviction this morning. I was praying about what my greatest possession I could offer up to my Lord… and it is my time. Let’s face it people… in this busy… high traffic… fast moving society that we are living in… Time is a high commodity. The giving of one’s time is an ultimate sacrifice. These days it’s as if we are trying to devise the quickest ways to communicate with each other… texting… emailing….I mean if you get a phone call and someone actually starts the conversation with “Hey”… instead of “I only have a minute…but wanted you to know….”…. now there is great value in that. So I have been convicted of the time I “sacrifice” up to my Lord. So often…I mean almost all the time, if I’m going to be real…..I offer a crippled, tired, rushed attempt at time in the word and prayer. I stay up too late…I can’t seem to wake up before the children to spend time… if Chris is home in the evening I ALWAYS chose to hang out with him instead of praying… and if I’m home alone at night… I tend to spend my time watching tv… or emailing….it’s sad really. Last night I was so tired I went to bed at 9:30. (WAY, WAY early for me)…. but this morning I woke up at 6:30… bright eyed and excited to have a devotional. And the Lord truly blessed it. I’m not saying… ok.. all of you set your clocks and wake up…spend time with the Lord ……NOW! I’m just saying it’s something to think about. Could you offer better time for the Lord? Actually…are you offering him your best time? I mean.. some days… perhaps a tired, old crippled and diseased me (I have been so sick this past week)… IS my best…. but I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times it hasn’t been the case. I want to remain IN HIM. God promises me that he is faithful and that “He will keep me strong to the end.” We all want to be strong. Sometimes I think I tend to hide how things really are because I don’t want others to know how weak I really am and that on any particularly difficult day it is not abnormal for me just to have cried all day long…BUT I am learning (note the word learning–still in the process) that being weak in myself is being strong in Him. And it’s ok to be weak. Because only then can HE make me and keep me strong…”to the end.” I want to be strong in Him….strong in my walk with the Lord….strong in my knowledge of the word…. strong in my relationship with my Lord……but I must remain in Him….
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
