DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT MONDAY – A HEART STARTER #70.

Well folks, the weekends over, and it’s back to work for those who live in the Southern Hemisphere, for those who don’t, please continue to enjoy your weekend, but remember, Mondays coming! And as we know by experience, Mondays can be very sluggish, especially after a lovely weekend, where we managed to spend some quality time with our families and friends, and suddenly it’s back to the grind.

I thought by way of encouragement, that we could have a ‘Heart Starter’ from the word of God, rather than the six cups of coffee, or whatever it takes, to get started for the rest of the week!

Our ‘Heart Starter’ today is, The Call of Christ Part 2, by A.W. Tozer…

The activities in which men engage may be divided into two categories: the morally bad and the morally neutral. The activities of the burglar, the gambler, the dictator, the procurer, the dope addict, the gangster and all who prey upon society are bad; nothing can make them better. The call of Christ is away from all such. This is not to be questioned or debated, but accepted without delay and acted upon at once.

But the majority of our human activities are not evil in themselves; they are neutral. The laborer, the statesman, the housewife, the doctor, the teacher, the engineer-such as these engage in activities that are neither good nor bad. Their moral qualities are imparted by the one who engages in them. So the call of Christ is not away from such things, for they may be sanctified by the prayer and faith of the individual, and thus turned into a positive good.

One thing is certain: the call of Christ is always a promotion. Were Christ to call a king from his throne to preach the gospel to some tribe of aborigines, that king would be elevated above anything he had known before. Any movement toward Christ is ascent, and any direction away from Him is down.

Yet though we recognize the honor bestowed upon us, there is no place for pride, for the follower of Christ must shoulder his cross and a cross is an object of shame and a symbol of rejection.

Before God and the angels it is a great honor to follow Christ, but before men it is not so. The Christ the world pretends now to honor was once rejected and crucified by that same world. The great saint is honored only after he is dead. Rarely is he known as a saint while he lives. The plaudits of the world come too late, when he can no longer hear them; and perhaps it is better that way. Not many are selfless enough to endure honor without injury to their souls.In those early Galilean days Christ's followers heard His call, forsook the old life, attached themselves to Him, began to obey His teachings and joined themselves to His band of disciples. This total commitment was their confirmation of faith. Nothing less would do.

And it is not different today. He calls us to leave the old life and to begin the new. There must never be any vacuum, never any place of neutrality where the world cannot identify us. Peter warming himself at the world's fire and trying to seem unconcerned is an example of the kind of halfway discipleship too many are satisfied with. The martyr leaping up in the arena, demanding to be thrown to the lions along with his suffering brethren, is an example of the only kind of dedication that God approves.

Wow! Now that our hearts are beating regularly, let’s consider what we have just read over a cup of Java, and ask the Lord to help us by the power of the Holy Spirit, to realise the call of Christ in our lives.

Loving Father, I thank you for the beautiful weekend that I have just had. Help me by the power of the Holy Spirit to start off this week, by taking on board, some of the advice and inspirations that I have just read. In the wonderful and mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged!
GBYAY

DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT – THURSDAY THOUGHTS #41…Christlikeness - A Defence System Of A Nation.

Christlikeness is a tremendous factor in the life of the Lord’s people. Christlikeness, which is both spirituality and faith, is a tremendously important factor for both the Church as a whole and we as individuals to aspire to. Christlikeness lifts us above the affairs and concerns of this world. Oh, that the Church had maintained that position all the way through! What terrible tragedies have resulted from the Church allowing itself to become entangled in the ways of the world.

I will give an illustration of the tragedy that can befall the Church when it becomes entangled with the spirit of the world. I found this written by Sir George Adam Smith, speaking of the Moslem invasion of Syria, he writes:"Christianity in Syria fell before Islam because it was corrupt, and it deserved to fall. In an attempt by purely human means to regain her birthplace, the Church was beaten back by Islam because she was selfish and worldly.

It was not a true Christianity that was overthrown, though the true Church bears to this day the reproach, and the burden of the results.

The irony of this situation was that it was on the very land where Jesus once walked that the Church was punished for idolatry and materialism. It was in sight of the scenes where He taught and healed, and went about doing good with his band of pure devoted disciples, that the envious, treacherous, truculent hosts of the Cross were put to sword and fire.

They who in His name sought a kingdom of this world by worldly means could not hope to succeed on the very fields where Jesus himself had trod. The victory of Islam over Christendom then was no more a problem to God than the victory of Babylon over Israel.”

That is a tremendous statement. What history there is in a statement like that! Perhaps the greatest problem facing Christianity today, is Islam. I do not think the Church has any greater challenge today than the advance of Islam. Why? Well, Sir George Adam Smith puts his finger right on the cause when he said the power of Islam is commensurate to the corruption of the Church at any given point in history; divided, selfish and worldly. Islam has gained mastery whenever the Church has been in that state.

How, then, can Islam be held in check? How can its advance be reversed? Surely by a Christlike Church, which has been wholly separated from this world in all means and methods, and united in one spirit as a great spiritual force, under the government of the Holy Spirit. That, and that alone, will overthrow the forces which have gained their position by reason of the lack of spirituality, and the ungodliness in the Church.

If the principle applies to the Church as a whole, it must also apply to us individually. Victory over the enemy on any grounds demands spiritual detachment from the things of this world, a close walk with God, and a heavenly life, a life committed to Christ and aligned to His character. May the Lord lay upon our hearts the tremendous importance of this heavenly fellowship with Him each and every day, for the sake of the spiritual power that it generates to allow us to survive in this hostile world. - By T Austin-Sparks.

Loving Heavenly Father, I thank you for my life in Jesus Christ; Help me by the power of the Holy Spirit, to demonstrate His in my every day life. For your glory Lord, and for the extension of your Kingdom, in Jesus wonderful and mighty name I pray, amen!

Be encouraged!

GBYAY