Wake Up!!!

Today's Passage: Proverbs 6:9-11

Memory Verse: Luke 22:46

Friday April 9, 2010

Blessings Friends & Lifers!!! There's nothing like a good, restful night's sleep. Proper rest is also required for adequate health and energy for daily functioning. But in everything we do there should be moderation right?

First of all, allow me to encourage you to get adequate rest for your mind and body. Go ahead, God won't get mad at you. Genesis 2:2 says "and on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He RESTED on the seventh day from all His work". But here's where we get messed up. God rested...but He didn't sleep. What's the difference? Rest is defined as the refreshing ease of quiet inactivity; or relief from worry, stress, or trouble; tranquility. Sleep is defined as being dormant, or the cessetion of consciousness. It's the state of being careless and unalert. See what I mean? We can allow ourselves to rest, but we can't allow ourselves to sleep. When Christians sleep, moral value gets diluted into the excuse of being politically correct. When Christians sleep, our carelessness numbs us to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. So we feel it's okay to compromise in certain areas of our lives. The enemy has even lulled us into a sleep called "religion". My friends, we must wake up and understand religion is a practice not a belief. But we sleepwalk into our sanctuaries every week desiring the same old practices, songs, and quotes; not realizing it's the enemy's ploy to keep us unconscious to the newness of Christ.

In closing, I challenge you today to wake up. Awaken to a new and fresh approach to your prayer, praise, and worship. Come alive with vigor, energy, freedom, and authority. Always remember energy and vitality are the result of rest, sin is the result of sleep. So put away the cookie-cut, religious patterns of your life and dare to be new. In other words....WAKE-UP!!!!

Prayer:
Father I thank You for making me new. I commit my mind to fresh thoughts of You and Your kingdom. Forgive me for my religious practices that made my walk more about me, and less about you. I awaken to Your glorious presence in a whole new way. In Jesus' name...Amen