Romans 13:11-14
But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
I still remember the day when I got a phone call from my Mam-ma Polly, and she and her best friend, Ruby, had been involved in a car wreck. It was probably 4:00 p.m., and I was dressed in some of the worst clothes I own…a ragged t-shirt and some very loose cropped knit pants. These were my “house cleaning/workout” clothes. I had on no makeup…I had not fixed my hair. It was “one of those days” at my house, where I had gotten busy with other things and never bothered to really “dress.” And now, my grandmother was calling me…stranded on the other side of town and in immediate need of rescue.
I did what I had to do…I grabbed my purse, hopped into the car and headed to the scene of the accident. I’ll shorten the story a bit by saying that Mam-ma refused treatment at the scene from the EMTs and assured everyone she was okay. Then she got in my car and said, “I can’t breathe…my chest is really hurting.” We ended up in the hospital Emergency Room for several hours, where x-rays were made, tests were run, and the diagnosis was a badly bruised sternum.
People came and went, and I shrunk into the corner, greatly embarrassed by how terrible I must have looked. I’m sure that there were some who thought I must be the real accident victim! And I should have learned my lesson from this day…but I have to admit that I have not. I love nothing more than a day where I can spend much of it – if not all – in my pajamas! It’s not that I am lazy…or that I am totally unproductive these days. But I have to say, I am more productive on the days that I dress and get up and get going! Just a few minutes of attention to getting dressed and “presentable” could mean a world of difference in how the entire day progresses.
So what’s the point? Some of us get so caught up in the particulars of our life that we don’t take even a little bit of time each morning to “dress” with God…to spend a quiet minute or two asking Him to help us with our day. We don’t “put on the full armor of God,” and we are often caught off guard in some manner later on. We put on the old rags of “dressing” in things that do not honor God…gossip, dissension, overindulgence, self-serving activities, and sins of all kinds. Instead of placing our focus on God and ways to serve Him with our whole hearts, we “lie around in our sweats” and leave room for the devil to take control!
So take a few minutes each day to seek God’s help in your preparation. Whether you are packing lunches and dressing for school or work…or just grabbing a second cup of coffee to sit and read the newspaper in your pjs…ask God to equip you for the day. Call on Him to meet your needs and those of your circle of friends and loved ones - and ask Him to show you how and where to serve.
Take inventory of the things that fill your life…your priorities, your friends and acquaintances, the activities that occupy your mind and your time. Where have you failed to get dressed and get going? Where do you need to make some adjustments? Time is passing so quickly, and we truly don’t have a minute to waste. Will this be the day that you begin to “get up and get dressed” with God? Don’t you think it should be?
©2016 Debbie Robus
But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
I still remember the day when I got a phone call from my Mam-ma Polly, and she and her best friend, Ruby, had been involved in a car wreck. It was probably 4:00 p.m., and I was dressed in some of the worst clothes I own…a ragged t-shirt and some very loose cropped knit pants. These were my “house cleaning/workout” clothes. I had on no makeup…I had not fixed my hair. It was “one of those days” at my house, where I had gotten busy with other things and never bothered to really “dress.” And now, my grandmother was calling me…stranded on the other side of town and in immediate need of rescue.
I did what I had to do…I grabbed my purse, hopped into the car and headed to the scene of the accident. I’ll shorten the story a bit by saying that Mam-ma refused treatment at the scene from the EMTs and assured everyone she was okay. Then she got in my car and said, “I can’t breathe…my chest is really hurting.” We ended up in the hospital Emergency Room for several hours, where x-rays were made, tests were run, and the diagnosis was a badly bruised sternum.
People came and went, and I shrunk into the corner, greatly embarrassed by how terrible I must have looked. I’m sure that there were some who thought I must be the real accident victim! And I should have learned my lesson from this day…but I have to admit that I have not. I love nothing more than a day where I can spend much of it – if not all – in my pajamas! It’s not that I am lazy…or that I am totally unproductive these days. But I have to say, I am more productive on the days that I dress and get up and get going! Just a few minutes of attention to getting dressed and “presentable” could mean a world of difference in how the entire day progresses.
So what’s the point? Some of us get so caught up in the particulars of our life that we don’t take even a little bit of time each morning to “dress” with God…to spend a quiet minute or two asking Him to help us with our day. We don’t “put on the full armor of God,” and we are often caught off guard in some manner later on. We put on the old rags of “dressing” in things that do not honor God…gossip, dissension, overindulgence, self-serving activities, and sins of all kinds. Instead of placing our focus on God and ways to serve Him with our whole hearts, we “lie around in our sweats” and leave room for the devil to take control!
So take a few minutes each day to seek God’s help in your preparation. Whether you are packing lunches and dressing for school or work…or just grabbing a second cup of coffee to sit and read the newspaper in your pjs…ask God to equip you for the day. Call on Him to meet your needs and those of your circle of friends and loved ones - and ask Him to show you how and where to serve.
Take inventory of the things that fill your life…your priorities, your friends and acquaintances, the activities that occupy your mind and your time. Where have you failed to get dressed and get going? Where do you need to make some adjustments? Time is passing so quickly, and we truly don’t have a minute to waste. Will this be the day that you begin to “get up and get dressed” with God? Don’t you think it should be?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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