Its Time to Wake Up

Scripture:
"Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed." Romans 13:11

Observation:
Verses 11-14 really stand out to me this morning. It is something about the call to wake up that really resonates deep inside of me. Life is so rhythmic. Daily routines, continual struggles, weariness, and the ever increasing pace of life just seem to put me into a spiritual sleep. This call to wake up really has my attention today. So what are some areas which beckon my attention?

Application:
Your still young. You have plenty of time. I'll stop and get cleaned up soon. I'm still learning. I just don't know what I would say. I need to study some more. I have so many questions I need answered first.

I have nursed all these questions. The common thread in all of them is the empty promise that there is plenty of time to do the right thing. The call I sense today is that I need to live with a sense of urgency regarding doing the right thing. As I think back over the times I have fell victim to the lies listed above, I realize just how much I have lost in my life because I messed around and drug my feet on doing what I knew I needed to do.

Its my only vice. I'm not perfect. Can't help but looking. I want to be angry for a while. I deserve better. I'm desperate for something. I just want to live. Its not that bad. That should not have happened to me. I know I shouldn't, but…


Excuses. I hear them everyday. Living a moral life in the world we live in is crazy hard. The world offers so much. Anything I could possibly desire is only a few clicks away. The big three of the flesh, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, and strife and jealousy; have chased me for most of my life and continue to chase me now. God has brought me through much and the transformation I have experienced is incredible. But I also face the daily reality that I am only a couple choices away from being right back where I started. Flirting with sinful thoughts or tolerating things that should not be must stop.

Prayer:
Honor. That is the word that is stirring in my heart today. I want to be a man of honor. A man who honors his God. A man who honors his family. A man who honors justice. A man who honors integrity. A man who honors wisdom and truth.
When my time has passed and I leave this world, that is the legacy I want to leave behind.

I need Your help today in living according to the code of honor You have provided. Help me to abandon all reservations and live as a free man today. Help me to offer love to those who tempt me with strife. Help me find wisdom in the midst of chaos. Help me to extinguish sinful thoughts that linger in my flesh and mind. Help me move past personal hang ups that drag me down. Create inside of me a God sized sense of urgency regarding doing the right thing.

I want to clothe myself in Christ today and make no provision for my flesh. I want to live as one that is alive! Not one that is dead. Life is too stinking short to waste it. Help me today to grab my time and drink deep of it. The world is dying and I have wasted too much time contributing to its demise. Help me today be all that You desire me to be.