Morning Musings-Alert and Self-Controlled

   Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...




Talking about that Morning Musings-Rapturous Hope from a previous blog entry, I've got this to say, "We just don't know when that will be.  We don't know when Jesus will come on the clouds to call us up to be with Him forever.  However, this is no excuse to live any old way we please.  We need to be "alert and self-controlled" so says Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:6-11.  Let Jesus find us still living to please Him and not off engaging in worldly pleasures.  

Yes, but how?  We "belong to the children of the day" so when we are self-controlled, which I might add is one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit who indwells each believer in Jesus Christ; when we put on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet, we protect our heart and head.  

The helmet signifies the protection of our minds and thoughts.  The hope of salvation telling us we are children of God.  We are of great value to God who loves us and cares about us.  This helmet can ward off all those negative thoughts about ourselves being  no-good or of thinking we can lose our salvation because we've just done something so terrible God won't forgive us.  No, we are His for life and He will not reject His children.   Satan tries to mess with our minds telling us lots of those negative things but when we arm ourselves with God's Word using our mind and let it become part of us as we obey it, that Word will travel to our hearts and so be a further protection for us to live life.  This is being alert to Satan's wiles.

Those of us who are God's children have been appointed to receive salvation and NOT to suffer God's wrath.  The knowledge of this will also dissolve what anxiousness we may have about it and so be part of that armor of protection on our minds and hearts.  We are living in self-control, guarding our thoughts and guiding and molding them to His.

This is something we can rely on and rejoice in.  Whether we are awake or asleep (dead in Christ), we'll live together with Him in a coming day.  We can encourage and build one another up with these thoughts.  Even though the Thessalonians were already making a practice of all this, Paul still reminds them to continue to do so.  As we live in this "alert and self-controlled"  manner we will continue that sanctified living and show that we are ever more and more living as "children of the light and day".  May God bless you ever more and more, my sons, with His love, grace, mercy and truth as you live for Him.  He's coming for us soon...perhaps today!

                                                              ~ERC  2016~