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15 So watch your step. Use your head. 16 Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! 17 Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. 18 Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. 19 Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. 20 Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-20 The Message Bible)
A tremendous Tuesday be yours, ConCafe Family! May this be your best day, Friend, in shining forth the light of Jesus to rid the world of the darkness that holds so many captive. Let us pray with the faith that we pray because God answers prayer!
"Use your head" was something that I heard countless times from my Dad. I now can say it was great advice, but back in the day I received it as happily as I did injections, bad-tasting medicine, and ill-fitting shoes. His was a call for me to have common sense. And for a teenager common sense is something that we come by usually by trail and error. For every no we received, our yes would usually lead us back to realizing that for our own good, the no was the best answer we could have secured. My Dad was a very wise man. When it came to making decisions about drinking and smoking, my father said I could drink or smoke, as I long as I did not do it in front of him. Yet, his life was a perfect example of one lived without those costly distractions. My father never smoked nor drank. He had seen first-hand what a life ruined by alcohol looked like, and sadly that was in the life of his father. I praise and thank God because years later, my Popo, as we called him, gave up drinking and became a fervant follower of Jesus. Even in his advanced age he mowed the church lawn and the lawn of the pastor's home at his own expense. He went to night school and learned how to read and write. He learned how to pray and pray he did!
Now to this passage. Paul knows that to live as a Christian is an awesome responsiblity. It is quite a thing to surrender to Christ and to assume his life as the model with which we can honor God. It reminds me of a difficult question asked of all who would be pastors for the Lord. The question is this; what does it mean to be set apart for God? It is asked because if one seeks ordination, one is asking to be set apart by God, by His Church to assume awesome responsiblities of officiating in baptisms, confirmations of new believers, marriage, the burial of the dead, the proclamation of God's word, and to live a life modeled after Jesus of love and compassion, of truly being Christ's ambassadors in the world. And it precisely this question that derailed a lot of people who felt the call from God to enter into ministry.
The times we live in are radically different from any other time in the history of the world. And, I don't even have to add that this Pandemic has been a huge negative factor as well. It has affected how people view the Church. Worship attendance is down, even online, and that means that the positive impact the Church once had is at one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in its history. And to read in modern language, the counsel of one so dedicated and in love with Jesus as he was, the Apostle Paul is right in saying, "Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!" It rightly means that you and I, have the opportunity to impact love and justice like never before in the lives of so many. What follows in the passage, if we read it prayerfully and wisely, speaks to how we can bless the Lord. "Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of Him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuses for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ."
I do not read condemnation in any of the above words; I see encouragement. It is a warning of what can distract and possbily destroy not only our relationship and walk with Jesus, but also the walks of others. It calls for our making wise choices, That means we develop a strong and regular prayer life. A decision made through prayer is one guided and blessed by God. It also helps us, as the Apostle directed, to "understand what the Master wants." We should be sober persons when it comes to serving the Lord. Any deviation or distraction that is brought on by "wine" or other types of alcohol are not usually helpful in our daily lives. If we could truly drink "huge draughts of Him" what a "lift" that would bring us in a positive and productive way. And our choices of music should include songs of worship and praise; "songs from your heart to Christ," for our praise time does not end at 12 noon on Sunday; it continues on Sunday night, Monday through Sunday. We glorify God by living the best life that we can, living a life dedicated to Jesus and set apart by God, to serve Him, and Him only.
PRAYER: Loving God, guide and bless us in our daily lives. Make us truly dedicated and consecrated by You, to serve You and draw to You those who have strayed or have yet to be drawn near to You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! See how to set your life apart for Jesus' sake.
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
