YES - OR - NO - OR MAYBE

I Was Just Thinking About: YES - or - N0 - or - MAYBE.

When one gets down to the basics of life, we all live out our lives within the parameters of "yes" or "no" or "maybe." The broader question pertains to the professing Christian. Under which umbrella of life is your life most often lived? Are you more positive, more negative, or more non-committal? Where should your life be lived? The words of Paul that were intended to give one hope and expectation is recorded in Second Corinthians 1:20-21 (NLT), "For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding 'Yes!' It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and He has identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything He has promised us." Is this where you are living? Is this your hope and expectation? If not, why not?

Another broader question to consider is whether or not your life is being lived in terms of how things used to be yesterday rather than the reality of where you are supposed to be today? If you live under the umbrella of 'maybe' then your life will be marked by apprehension, uncertainty and/or non-committal. When I regularly go to the Fusion Center and generally observe people, some of the faces seem to indicate uncertainty, apprehension, fear, weariness or aloneness. It is impossible not to overhear conversations and the words of Doctors making their rounds. Some people respond with a plea in their words of possible alternatives. Some of the Doctors I have overheard are candid, but whether or not the patient is accepting the diagnoses and recommendations as they are intended is questionable. I think most patients are conflicted between their inner apprehensions and fears (will I survive and live or am I on the pathway of impending shortness of life and death?).

I'd like us to bridge over to the spiritual realities of living one's life under the umbrella of "Yes" and "Today." When it comes to how you respond to Sunday and whether or not you should gather with God's people to worship Him, think in terms of Psalm 118:24, "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Personalized, you should read the verse: "This is the day the Lord has made for me, I will rejoice and I will be glad in it." Additionally, Psalm 122:1, "I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord." Personalized, it should be read: "The Lord has said to me: Go to a house of the Lord and worship Me." Will you regularly obey Him in this regard? What can possibly be more important than responding to the Lord and His Word? Your excuses? No! Your alternatives? No! Your non-committal? No! The Lord wants your obedience and responsiveness. Yes!

The words are convicting and piercing (words from the Lord to the person of wisdom) Proverbs 3:1-4 (NIV), "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you…write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man." Again, in Proverbs 23:26, "My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways."

When we consider "Yes" in terms of a day for worship, the Christian Church has embraced the Day of Resurrection (the first day of the week) as the appropriate day for worship. To that end, Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV) reminds us all, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day (second coming of Christ) drawing near." The word for you is to stir up yourself and others to gather to worship the Lord as you live life under the umbrella of "Yes" and "Today."

Prayerfully - consider these things with me.