Making Provision

Isn’t interesting how the Lord can take two seemingly unrelated portions of scriptures written at different times, by different authors and to different audiences, but yet bring a deeper meaning to an important point that He is trying to convey to you?  That is exactly what happened to me this morning.  After taking a side trip away from my current study in the book of Romans yesterday where I took a look at Matthew eleven, I returned to where I had left off in Paul’s letter to the Christians in the city of Rome.

As I began to read the concluding verses in chapter thirteen, I was immediately drawn back into the reality of our need to spend each day with Jesus, living our lives in the power of His Word.  Romans 13:12-14 in the NKJV encourages us by stating:

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand.  Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

I recently picked up an interesting and pointed translation of Paul’s epistles entitled “The Letters of St Paul to Seven Churches and Three Friends with the Letter to the Hebrews” written originally in 1901 and revised in 1906 by Arthur S. Way.  He likens our hooking up with Jesus to the clothes that we wear saying, “Nay, but clothe you with the nature of our Lord, of Jesus the Messiah.  Ah, let not the body, and the pampering of its cravings, be your life’s aim.” (verse 14)  That’s how close we should be to Him in the events of our everyday lives.  Most of us spend time figuring out what we are going to wear each day.  Then we’ll normally take a peek in a mirror throughout the day to assure that we still look appropriate.  That is the way it should be when we clothe ourselves with Jesus, making provision for Him at the beginning of the day with regular checkups (or “check-ins” with Him) throughout the day!

The Message Bible’s take on these verses got me to laughing this morning.  It brings the thought home by saying, “Get out of bed and get dressed!  Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the last minute.  Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!” (Romans 13:13-14)  That analogy brought back memories of when I was first dating my wife in High School.  It quickly became apparent that I could not call her on Saturday mornings before 11:00 AM as her family slept in on that day.  Then if I should happen to go over to visit her later in the day (which was a common event…), her mother and many times the rest of her family were still clothed in their pajamas or bathrobes.

That was very unusual for me because my family was always up early on Saturdays, had breakfast together and had completed the majority of our weekend chores by then!  I do not remember if we really discussed it very much, but it always blessed me that my wife did not continue that tradition, but always dressed and was ready for the day first thing in the morning after we got married.  I guess we just like to be ready to face the day as soon as we can!

So, are you ready for the day today?  Are you dressed with Christ and up and about with Him?   The NKJV tells us to “make no provision for the flesh.”  The word “provision” made me think of Joshua 1:11 were Joshua told his officers to “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”  The difference between the two verses though, is that Paul is telling his readers to not make provision for failure while Joshua is telling his people to make provision for success!

Paul said to walk properly and not in ways that are detrimental to you.  Joshua reminded the Israelites of God’s Word that He had given Moses for them.  He was telling them to clothe themselves in God’ promises.  It was the provision that they needed for the new day that was ahead of them.  And it is the same provision that we need to make for the new days ahead of us!

This weekend might just be the perfect time to make some provisions for the new week ahead.  Take the time to go through your wardrobe to make sure that you will be clothed in Christ for the days and weeks ahead in 2013 and beyond!  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”