Dancing...

I found myself captivated this morning by something else that the Apostle Paul told the church in Thessalonica.  At the beginning of chapter four he tells the congregation what a good job they are doing in living a full Christian life, but then he exhorts them to do even more!  He says: “Now then, brothers and sisters, because of the Lord Jesus we ask and encourage you to excel in living a God-pleasing life even more that you already do.” (I Thessalonians 4:1 God’s Word ©)

It is obvious that Paul was one who did not like to stay stationary in any one spot in life for very long.  As he was constantly on the move bringing the Good News to an ever increasing population of people in his known world, he also was not content to camp out at any certain level of Christian growth and revelation.  He was always on a quest for more of God, and he desired the same for those to whom he ministered to.  Adam Clarke had an interesting set of notes on Paul’s admonition.  In his Commentary on the Bible he states that “God sets no bounds to the communications of his grace and Spirit to them that are faithful.  And as there are no bounds to the graces, so there should be none to the exercise of those graces…”

God’s Word is a living substance that is able to infuse a constant flow of energy, growth and revelation to us who constantly seek Him.  I had the thought as I read this earlier that we should never allow ourselves to get too comfortable where we are in life, for God always has more and better things for us.  I was also reminded of a couple of times in my 20 years of employment with a major electronics firm when I probably should have made a move and failed to do so because I had gotten comfortable in my current position.  There had been a fairly steep learning curve for me when I originally stepped into management in two production areas where I had little background in.  After finally making the transition it was easy for me to get comfortable.

Even though I always sought to give 100% to my secular job, my heart was always first and foremost as part of the ministry team at our church.  During the times mentioned above things were going gangbusters at the church.  The Student Ministries were growing and I was at the height of creativity in writing plays, puppet skits, organizing youth retreats, building and training our leadership teams, and doing Chapel Services at some local Christian Schools as well as keeping up with my Assistant to the Pastor responsibilities.  Needless to say, I was content at keeping the status quo at my other job.

But that wasn’t really good enough.  Technologies and business plans are constantly changing in the fast paced electronics field and by not moving forward I found myself falling behind.  I must confess that while the Lord always had my back and I always had great favor, I could have made it a lot easier on myself if I had stayed one step ahead and made some moves on my own initiative before the company made changes.

The same could be said for our Christian walk.  In order to stay on top of what God is doing today and to be excited and fresh in His way of life, it would behoove us to continue to grow and seek to do more for Him than we did the day before!  Using modern vernacular, the Message Bible tells us to “Keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance!”  I believe that this is exactly the way that our Heavenly Father wants us to experience His way of living.  One cannot stand still and dance a spirited jig at the same time.  Something has to give, and that something is you and me!

I definitely don’t want to be left behind in the exciting things of God, and I am certain that most of you feel the same way!  Besides… I always did like to dance!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”