HEBREWS 2:1 – Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

THEME OF THE DAY:  CLOSE THE GAP. When is the last time we set aside time to ponder what it means to be a Christian?  When is the last time we meditated on what God has done to us through the Gospel that led us to a burst of praise for this truth about us – And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:1-9)?

Now if it takes us a little bit of time to remember the last time we practiced this discipline of meditation, then it has been too long.  We need to “close the gap” between those times for two reasons.

First, without consistently revisiting what God has done to us and in us through the Gospel we will drift into spiritual complacency.  “Spiritual amnesia” is a disease every Christian may acquire.  No one is immune.  And if it settles in, we lose the wonder of what it means to be a Christian. Gone is joy.  Gone is the abundant life.  Gone is the excitement of walking with Jesus.  Gone is a life driven by passion for the lost and the building up of God’s people.  We become Christians in name only and all we present to the world is a life of external religiosity that “ruins a perfectly good weekend” by having to attend a church service of two on Sunday.  The Apostle Paul never lost sight of the mercy of God given to him.  He wrote to a young pastor named Timothy these words of personal reminder – I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:12-14).  Friends, constantly ask God to keep the truth of being a child of His fresh in our hearts and minds.  It will prevent the apathy from spiritual amnesia.

A second reason for closing the gap between the times we meditate on the glorious Gospel and its power in our lives is it prevents neglect in the spiritual life.  Forget what God has done and we will start neglecting our Bibles, prayer, faithful church attendance, and the result will be spiritual inconsistency which leads to an inconsistent testimony in our homes, churches, and community.

So, when is the last time we pondered the privilege of being a child of God?  Let’s strive to immediately answer that question, “Oh, I closed the gap in that area of my life. I regularly do so to keep the Gospel alive and fresh in my life.”

PRAYER: “Father, may I never take for granted the privilege I have to call You Father because of Your Son.”

QUOTE: “Daily fight the battle of apathy of heart and spiritual complacency. Pray to stay in awe of being a Christian.”

Because of Him,

Pastor Jim