Action
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
As you memorize this one, don’t forget to review Psalm 119:11 as well.
Trust me, once they stick, they’re not going anywhere so long as you keep them fresh.
This is easy.
Or, at least, it doesn’t have to be hard.
You got this.
Reflection
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25
It’s easy to say we will do something tomorrow. Much harder to get busy doing it today.
The best way to tell whether a decision has been made is to look at what we start or don’t start doing immediately following the choice.
We are forced to admit, if we have even a smidge of honest self-reflection, that choices come easily. It’s the follow-through where we get hung up.
How many times have we sworn things off only to return to square one on the following morning? How many fox-hole prayers have we offered up with straight faces, knotted guts and perfect sincerity? We lack nothing in the way of resolve.
Yet we have a curious and often preposterous tendency to develop amnesia immediately upon feeling better. The darkness of the night before does not seem quite so severe in the light of a new day.
How much harder for the believer! What is our claim of salvation worth if we continue using and drinking in perpetuity? Forgiveness is full and free, sure. Grace is given not earned, yeah. But...
Won’t evidence of living by the Spirit be apparent? Won’t we be able to quickly assess the honesty of our walk with our creator? Keeping in step with the Spirit is no laughing matter and like sobriety, it will take a lifetime of practice. Let's not forget that true practice is striving to live in the moment, fleeing those things that bring us down.
Here too we find another attribute of the walk with Christ that we are only capable of because of the strength he provides us. And to execute that, we need the courage that he instills in us.
Courage not to walk forward fearlessly, but courage to trudge forward despite the fears and doubts that may only subside in the next life.
God, renew my resolve.
Resources
The First 90 Days (pdf) - a 90-day series not found in the book
Book List (amazon) - My favorite recover/faith reads.
12-Step Christianity (YouTube) - My thoughts on discipleship and sponsorship.
Keep Leaning Forward
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