Make Me A Conduit ...

Tonight's thought comes form a conversation with someone on Facebook today. Someone who I see as inspirational and enthusiastic in their efforts to promote the church and the Gospel. Truly a person who lives out this thought/concept/practice. 

It comes from a chorus:

Make me a channel of blessing today,

Make me a channel of blessing I pray;

My life possessing, my service blessing,

Make me a channel of blessing today.

Another term I often refer to is, conduit. That we might be a conduit of God's blessing so that the blessing we experience might be passed on (flow on) to others. This challenges the notion that often comes from people being desirous of the Lord blessing their lives. (full stop) 

In other words, there is no thought or notion that the purpose of their lives being blessed is that the blessing flows through them to others. For others to be blessed through them. It is like they are buckets or wells, wanting to capture the blessings of God, however they seal them up as though they are theirs for containment, only for their pleasure.

'Lord, my desire is that Your blessing (Your favour) might be upon me, and operate through me, to touch and impact and affect the lives of others with whom I might have contact. Especially Lord, those who are in some way broken, hurting, empty and searching. That their lives might encounter You in a way that is very real and life changing in a positive sense. Lord, empty me of all I have and am, that others might be won to the Kingdom.'

Be blessed as you become a conduit for the Lord!

Stick at it ...

What a lesson I am reminded of today. As the Lord yet again brings to the forefront of my attention the need to acknowledge the change that has taken place in my life, by turning away from stuff of the past that has entangled me, distracted me, weighed heavy upon me.

Join me in looking at these verses:

Romans 6:13 (The Message)

12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.

One of the goals I had in establishing this BLOG was that I would stick at it long enough that it might be formed into a new habit, a new pattern would form in my life. Something that I believe is healthy and of assistance to my growth. And that  has begun. Yet it is still a journey.  However, I am reminded that unless we continue in this way, attentive to the discipline, old habits will rise to the surface with a vengeance. It would be so easy to get caught in a television program and allow it to be a distraction. Or maybe to arrange lots of times out with other people. Some things can even appear innocent on the surface, but if they replace the discipline we are trying to form, they are not helpful at all.

 

I love this expression, "throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full time ..." It isn't always easy. It can be challenging. It can take some effort. It can cost us.

 

Are you willing to stick at it?

 

"Lord, again I realise just how easy it is for distractions to take me off course and away from the plan You have for me. The disciplines You desire are not easy to form, they can come at a cost, yes, beneficial in the end, but difficult along the way at times. Please assist me to stick at it and to lean on You in the times when the distractions are greatest."

But God ...

I think one of the really stand out things in the Christian journey is to see the total transforming of a person's life. Where there can be no doubt that they are very different to what they were pre Christ. Some of the old Salvation Army musicals used to capture this well. The person whose life was absorbed in the consumption of large quantities of alcohol, where it had such a grip on the persons life. How they may even be abusive or aggressive in their language, especially toward someone from the church. Then one day, with no apparent plan in mind, the person hears the Gospel (the Good News, the story of Jesus) and it strikes a chord in their life to something being out of place. And with this they make the move forward desirous to be different, to check out this Jesus character and see how He might impact their life. A complete turn-around on the way life was lived previously.

Paul in his letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 1: 12-13) talks something of this. In his description of the responsibility he now has, given to him by God, he recalls how that is not who he was. Rather he was one to blaspheme, insolent, a persecutor of God's people, and then the turning point, are you ready for it:

"But God ..."

Yes, we can note that it was an application of mercy, of generosity and application of grace. However, the point is to note the source of this, it was God who interceded. It is God who is active. It is God who instigates the change. "But God ..."

I wonder if we might let this sink in a moment. So that on the next occasion when we are ready to write someone off because their life seems so out of control, we remember who it is can bring about change. We recall who is able to instigate a shift. Who it is transforms lives. I can't. The person themselves is unlikely to be able to do so. "But God ..."

The new me ...

How about some of the pictorial language used in the Scriptures. Looking at Colossians tonight I encountered that putting off, putting on, clothe yourselves ... I am reminded of the difference that ought to be evident in my life now that I have encountered Christ, now that He has affected my life.

Where once the temptations and attractions of the world might have us caught up in all sorts of impure and negative behaviours, Christ turns this around for us, there are positive behaviours to be experienced. Have a look with me again:

Colossians 3:5-15 (The Message)

5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. 9-11Don't lie to one another.

Again, I latch on to the language of Eugene Peterson here, how well does he capture it in today's words. There is much that attracts us, grabs at our senses, emotions and fallen state. However, all is not lost, read on:

You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. 12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. 15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Yes, allow the character of Christ to change you. See how He makes these behaviours to fit you. To BE who He created you to BE.

 

"Jesus, fit me with my new wardrobe of behaviour and character that is right and good and beneficial for me and for those I interact with. Make me to be like You!"