SLEEPWALKING
Be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
Have you ever gone sleepwalking? It's kind of scary, really — especially the next day when someone tells you what you did.
There are people in the church today who have gone to sleep. They aren't watching the signs of the times. There is a lethargy, a passiveness — even a laziness — in some Christians. There is an apparent disconnect between their so-called spiritual lives and real lives. Instead of walking in the Spirit, some believers are sleepwalking.
We need to wake up. The Bible says, "So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded" (1 Thessalonians 5:6, NLT).
In other words, we need to wake up to the urgency of the time. We need to wake up to the imminence of the Lord's return.
We also need to sober up. First Thessalonians 5 goes on to say, "Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation" (verses 7-8, NLT).
I think we can interpret this both literally and figuratively. An obvious interpretation is, don't get drunk. Don't be under the influence of anyone or anything except Jesus Christ. But figuratively speaking, we can be intoxicated with other things. Jesus said, "Watch out! Don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don't let that day catch you unaware" (Luke 21:34, NLT). What you will eat or wear or where you will live are normal human concerns as you provide for yourself and your family. But let's not allow these things to become our preoccupation.
Let's not allow ourselves to become intoxicated with things that aren't the main thing.
There are people in the church today who have gone to sleep. They aren't watching the signs of the times. There is a lethargy, a passiveness — even a laziness — in some Christians. There is an apparent disconnect between their so-called spiritual lives and real lives. Instead of walking in the Spirit, some believers are sleepwalking.
We need to wake up. The Bible says, "So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded" (1 Thessalonians 5:6, NLT).
In other words, we need to wake up to the urgency of the time. We need to wake up to the imminence of the Lord's return.
We also need to sober up. First Thessalonians 5 goes on to say, "Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation" (verses 7-8, NLT).
I think we can interpret this both literally and figuratively. An obvious interpretation is, don't get drunk. Don't be under the influence of anyone or anything except Jesus Christ. But figuratively speaking, we can be intoxicated with other things. Jesus said, "Watch out! Don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don't let that day catch you unaware" (Luke 21:34, NLT). What you will eat or wear or where you will live are normal human concerns as you provide for yourself and your family. But let's not allow these things to become our preoccupation.
Let's not allow ourselves to become intoxicated with things that aren't the main thing.
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