Faith and Believing with Wayne Elston
Roll Up Your Sleeves with Wayne Elston
Gird Your Loins
Gird Up Your Loins
Luke 12:35, 36 – Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
In the Bible when we see a phrase like “let your waist be girded” or, as the King James reads, “let your loins be gird about,” it is a reference to readiness. Movement would have been impeded by those long robes, so a person readying himself for work or travel needed to “gird up his loins.” That meant he would take the bottom seam of his robe, pull it up between his legs and tuck it in his belt. Then he would be ready for action.
Is readiness a viable issue for modern day believers? The Bible seems to indicate that it is! We don’t have the same long robes to deal with, but we do have responsibilities to fulfill. I’m not referring to religious works or works of the flesh. Thank God we are saved by grace through faith! [Ephesians 2:8] Yet we are saved to serve. Spiritual laziness is frowned upon. Hebrews 6:11, 12 tells us not to be sluggish. James 1:22 encourages us to be doers, not merely hearers. Our “Great Commission” is repeated in different words by Matthew, Mark and Luke. We have a responsibility to be about the business of making disciples. Not much will be accomplished if we’re not READY!
Allow me to share what I consider to be some keys to girding our loins today.
#1 – Accept the responsibility.
We’re all in the same boat here. My calling may differ from yours, but we’re all called. There is something for everyone to do. God doesn’t need “bench warmers.” There are no true barriers to participation. No age discrimination. Galatians 3 indicates neither male nor female, no ethnic boundaries, or even any economic roadblocks. I’ve discovered that even when facing physical challenges, God can use me. This is good news!
#2 – Know that you’re qualified.
Repeat after me: “Jesus is my qualification!” You see, you may have tried before and failed miserably. You may have been told that you can’t do it. You may feel like you’ll just mess things up. Maybe you were a poor student or just never finished anything you started before now. Check out scripture: God used those whose resumes contained failures and low recommendations. He even used a donkey! He can use you.
#3 – Believe that you’re gifted.
I Peter 4:10 tells us that we ALL have been given gifts with which to minister. These are grace gifts, meaning we did nothing to earn them. Outside of Jesus we don’t deserve them. But He gave ‘em to us anyway. The purpose of these gifts is clear: not to bless the operator of the gift, but to bless those needing the benefits of the gift. Check out the Amplified version of I Peter 4:9, 10.
Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him). 10 As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God’s many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor].
Maybe a better modern day rendering of “gird your loins” would be “roll up your sleeves.” Let’s do it! As a congregation, let’s roll up our sleeves and get busy with the work of the Kingdom. As the slogan goes, “Just do it!”
Three Scriptures on Prayer with Dianne Elston
Great Gain with Wayne Elston
Breaking the Cycle
Book for Thursday night Discussion Group beginning Sept. 3, 2015.
Redeeming the Time
Redeeming the Time
Ephesians 5:15, 16 – See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
One of the great things about the bible is that it is just as relevant today as it was when it was first written. The original authors could not have known what 2015 would be like, but the Holy Spirit could. It is without doubt a supernatural book. It has been admired just for its beauty and symmetry, but its value goes way beyond that. We’ve all read other books that we would consider to be well written, but this is the only book that is truly life changing.
Here in Ephesians Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is coaching these early Christians about their daily lives. If it was important to “walk circumspectly” in their day, how much more today? The events occurring around us require it. What does it mean to walk circumspectly, you ask? Well, it has everything to do with how we conduct ourselves every day. Paul’s advice is “circumspectly,” meaning accurately and diligently.
Allow me to illustrate. In the movie The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones faced some dangerous challenges. One required that he play “hopscotch,” through an ancient hallway that had Latin letters etched into individual stones. Indy’s task was to jump from stone to stone, spelling out JEHOVAH in Latin. Every time he was inaccurate, the floor began to fall out under him. After a few narrow escapes, our hero made it through, but the challenge certainly required him to act circumspectly – accurately and diligently.
How does that translate to our everyday life in 2015? Know this: we must be accurate and diligent as to “where we place our feet.” The floor may not fall out beneath our feet, but inaccuracy and sluggishness can be costly. It won’t be God’s judgment. Going through life haphazardly has always been costly. Sin, after all, is “missing the mark.” If we’re honest with ourselves, each of us would have to admit that living loosely has cost us in our pasts. We are too far along now to coast.
Paul’s next admonition is “redeeming the time.” This three word phrase is packed with meaning. “Time” is that important Greek word KAIROS, meaning opportunity or season. The thought of ‘season’ sticks out to me. Remember our Summer Challenge? One of the reasons for this seasonal focus was to ward off a summer slump. No floating with the current of this world; time to paddle upstream!
Put that thought together with “redeeming” and we have an admonition to last till Jesus returns. I especially like the way Vine’s Greek/English Dictionary expresses it: “buying up the opportunity” i.e., making the most of every opportunity, turning each to the best advantage since none can be recalled if missed.
There is no value in commiserating over missed opportunities in our pasts. It’s what we do today that counts. If August 2015 is to be a remarkable season in your life, it will have to begin TODAY.
In my life I’m so glad I took opportunities that were presented to me. Our church offered a born again experience and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I took ’em up on it. My pastor challenged me to try Bible School after high school. I gave it a shot. God spoke to Dianne and me about Rhema, and off we went to Oklahoma. Rhema provided an opportunity to go start a church in upstate New York, and we bought in. Yes, like you I’ve missed a few along the way. But to quote another of the apostle’s axioms, let’s forget the past and press on to the prize.