Wake up time

Wake Up

Back to the blog

    I've spent many months without so much as a glance at my own blog, much less making a post. Any who read the few posts I have made in the past may wonder, "What's the holdup here? Is this guy a blogger or what?" Truth is I have a poor habit of picking things up that I have a hard time sticking with. Case in point: you ever get into a good book, maybe a classic or a series, and after several chapters (or the first book in a series) you put the book on a shelf to collect dust? Any gamers out there probably know the feeling of excitement and anticipation in making a new purchase (I've been a big open-world RPG type of guy myself) and after hours of trying and failing to beat this game you move on to something else. (Some specific examples: I've read half of War and Peace, half of Les Miserables, played most of Dark Souls 2, and, of course, posted like two posts in my blogging history).

Is there a point?

     What's the point I'm making here? Well I picked up a new album recently that touches on the struggle I've been going through and maybe you can relate. Recently married, working two jobs, sitting home most morning waiting for my shift to begin- that's my routine. I play games, read a little, watch ridiculous amounts of TV or Youtube. The fact is I've begun to notice that I'm missing out on life- my perspective has been completely twisted by a constant focus on media and entertainment. As NF point out here in his song, you can be at the top of the financial ladder living in luxury or just getting by each month and miss out on true satisfaction- on real life. For me, God has been opening my eyes to my media addiction and how I've been losing grip on reality, especially the grand reality of the gospel. There are others, maybe some reading this, that so value their position in work or status in school or maybe you make your identity dependent on possessions.

Coming out of the coma

You're not alone. I lived there before Christ, and even now I battle to find joy in Christ rather than in things. Circumstances, good or bad, have a tendency to divert our focus. NF phrases this type of "head in the sand" lifestyle as living in a coma, never waking up. Paul point out this type of mindset to the Romans over a thousand years ago (no TV's, no corporate ladder like we see today, no Mercedes to gain, no house on the lake to build). How could those people without the modern advances and possessions we have today struggle with a lack of focus? It's not like they were playing Mario (it's old but not that old) till two in the morning. How could they not focus when there were no huge mansions to boast about or cars to show off? The reason is because the problem we have is not our stuff- it's our hearts. The way we respond to this will look different because we are all in different situations; however, what will be the same is a radical step in ordering our schedules around Christ, which in turn will bring us to make time for others. The real call I am making here is for others like myself to wake up and look around you- who are you living for? Answer that question not based on what you should be living for or who you should be focusing on- answer it based on the facts, based on who you are right now. We are called to make war on sin- time is short, eternity is long. Let's make note of our priorities and live out what we are confessing. Look at this text of Scripture and listen to NF sometime today- I pray that this Scripture will penetrate your heart and mind and cause you to awaken to the Christ-centered life.

"11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (Romans 13:11-14 [copied from biblehub.com])