Back in February, I wrote about striving versus abiding, and I cannot honestly say that I have done much abiding since then. Striving has gotten rather old, and exhausting, for that matter. I can't imagine that I am the only person who finds himself in such a place. So, rather than wallowing in self pity over how much time I've wasted, I will simply pick up where I left and try not to drop the ball down a cavernous hole again.
There is something so amazing about knowing a God who isn't impacted by time. That's not to say that we don't lose opportunities by wasting it, but we still have hope because God can redeem the time that we have lost or wasted.
The world constantly presents us with the opportunity to get entangled in dead works, which could be defined as any pursuit that does not accomplish the purposes of God and His Kingdom. There are lots of examples of dead works in the Bible, and our culture seems to invent new ones all the time. Although, in reality, we know that there is nothing new under the sun. It's just a new spin on an old rut.
God has specific purposes for each of us; so, what is God's purpose for one, could be a dead work for another. Just because it looks good doesn't mean it's God. We don't all have the same gifts and callings for a reason. To be absolutely clear, I am not saying that anything short of full-time ministry is a dead work, especially since it is quite possible to be in such a place and doing dead works.
As a more concrete example, consider that striving out of fear to get ahead in your job so that you can just barely pay the mounting bills is a dead work. Providing for your family and working in peace as unto the Lord is not. The difference is submission to and trust in the Lord.
According to Hebrews 6:1-3, repentance from dead works is an elementary principle:
"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits." NKJV
Yet, it seems I often have a hard time really walking out what should be basic for every believer. Now, I recognize too that it is a progression, not a discrete moment in time, wherein we suddenly have a grasp of all of the basic principles. To repent from dead works, we have to understand what it means to repent.
In Matthew 3:1-2, we read:
"In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!'" NKJV
The word repent here comes from the Greek word metanoeo, which means to think differently or reconsider; in other words, change your mind. To truly think differently in the sense of this word, we are not talking about a new way to rationalize old behavior. We are talking about a 180, a total turnaround, going in the opposite direction.
It's often not easy to change our minds, but thanks be to God, we have victory through Him and by the blood of His Son. Thank God for His unfailing love! He is always waiting for us to return to Him for sustenance, offering Himself as the Living Bread that brings abundant life.
I don't want to waste anymore time fearing what I may fail at doing in my own strength because the fact is that our own strength will always fail us eventually. I certainly cannot say that there have not been times recently where I have known that the Lord has carried me through some things or given me the wisdom I needed. But, I know there is such a greater level of trust in Him where His peace is never overshadowed by fear or doubt.
"I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward." Phil 3:13-14, AMP
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