Arise From The Dead

[Albert Finch]

Ephesians 5:14-18 - "Wake up from your sleep, and arise from the dead, And Christ shall shine upon you. Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the evils of these days. Don't be vague but grasp firmly what you know to be the will of the Lord."

As believers, we are instructed to live our daily lives with a sense of our unique divine destiny supported by goals and aims.

2 Corinthians 12:9 - And he said unto me, "my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

As we yield our wills and ways to the control of God's Holy Spirit, we begin to experience the walk of grace, as Jesus lives His life through us.. The fire of passion burns brightly with this deposit of grace.

Luke 3:2 - The word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

The word of God came to John the Baptist while he was alone in the wilderness, thus giving him clear direction for the days ahead. As a result of his being alone with the Lord, John came into a oneness with the Lord that could not have been accomplished in any other way.

John 1:23 - "John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, 'I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord'."

Each one of us should come to the place where we also could make this statement, "I am the voice of One." There is an urgent need for this voice to cry out in the midst of the frustrations and perils of our present day. We need to stand in the manifest presence of the Lord to be prepared as the "voice of one crying in the wilderness" of our day.

May it be stated of us, as it was of the disciples of old, that it is apparent we have been with Jesus. This, and only this, will make the changes that must occur if we are to reach this hurting world with the message of God's redemptive, transforming grace.

Affirmations

AS I RECOGNIZE HIS PRESENCE AND TURN ASIDE TO STAND BEFORE HIM, I BECOME THE EXPRESSION OF HIS VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS OF TODAY.

AS I EXPERIENCE SPIRITUAL HUNGER AND SEEK FOR SOMETHING MORE, I AM CALLED APART TO BE ALONE WITH THE LORD FOR A TIME OF PREPARATION.

AS I RECEIVE ANOINTING AND IMPARTATION OF GOD'S GRACE, I WALK A GRACE-FILLED LIFE IN ORDER TO SEE THE GLORY OF GOD FILL THE EARTH.