Revved Up!

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isa 40:30-31
This has got to be one of the most favorite of “favorite Bible Verses” there is. Sure, we always get John 3:16, Romans 8:28, and Psalm 23, too, but this one is right up there with them. Like many of the best, it has an enduring quality that speaks to us at different times in our lives and in different ways depending on our needs of the moment.
A friend of mine has noticed that a lot of people who “favorite” this passage treat the word “wait” like a command to “do nothing”. Some say they don’t want to get ahead of the Lord, some don’t know what to do so they just sit there, and some use it as an excuse to put off the Lord’s business for “some more convenient season”. But the word actually has a little more to it than that.
Have you ever noticed the difference between a car sitting at a red light, and a car waiting for the flag to drop? A high school buddy of mine had a fast car, and a lot of guys would come around to test themselves against him. When they were parked side by side (after the trash had been talked), they weren’t in low idle. They were standing on the brakes AND on the gas, “revving” up to the max, spinning tires in EXPECTATION (yes, to “wait" also means “to expect” - I wouldn’t leave you hanging) of the flag-drop.
In other words, you can “wait on the Lord” on idle in stately leisure, or you can “wait on the Lord” revved up and rarin’ to go. Which do you figure is more likely to get you the green light? Here’s a little hint:
And we urge you, brothers, warn the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 1 Thess 5:14

The Admirers

John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.
Jesus has always had admirers. It’s not hard to understand why. There was all that healing and demon-casting-out. Way better than Blue Cross - and ESPECIALLY better than so-called Obamacare - no premiums to pay! Then there was His tendency to poke holes in the egos of stuffy religious people. We all love it when the pretentious are taken down a peg. And of course, He was Super Caterer, able to feed whole multitudes with a single lunch.
So they gladly came and listened. Especially for the dinner gong. But Jesus didn’t come to be the Proprietor of the Free Lunch Counter.
Matt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord! ’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.
In our zeal to get the truth across that “It doesn’t matter what you’ve DONE, you can be saved,” we let some folks get the idea, “It doesn’t matter what you DO after you’re saved.” We need to remind ourselves that what we do after we come to Christ is vital, if we want to be found in Him.
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Now before you go off thinking I’ve given up my Grace Card and am ready to preach salvation by works, let me put it this way. You neither “get saved” nor “keep saved” on your own, for without Him we can do nothing. But a lot of admirers of Jesus didn’t stick with Jesus.
John 6:66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
But those who did stick changed the world.
Don’t be a “fan” of Jesus, be a Follower, and hold firm in the faith till the End.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!