Today

"Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do."  Ephesians 5:10, 17

"Paul urges us to find out what pleases God, to understand what God wants us to do (as opposed to what we want to do or what others want us to do). This can be your daily prayer: "Lord, what do you want me to do? What will please you today? Help me to hear your voice above all others and to gladly do what will bring you glory today."
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

I love what Ephesians 5:10,17.  As of this morning it has become one of my favorite verses!  This verse reminds us that our lives are not to be lived out thoughtlessly, but in understanding of what the Lord wants us to do.  Our modern lives can be so busy and hectic.  If you are like me, there are times we live our life as though we on automatic pilot, going through the motions, just coasting along - living our lives like a robot with our daily schedules programmed into our system, trapped in the loop of the same daily activities.  We get up...eat...go to work...take kids to practice...come home...eat...sleep...and repeat.

Today, however, our regularly scheduled program has been interrupted by Ephesians 5:10, 17.  It's the control-alt-delete on our lives...rebooting our systems to start afresh with a deliberate spiritual perspective.  No longer should we be content to live the daily grind on automatic pilot.  Simply going through the motions just to make it through the day is NOT ENOUGH!  To continue doing so would be a failure on our part!  Instead, our thoughts are to be fixed on HIM - living in DELIBERATE UNDERSTANDING of HIS WILL and DOING what HE wants us to DO!  We are not thoughtless zombies nor are we robots programmed to perform limited functions.  We are spiritual beings, intelligent beings, created in His Image.  Those of this world live thoughtlessly - in a fog, blind to truth and without understanding.  We who are in Christ, on the other hand, are not of this world.  Instead, we are the light of this world, a beacon of hope and truth cutting through the fog of this world, reaching others with the hope of salvation.  This light shining through us is meant to be seen within the context of our daily lives - no matter how mundane we think certain aspects of it are. 

So, don't just go through the motions of your life today, live it out in deliberate thought and understanding of what the Lord wants.  You are the light to so many others, shine on them today.  Share the hope of salvation to the lost - bringing glory and honor to the Lord!

Grace and peace!

In His Love, Cathy