running a red light
"Samuel said to Saul: 'Stop!' " —1 Samuel 15:16
As we begin a new year, the Lord may be saying to us what He said to Saul. He may be saying: "Stop!" The Lord told Saul to stop disobeying Him, stop deceiving himself, and stop hating himself (1 Sm 15:17ff). However, Saul went right through the stop sign. He attempted murder, became involved in the occult, and finally crashed by committing suicide.
Will we go through a stop sign as Saul did? Will we run a red light telling us to stop patterns of sin and self-deception in our lives? The old wineskins of sin will never hold the new wine of life in the Spirit (see Mk 2:22). We need a truly new "new year," not just the changing of the number 2011 to 2012.
However, we naturally tend to sin, to stay in sin, and to run stop signs and red lights (Rm 8:7). How can we stop? Only by God's grace can we step on the spiritual brakes and stop sinning. We need the Savior. We need Jesus. We need the Lord to stop us before we kill ourselves.
Get out of the driver's seat of your life. Let Jesus drive. He alone can stop you.
Prayer: Father, may I stop in the name of Love.
Promise: "He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies Me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God." —Ps 50:23
Praise: When Ruth gave her children back to the Lord, she experienced His love in a new, deeper way.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape Developing A Deep, Personal Relationship with Jesus on audio AV 52-1 or video V-52.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 27, 2011
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