"Off the Couch!"

"As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image." (Psalms 73:20) This reminds me of a message I heard from pastor Mike F. about God getting up off the couch; after have warned us over and over to stop; like our dad would sometimes do, He gets up off the couch and gets a little physical. You might remember that famous saying, "Don't make me have to get up and come over there!" Except my stepdad was pretty lazy, and he would tell us to come to him, saying, "Get over here, or else!" God does not sleep or take naps like some might think this verse implies. There are two different awakes being used here, for the first one actually means to awake, as in, to show signs of waking up; but the second one, it actually means to show being aroused, to stir up, to be incited. In other words, God's getting up off the couch, and you're going to get a spanking! On a strictly "need-to-know basis," let me just say, that "image" is everything! Just in case you might have left off from conforming to the image of Christ, you need to know that there is a process to our conformity, it does not just happen instantly. Yes, we are justified in Christ right from the very first step, as a new creature in Christ; but our conformity to Christ is chiseled out, just like a sculpture, everything that is not of Christ must be chiseled away. The way I see it working out, we are in the conformity process, or we are not; and if we are not, then sooner or later, Daddy is going to get up off the couch, and we are going to get a spanking! If we are in the conformity process, we are seeking to do God's will and not our own; that's really the easiest way to tell, am I saying, "Not my will, but Thine be done." Because if we are doing our own will, then we have left off from conforming to the image of Christ. It really does not matter where you are in the game, if you are following the rules, then you are safe and secure. If you don't care about the rules, then you need to wake up! Don't make Him have to get up, because your life will never be the same! Now, just in case you might think that is a bad thing, it is not bad for His children. For those that are not His children, it means the end; but for those that are, it's just the beginning of a brand new day, "as a dream when one awaketh" we get woken up...
"Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey Him. Don't participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have the light of the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you life."" (Ephesians 5:6-14)