Issue 1436 – Word Play – May 1, 2024
I love wordplay. One of my favourite plays on words is the humble oxymoron.
One online dictionary defines the term “oxymoron” as a noun.
A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.
A figure in which an epithet of a contrary signification is added to a word, e.g., cruel kindness, laborious idleness.
A figure of speech in which two words with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
With the formal definition out of the way, here are some common examples: military intelligence, jumbo shrimp, science fiction, virtual reality, vegan bacon, fresh frozen, civil war, escaped prisoner, slumber party and minor crisis.
With that in mind, let me ask you a question.
Is Jesus the Lord of your life?
You probably answered this question with a yes if you are a Christian. But …. are you obedient to what He has called you to do?
To say “No Lord” is an oxymoron. If He is truly Lord, then we must say yes. To decline is to deny His lordship and place yourself ahead of Him as Lord and God.
I’m not saying that we should become legalistic and sell ourselves into bondage to a religious spirit. Christ is a God of grace, and we are forgiven.
However, for our relationship with Him to grow deeper, we need to spend time with Him and be faithful to what we are called to do.
Some will say, “I don’t know what God wants me to do with my life. How can I obey His call?”
If we obey what He has already revealed in His Word, we will be drawn closer to Him and hear His specific will more clearly.
His general will for our lives can be summed up in the words of Jesus.
…one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31
How are you doing on this one? I confess I often stumble here.
Let me ask again: is Jesus your Lord?
I may not always be able to say yes, but I strive to be able to.
Until next time, may our answer be a resounding YES. May we indeed be able to say the words of a turn-of-the-century
praise chorus: “I say Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes, Yes, Lord. Amen.”
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)