What are you Intentionally Ignoring?
Some things must die in order to be productive. Certain seeds will not germinate into a plant unless they freeze during the winter. Jesus knew that His death would bring salvation to the world. The moment you became a Christian, your sinful nature died (Rom. 6:6), but there remained sinful aspects of your character that had not gone to their graves willingly. Before you became a Christian, were you self-centered? You may discover selfishness lingering in your life when you ought to be freely sharing what you have in the name of Christ (Matt. 10:8). Did you have a volatile temper? Now as a believer, you experience moments when anger wells up within you. Were you driven by ambition? You may still find yourself with the same motivation as you strive for recognition and position in the kingdom of God. If these sinful attitudes are allowed to remain alive, they will stifle the fruits of the Spirit. Your temper may prevent some from coming to Jesus. Your selfishness will hinder you from being a blessing to those around you. Your ambition could cause you to use others to meet your goals. Your family may be suffering because of some areas of your life that you have never allowed Jesus to put to death. It is futile to say, “But that's just the way I am!” That is the way you were. But that person died with Christ; you are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). Allow God to complete His work in you and see what fruit your life produces. - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
"As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the road He said to them,“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,and they will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify, and on the third day He will be raised up.”" Matthew 20:17-19
It's been in my mind a very long time, the notion that I am not listening very well to the words of Jesus. I indeed pray, lift people up to the Throne of God. I strive to do my best every day. I try to be better at life today than I was yesterday.
I saw two messages today that are probably linked since it was God who wouldn't have me forget them.
It's the easiest thing to be self absorbed. It's the easiest thing to be just self absorbed enough to miss the still soft voice of God.
We see things often as the world does. That you should look after you. That if you don't get what you think you deserve you should push till you get it. That you have rights to live the way you want and others must accept you as you want to be seen.
What don't you hear? The Disciples were told point blank exactly what wad about to happen. It wasn't in the form of a parable. Yet understanding eluded them.
We often look so much at what we have, what we don't have, what we know, what we don't know, that we miss the still small voice of the Spirit talking to us. We hear but don't comprehend due to choice.
There was nothing complicated in what Jesus said to them. So what's the deal?
The deal is this, sin blocks a right relationship with Jesus. Sin puts hands over our ears and eyes to keep understanding from happening.
We often are so comfortable with sin that we create excuses to fit the crime.
"That's just the way I am." Is one of the top ten best sellers.
As he said in the devotional, it's how you WERE. Choice is nearer to your life and mine than the air we breathe.
We often really miss the point of the rebukes that the Disciples received. It wasn't a slap to tell them they were wrong, messed up, and weren't going to make it. It was to teach them early enough to catch wrong thinking and go the other way.
I am a work in progress. I am a Child of God. I am many things to many people in this world. But my most important thing is I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that I might walk in them. I have to choose to listen as many times as it takes. I have to choose to take the right path and not go down the wrong. I have to choose to worship when life tries to say that I don't feel like it.
Do you shut up long enough to listen for the Spirit? Are you always doing all the talking?
We are to be different. To be a reflection of the light of Christ in a dark world. Living like we are still a part of that darkness shows nobody anything. They can't see a light that's hidden.
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