by David Brenneman
"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart." Psalms 32:1-11.
"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:29-32.
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:14-19.
Your inner man, or woman, is more important than what the world sees or you see about you.
Being right before Jesus is more important than the opinions of others.
Having a right relationship, a heart devoted to Christ, is more important than achievements or possessions, or the praise of peoples and nations.
We are supposed to pursue in our lives that which is going to grow us in Christ. If we indeed believe that the will of God for us is our sanctification, then we ought to pursue those things that cultivate that correct? Paul spoke of putting off things that entangle us, snares, troubles that would weigh us down in our pursuit of the will of God for us.
Do you take steps towards growing in Christ above others thoughts and ambitions?
Do you listen for the direction of the Spirit of God or are you more interested in having your own way?
"Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalms 37:4. This passage is its own beginning and end. When you desire what the Lord wants of you and for you, it will come about to you and for you.
This isn't a passage that some might try to hijack for the "name it and claim it" crowd.
Just like some do in claiming there are yet still Apostles today. There are none. There were only those 12 appointed by the Father. There are no female Elders. This is a male term in the original language. There are indeed Deacons (again male) and Deaconesses (female) as per the original language of the Bible. There are no other positions in the Church. No female version of Elders or Paul would have mentioned it to Timothy. There are no women preachers. The original language for Elder/Pastor/Teacher is a man. We cannot add to or take away from the Word of God and expect a blessed life or a remotely right relationship with Jesus.
We cannot also be on the other end of the spectrum. We cannot come to Christ for salvation, and expect to do nothing towards sanctification. Coming to Jesus to be saved isn't about punching a ticket to get into Heaven. It's about becoming who Jesus means for you to be.
There's many falsely zealous people out there thinking they are spiritual. The Bible says to be wary of such people. To flee from them. To run from those who teach things contrary to the Word of God, in truth they teach doctrines of demons.
Their purpose, while promoting a supposed life of godliness, is to water down the Word of God and keep people entangled in the affairs of men and women. Preventing them from growing in Christ.
Jesus wants a personal relationship with you. Not a superficial or watered-down relationship. The Bible says the He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Doesn't say might, says will.
The Bible says that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. Walking in them means to follow them. They give directions and we follow those directions.
The truth of our relationship is its really beyond what we can ask, think, or see. Because we're still being trained on how to use our spiritual eyes. We're learning how to use this now alive spiritual body.
If indeed Jesus is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life...then seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. These things are those things that bring about your sanctification. These things are to enable you to live a life of purpose that the world will not understand or come to know apart from their own relationship with Jesus.
There so much more for a life in Christ than our minds can wrap around to understand. We get understanding in small portions to go through the day to day. The you today understands more than you could have in your past. Why? Because a life in Christ is spiritually discerned. The Spirit is to teach you all things...and we're to listen and learn.
Are you pursuing a life in Godliness or are you spending, time, energy and effort on things that don't matter in light of eternity?
Jesus said His sheep hear His voice...are you listening for His voice?
What will your life show as your life is tested by fire as Jesus says it will be?
Read again the first set of passages. King David was being honest with the Lord Jesus.
What will you now do today to be who Jesus meant for you to be?
What will you let go of that He's been telling you is interfering with your relationship with Him?
What will you flee from that you've permitted to be acceptable in your life?
What will your relationship with Jesus reveal itself to be...
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment