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Bright "Green"
Idea
Let me tell you a story of woe! It’s a tale of paint fumes, body ache
and irritation beyond that which a normal man can handle. I know this
because I watched my husband try to handle it, and fail.
I had a bright idea one day,...
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 Entree
Do you Seek a Deeper Life with
God?
The apostle Paul prayed, “That I may know Him . .
.” (Philippians 3:10).
The late missionary to South Africa Andrew Murray was a holy man. At one
point in his life he was going through a painful experience. Murray was
quiet for sometime before the Lord and then he wrote these words for
himself: "First, He brought me here, it is by His will I am in this
strait place: in that fact I will rest. Next, He will keep me here in
His love, and give me grace to behave as His child. Then, He will make
the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn,
and working in me the grace He means to bestow. Last, in His good time
He can bring me out again—how and when He knows."
The Christian is here:
· By God’s appointment,
· In His keeping,
· Under His training,
· For His time.
No natural man can produce that kind of life. It comes as a by-product
of a Spirit-filled life. It is the fruit of patient submission to the
perfect will of God.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “One’s will must always be abandoned to the
divine will, that one’s own will must be given up, if the divine will is
to be manifested.”
Of course, the key to everything in the Christian life is the "in Him."
All that we might rightly expect from God, and ask Him for, is to be
found in an intimate personal love relationship with Jesus Christ.
Such a life is the manifestation of a life lived close to God and in the
light of His holy presence. That is the new life in Christ.
How do you experience such a holy walk?
“No man has a right to be so immersed in active life as to neglect the
contemplation of God,” said Augustine of Hippo.
Have you gone before God and asked Him to enlarge your soul, to give you
an intense hungering and thirsting for God? Jesus said, “Blessed are
those who huger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied” (Matt. 5:6).
Has the richness of God’s fellowship overwhelmed you? May God enlarge
your soul that we contain more of Him and be a fit mansion for our Lord.
Have you a habit of continually conversing with God? Do you talk to Him
as you would a faithful companion throughout the day? Go for a long walk
in a park or in the woods and talk out loud to God. Grow daily in that
kind of fellowship with Him.
“Lord, I cannot do what You are telling me to do unless You go with me.”
“Lord, this is impossible. Only You can do that. You will have to do
this through me. I make myself available to all Your availability.”
Nothing on the face of this earth can touch the believer without God's
will, and that situation however evil it may be can only drive us closer
to Him.
Have you learned to journey inward and go into the deeper life to the
secret dwelling places of your soul to find the deep joy of your vital
union with Christ? It is there we commune with Him in quietness and
listen to His voice. We give Him the freedom to break in upon us and
make us aware of Him at any moment (Eph. 1:15-23).
God is seeking us even before we think we are seeking Him. He is always
there in the shadows waiting, watching, and listening for us to call
upon Him so He can answer with the fullness of His glory.
It is by quiet, persistent practice in turning of all our being, day and
night in prayer and inward worship and surrender, toward Him who calls
in the depths of our souls that we know the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him. An inner, secret turning to God can
be made fairly steady, after weeks and months and years of practice and
lapses and failures and returns. It is a growing, learning experience of
daily trust. We can have "the eyes of our understanding enlightened and
know the hope of His calling in our lives.” We can begin to enjoy the
riches of the glory of His inheritance even now.
Take time now to offer Jesus your whole self in utter joyful selfless
abandonment.
Do you know that quiet, blessed surrender and abandonment to Him who
secretly dwells within?
Take time today to begin to recover a sense of awareness of the presence
of God.
Selah!
http://www.abideinchrist.com/
(c) 2006 Message by Wil Pounds. Anyone is free to use this material and
distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever
without the author's written consent.
Shedding Tears for Strangers
I never served in the
military. Before my son unexpectedly volunteered for the Marines, I was
busy writing my novels and raising my family, and giving little thought
to the men and women who guard us. My attitude has changed. I did not
choose to change. I was forced to.
When my son was at war in Iraq I felt anger toward my circle of oldest
friends — mostly well-off, well-educated people. I didn't know one other
parent with a son or daughter in harm's way or even in the military. And
no leaders were asking Americans outside the military to make any
sacrifices. Were we all in this together or not?
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Quote as Garnish:
Trust God from the
bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Proverbs 3:5,6
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