How To Miss God's Purpose - All You've Got To Do Is Act Naturally

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Do you not know that…you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19

 

“We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. […] The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. […] He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?” CHAMBERS

 

(2 Corinthians 4:7-12) “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

 

For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.”  That doesn’t sound like living the carefree life does it.  We are still in this world, on this planet, but our citizenship is in heaven. We still face the realities of living in a fallen world. The question is, so how then will we live?  (Philippians 3:18-21) “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

 

It is so easy to forget Whose we are as we live out our lives, day to day.  The inside of our “cup” has been made clean and should influence how we live, how we treat others, our view of what is right and what is wrong.  But, as Paul was lamenting, for many, it doesn’t.  Once saved, they settle back into the natural life.  They do not lose their citizenship, but they fail in their God-given, God-ordained purpose.  “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh”.  We must be careful, mustn’t we?  ELGIN