My Utmost For His Highest
We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
My Thoughts
When we become Christians, God gives us a new way to deal with life … but too often we choose to deal with life the same way we always have … with our ‘natural virtue’ That means our natural wisdom and relational skills. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that IF we are in Christ, we are NEW creations … old things have passed away .. all thing s are new … those ‘things’ include how we relate to the world and other people. But we so often continue to try to resurrect the old things … why? Because if we do things the old way we can do it without God and faith … we are in control … the amazing thing to me is that even though we repeatedly fail miserably … the world is crumbling around us …. we keep trying to do it our way … We are so determined to NOT trust in God but in ourselves … What will it take for us to let go and let God?
As I so often find … there is a common thread of emphasis between My Utmost for His Highest and Our Daily Bread … it is the Holy Spirits way of emphasizing a particular truth and confirming that it is from God and not my own imaginations. Today it is about trusting God and not myself to live this life.
Our Daily Bread
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
My Thoughts
It is so easy to follow after the pattern of the world .. to like what it likes and relate to people the way it relates to people … how is that? This is what Galatians 5:19-26 says ….
19 The acts of the flesh (The ways of the world) are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Do you see any of that in your relationships? It is not of God … The problem is if you are not careful you will soon find yourself living that same life … it is natural so it is easy for us to get used to it ….
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
If you are a Christian then the Spirit of God is in you! If you are living in the power of your flesh then the fruit of the Spirit will be absent in your life … you are supposed to be showing other people Jesus by the way you live and relate to others … it doesn’t matter what they do … but it does matter how you respond ….
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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