HWJLHLT?

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘[…]  The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We are to be in the world but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (see John 17:16)

We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power. Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested [in], or is it something in which the spirit that is diametrically opposed to [what] Jesus is interested [in]?” CHAMBERS

 

Remember the WWJD bracelets?  That was such a fad for a while … I still see some folks wearing them from time to time.  How about a HWJLHLT bracelet.  How would Jesus live His life today?  No differently than He did 2000 years ago.  The culture was different.  Certainly the technology .. but the human condition is the same.  It doesn’t really matter where on the earth you live or what color your skin  is, our hearts .. the center of our being is the same .. we were all made in God’s image and have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  And Jesus is the way, truth and life for all of us.

 

That was true for Peter, James, John, Paul and Nicodemus. It is true for you and me and everyone we will ever meet or not meet. Chambers talks about consecration – being dedicated to God – there is also the issue of fidelity (like the Marines .. Semper Fidelis – Always Faithful)  Keeping us from the evil one, would mean that we would not only be set apart, but that we would be faithful to our Lord. Jesus prayed that because He knew it was a problem. And it is.  He knew that there would be a struggle between my flesh and the Spirit in me …and there is.

 

I am learning a Creole praise song .. Avec Ou .. Mwen Santi M’ Byen .. with you (Jesus) I feel right.  I picked that one because frankly it was simple in lyric and melody .. but more, even though I did not have the translation at first, it put my heart at ease.  I plan on using that song at our Thursday Bible studies.  Focusing on Jesus does put our hearts at ease … Spend some time today focused on Him .. remind yourself of the great salvation that you enjoy through Jesus .. and then ask yourself – HWJLHLT?

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)