“…but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s
sufferings…” —1 Peter 4:13
“If you are going to be used by God, He will take you
through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all.
They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to
understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process,
you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal
with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to
learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson,
because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way. […] It is only through our relationship with Jesus
Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. […] People have sought to carry out God’s orders
through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the
way of the “long road home.” […] Are we prepared for God to stamp out our
personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions
by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking
us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize
at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less
without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and
realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”” CHAMBERS
I must always be on my guard that I do not attempt “define” my
relationship with God and my experience as a Christian. And become spiritually proud. Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and
prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not
like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax
collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax
collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat
his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on
me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home
justified before God.”
IF … I have given myself over to the leading
and instruction of the Spirit, I must be careful that I don’t then, limit that
leading and interrupt the instruction by turning to my own standards, my own judgments,
my own expectations. In other words, I
become “God”. That thinking is what got
us into trouble to begin with.
God will bring people into our lives, not only for them to
be ministered to, but for us to be taught, shaped, conformed into the image of
Christ through that meeting. It is so
easy to miss. You encounter someone who rubs you the wrong way. You immediately judge them, condemn them, and
wish they would go away. When in fact,
God has brought them to you to show you something about yourself. You are like the unforgiving servant .. wanting
mercy instead of judgment, but unwilling to show the same. You are viewing them through your natural
vision and not as God sees them and you. That is not to say that that they have not
sinned or what they said or did was not hurtful. The point is how we respond to life and people
as Christians. God did not condone our
sin, but He loved us in spite of it and sent His Son to die for us. If we embrace that as a treasure for us
personally, what do you supposed God is wanting us to do in light of that
treasure we hold? ELGIN
Matthew 10:8 “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The
kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those
who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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