Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me? —Acts 26:14
Are you determined to have
your own way in living for God? […] Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed
and set on our own ambitions, […] Every
time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do,
we are persecuting Him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically
disturb and grieve His Spirit. […] Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating
and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I
profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of
Satan, the very spirit that persecutes Jesus Christ. […] All I do should be
based on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be
godly. This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely
ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake.” CHAMBERS
We must avoid taking on a
form of godliness, while denying the source of our godliness. How do we deny Him? By living our lives the way we see fit and
not in the way that the Spirit shows us.
Does it seem impossible to do right and live right at times? It is, apart from the power of God at work in
us. Will we struggle with this our whole
“earthly” lives? Very likely. I don’t believe, so long as we walk on this
earth that we will not experience conflict between our flesh and spiritual
nature. They both want to be
dominant. Both require submission. The flesh
is a bully … the spirit is not. The
first uses fear to coerce, the second uses love to encourage. We are faced with the choice every day. (Joshua
24:15) “And if it is evil in your
eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods
your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites
in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
It really is your choice, so choose well. ELGIN
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless
You)
Charley Elgin
No comments:
Post a Comment