For the next few days we are going to be very cognisant of what we speak. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for all things under the sun. Al thought we go through all types of common conditions and experiences we must be aware of the difference between deep grief filled groans and groaning or moaning due to lack of growth.
This is what Oswald Chambers had to say about it.
Enjoy your life, the good, the bad, the difficult or what ever - it's just another day!
Love,
Candace
Showing posts with label maturity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maturity. Show all posts
May 19, 2010
Tidy LOOKS good ...and we LIKE that!
Usually I preface my personal observations with something along the lines of "I hope I am not alone on this one", however today I can just put this one out there. I have spoken to most everyone of you so I know this to be the common thread that runs through our lives. "We cannot get it to fit in a box any longer - ha ha.
The cardboard our container is comprised of is almost like cloth and it has been duct-taped so much that it is the tape holding it together. And it's shape...well it has had better days. But we are still working it because it is all we've got to hold our pieces together.
So today, let's just sit down with our box and analyze ....do we even need most of those things we've been carrying for SO long? Again, without question, I can say not ALL of them. In fact we probably don't even need the box any longer. We could just put all those things out for everyone to see and appreciate. Wouldn't that be liberating? We would still have to tend to them and care for them...but maybe we might get some help with some of that.
There is A LOT of talk in the pop psych world about "ownership" of your stuff. I think ownership is overrated. That makes us responsible, yes...but our place is "stewardship". Ownership belongs to God and God alone. So while we are accountable for living consciously, Christ paid the debt to liberate us as we strive to grow and mature. There are consequences already set in place that cause situations to line up in our lives. Whether we desire to acknowledge that we cause them or not does not change the outcome. People get emotionally sometimes physically hurt by them.....God promises when we are under his ownership, practicing good stewardship that nothing shall in anyway HARM us. So let's open our boxes and look at things we think we NEED to own today. Allow His spirit to look at your thoughts and beliefs maybe...just maybe we can put one of those things into a better place today.....Just one...Just for today.
Remember the whole Mary vs Martha event. If Christ was encouraging Martha to allow things outside of the box and just sit in peace with Him....Maybe we should think He meant it!
Luke 10 starting at vs 38 As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him talk. But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. There’s only one thing you need. Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”
Some translation say one thing you NEED to worry about - we will start here tomorrow.
I pray that we all sit at God's feet today...He'd like that A LOT! In Christ...
With Love,
Candace
The cardboard our container is comprised of is almost like cloth and it has been duct-taped so much that it is the tape holding it together. And it's shape...well it has had better days. But we are still working it because it is all we've got to hold our pieces together.
So today, let's just sit down with our box and analyze ....do we even need most of those things we've been carrying for SO long? Again, without question, I can say not ALL of them. In fact we probably don't even need the box any longer. We could just put all those things out for everyone to see and appreciate. Wouldn't that be liberating? We would still have to tend to them and care for them...but maybe we might get some help with some of that.
There is A LOT of talk in the pop psych world about "ownership" of your stuff. I think ownership is overrated. That makes us responsible, yes...but our place is "stewardship". Ownership belongs to God and God alone. So while we are accountable for living consciously, Christ paid the debt to liberate us as we strive to grow and mature. There are consequences already set in place that cause situations to line up in our lives. Whether we desire to acknowledge that we cause them or not does not change the outcome. People get emotionally sometimes physically hurt by them.....God promises when we are under his ownership, practicing good stewardship that nothing shall in anyway HARM us. So let's open our boxes and look at things we think we NEED to own today. Allow His spirit to look at your thoughts and beliefs maybe...just maybe we can put one of those things into a better place today.....Just one...Just for today.
Remember the whole Mary vs Martha event. If Christ was encouraging Martha to allow things outside of the box and just sit in peace with Him....Maybe we should think He meant it!
Luke 10 starting at vs 38 As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him talk. But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. There’s only one thing you need. Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”
Some translation say one thing you NEED to worry about - we will start here tomorrow.
I pray that we all sit at God's feet today...He'd like that A LOT! In Christ...
With Love,
Candace
March 21, 2010
A Really Hearty Meal
Good Morning -
The depth of Oswald Chambers wisdom never ceases to amaze me. He articulates spiritual thoughts with such heights of clarity that I can truly say without a doubt, I have heard the truth of God as I read.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding blanket you as you read, comprehend and digest all that is written.
In Christ,
Candace
The inescapable spiritual need each of us has is the need to sign the death certificate of our sin nature. I must take my emotional opinions and intellectual beliefs and be willing to turn them into a moral verdict against the nature of sin; that is, against any claim I have to my right to myself. Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ . . . ." He did not say, "I have made a determination to imitate Jesus Christ," or, "I will really make an effort to follow Him"-but-"I have been identified with Him in His death." Once I reach this moral decision and act on it, all that Christ accomplished for me on the Cross is accomplished in me. My unrestrained commitment of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to grant to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.
". . . it is no longer I who live . . . ." My individuality remains, but my primary motivation for living and the nature that rules me are radically changed. I have the same human body, but the old satanic right to myself has been destroyed.
". . . and the life which I now live in the flesh," not the life which I long to live or even pray that I live, but the life I now live in my mortal flesh-the life which others can see, "I live by faith in the Son of God . . . ." This faith was not Paul’s own faith in Jesus Christ, but the faith the Son God had given to him (see Ephesians 2:8 ). It is no longer a faith in faith, but a faith that transcends all imaginable limits-a faith that comes only from the Son of God. By Oswald Chambers
The depth of Oswald Chambers wisdom never ceases to amaze me. He articulates spiritual thoughts with such heights of clarity that I can truly say without a doubt, I have heard the truth of God as I read.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding blanket you as you read, comprehend and digest all that is written.
In Christ,
Candace
Identified or Simply Interested?
I have been crucified with Christ . . . —Galatians 2:20
". . . it is no longer I who live . . . ." My individuality remains, but my primary motivation for living and the nature that rules me are radically changed. I have the same human body, but the old satanic right to myself has been destroyed.
". . . and the life which I now live in the flesh," not the life which I long to live or even pray that I live, but the life I now live in my mortal flesh-the life which others can see, "I live by faith in the Son of God . . . ." This faith was not Paul’s own faith in Jesus Christ, but the faith the Son God had given to him (see Ephesians 2:8 ). It is no longer a faith in faith, but a faith that transcends all imaginable limits-a faith that comes only from the Son of God. By Oswald Chambers
January 6, 2010
"Good Grief"
Who of us is not trying to start off this year on the best foot possible. We all do! A new year is new hope, just as our hope should be new each and every day. God is so gracious, he give us new mercies and grace each and every day. How do we forget that? But we all know there are days when even that we can find a way to whine about.
It is my prayer that we mature to the point we will go to God before we act on our own thoughts. Please pray that with me today for us all.
We were saved so that He abides within us, He does go everywhere with us. We must silence his voice in order to not hear it. Think about the scripture that implores us to "not grieve the Holy Spirit". We say we are trapped in a life we do not desire at times, think about how the Holy Spirit must feel trying to train us up. Yet we look around us all day long thinking how much others still need to grow - even there, we are grieving the Holy Spirit....we have so much to learn; let's try to lift each other up so it is not so difficult each day.
On a scale of 1-10 let's strive to make 2010 all 10"s.....moment by moment, day by day!
My love and prayers over each of you.
Candace
Jesus answered him, ’Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’ —John 13:36
"And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ’Follow Me’ " (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, "Follow Me" (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first "Follow Me" was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18 ).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. ". . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ " (John 20:22 ). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to "receive the Holy Spirit." "Receive the Holy Spirit "— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ. By Oswald Chambers
It is my prayer that we mature to the point we will go to God before we act on our own thoughts. Please pray that with me today for us all.
We were saved so that He abides within us, He does go everywhere with us. We must silence his voice in order to not hear it. Think about the scripture that implores us to "not grieve the Holy Spirit". We say we are trapped in a life we do not desire at times, think about how the Holy Spirit must feel trying to train us up. Yet we look around us all day long thinking how much others still need to grow - even there, we are grieving the Holy Spirit....we have so much to learn; let's try to lift each other up so it is not so difficult each day.
On a scale of 1-10 let's strive to make 2010 all 10"s.....moment by moment, day by day!
My love and prayers over each of you.
Candace
The Life of Power to Follow
Jesus answered him, ’Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’ —John 13:36
"And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ’Follow Me’ " (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, "Follow Me" (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first "Follow Me" was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18 ).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. ". . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ " (John 20:22 ). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to "receive the Holy Spirit." "Receive the Holy Spirit "— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ. By Oswald Chambers
October 21, 2009
Impulsiveness or Discipleship?
From Oswald Chambers Devotion "Utmost for His Highest"
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith . . . —Jude 20
There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God’s nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is disastrous in a man or woman—an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he "followed Him at a distance" on dry land ( Mark 14:54 ). We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises—human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes.
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