"There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devised wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." Proverbs 6: 16-19
Often the words have come my mouth in bible study..."If I would just apply this one truth to my life, it would change forever!" The same can be said for these truths from God's word. In verses 16-19, if the Light of the Holy Spirit was free to search me and know me then my heart would remain clean of these abominations to God. Yet, my flesh harbors them close masking them in justifications of my making and not the blood of Christ.
Keep the teachings..."Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life..." 6:20-23
My prayer is that in the moments of life when God allows me to pause and call on Him as the All-Sufficient One, drawing from His word that should be bound in my heart, around my neck...that my heart would stop and ask Him to fill me... when He offers to take me for a walk and prove Himself the God who Provides...my heart would walk, without complaining that I am not getting something else done, but just walk...When opportunity knocks and His desire is to be My Banner, going before me to lead me in a kingdom endeavor...my heart/flesh would take the rightful backseat and move the safety of His protection...When my body rest and His watchful eye is watching over all... my heart would trust that all things are firmly and securely in His hands...Then when my eyes open to the dawn that my thoughts would be drawn to Him, and His mercies that are new... that my heart would listen to His truth as The Word speaks...May I see the commands of the Lord in the light of His love for me and see that through them there is life.
"Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?" 6:27-28
May this verse wash over me as sin crouches at my hearts door... may it be close to my lips as those whom I love, yet Jesus loves more, pursues to justify their actions that will lead them to death. May the power of The Word move us to holiness.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Lord Let Me Love
"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
Lately my mind has been swirling with these three concepts... faith, hope and love. I think there is a simple answer to why love is the greatest, however, it has taken me, and is still taking me a while to put words around the thoughts in my head. Faith, is a result of the fall. Before our sin, God was with us, walking, talking, communing... we did not need faith, we had Elohim. And now in our twisted thinking we have taken faith and made it a god. Thinking that we can conjure up enough that we in our power can move mountains, heal the sick, and cast out demons. But faith is essential, without a belief in our God that we can not see then we can not have eternal life. Our faith is rooted and established in Christ and His shed blood... He increases our faith because He is alive and moving even though we can not see Him. When our faith becomes sight, what a moment... what a magnificence moment when there is no more faith!
Hope... a wishing for something with the expectation of it being fulfilled. Our only hope is in Christ. Again, hope is a result of the fall. We had all the fulfillment of the Godhead and His plans for us through creation, then we sinned. And now we must hope in the promise that through Christ there is more to come and He has already made the way possible through the shedding of His blood and His willingness to bear the wrath of God on our behalf. When we meet our Savior face to face, there will be no more hope... it will be fulfilled!
But Love... Only love will remain, because Love is the product of our God. It is that emotion that gets us in our guts. We know that it is bigger than us but yet it consumes us. We twist and turn it to fit what we need. We excuse our behavior and better judgment in the name of it. We sell our purity, our respect, our lives just for a moment of it. We move from one person to the next like a drug addict looking for her next fix. When in reality the one thing we love most is ourselves. It is the one thing we have directly from the person of God and use it against Him because our selfishness. Because when we see His love for us, we can not believe it. "For God so loved the world (i.e you) that He gave is only Son (He left praise, majesty, power, honor, glory, respect), that whoever (even if it was just one person) would believe in Him should not perish (His love is so extravagant that He wants none of us to die because of sin), but have eternal life (forever forgiven and in His presence). John 3:16... but keep reading... When faced with a love so extravagant that we find ourselves lost in its power... what do we love... darkness.
That is why the as Christians we will be known by our love. When we come to Christ's cross and allow Him to teach us this selfless extravagant love, we will want to pour it out on others, our husbands, wives, children, THE LOST! We don't have to wait to meet our Savior face to face... His love awaits us NOW! It is the GREATEST and most ENDURING.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Lately my mind has been swirling with these three concepts... faith, hope and love. I think there is a simple answer to why love is the greatest, however, it has taken me, and is still taking me a while to put words around the thoughts in my head. Faith, is a result of the fall. Before our sin, God was with us, walking, talking, communing... we did not need faith, we had Elohim. And now in our twisted thinking we have taken faith and made it a god. Thinking that we can conjure up enough that we in our power can move mountains, heal the sick, and cast out demons. But faith is essential, without a belief in our God that we can not see then we can not have eternal life. Our faith is rooted and established in Christ and His shed blood... He increases our faith because He is alive and moving even though we can not see Him. When our faith becomes sight, what a moment... what a magnificence moment when there is no more faith!
Hope... a wishing for something with the expectation of it being fulfilled. Our only hope is in Christ. Again, hope is a result of the fall. We had all the fulfillment of the Godhead and His plans for us through creation, then we sinned. And now we must hope in the promise that through Christ there is more to come and He has already made the way possible through the shedding of His blood and His willingness to bear the wrath of God on our behalf. When we meet our Savior face to face, there will be no more hope... it will be fulfilled!
But Love... Only love will remain, because Love is the product of our God. It is that emotion that gets us in our guts. We know that it is bigger than us but yet it consumes us. We twist and turn it to fit what we need. We excuse our behavior and better judgment in the name of it. We sell our purity, our respect, our lives just for a moment of it. We move from one person to the next like a drug addict looking for her next fix. When in reality the one thing we love most is ourselves. It is the one thing we have directly from the person of God and use it against Him because our selfishness. Because when we see His love for us, we can not believe it. "For God so loved the world (i.e you) that He gave is only Son (He left praise, majesty, power, honor, glory, respect), that whoever (even if it was just one person) would believe in Him should not perish (His love is so extravagant that He wants none of us to die because of sin), but have eternal life (forever forgiven and in His presence). John 3:16... but keep reading... When faced with a love so extravagant that we find ourselves lost in its power... what do we love... darkness.
That is why the as Christians we will be known by our love. When we come to Christ's cross and allow Him to teach us this selfless extravagant love, we will want to pour it out on others, our husbands, wives, children, THE LOST! We don't have to wait to meet our Savior face to face... His love awaits us NOW! It is the GREATEST and most ENDURING.
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