What a time of testing I seem to be going through these days.
I believe there is a war going on, a spiritual battle for souls...even souls who belong to Christ. Especially those of us who belong to Christ because the enemy already has the souls of the lost. It seems as I seek the Lord for His direction and search His Word more diligently, the harder the enemy fights to pull me back.
The Lord has been speaking to me for some time now about my love for Him and whether or not I am a true follower of His...
'If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.' Luke 9:23-24.
I have come to the realization that I haven't truly trusted the Lord.
As I said, He's been speaking to me in a few different areas and I haven't obeyed for fear of losing something, someone, or what others would think of me.
Am I really willing to give up everything to follow Him?
Oh! help me Lord! My flesh is still alive and well and it needs to die.
I once heard Joyce Meyer say, 'The only way to kill something is to stop feeding it.' WOW! So profound yet so simple!
Another sister shared something the other day about, "How to be perfectly miserable' and of course, it was all regarding feeding self!
A couple of lines that hit me hard were:
Be sensitive to slights
Demand agreement with your own views on everything
Insist on consideration and respect.
I'm thankful the Lord has brought these to my attention as much as it hurts, but I want to be humble and teachable and more than anything else to be counted worthy to be called His child and disciple.
Yesterday I was challenged by someone close to me that if I really followed the Bible I would turn my back on them. That was something I had to look at and I talked to my Pastor about what that scripture really means.
Too many take scripture out of context or don't read the full passage but pick and choose whatever fits the situation at the time, especially non-believers.
Well, I haven't forever turned my back on this person, but have for the sake of my own peace of mind, removed them from my friend list so that I will not be tempted to follow their comments and status on facebook. Because of this, there most likely will be a time of separation. This person may even choose to turn their back on me and knowing I have done the right thing, I will, with the Lord's help, be at peace.
AMEN AUDREY. ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT GOD HAS BROUGHT INTO YOUR LIFE WHERE ALSO SENT BY GOD TO HELP YOU THREW THIS, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT. GOD KNOWS YOUR HURT AND YOUR TEARING OF YOUR HEART IN TOW, AND HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOU NEED AND HE KNOWS ALL OF HIS CHILDREN AND WHO WOULD BE BEST TO SEE YOU THREW THIS, DUE TO THEIR OBEDIENCE. GOD KNOWS THAT YOU WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING, ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. REMEMBER, WE ARE ALL WEAK IN THE FLESH. FOR WHEN WE ARE WEAK, THEN IT IS CHRIST WHO IS STRONG IN US AND HE WILL CARRY YOU ON THREW THIS ALL, I PROMISE YOU THAT. JUST LET GOD LEAD YOU BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT THAT LIVES INSIDE OF YOU, AND HE WILL DIRECT YOUR EVERY STEP. LOOK ONLY TO HIM AND NOT AT THE SITUATION, LIKE MISSING YOUR FAMILY AND THINGS, BUT CHRIST ONLY, AND GOD WILL GET YOU THREW THIS, I PROMISE YOU, IF YOU CONTINUE TO LOOK ONLY TO HIM ALONE. SOMETIMES, LETTING GO OF PEOPLE THAT ARE A BURDEN TO YOU, WILL HAVE THEM SEE JUST HOW SERIOUS YOU ARE ABOUT JESUS, AND THEY WILL SEE THAT YOU ARE EVEN WILLING TO GIVE UP THEM FOR YOUR SALVATION IN CHRIST. MAYBE THEN THEY MIGHT SEE THIS POWERFUL WORK IN YOU OF CHRIST IN YOU THAT THEY WILL START WONDERING ' WHO IS THIS GOD JESUS ANYWAY"? GOD WILL LEAD THEM IF HE CHOOSES TO. STAY STRONG AND REMEMBER I AM HERE FOR YOU .
ReplyDeleteI LOVE YOU MY SISTER,
DONNA