God has the answers we need. He is not withholding His goodness. But as believers we are responsible to put ourselves in a position to hear Him and know Him.If we ever get to the point of thinking we can make major decisions and/or know His will without living daily contact we might end up calling on reason/common sense rather than God’s wisdom. (That’s not to say we throw common sense and reason away, but that’s a subject for another day.)
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied in your life or have you got a spiritual strut on? Never let common sense obtrude and push the Son of God on one side. Common sense is a gift which God gave to human nature; but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son; never enthrone common sense. The Son detects the Father; common sense never yet detected the Father and never will. Our ordinary wits never worship God unless they are transfigured by the indwelling Son of God. We have to see that this mortal flesh is kept in perfect subjection to Him and that He works through it moment by moment. Are we living in such human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being manifested moment by moment?
I keep reading and re-reading that particular question posed by Oswald Chambers in his devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied in your life or have you got a spiritual strut on?
I know, for me, it is easy to talk the talk. I’ve been a Christ-follower for a long time. I never want to put my heart and mind on automatic. Oh, I know how; because I’ve been in church for years and because I know the “Christianese” language.
Is the Lord Jesus being abundantly satisfied in your life or have you got a spiritual strut on?
So just how do I know if the Lord Jesus is being satisfied or if I have my spiritual strut on?
Firstly, it is up to me (and you) to keep my fellowship with God living and vibrant.
I open my heart to Him through reading the Bible as discussed in my previous post. Because His word is God-breathed; it is alive and full of power… It really helps to picture God Himself ministering to me personally as I read. The words of God actually have the power to penetrate between my soul and my spirit and the deepest parts of my nature, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of my heart. (Heb 4:12 amplified)
This tool is much cheaper than a therapist.
As my heart is tender before God allowing the process of exposing, sifting, analyzing, and judging the purposes of my heart the word does something else too. It is profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness. II Tim 3:16 (amplified)
When I keep my heart open to the word of God and allow it to have its way in my mind and heart then I’ve positioned myself to yield to the Spirit of God. Think of it as relinquishing control. Giving up or giving way to a greater power.
Learning how to yield to God will open my spirit wide for growth in God. This is how we draw close to God. Prayer becomes a flow out of this time spent with the living God rather than a duty. Worship comes easily as God and His love are revealed to my heart.
Through the study of God’s word, prayer led by the Holy Spirit, and worship from an overflowing heart my life is not a spiritual strut. I don’t ever want to live my daily life out or give my service to God in my own strength.
Complete dependency on this vital fellowship with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit every day must be the steering mechanism for our daily world.
4 comments:
i like this post.
me too!
i keep thinking about this post and weighing it in my mind and spirit. this is what my b/s had to say to me today.
even in our churches, the intellect has taken the throne.
any person who shuts his spirit away and never listens to it becomes crippled in life. he becomes easy prey to selfish and designing people.
but the person who listens to his spirit is the one who climbs to the top.
your spirit can be educated and trained , just as your mind can be educated.
and your spirit can be built up in strength, just as your body can be built up in strength.
i believe we have to place just as much importance on educating and strengthening our spirit as we do our minds and body. let it be the one that demands attention instead of our flesh. then we might be inclined to listen to it more.
Marmee: This is the passage that comes to mind... Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Heb. 5:14
It is crucial in this day and this hour to discipline our flesh and allow our spirit's to have ascendency. But we can't do that if we think we can live like the world, think like the world, and only give a fragment of our attention to spiritual things.
Every individual IS the church. It's important we encourage each other to greatness in God... to the highest standard possible... AND that we do our part even if no one else on the face of the earth is doing theirs.
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