“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Over the past several years, the Lord has really been reworking my heart! It has been a slow, deliberate, and often times, painful transformation. The process is not finished nor will it be until I met my Savior face-to-face but God is graciously revealing glimpses of my new heart along the way. This “reconstruction surgery” has not been limited to one area of my life but rather has encompassed my entire person. I am learning that I have never had a “right view” of God.
Now, please understand; I am not saying that I was not exposed to the Truth as I grew up. I am simply saying that my heart was not ready to receive Truth and I continually rebelled against the Lord during most of my youth and early adulthood years. You see, I knew God’s Word, I could answer most Bible questions correctly, I shared the Gospel with others, and I knew there was a God but I did not believe His Word applied directly to my life. I was rebellious, stubborn, and determined to “run my own life.” I did pray but those prayers were self-serving, unrighteous, and usually accompanied situations in which I needed help. And by “help” I mean I had gotten myself into a situation and I was trying to avoid further consequences. My view of God was formulated by my immature, limited rationale and understanding. I did not seek to know God through the pages of His Word.
Several years ago, God drew me to Himself and gave me a passion to study His Word and to get to know who HE says HE is through Scripture. God has been (and continues) teaching me that His Word is absolute! HE is God and I am not! “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer; the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:8). My entire life I have tried to be my own god. Praise be to the Most High that HE did not allow me to continue in that bondage of sin. HE rescued me from my sin and myself and reconciled me to Himself through the finished work of Christ on the cross!! Scripture says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
My Friend, God is the Author and Finisher of our faith. HE offers eternal hope, complete freedom, and a new life for all who believe. There is no sin too great for His blood to cleanse, remove, and forgive!! Through Him, we are able to “live no longer for (ourselves), but for Him who died for (us) and rose again” (see 2 Corinthians 5:15). We are able to die to self and live for Christ when we surrender ourselves to Him and apply His Word to our daily lives. Yesterday, one of my mentors handed me a slip of paper that contained a powerful explanation of what it means to biblically die to self. May the Lord create in each of us a desire to die to ourselves and live a life completely surrendered to Him alone!
Dying to Self
When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at nought, and you don’t sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ,
That is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence.
That is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruptions by the will of God,
That is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you truly love to be unknown,
That is dying to self.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and you are in desperate circumstances,
That is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from someone of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no resentment or rebellion rising up in your heart,
That is dying to self.
(Author unknown)
Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday Morning Devotion #306
“So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.” Genesis 7:7
In our Ladies’ Sunday School class, we have begun a journey through Scripture studying different women along the way. Our purpose is to gain a better understanding of who God is, increase our love for Him, and to gain valuable life applications (learning to apply God’s Word to our daily lives). Each woman we encounter gives us glimpses into the character of God. There are life applications rooted deep within each woman’s story…Those who loved the Lord and obeyed His commands as well as those who did not. As we mine our way through the pages of God’s Word, we are blessed with the opportunity to know God more. The more we know who God truly is, the more we desire Him. The more we desire Him, the more we seek Him. The more we seek Him, the more we are satisfied in Him – “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” (John Piper).
My Friend, God is at work in each of us for the purpose of transforming us into the man/woman HE created us to be – A Man/Woman After His own Heart. Recently God has been using one Biblical woman in particular to teach me about faithfully obeying the Lord. This woman is Noah’s wife. Scripture does not give us any background information about Noah’s wife, nor does it record her name, personal information, or any words that she spoke but Scripture does record two facts about her – she got on the ark (see Gen. 7:7, 13) and she got off the ark (see Genesis 8:15, 18)!
We do not know what Noah’s wife was doing or saying during this time. All we know is that she did get on and off the ark in response to God’s command. Each of us have our own personal “arks”. In each of our lives, there are times when God gives us commands that do not make sense to our limited, human minds. We may find ourselves struggling with obedience. Perhaps we question the Lord or we try to rationalize a “better” way to approach a situation. We begin to allow “fear of man” (placing a higher value on what others think or say about us than seeking our satisfaction in God alone) to guide our thoughts, actions, and decisions. Noah’s wife was asked to board an ark that would take her away from her home and all that she was familiar with. Her life would never be the same once she stepped onto the ark. The Lord God would close the door behind her and her family, send flood waters to cover the entire earth, and destroy all mankind except for those on board. God had been using the past 120 years to bring them to this very moment…The doors were open, would they follow Him onto the ark?
Life Application Questions:
Sometimes God changes our lives dramatically…Do you see God’s faithfulness in every circumstance of your life? Do you seek Him daily in the midst of the chaos and changes or do you allow yourself to become overwhelmed, fearful, and depressed?
I love the picture of Noah’s wife obediently following her husband onto the ark. She had no idea what it would be like to live on the ark. She had no idea what it would be like in the midst of the storm. She had no idea what life would be like “on the other side of the storm.” Yet, she trusted the Lord and her husband and faithfully obeyed. Life before the ark was not Mrs. Noah’s permanent home! Life after the ark was not her permanent home either. Her permanent home is where she is spending eternity. Scripture does not tell us about Noah’s wife’s spiritual condition so we will not make any assumptions here. What we can do is ask ourselves, “Where is our home?”
My Friend, are we seeking to set up residence here and try to fit in, succeed, take root, and remain or do we understand that this is just a temporary dwelling for us and we are here for a divine purpose? God has carved out this moment in history and placed each of us in it. We are called for a purpose…Are we obedient to His commands? What ark are you facing today? Are you willing to trust the Lord, board that ark, and ride the waves of His faithfulness? If we will follow Him, we will never regret it! God is faithful! God is trustworthy! God’s plans for us are designed to grow us in Him and to point others to Him. Do you trust the Lord God completely with every aspect of your life? “Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually” (Psalm 119:117).
In our Ladies’ Sunday School class, we have begun a journey through Scripture studying different women along the way. Our purpose is to gain a better understanding of who God is, increase our love for Him, and to gain valuable life applications (learning to apply God’s Word to our daily lives). Each woman we encounter gives us glimpses into the character of God. There are life applications rooted deep within each woman’s story…Those who loved the Lord and obeyed His commands as well as those who did not. As we mine our way through the pages of God’s Word, we are blessed with the opportunity to know God more. The more we know who God truly is, the more we desire Him. The more we desire Him, the more we seek Him. The more we seek Him, the more we are satisfied in Him – “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” (John Piper).
My Friend, God is at work in each of us for the purpose of transforming us into the man/woman HE created us to be – A Man/Woman After His own Heart. Recently God has been using one Biblical woman in particular to teach me about faithfully obeying the Lord. This woman is Noah’s wife. Scripture does not give us any background information about Noah’s wife, nor does it record her name, personal information, or any words that she spoke but Scripture does record two facts about her – she got on the ark (see Gen. 7:7, 13) and she got off the ark (see Genesis 8:15, 18)!
We do not know what Noah’s wife was doing or saying during this time. All we know is that she did get on and off the ark in response to God’s command. Each of us have our own personal “arks”. In each of our lives, there are times when God gives us commands that do not make sense to our limited, human minds. We may find ourselves struggling with obedience. Perhaps we question the Lord or we try to rationalize a “better” way to approach a situation. We begin to allow “fear of man” (placing a higher value on what others think or say about us than seeking our satisfaction in God alone) to guide our thoughts, actions, and decisions. Noah’s wife was asked to board an ark that would take her away from her home and all that she was familiar with. Her life would never be the same once she stepped onto the ark. The Lord God would close the door behind her and her family, send flood waters to cover the entire earth, and destroy all mankind except for those on board. God had been using the past 120 years to bring them to this very moment…The doors were open, would they follow Him onto the ark?
Life Application Questions:
Sometimes God changes our lives dramatically…Do you see God’s faithfulness in every circumstance of your life? Do you seek Him daily in the midst of the chaos and changes or do you allow yourself to become overwhelmed, fearful, and depressed?
I love the picture of Noah’s wife obediently following her husband onto the ark. She had no idea what it would be like to live on the ark. She had no idea what it would be like in the midst of the storm. She had no idea what life would be like “on the other side of the storm.” Yet, she trusted the Lord and her husband and faithfully obeyed. Life before the ark was not Mrs. Noah’s permanent home! Life after the ark was not her permanent home either. Her permanent home is where she is spending eternity. Scripture does not tell us about Noah’s wife’s spiritual condition so we will not make any assumptions here. What we can do is ask ourselves, “Where is our home?”
My Friend, are we seeking to set up residence here and try to fit in, succeed, take root, and remain or do we understand that this is just a temporary dwelling for us and we are here for a divine purpose? God has carved out this moment in history and placed each of us in it. We are called for a purpose…Are we obedient to His commands? What ark are you facing today? Are you willing to trust the Lord, board that ark, and ride the waves of His faithfulness? If we will follow Him, we will never regret it! God is faithful! God is trustworthy! God’s plans for us are designed to grow us in Him and to point others to Him. Do you trust the Lord God completely with every aspect of your life? “Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually” (Psalm 119:117).
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