Michael writes this week that we need to be
reminded of the things that God has taught us over the years. Often God
reveals His will for our lives in retrospect. God has called men and women
of God to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and to let the chips fall where
they may. Our job is to plant and water, then allow God to give the increase.
God's ministers must spend time in His presence, listening to the voice of
God. Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me,
and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
Discipleship is often shaped according to the culture to which God calls his men and women of God. Regardless of the form of church government, if Christ is leading, then God will allow the fruit to grow and flourish. God has called men and women to be people of faith and not people of fear. The first command of Christian living is "fear not." What are we afraid of? We must acknowledge that we cannot live the Christian life on our own. It’s not about us! We read, “I must decrease that he may increase” (John 3:30) ... less of me and more of thee. As Mother Theresa said, God works best with nothing. God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise – 1 Corinthians 1:27. Nobody can keep all the rules. We must allow Him to keep the rules in me and through me ... Jesus in our heart. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” - Revelation 3:20.
Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he
meditates day and night.”
We need to incline our ear to the Lord listening ... our prayer is to keep our ear close to the mouth of God. “Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all – 1 Timothy 4:12-15. No one can overcome sin by confronting it head on. Concentrating on the darkness only makes it darker. The remedy to sin is “the Savior from sin”. We must cry out to God ... only He can defeat sin and the spiritual powers of darkness. The encounter is not against powers but rather the encounter is against “Truth”. Did we in our own strength confide, our battle would be losing, were not the right man on our side the man of God's own choosing. Doth ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is he, and he must win the battle - "A Mighty Fortress is our God" – Martin Luther 1527-1529.
This is a lot of great information to meditate on, so let pick up Michael's message on Christian Living tomorrow.
In Christ, Brian
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