In Spirit & In Truth

Food for thought

"Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity"
Ecclesiastes 12:8

I think that sometimes we refer to certain people and say "they are close to the Lord". I would like to think that some people are always close to Him, but shall we define "close"? I think that the truth is that there is no limit to how close or intimate that we can get WITH Him. The Word says that if we will draw near to Him, that He will draw near to us. A fellowship, in intamacy, is cultivated. There are times when I am closer than at other times.I think that even the giants of faith have this at times... times where they know that they may have slipped away just a little... times where they have to dig in their heels and grab on to God. I've narrowed down the reasons of why our fellowship is stronger sometimes than at other times:

1.Vanity. It causes me to be blinded from seeing Him
Ps 119:37 "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way."
What is Vanity? It is the worthless things that keep my mind under subjection. Striving for wealth, status, self righteousness. All these things are nothing, worthless.
2. Selfishness. Selfishness focuses me on me. Not on Him, not on others, just me. Me, Me,Me. What do I want, what do I need, what will I get out of it.
Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me". God just can't do much with someone who is selfish.

I pray for you...
"That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."
Ephesians 3:16-19

posted by Chris @ 9:45 AM 0 comments

A Good Read

Luke 18:27-30
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
Sometimes it seems like it isn’t easy to follow God’s plan for your life. To that I say “the way that seems right to me” and then “there is a way that is right with God”. Somewhere, in each of our lives, those two statements must intersect with one another. The easy way is God’s way. We struggle to realize at times that God’s plans for us as individuals may not be understood by any other person on the face of the earth. We can’t just sit here with passion in our hearts for Him and His will and do nothing. It’s hard to think about… but sometimes we have to spread our wings and fly… leaving the less obedient behind… even when they are friends or family that we love. Jesus said to seek the Kingdom and the righteousness of God before anything else. That means that God will, and His Kingdom must take precedence over everything else in our lives… including ourselves, our feelings, our things, etc. I am fully persuaded that if we would listen to Him and be quick to obey, that the only limit to what we could do would be up to Him… and He is ready for somebody to step up with a perfect heart and a willing attitude. I’ve heard it quoted a million times “take up your cross and follow Jesus”… but first, according to Jesus we must “deny” ourselves. “deny yourselves then take up your cross and follow me”.

posted by Chris @ 10:27 AM 0 comments