Skip to main content

Gunk

II Timothy 3:12
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
Persecution comes in many different and sometimes hidden forms as it has for me during this past week. However, like Paul, I was not called to an easy life, I was called to a better life, a life that will stretch me into the likeness of Jesus Christ. For this likeness to take place, I must be removed of “self” and continuously filled with His Holy Spirit. A hardy process indeed because dying to self, as I have come to realize, is not in my nature. I want what I want when I want it because in my flesh, my life is all about me. Dying to self inquires having no rights because dead men have no rights, they are dead. This means they do not complain, they do not fight back. When I began Potter’s Field in January, I was only a witness to what I thought would be loss and I was hesitant to surrender because I knew that pain and suffering would inevitably follow. I wanted to live godly but I was fearful of what would happen if I actually allowed God to move. I was fearful of removing myself from the picture because I thought I found comfort in my miserable life that had no purpose other than living for myself. However, slowly but surely during my first few months of field time, the Lord began to soften my heart of stone and I found myself being centered on the Potter’s wheel. He began removing the “gunk” that kept me in bondage to a past of hurt, and He has allowed me to take captive the lies of the enemy who whispers in my ear that I am not beautiful, that I am not good enough and instead, He has filled me each and every day with the Truth. I have found humility in a life of constantly choosing to die to myself because I know that the Lord’s plan is much, much better than my own. This means that in the thick of the battle and even in the calm of the waves, I must choose Him; I must walk in the Spirit to reap the harvest of blessings that have already been laid out for me by the Author and Finisher of my faith. 

Application
Today, I will approach a teammate and apologize for the bitterness in my heart that has accumulated towards them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Picture Perfect

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a god work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” They say that good things take time but to be completely and utterly transformed into the likeness of Jesus takes a lifetime. I will never reach perfection until I meet Jesus face to face at the gates of eternal paradise but this by no means indicates that He will keep me at a standstill. In fact, with confidence I am able to state that by His gracious hand, a good work has indeed begun within me and will continue as long as I remain willing. I have recently been reading “The Making of a Man of God”, written by Alan Redpath, which gives a clear summary of what having a willing heart looks like, stating: “Let a man be right with God, reconciled through the blood of the cross, humbled at the foot of Calvary; let him be broken, coming to God guilty and hopeless and needy; and at that moment God takes hold of him and transforms and uses all his
Post a Comment
Read more

Vision for Success

Acts 5:29 “Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” Peter is referring to the high priest who is accusing the apostles of teaching the word of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem when He specifically ordered them not to. Peter follows this rebuke with, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” There is only One in which we are to obey fully, and He is the Man who bled and died. Regardless of how mighty someone is placed in the world, the Lord knows everyone for who they are, sinners in need of a savior. Everyone has their alcohol, even those in authority. How can we obey authority that sins? Romans 13:1 says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” Everyone submits to someone because without authority, there is no order, and without order, there is chaos. However, there is a difference between godly authority and worldly authority. The difference is godly authority
Post a Comment
Read more

The Constant Battle

Proverbs 12:1 “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” To love instruction is to appreciate knowing the difference between how to succeed and how to fail. Of course, as fallen people we fail everyday, but to have been told blatant instruction, choose to do the opposite, and rebel against the rebuke that follows is, how Proverbs 12:1 puts it, “stupid.” Sometimes our pride causes difficulty in listening to the instruction of others simply because we feel that there is no better way than our own. Then, when we find ourselves being corrected for not following the instruction given to us, we become angry. Most often times, if the Lord is not speaking directly to us through His Word, He places specific people in our lives to give us instruction for our own benefit so that we may grow in wisdom and knowledge. When we do not listen, we are actively ignoring the instruction of the Almighty authority since He is who placed the instruction for us to
Post a Comment
Read more