Do circumstances beyond your control keep occurring that are more than you can bear?
Have you reached the end of your rope?
Oh, we may (or may not) get a reprieve, but I hate to say it, those trials are not going to stop - for they have a purpose!
We pray for relief, and they may slack a bit, but until they accomplish God's plan, they will continue!
It doesn't matter who we are; the tests and trials of life are designed to turn our hearts back to God, to correct our course, or to refine our walk!
"If you by your own engineering are able to get out of the trial you are in, be assured He will engineer a stronger one, in which you can't!"(Paraphrased of Paris Reidhead from "Incomplete Repentance")
"At the center of your storm, you will find your idol;" that which you love more than God! (Joyce Green)
God wants us to turn back to Him and rely totally on Him! He wants all of me and all of you, not just a portion; that which we have allotted for our "spiritual side!" He is dead serious about His relationship with us, and He will not share us! It's either all or nothing - our choice!
You see, He's already given His all!
He deserves the same from us!
Because of our sins, we deserve death!
So He gave us His life, and we act like we are "all that and more!"
We deserve hell!
And that's where we will end up, unless we turn from our self-absorbed wicked ways! We must turn in repentance of the sin we have in our hearts; unforgiveness, judgments, pride, bitterness, worry, fear, anger, and unbelief!
It is past time!
We must turn loose of the world and stop "playing" church!
As small children we judge our parents and our siblings! We bury hurts and make proclamations; "I'll never . . . !" And because of the hurts, we build walls! Those judgments; the unforgiveness then come back on us and from that point on we continue to be hurt in the same manner, over and over again, by teachers, friends, employers, spouses, children! We do the exact same thing we said we wouldn't! Then we see those same hurts affecting our children; they do the same dumb things, only worse! The cycle has to stop or it becomes generational; alcoholism, drug addiction, gluttony, stubbornness, bitterness! And the ONLY way to end it, is through forgiveness and repentance!
Forgiving is a deliberate act; a choice we make in obedience to God! And we must repent of the unforgiveness we have held onto for so long!
Unforgiveness is NOT an option! If we don't forgive, we will go to hell!
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:14-15 KJV
There will be NO unforgiven people in heaven!
It doesn't matter what happened to us; how horrendous the act, we MUST choose to forgive and repent of the unforgiveness we've held onto all this time, in disobedience to God's commandment!
I hear people say, "Oh, I've forgiven, but I can never forget!"
Then it's not forgiven!
When we have forgiven, from the heart, that "hurt" is no longer painful! It's as if it happened to someone else!
When we forgive, it doesn't mean we are saying what happened is okay. We don't do it to set ourself free, although that's what happens. No, it's all about our relationship with God!
And the best part; when we forgive and extend mercy, mercy comes back on us!
When we forgive, we are doing so because we love God, more than we love ourselves! We are choosing to obey and lay aside our fleshly desire for vengeance in submission to His commandments! That is what dying to the flesh is all about! It's hard, but it's imperative in our walk with The LORD! It's laying down our will, and surrendering to His authority! It's humbling ourself; It's giving up the throne and letting Him have first place in my life; stepping aside in repentance and bowing to His Kingship!
“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
Romans 14:11 KJV
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” James 5:13-15 KJV
The next verse: here is the hard part:
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16 KJV
Confessing our sins is what stops most people, because it requires laying down our pride; the very thing the devil refused to do, too!
We want healing?
We must obey James 5:16!
It's that simple!
Examine your heart!
Ask God to show you what sin is there and He will!
Then get with a brother or sister you can trust, humble yourself and confess your sin and repent! Then watch as God moves! You will see the miraculous! Healing occurs; lives are changed; we begin to be conformed to His likeness!
It's the laying aside of pride; humbling ourselves and repenting before another person that unleashes His power!
When we obey, He moves mountains!
“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.”
Exodus 14:13 KJV
Those enemies that are pursuing you; obey and watch God act on your behalf! He is still in the miracle business!
Obey!
It doesn't matter if we've been a Christian for 50 years or 5 hours, we all must lay down our pride and surrender our will! If we don't, then He is not our LORD!
Repent while there is still time!
Tomorrow may be too late!
Even so - MARANATHA!
From 1/7/15
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