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Sunday, May 17, 2009
Motivational, Inspirational, Hyperbole
How does one not take seriously extravagant and exaggerated statements or figures of speech to be in fact the truth unless we are blinded by the puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind?
There are those who continue to see their giftedness as something to benefit others floundering in life, they have what I call a predisposition toward being optimistic, effervescent, seldom given to worry or depression always buoyant in a world that depresses the hell out of most sane folks, surly you know the type.
Sadly if these qualities are not the by product of the certain unshakeable power and stability of His unconditional love, then we’re merely building our lives upon cosmetic botoxing.
Becoming further established in the reality of the Father’s unconditional love is the only thing able to displace the fear and torment that continues to try and keep me as a spiritual quadriplegic. God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. The power and sound mindedness are but expressions of what it means to be loved unconditionally.
Maybe this gives some clarity to the scripture that says, “The righteous are as bold as a lion.”
The reality of being loved is not a motivational, inspirational pick me up that dissipates when the first wave of assault comes crashing into my no fly zone.
I am learning that my Father isn’t nearly as interested in changing my circumstances as he is in wanting to infuse my entire being with the true knowledge and enormity of His love, which frees me to embrace life and all that it encompasses head on!
Rich
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4 comments:
Hey Rich.
Very thought provoking. I totally agree. I like that you said that He isn't as interested in changing my circumstances as He is in wanting to infuse my entore being with His love, which frees me to embrace my circumstances head on. AMEN. After all I have been through, I know this to be true. It is like what is written in scripture, "I had heard about it, but now I have seen it with my own eyes."
I find that we each need to develop a view of suffering and embrace it's freeing work. Suffering produces patience, patience produces endurance, endurance produces experience, and experience produces hope. We all want to enjoy the benefits of the school of hope, but don't want to enroll in the undergrad courses it takes to get there. If we want deeper hope, we must endure greater suffering. I can bear witness that this is true. AMEN!
Again, very encouraging thoughts.
Shalom -- Mike
Mike,
Super appreciated your response-input, thanks!
If we want but a form of godliness then please avoid living in the real world of daily sufferings.
I always loved that line from the movie The Matrix where Morpheus says to Neo, "Welcome to the real world"!
Like wise when Neo asks, "Why do my eyes hurt so much"? Morpheus replies, "Because you've never used them before."
Our brother paul was blinded in order to see for the first time in his life...as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their eyes were opened through the knowledge of good and evil, blinding them, as Paul later prayes for His church that the eyes that were blinded in the fall, the eyes of our heart would be opened to see and know Him beyond mere religious activity!!!
Amen Rich,
More and more I see this to be true. My flesh rebells against this reality. But just as women must endure great suffering to bring forth life, so also we must endure suffering to see the birth of Christ's life through us. One of my favorite lines from the scripture is "it came to pass..." It did not come to stay. Jesus desire is not that we spend our entire lives in suffering, but that we endure suffering for a season, so that we may experience the reality if the Comforter. As the Holy Spirit comforts us in our troubles, so then we also may be vehicles through which the Comforter comforts other. "Comfort others with the same comfort that you yourselves have been comforted."
This is the life of knowing the riches of what is ours in Christ. AMEN!!!!!
Mike,
I am so enjoying this on going dialogue with you.
In reading from 1Peter this morning (after some things that were stirred up in me from your reply) I was able to see a bit more clearly the necessity of why we need to allow any suffering to have its way with us.
“Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.”
I am seeing that as a result of being born in sin (still born) and shaped (imprisoned) in iniquity we have all had deeply rooted and established within us an habitual sin habit pattern, also know as the knee jerk reaction.
Why are we repeatedly facing (in many cases) similar encounters with things that seem to so easily beset us, except that perhaps even though we say we KNOW He loves us, our re-actions tell another story.
Our Father is going into the deep places of our lives where these habitual sin habit patters still rule over us…as the spirit is speaking through our brother Peter, after suffering in the flesh there is a ceasing from sin. This is totally impossible apart from a much deeper revelation of His love than what we profess.
Several times Peter uses the word soberness-sobriety etc in relation to our sufferings, only an increased knowing of whose we are, His love is capable of producing this clear minded sobriety imo!
“1So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."
(Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.)
It is out of these ‘seasons’ of being seasoned with the true knowing of His love that in the thick of its prescribed work assigned of the Father that there is a fresh new revelation of Whose we are…too many have appointed this unfolding revelation to the rapture or at best sometime in the future, I totally disagree…our father is wanting to establish in us a KNOWING that is also birthed out of His love for us whereby we will not loose heart as the habitual knee-jerk reactions to life’s unfoldings are displaced!
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