Most people when they think of selfishness think of not sharing or taking something when someone else needs it worse. There are so many traits of selfishness, I know that I can't cover them all but there is one that may not be thought of as being selfish that really is. This is the thought for today's study.
I experienced it that is why I need the study on it. Pretty revealing to say the least. Have you ever thought that when you get upset, it is usually because someone didn't please you. Or when someone gets angry with you or someone else, it is because they were not pleased with what you or someone else did. If it doesn't please ME, who am I thinking about, the other person or my self? If I get upset with someone, why am I upset, it is because they did something that didn't please ME.
Did you ever think that maybe this is a very common form of selfishness? It is very common and when you think about it, it is very selfish. Did you know that jealousy is a fruit of selfishness? Also stubbornness too?
If you are jealous of anyone it is usually because they have something that YOU want or need. If you are stubborn, it is usually because YOU are not getting YOUR way.
When I thought of this and am thinking about just now, I see that I have some surrendering to do. I need to surrender my selfish nature entirely to Christ and let Him take control of my nature. I can see that I am not what Jesus wants me to be and by His grace I will give it to Him.
Selfishness means loving one's self first. The Bible does have some things to say about this, let's see what they are.
Philippians 2:21 "For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. Self-seeking.
2 Timothy 3:2 "For men will be lovers of themselves..."
THE REMEDY
1 Corinthians 10:24 "Let no one seek his own, but each one the other;s well being." Seeking the good of others.
Philippians 1:21 "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Putting Christ first in our lives.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity; but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. LOVE never fails.
Seeking others well being, putting Christ first and by manifesting love to others, we can get rid of the selfishness in our natures. It sounds like a hard job doesn't it? Actually the hard part is surrendering our natures to Christ to be made over in His image. He does the work if we give ourselves to Him. Most of us want to hang on to our worldly natures and don't want to give them up to be transformed into His image.
Let us seek the good of others and not ourselves and put Christ first and I am sure we will be a much happier people, don't you think? This was heavy for me, but I needed it very much. Thank you for listening
or having part in my worship this morning. I hope it was a great help to you as it has been to me.
Grandma Joan
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
I Want to be Clean
Have you ever been so dirty that you wondered if you would ever get clean, or had to do a very dirty job that was really dirty and it just made you feel filthy? There are times in our life that these things happen to us that are unexpected and we just have to deal with it. There are jobs that are not pleasant to deal with, like being a plumber and unplugging a sewer line, or being a nurse and cleaning up after a patient has an accident or really cleaning up someone who has had a bad accident and is bruised and bleeding. These are not pleasant clean-up jobs but have to be done.
Then there is another kind of clean-up that we all need, clean up from sin and that is the best clean up that we can ever have done and I want to be clean, don't you. Let's see what the Bible has to say about getting clean and staying clean. I know there has to be promises concerning this and I want to know what they are because I need His cleansing power in my life.
Jeremiah 33:8 "I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me."
1 John 1:7,9 "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
These two promises are for us, for me that I might be cleansed from ALL my sins and stand before Him just as if I had never sinned which is what justification means when the Bible says we are justified by faith, He has promised to cleanse us if we confess them to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and I need forgiven, how about you? I want to be clean more than anything else. It is important for us to realized that Jesus sacrifice on the cross and the blood He shed there was for the cleansing of our sins and making us clean before Him. We must accept this sacrifice that He made for you and me.
Ephesians 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."
This promise is for His church and His people and the way we are washed clean is through studying His Word, as we are doing now that He might present us as a glorious church and people to His Father. Just take time each morning or sometime during the day, mornings are best for me, because my mind is clear and I am able to concentrate better. But take time to read some portion of His word and contemplate on it, but first ask God to show you what you need to read and then apply it to your life and ask Him also to help you live what you are studying. Following are two prayers of David that I like to say are my prayers.
Psalms 19:12-14 "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins, Let them not have dominion over me, Then I shall be blameless and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."
Do you have secret faults that need forgiven or are you in the habit of sinning presumptuously? Presumptuous sins are those sins that we know are wrong to do, but do them anyway thinking that God is so good He won't hold me accountable for this. That is a presumptuous sin. So we need to ask God to help us not to sin presumptuously, to hold us back from doing it.
Psalms 51:1,2,3 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me."
This prayer of David was after he committed the terrible act of adultery and murder, and he was humbled by his sin and confessed it before God and I like the phrase 'according to your loving kindness, and tender mercies'. God is always willing to hear our confessions and to forgive us of ALL our sins. He is a merciful and faithful God, isn't He? David wanted to be washed thoroughly from his sin and we need to be the same, wanting to be washed thoroughly from our sins. He is willing to forgive, are you willing to confess? That's all it takes to be clean and I want to be clean.
I hope you have been blessed by this little study on being washed clean. I have and it is my desire to be clean all the way through, everything. I hope it is your desire also. Grandma Joan
Then there is another kind of clean-up that we all need, clean up from sin and that is the best clean up that we can ever have done and I want to be clean, don't you. Let's see what the Bible has to say about getting clean and staying clean. I know there has to be promises concerning this and I want to know what they are because I need His cleansing power in my life.
Jeremiah 33:8 "I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me."
1 John 1:7,9 "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
These two promises are for us, for me that I might be cleansed from ALL my sins and stand before Him just as if I had never sinned which is what justification means when the Bible says we are justified by faith, He has promised to cleanse us if we confess them to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and I need forgiven, how about you? I want to be clean more than anything else. It is important for us to realized that Jesus sacrifice on the cross and the blood He shed there was for the cleansing of our sins and making us clean before Him. We must accept this sacrifice that He made for you and me.
Ephesians 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."
This promise is for His church and His people and the way we are washed clean is through studying His Word, as we are doing now that He might present us as a glorious church and people to His Father. Just take time each morning or sometime during the day, mornings are best for me, because my mind is clear and I am able to concentrate better. But take time to read some portion of His word and contemplate on it, but first ask God to show you what you need to read and then apply it to your life and ask Him also to help you live what you are studying. Following are two prayers of David that I like to say are my prayers.
Psalms 19:12-14 "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins, Let them not have dominion over me, Then I shall be blameless and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."
Do you have secret faults that need forgiven or are you in the habit of sinning presumptuously? Presumptuous sins are those sins that we know are wrong to do, but do them anyway thinking that God is so good He won't hold me accountable for this. That is a presumptuous sin. So we need to ask God to help us not to sin presumptuously, to hold us back from doing it.
Psalms 51:1,2,3 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me."
This prayer of David was after he committed the terrible act of adultery and murder, and he was humbled by his sin and confessed it before God and I like the phrase 'according to your loving kindness, and tender mercies'. God is always willing to hear our confessions and to forgive us of ALL our sins. He is a merciful and faithful God, isn't He? David wanted to be washed thoroughly from his sin and we need to be the same, wanting to be washed thoroughly from our sins. He is willing to forgive, are you willing to confess? That's all it takes to be clean and I want to be clean.
I hope you have been blessed by this little study on being washed clean. I have and it is my desire to be clean all the way through, everything. I hope it is your desire also. Grandma Joan
Thursday, September 12, 2013
To Proud to Ask
Remember the other day I said, ooooooh maybe it is pride that is in my way, well I am going to elaborate on that a little this morning because maybe, just maybe I need it, even though I know that other things get in the way of asking for help, like, maybe they think I am just putting on this pain or can't lift things and so I try to do it myself to my own hurt.
I know pride is a terrible thing to get in our way of life and can cause a lot of harm to us and others. Really, I don't have anything to be proud of and as soon as it creeps in I mess up.
1 John 2:16 " For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world."
Proverbs 13:10 "by pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well advised is wisdom."
Proverbs 16:18,19 "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud."
I agree that pride is destructive and a haughty spirit can bring you down in a hurry, it is God's way of dealing with something so destructive and I sure don't want to be guilty of anything that even resembles pride. It does bring strife and surely is of the world. Do you agree?
I want to have a humble spirit even when asking for help, don't you?
Colossians 3:12-17 "Therefore, as the elect of God holy and beloved, put on tenderness, mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you; so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Doesn't that sound like a beautiful life? I want so much to be like that and get rid of all the rubbish that I have carried around in my character. Let the peace of God rule in my life and be thankful. And by all means let the word of Christ dwell in me richly in wisdom, and singing with a song in my heart with grace in my heart and being thankful. I can't think of a better way to be. It is my great desire to be like Christ, how about you? Forget the pride in my life and the proud spirit that is too proud to ask for help when I really need it.
I believe this was a good study for me, what do you think? I guess we could all benefit from it but I know that it was a good lesson for me. I hope my experiences touched your heart in some way to benefit you in your walk with God. Blessings, Grandma Joan, I am blessed this morning.
I know pride is a terrible thing to get in our way of life and can cause a lot of harm to us and others. Really, I don't have anything to be proud of and as soon as it creeps in I mess up.
1 John 2:16 " For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world."
Proverbs 13:10 "by pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well advised is wisdom."
Proverbs 16:18,19 "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud."
I agree that pride is destructive and a haughty spirit can bring you down in a hurry, it is God's way of dealing with something so destructive and I sure don't want to be guilty of anything that even resembles pride. It does bring strife and surely is of the world. Do you agree?
I want to have a humble spirit even when asking for help, don't you?
Colossians 3:12-17 "Therefore, as the elect of God holy and beloved, put on tenderness, mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you; so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Doesn't that sound like a beautiful life? I want so much to be like that and get rid of all the rubbish that I have carried around in my character. Let the peace of God rule in my life and be thankful. And by all means let the word of Christ dwell in me richly in wisdom, and singing with a song in my heart with grace in my heart and being thankful. I can't think of a better way to be. It is my great desire to be like Christ, how about you? Forget the pride in my life and the proud spirit that is too proud to ask for help when I really need it.
I believe this was a good study for me, what do you think? I guess we could all benefit from it but I know that it was a good lesson for me. I hope my experiences touched your heart in some way to benefit you in your walk with God. Blessings, Grandma Joan, I am blessed this morning.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Is Our Repentance Genuine?
Have you ever wondered if you are truly sorry? I have and I hope that I am but I want to make sure that I am, because it is a vital concern regarding our eternal life. So this morning I am going to share some verses so you can examine your own heart and I can examine mine.
2 Chronicles 7:14 "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Humble means: Marked by meekness or modesty. How do you humble yourself? The publican humbled himself, when he said, 'God be merciful to me a sinner'.Luke 18:13. So if we are called by His name and come to Him in prayer honestly seeking forgiveness and admit our faults and sins, it is a humbling experience, when we admit that we are a sinner in need of God's grace, it is very humbling.
Jeremiah 29:13 "And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with ALL your heart." (my emphasis) When it is our highest priority to seek God with ALL our hearts, then He knows we are sincere in our repentance.
Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them." I am pretty sure that if you are humble and seek God with ALL your heart that your belief will be stronger and your prayers will be more earnest.
James 5:16 "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." If we have hurt anyone in any way, we are to confess our wrong to them and make things right, if they don't accept our apology, it will become their problem but we will be right before God. Make sure you are sincere, even to tears if that is what it takes.
1 John 3:22 "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." If you don't know whether you are keeping His commandments, then go to Exodus 20 and read them over again and pray over them and God will show you whether you are or not.
This was a heavy subject, wasn't it? Let's review it just a bit. We need to humble ourselves before God and seek Him with ALL our heart and also believe with all our heart that what He promises He will do and He has promised to forgive us, hasn't He. Then if we have wronged someone, we need to confess the wrong to them and then to God and then review the commandments and see if we are keeping His commandments according to His will. Then if we can surrender all these things and be honest with God, then we will know that our repentance is sincere and genuine.
I am going to have to go over this again and make sure my repentance has been and is sincere and genuine.
How about you, it doesn't hurt to review our condition, it is a challenge and I love challenges so let's accept this challenge and move forward in God's grace. How about it? Grandma Joan
2 Chronicles 7:14 "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Humble means: Marked by meekness or modesty. How do you humble yourself? The publican humbled himself, when he said, 'God be merciful to me a sinner'.Luke 18:13. So if we are called by His name and come to Him in prayer honestly seeking forgiveness and admit our faults and sins, it is a humbling experience, when we admit that we are a sinner in need of God's grace, it is very humbling.
Jeremiah 29:13 "And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with ALL your heart." (my emphasis) When it is our highest priority to seek God with ALL our hearts, then He knows we are sincere in our repentance.
Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them." I am pretty sure that if you are humble and seek God with ALL your heart that your belief will be stronger and your prayers will be more earnest.
James 5:16 "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." If we have hurt anyone in any way, we are to confess our wrong to them and make things right, if they don't accept our apology, it will become their problem but we will be right before God. Make sure you are sincere, even to tears if that is what it takes.
1 John 3:22 "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." If you don't know whether you are keeping His commandments, then go to Exodus 20 and read them over again and pray over them and God will show you whether you are or not.
This was a heavy subject, wasn't it? Let's review it just a bit. We need to humble ourselves before God and seek Him with ALL our heart and also believe with all our heart that what He promises He will do and He has promised to forgive us, hasn't He. Then if we have wronged someone, we need to confess the wrong to them and then to God and then review the commandments and see if we are keeping His commandments according to His will. Then if we can surrender all these things and be honest with God, then we will know that our repentance is sincere and genuine.
I am going to have to go over this again and make sure my repentance has been and is sincere and genuine.
How about you, it doesn't hurt to review our condition, it is a challenge and I love challenges so let's accept this challenge and move forward in God's grace. How about it? Grandma Joan
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
My Journey
I was lying in bed this morning, 3 AM and thinking about my blog and how much it has helped me in my walk with the Lord and wondering if it was helping anyone else and got up shortly after and was checking my email and found out it was helping someone else too. Thank you friend for your comment on Don't Worry.
I hope you have a blessed day with no worries.
This has been a journey and a half for me. Since my husband passed away, I have been praying that God would give me a way to share my faith with others and another friend from Oregon was visiting me and was telling me about her blog and offered to make me one and I thought 'why not?' but didn't exactly know what to call it or what to do with it and then I remembered my prayer for something to do to share my faith and I thought about it and I love to talk to the Lord in the mornings and was impressed to share what God was doing with my life. So that is what I have been doing. It has been quite a journey but I must say, it has been worth every minute of it. I look forward to my worships more than ever now and also look forward to sharing them with you, whoever you are. I have been blessed with quite a few viewers and a few comments.
Actually all over the world, which is quite thrilling to me. Isn't God good to us?
I know that He has been good to you too, in someway you are blessed and He wants to bless us more with the peace that passes understanding. I don't understand it all but I know it is there for us if we just ask.
The thing that I am thinking about this morning and which I really need to concentrate on is rejoicing in the Lord. It is not easy to be happy when you have lost a loved one after so many years together, but I can rejoice that he is resting in peace and have the promise of seeing him again on the resurrection morning. I look forward to that and now I need to start rejoicing in my walk with the Lord.
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I will say, rejoice." We can rejoice that He answers our prayers, we can rejoice that He forgives our transgressions against Him and others. There are so many things that we can be happy about, I can't begin to name them all but you can make a list and then start rejoicing too.
At 82 years young, I rejoice for a good nights rest and for a new day each morning when I wake up that God has given me another day to serve Him and write on my blog to bless others who are going through the same things that I have been dealing with.
Check out your Bible for the verses of rejoicing and you will be amazed at how many there are. Have a great day rejoicing in the Lord and be blessed. Grandma Joan
I hope you have a blessed day with no worries.
This has been a journey and a half for me. Since my husband passed away, I have been praying that God would give me a way to share my faith with others and another friend from Oregon was visiting me and was telling me about her blog and offered to make me one and I thought 'why not?' but didn't exactly know what to call it or what to do with it and then I remembered my prayer for something to do to share my faith and I thought about it and I love to talk to the Lord in the mornings and was impressed to share what God was doing with my life. So that is what I have been doing. It has been quite a journey but I must say, it has been worth every minute of it. I look forward to my worships more than ever now and also look forward to sharing them with you, whoever you are. I have been blessed with quite a few viewers and a few comments.
Actually all over the world, which is quite thrilling to me. Isn't God good to us?
I know that He has been good to you too, in someway you are blessed and He wants to bless us more with the peace that passes understanding. I don't understand it all but I know it is there for us if we just ask.
The thing that I am thinking about this morning and which I really need to concentrate on is rejoicing in the Lord. It is not easy to be happy when you have lost a loved one after so many years together, but I can rejoice that he is resting in peace and have the promise of seeing him again on the resurrection morning. I look forward to that and now I need to start rejoicing in my walk with the Lord.
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I will say, rejoice." We can rejoice that He answers our prayers, we can rejoice that He forgives our transgressions against Him and others. There are so many things that we can be happy about, I can't begin to name them all but you can make a list and then start rejoicing too.
At 82 years young, I rejoice for a good nights rest and for a new day each morning when I wake up that God has given me another day to serve Him and write on my blog to bless others who are going through the same things that I have been dealing with.
Check out your Bible for the verses of rejoicing and you will be amazed at how many there are. Have a great day rejoicing in the Lord and be blessed. Grandma Joan
Monday, September 9, 2013
Weakness is it OK or Not
I am a weak one in lots of ways and I do have a strong point here and there but Spiritually I am really weak, I have to depend on Christ all the time, do you think it's OK to do that? My husband taught me to be very independent soon after we were married, or I should say tried to, but what it did do for me, it took away some of my timidity and then we bought a nursing home and I became independent as the years went by, and it took away my shyness and I had to do things I never thought was possible for me. Like hiring, firing and bossing people around, it was the hardest thing I ever tried to accomplish but when we sold it, I realized that I didn't like the person I had become, have you ever felt that way? I detested what I had become, I liked the timid, dependent person I use to be.
I asked the Lord to help me go back and become a quiet, not too timid and not too independent person. That's what God did for me, it took a while, some times we have to work through things to get where we want to go. I did a lot of that, believe me and now I have been alone for two years or more and I am going to have to work on getting out more and associating more with other people. Seems like there is always something to work on or to let God work on in my life, but I sort of enjoy his pruning, and hope He keeps it up until I am where He wants me to be and what He wants me to be.
So what does this have to do with weakness, well, we can have a strong character that God has to deal with to let us see how weak we really are. In other words, I can be stubborn, which I am, and I can be strong headed, which I have been and probably still are to some extent. I am not saying that stubborn is all that bad if we are standing up for God, we need a stubborn attribute and strong headed is the same.
But when it comes to our Spiritual life, and resisting temptation, that's another story, we aren't so strong then, are we?
2 Corinthians 12:10 "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Notice, all those things are for Christ's sake. Not for our sake.
2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me", O, did I ever need that one. I need to take pleasure in my infirmities. That is hard to do, but He will help me, I am sure of that, if He says we should take pleasure in them, then I need to learn that lesson.
Isaiah 40:29 "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. (verses 30, 31 are great words of encouragement.) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,, but those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isn't that a great promise, especially for those of us who have infirmities, I would love to walk again for exercise, it would be a grand thing for me and I think many others. I am waiting for that day, I hope patiently.
Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation, The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." We can have a very willing spirit but our carnal nature is very weak and we cannot resist temptation without the power of Christ in our lives. I am so glad that we have His help against temptation. He says that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. So we can become strong through Him. Is that right?
I can see that I have some surrendering to do, how about you? May the power of Christ rest upon us so that we may become strong through HIS strength. To answer the Title question, I believe it is OK to be weak as long as we let His strength strengthen us, we don't want to be so strong that we don't feel our need of Him. So it's OK to be weak as long as we recognize our weakness and ask for His strength to replace our weakness. Have a great day in His strength.!!!! Grandma Joan
I asked the Lord to help me go back and become a quiet, not too timid and not too independent person. That's what God did for me, it took a while, some times we have to work through things to get where we want to go. I did a lot of that, believe me and now I have been alone for two years or more and I am going to have to work on getting out more and associating more with other people. Seems like there is always something to work on or to let God work on in my life, but I sort of enjoy his pruning, and hope He keeps it up until I am where He wants me to be and what He wants me to be.
So what does this have to do with weakness, well, we can have a strong character that God has to deal with to let us see how weak we really are. In other words, I can be stubborn, which I am, and I can be strong headed, which I have been and probably still are to some extent. I am not saying that stubborn is all that bad if we are standing up for God, we need a stubborn attribute and strong headed is the same.
But when it comes to our Spiritual life, and resisting temptation, that's another story, we aren't so strong then, are we?
2 Corinthians 12:10 "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Notice, all those things are for Christ's sake. Not for our sake.
2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me", O, did I ever need that one. I need to take pleasure in my infirmities. That is hard to do, but He will help me, I am sure of that, if He says we should take pleasure in them, then I need to learn that lesson.
Isaiah 40:29 "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. (verses 30, 31 are great words of encouragement.) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,, but those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isn't that a great promise, especially for those of us who have infirmities, I would love to walk again for exercise, it would be a grand thing for me and I think many others. I am waiting for that day, I hope patiently.
Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation, The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." We can have a very willing spirit but our carnal nature is very weak and we cannot resist temptation without the power of Christ in our lives. I am so glad that we have His help against temptation. He says that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. So we can become strong through Him. Is that right?
I can see that I have some surrendering to do, how about you? May the power of Christ rest upon us so that we may become strong through HIS strength. To answer the Title question, I believe it is OK to be weak as long as we let His strength strengthen us, we don't want to be so strong that we don't feel our need of Him. So it's OK to be weak as long as we recognize our weakness and ask for His strength to replace our weakness. Have a great day in His strength.!!!! Grandma Joan
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Another Faithful Saying
Remember we studied about God's faithfulness, well there is something else He does for us in the line of His faithfulness. I love the book of First John in the Bible, it is so full of instruction and hope and I was reading
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. And we all need forgiven, God is faithful to forgive but we must be faithful to confess and repent of our sins so that He can forgive.
Sometimes it is hard to confess something that has hurt someone else and we must go to that person first and then come to God with our confession and repentance. I remember a lot of times I had to admit I was wrong and had to write letters of confession, or make a phone call with confession before I had peace with God because I knew and know that He is faithful to forgive.
When He comes to us with a thought about something that is not right in our life, and we try to shine it or ignore it and it comes again, we are not going to have peace unless we deal with it, I can vouch very well for that. It has happened to me so many times, I am ashamed to admit it but He is relentless in wanting us to be a part of His kingdom, so He doesn't give up until we tell Him to leave us alone. Can you imagine how sad that must make Him.
I know how embarrassing it is to admit you are wrong, or you shouldn't have said or done that. It takes a lot of courage to step to the plate and admit your shortcomings and apologize for hurting someone. It is not an easy task but must be done and we can do it by God's grace and the feeling afterwards is of such peace, I have always had such peace of mind and heart after I have made things right. It is worth all of the courage it takes, believe me. And to have the peace of God that passes all understanding is out of this world. Literally out of this world.!!!!!
I am so thankful He is faithful in giving us all the instruction we need to have a great life in Him and that He has told us all about having peace after forgiveness, remember He is faithful to forgive and we must be faithful in confessing and repenting of our sins, first to those we have hurt and then go God who abundantly pardons.
Isn't it wonderful to have a Savior who is faithful to pardon all our sins and cleanse us so we can stand before Him just as if we had never sinned, that is what justification means. I want to be justified, don't you?
Grandma Joan
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. And we all need forgiven, God is faithful to forgive but we must be faithful to confess and repent of our sins so that He can forgive.
Sometimes it is hard to confess something that has hurt someone else and we must go to that person first and then come to God with our confession and repentance. I remember a lot of times I had to admit I was wrong and had to write letters of confession, or make a phone call with confession before I had peace with God because I knew and know that He is faithful to forgive.
When He comes to us with a thought about something that is not right in our life, and we try to shine it or ignore it and it comes again, we are not going to have peace unless we deal with it, I can vouch very well for that. It has happened to me so many times, I am ashamed to admit it but He is relentless in wanting us to be a part of His kingdom, so He doesn't give up until we tell Him to leave us alone. Can you imagine how sad that must make Him.
I know how embarrassing it is to admit you are wrong, or you shouldn't have said or done that. It takes a lot of courage to step to the plate and admit your shortcomings and apologize for hurting someone. It is not an easy task but must be done and we can do it by God's grace and the feeling afterwards is of such peace, I have always had such peace of mind and heart after I have made things right. It is worth all of the courage it takes, believe me. And to have the peace of God that passes all understanding is out of this world. Literally out of this world.!!!!!
I am so thankful He is faithful in giving us all the instruction we need to have a great life in Him and that He has told us all about having peace after forgiveness, remember He is faithful to forgive and we must be faithful in confessing and repenting of our sins, first to those we have hurt and then go God who abundantly pardons.
Isn't it wonderful to have a Savior who is faithful to pardon all our sins and cleanse us so we can stand before Him just as if we had never sinned, that is what justification means. I want to be justified, don't you?
Grandma Joan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)