OUR COMING STRUGGLES IN CHRIST
Greetings in the name of Christ our Lord:
With every fiber in my heart for this coming year there is both an anticipation as well as a kind of fear about what this country will face. I do know that whether this coming year is filled with God's will or the wrath that is to be taken out on the followers of Christ by this world in persecution that it will all be very difficult to endure.
We pray for revival, yet know nothing about what it takes before there is enough for mankind to begin to turn to God again in any real way. We may see the excitement and the thrill of having God actually stand with us, and do the signs and wonders that bolster our faith; but we do not see the suffering and the pain that it takes for us to no longer put our faith and belief in men or in this world. The incredible parts of this deal with the very basic parts of belief about God, and about us. As Christians those things we believe in can never be resolved to any point of having God's Spirit work within us until we give all authority and control over to Him. Instead of understanding that; we stand with a blank stare when this world cannot see or believe in God at work within us. Very soon we will begin a very important study in the Book of Acts 1:1-8. In those few verses we will find out what God said to us before Jesus ascended into Heaven, as well as find out what our nature as men did even before God could bring the power of His Spirit into our lives. In one way or the other we as mankind have been doing battle with God for control of the church ever since.
The dynamic and the power does not belong to us as men, but to God to use through us as willing vessels, but our own egos will never let us see that on our own. That is the entire reason that Christ speaks about death to ourselves first. If you are going to follow me then you first must take up your cross, and deny yourself. It is that thought that we must first deal with, but our first intent is to be recognized by other men through programs and efforts to get as many involved with our ideas as we can. God's word has never been real popular even among those who are suppose to love Him the most. If the words I am using lately are somewhat stronger it may be because I am being forced to do so by the Spirit within me. I need to be stronger and more direct than I ever have been because the stakes are higher than they have ever been in history. Most of the time I don't know what to do next except listen for God to whisper into my heart what to say next. In some cases like today I don't even know what I am to type next, and so I just allow God to flow through me, and then like you I read it after it is finished. There is nothing of me that come from me any longer, and I don't control any of what I do from day to day...it is led by the Spirit of God. We must all learn to begin living in the same ways Paul did when he rose until the time he closed his eyes at night his life was controlled by God's Spirit who led him from place to place and from encounter to encounter in this life. Our influence must become the same as that in our moment to moment struggle with this life. Dear ones this coming year will no doubt be a struggle if you follow Christ. I know there may be those who do not yet believe me...but I think you soon will understand. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
With every fiber in my heart for this coming year there is both an anticipation as well as a kind of fear about what this country will face. I do know that whether this coming year is filled with God's will or the wrath that is to be taken out on the followers of Christ by this world in persecution that it will all be very difficult to endure.
We pray for revival, yet know nothing about what it takes before there is enough for mankind to begin to turn to God again in any real way. We may see the excitement and the thrill of having God actually stand with us, and do the signs and wonders that bolster our faith; but we do not see the suffering and the pain that it takes for us to no longer put our faith and belief in men or in this world. The incredible parts of this deal with the very basic parts of belief about God, and about us. As Christians those things we believe in can never be resolved to any point of having God's Spirit work within us until we give all authority and control over to Him. Instead of understanding that; we stand with a blank stare when this world cannot see or believe in God at work within us. Very soon we will begin a very important study in the Book of Acts 1:1-8. In those few verses we will find out what God said to us before Jesus ascended into Heaven, as well as find out what our nature as men did even before God could bring the power of His Spirit into our lives. In one way or the other we as mankind have been doing battle with God for control of the church ever since.
The dynamic and the power does not belong to us as men, but to God to use through us as willing vessels, but our own egos will never let us see that on our own. That is the entire reason that Christ speaks about death to ourselves first. If you are going to follow me then you first must take up your cross, and deny yourself. It is that thought that we must first deal with, but our first intent is to be recognized by other men through programs and efforts to get as many involved with our ideas as we can. God's word has never been real popular even among those who are suppose to love Him the most. If the words I am using lately are somewhat stronger it may be because I am being forced to do so by the Spirit within me. I need to be stronger and more direct than I ever have been because the stakes are higher than they have ever been in history. Most of the time I don't know what to do next except listen for God to whisper into my heart what to say next. In some cases like today I don't even know what I am to type next, and so I just allow God to flow through me, and then like you I read it after it is finished. There is nothing of me that come from me any longer, and I don't control any of what I do from day to day...it is led by the Spirit of God. We must all learn to begin living in the same ways Paul did when he rose until the time he closed his eyes at night his life was controlled by God's Spirit who led him from place to place and from encounter to encounter in this life. Our influence must become the same as that in our moment to moment struggle with this life. Dear ones this coming year will no doubt be a struggle if you follow Christ. I know there may be those who do not yet believe me...but I think you soon will understand. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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