LISTENING WITH THE GRACE OF GOD

  GREETINGS IN THE NAME OF JESUS:


  The simple words" Be still and know that I am God" do not really stir up too much in our hearts these days because it is so rare that we ever have the chance to still ourselves from the world around us long enough to make us realize that God is actually there with us.

In all truth, God's majesty can be found all around us at every second of our lives if we take the time to look for Him.  The fact is we do not tape into the grace and the wisdom of God today as we deal with the everyday things of our life.  We tend instead to allow others to lead us into various traditions and creeds that have not been given by God for our benefit, but by the minds and hearts of men.

 The truth is that if we really were listening to what the grace of God is telling us we could cut out much of the trappings of  various religious traditions and be closer to God than we ever were, but we do not because they tend to give us a place to belong, and a funny sense of comfort.  Many people as an example look for the outward manifestations of the Holy Spirit which has a kind of two-edged sword attached to it.  On one hand, we enjoy seeing God at work by the prayers we make being answered by a loving God who cares so much for us personally; and yet on the other hand if our prayers are not answered in the ways we feel is good or Godly we tend to lose some of our faith in God, or in ourselves to believe enough.  That kind of thinking brings me to say there is an addition to listening to God through His grace that is being overlooked today.  It has to do with the solvency of God to do or not to do what we request.  While we often are looking for the outward manifestations of the Holy Spirit's gifts of healing or grace shown to us we need to also be seeking the inward manifestations of how God is working within us to understand His mind and reasonings for the things He does.  Many of us are walking a very thin tight-rope when it comes to overstepping our bounds in taking the control of healings and Spiritual gifts out of the hands of God and trying to use them as a tool for our own benefit.

 My dear friends, there is never a time when God should not be in control; especially when we are calling on His Spiritual gifts, and I certainly believe in those gifts being at work today, but I don't believe they are at our command, but only available through the power of God 's will and grace to us.
  We of ourselves have no power at all to show forth any manifestation of God's power other than if He chooses to use us over another vessel to do that work.  Don't think we have the right mindset to think that we can wheel His power any more than a little baby has the ability to wheeled a loaded 357 magnum.  Unfortunately, we are all prone to getting big heads when we feel that is giving us special powers for things like healing or other spiritual gifts, and it is usually not long before we tend to try to use these things for other purposes than His pure will.  We may well be given a gift to use but it is never at our own will...only by His power.  If we are used at all we should be honored and humbled at His choice in us and be drawn ever closer to His will for our lives.  For this reason, God does heal the Spiritually sick and open the eyes of those who have been spiritually blinded.  He raises the spiritually dead and causes the lame to be able to walk spiritually so that we can be perfected as His children.  These kinds of miracles happen every day all around us. We may not see these things on a physical basis all of the time but we will see the result in the fruit of the Holy Spirit springing from those lives that have been touched by God's Grace.

 God does both the physical manifestation of the healing we can see or the Spiritual healing that we can sense and feel from a changed life.  We need to remember which is more important; because His Kingdom is not of this world.  How do I know this is true?  Because I have experienced it in my own life. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.


THE UNWORTHY SERVANT