Are You Dead Yet?
Isaiah 50: 4-7} The Lord God has given Me the tongue of a disciple and of one who is taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He wakens Me morning by morning, He wakens My ear as a disciple (as one who is taught). The Lord God has opened My ear, and I have not been rebellious or turned backward. I gave My back to the smiters and My cheeks to those who plucked off the hair; I hid not My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God helps Me; therefore I have not been ashamed or confounded. Therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
God has really given me a different but powerful sharing today. He had me go back to some old things He had given me to put on my site and this one really stood out. He even had me add new things to it to hopefully prick our consciences and get us to the place He would like us to be with Him and with one another....which is true unity, harmony and love. I pray you not only read today's sharing but print it up and go back over it. It is from God's mouth to our ears and it's a wonderful guide that we need to live by. So be blessed and read on......
When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult of the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ.....that is dying to self.
Let's face it when we get overlooked, rejected, or completely forgotten it sets off our emotions into overdrive and many times we are led to say and do the wrong things!
When you are open and can receive instruction, correction and reproof for some of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion, pride or resentment rising up in your heart...that is dying to self.
Had God ever spoken to you through someone you thought had less wisdom and knowledge than you? What was your reaction? Was it to rise up and tell them off in some way, or defend yourself to make yourself look better? Has it been to point the finger back at them to take the focus off you? We need to take time to go before the Lord to see if anything spoken to us has some truth to it. Sadly, many of us allow our pride and emotions to rise up and we retaliate in some way.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any raiment, any interruption by the will of God.....that is dying to self.
Have your good times been interrupted by some calamity? Have you gone through lean times where you cannot even afford to buy food? What was your reaction in that time? Was it to murmur and complain? Or was it to go in a quiet place and start praising God? God watches our reactions, He knows the motivations of our hearts. I've always said that praise and worship in the worst of times brings in miracles. God is faithful.
When you loving and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, and impunctuality, or any annoyance; when standing face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, endure it as Jesus endured.....that is dying to self.
Many of us get so aggravated when faced with people who are insensitive to our needs or to the Spirit of God for that matter. But instead of doing that, we need to pray for them. We also need to examine ourselves as to why we react the way we do. A good thing to do is to ask God to take anything out of us that does not glorify Him or show His love to another human being. I'm sure if Jesus were standing before us today He would probably tell us to shut up and pray rather than do or say things that cause division and strife.
When you see your brother or sister prosper and have their needs met and can honestly rejoice with them in spirit and feel no envy, no jealousy, or question God, whole your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances....that is dying to self.
Let's face it, some people are just filled with jealousy and envy. But we have to see what is behind that. Many people have been hurt over many periods of their lives and have been in lack...at least that's the excuse many of us use to make excuses for our bad behaviors. We refuse to see that we have been rebellious and disobedient to God in some way and we continue to refuse to change our ways for the better. So we reap what we sow. And as long as we continue with our negative attitudes, there will be no change and we will continue to go through the same bad situations until we learn something and change.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, or take any form of revenge but take it all in patient loving silence....that is dying to self.
Many Christians today are walking around with a lot of anger in their hearts. What this does is cloud their judgment and their discernment. The danger of this is we can be operating in something sinful and not even see it. But God does! In these times He can and will allow doors to be closed that were once opened and will pull people away from us. He will allow things to happen in our lives until we wake up and repent of our wrong doing and our sinful behaviors. Anger always tries to find a way to get revenge. Love covers a multitude of sins. The danger here also is that anger or negative emotions can and will bring sickness and even death to us in the spiritual and physical realm.
When you take your eyes of your own needs and do your best to meet someone else's needs, that is dying to self.
We have Christians today, unfortunately, who are selfish and self-centered. It's to see what they can get and not what they can give. When we can give something out without expecting anything in return that is spiritual maturity, that is dying to self.
Are you dead yet? In these last days that is what God is doing....bringing us back to the cross to perfect His Bride. Are you willing to go into the fire to be perfected? Are you willing to be humble enough to obey God in all things? God is letting us know that many of His children today are not operating in the Spirit at all times, but allowing their emotions to get into overdrive. When that happens we will operate in ungodly, unchristian and very unbiblical ways. Why? Because that opens a door for the enemy. We have to make sure that everything we say and do lines up with God's Word and His will, not our own will. It's time for the Body of Christ to do a heart search and get to that place of true repentance. It is also time for us to grow up spiritually and stop acting like spoiled children who always have to have their way. His will not ours! God is coming soon and He is coming for a perfect Bride. Have we truly laid down our will for His will in every area of our lives?
This is a question we not only need to ask ourselves but to accomplish. We are to be doers of the word not just hearers. I know with me, especially in these days, God has put certain people in my heart that I needed to ask forgiveness of for anything I might have said or done to offend them or tear them down. And believe me when I say, I did it right away and didn't put it off. When we obey God that quickly, we can be assured that we have delivered a royal black eye to the enemy and whatever plans he may have had against us is not going to prosper. We can also be assured that he is relentless and the attacks may even increase. The key is to persevere and continue to follow the leading of the Spirit, not our emotions. We need to be humble enough that when God's word says if we have anything against another brother or sister, to go to them and talk it over. Now realize that He says to talk, not to make accusations, not to yell and argue, but to talk with a loving attitude. Not go behind their backs and gossip, tear down, or cause strife and division. One of the thing God detests is when anyone causes strife among the brethren. Sadly enough this is going on in the Body of Christ today. The love walk has to begin with each one of us.
Too often when people offend us in any way, or God pulls people away from us, we have the tendency to strike back. We gossip, backbite and tear down and tell everyone about their shortcomings rather than looking into our own hearts and taking care of what we need to take care of within our hearts. We are so busy looking at their issues that we overlook our own. If we were truly focused on Jesus and truly concerned with our walk, we wouldn't be so concerned with someone else's walk. Let's stop taking God off the throne and putting ourselves on it by trying to fix, control or manipulate things, situations or people. We all have a Holy Spirit. Allow Him to do the work and if you see someone in sin, just pray. Unity, harmony and love is what this walk is all about. Too many of us are missing the mark. Let's begin this year to truly be a mirror image of Who Christ really is. Let us crucify the flesh and walk more every day in the Spirit. God bless you. I love you, but Jesus loves you so much more than I ever could.
God has really given me a different but powerful sharing today. He had me go back to some old things He had given me to put on my site and this one really stood out. He even had me add new things to it to hopefully prick our consciences and get us to the place He would like us to be with Him and with one another....which is true unity, harmony and love. I pray you not only read today's sharing but print it up and go back over it. It is from God's mouth to our ears and it's a wonderful guide that we need to live by. So be blessed and read on......
When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult of the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ.....that is dying to self.
Let's face it when we get overlooked, rejected, or completely forgotten it sets off our emotions into overdrive and many times we are led to say and do the wrong things!
When you are open and can receive instruction, correction and reproof for some of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion, pride or resentment rising up in your heart...that is dying to self.
Had God ever spoken to you through someone you thought had less wisdom and knowledge than you? What was your reaction? Was it to rise up and tell them off in some way, or defend yourself to make yourself look better? Has it been to point the finger back at them to take the focus off you? We need to take time to go before the Lord to see if anything spoken to us has some truth to it. Sadly, many of us allow our pride and emotions to rise up and we retaliate in some way.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any raiment, any interruption by the will of God.....that is dying to self.
Have your good times been interrupted by some calamity? Have you gone through lean times where you cannot even afford to buy food? What was your reaction in that time? Was it to murmur and complain? Or was it to go in a quiet place and start praising God? God watches our reactions, He knows the motivations of our hearts. I've always said that praise and worship in the worst of times brings in miracles. God is faithful.
When you loving and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, and impunctuality, or any annoyance; when standing face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, endure it as Jesus endured.....that is dying to self.
Many of us get so aggravated when faced with people who are insensitive to our needs or to the Spirit of God for that matter. But instead of doing that, we need to pray for them. We also need to examine ourselves as to why we react the way we do. A good thing to do is to ask God to take anything out of us that does not glorify Him or show His love to another human being. I'm sure if Jesus were standing before us today He would probably tell us to shut up and pray rather than do or say things that cause division and strife.
When you see your brother or sister prosper and have their needs met and can honestly rejoice with them in spirit and feel no envy, no jealousy, or question God, whole your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances....that is dying to self.
Let's face it, some people are just filled with jealousy and envy. But we have to see what is behind that. Many people have been hurt over many periods of their lives and have been in lack...at least that's the excuse many of us use to make excuses for our bad behaviors. We refuse to see that we have been rebellious and disobedient to God in some way and we continue to refuse to change our ways for the better. So we reap what we sow. And as long as we continue with our negative attitudes, there will be no change and we will continue to go through the same bad situations until we learn something and change.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, or take any form of revenge but take it all in patient loving silence....that is dying to self.
Many Christians today are walking around with a lot of anger in their hearts. What this does is cloud their judgment and their discernment. The danger of this is we can be operating in something sinful and not even see it. But God does! In these times He can and will allow doors to be closed that were once opened and will pull people away from us. He will allow things to happen in our lives until we wake up and repent of our wrong doing and our sinful behaviors. Anger always tries to find a way to get revenge. Love covers a multitude of sins. The danger here also is that anger or negative emotions can and will bring sickness and even death to us in the spiritual and physical realm.
When you take your eyes of your own needs and do your best to meet someone else's needs, that is dying to self.
We have Christians today, unfortunately, who are selfish and self-centered. It's to see what they can get and not what they can give. When we can give something out without expecting anything in return that is spiritual maturity, that is dying to self.
Are you dead yet? In these last days that is what God is doing....bringing us back to the cross to perfect His Bride. Are you willing to go into the fire to be perfected? Are you willing to be humble enough to obey God in all things? God is letting us know that many of His children today are not operating in the Spirit at all times, but allowing their emotions to get into overdrive. When that happens we will operate in ungodly, unchristian and very unbiblical ways. Why? Because that opens a door for the enemy. We have to make sure that everything we say and do lines up with God's Word and His will, not our own will. It's time for the Body of Christ to do a heart search and get to that place of true repentance. It is also time for us to grow up spiritually and stop acting like spoiled children who always have to have their way. His will not ours! God is coming soon and He is coming for a perfect Bride. Have we truly laid down our will for His will in every area of our lives?
This is a question we not only need to ask ourselves but to accomplish. We are to be doers of the word not just hearers. I know with me, especially in these days, God has put certain people in my heart that I needed to ask forgiveness of for anything I might have said or done to offend them or tear them down. And believe me when I say, I did it right away and didn't put it off. When we obey God that quickly, we can be assured that we have delivered a royal black eye to the enemy and whatever plans he may have had against us is not going to prosper. We can also be assured that he is relentless and the attacks may even increase. The key is to persevere and continue to follow the leading of the Spirit, not our emotions. We need to be humble enough that when God's word says if we have anything against another brother or sister, to go to them and talk it over. Now realize that He says to talk, not to make accusations, not to yell and argue, but to talk with a loving attitude. Not go behind their backs and gossip, tear down, or cause strife and division. One of the thing God detests is when anyone causes strife among the brethren. Sadly enough this is going on in the Body of Christ today. The love walk has to begin with each one of us.
Too often when people offend us in any way, or God pulls people away from us, we have the tendency to strike back. We gossip, backbite and tear down and tell everyone about their shortcomings rather than looking into our own hearts and taking care of what we need to take care of within our hearts. We are so busy looking at their issues that we overlook our own. If we were truly focused on Jesus and truly concerned with our walk, we wouldn't be so concerned with someone else's walk. Let's stop taking God off the throne and putting ourselves on it by trying to fix, control or manipulate things, situations or people. We all have a Holy Spirit. Allow Him to do the work and if you see someone in sin, just pray. Unity, harmony and love is what this walk is all about. Too many of us are missing the mark. Let's begin this year to truly be a mirror image of Who Christ really is. Let us crucify the flesh and walk more every day in the Spirit. God bless you. I love you, but Jesus loves you so much more than I ever could.
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