Quote from Forum Archives on December 29, 2000, 9:34 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

As I continue along my journey, I need to be continually refined
by the Word of God. Otherwise, I can be easily deceived into
thinking I have the right attitude, and that I am doing the right
thing. There have been more times than I would comfortably want
to admit to you that things have not been right in my life. Not
because God didn't love me, not because I didn't love God. No, I
did love God then, and He loved me, too. But I was not always
"walking in the light". I did not always carry my candle and
light the dark areas within my own self, much less those around
me.

Reading this message reminds me that to be a true follower of
Christ means to let go of all of the things that I have held,
including my own preconceived notions about God. Catch that last
one, because it can be a snare, even for Christians.

Dear Lord, I want to be closer to You, to be a delight to You.
How can I do that when my thoughts are far away? Please be ever
near to me, remind me of Your Presence by everything I see and
do, even the most mundane tasks. Can we talk today, even as I
work, even as others are around, trying to crowd You out? Will
You help me? It really is my desire to be close, yet there is so
much that attempts to compete with You. Please know that You
will always be my first love, no matter what else may attempt to
come between us.

I think of the prayer in the Christmas hymn, "Away In A Manger":
Be near me, Lord Jesus
I ask You to stay
Close by me forever
And love me, I pray
Bless all Thy dear children
In Thy tender care
And bring us to heaven
To live with Thee there

I can think of nothing better than to be with You, Dear Lord.
But I want to be with You TODAY, not just when You come to take
me away. I rely on Your Spirit to work in me today, for my own
efforts are feeble, at best. My role is to respond to You, Lord.
Help me to hear when You call, and answer You obediently and with
a thankful heart. Amen.

Brother Brian

December 29

Deserter or Disciple?

"From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with
Him no more" (John 6:66).

When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear
vision of His will, you must "walk in the light" of that vision
(1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by
it, if you don't "walk in the light" of it you will sink to a
level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally
disobeying the "heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19) will make you a
slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus
Christ. Don't look at someone else and say, "Well, if he can
have those views and prosper, why can't I?" You have to "walk in
the light" of the vision that has been given to you. Don't
compare yourself with others or judge them -- that is between God
and them.

When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views
clashes with the "heavenly vision," do not begin to debate it.
If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in
you -- things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against
these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself
-- "... for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the
things he possesses" (Luke 12:15). If we don't see and
understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying
principles of our Lord's teaching.

Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the
wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But
if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of
God, and we don't try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do
so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not
respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the
unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either
continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus
Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.

Authorized By The Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd.
1997 RBC Ministries--Grand Rapids, MI 49555-0001
www.gospelcom.net/rbc/utmost/devo/utmost.shtml

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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