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Posts Tagged ‘victory in Jesus’

Day 140, “The Question You Can’t Answer”

Posted in Under-the-Influence, Devo Shorts 2011, tagged , , , , on July 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

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“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things which I say?”  Lk 6:46

Why have I not forgiven as instructed?

Why have I not obeyed the things I am told to do from the Word?

Why has my intention and desire to obey the Lord fallen short?

Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say?

The plague of self…

If I realize that the love language of the Lord is obedience (Jn 14:21), then I will also realize that the true answer to the Lord’s question in Lk 6:46 is that I still love myself more than I love the Lord. In fact, I am still enslaved to myself because of that love, and because of that enslavement (Rom 6:16) I am reaping a future of death.

The Lord, if He is My Lord, has already freed me from sin and eternal separation, but if I begin to live a life surrendered to my soul (will, intellect, and emotions) and in deception believe I am living in obedience to Him when I am really serving myself  – I am simply deceived… and reaping destruction.

This suits the enemies plan perfectly. I think I am walking in righteousness when all along I am walking in selfishness. The wages I then earn are death. Booyah, enemy wins!

You see, this is the dilemma we face as believers.  This is the litmus test that we must honestly face, and monitor, and be on guard against about ourselves everyday of our lives…

Who actually sits on the throne of my heart???

If it is the Lord, truly, I will be convicted by the Holy Spirit for my failure to obey in the areas instructed.  That conviction will inspire repentance on my part and a desire to turn more fully into obedience in the areas where I have failed.

And thus my Christian walk is none other than a path of tweaking by the Holy Spirit where my obedience becomes more pure, more consecrated, more whole. Like gold refined by fire I am constantly being changed, from glory to glory.

However, if I am deceived, and I am the one who truly occupies the thrown of my heart… then the error of declination will become more and more apparent the further I walk through life. As I submit to enslavement to my “self”, I will serve my own will, emotions, and intellect … and all the while believe I am serving the One true God.

What is the greatest indicator that I am dangerously deceived??? My life will lack the victory of the Lord, His Presence, His Word, His influence…

I will continue to struggle in areas of failure, failing again and again and it will appear hopeless. Marriage, relationships, ministry, finances, career, it doesn’t matter. My life will display a lack of victory…in Christ.

How can I prevent or detect this fatal error?

I must notice, am I becoming more in love and submitted to the Lord without reservation? Or am I becoming more submitted to self?

Which way am I focused? To the Lord? Or to myself?

Which is the one I am more in tune with? The Lord or myself?

James instructs us to be a doer of the word, not a hearer only… and it is for this very reason.  If I am only committed to hear the word, but not do it, it is only a matter of time before I become deceived (by reasoning contrary to the Truth) Jam 1:22.

Eventually, you become like the one who looks at his natural face in the mirror and moves away, and forgets what he looks like.

You forget what you look like because that would bring conviction. The enemy doesn’t want that.  He wants you to focus on yourself, but then forget that you are focusing on yourself.

What is the remedy for this predicament??? Return to John 12:24-25.  Let your own life fall to the ground. Let it die (yield it wholly to the Lord – faculties and members both, Rom 6:13) Lose sight of yourselves, forget about yourselves!!! And never let yourself be the center of your concern, focus, service, ever again.  Maintain a course of actively serving God as Lord and Savior, first and foremost!!! 

Yield yourself and keep on yielding to Him!!!

It is the only way. 

SO,,, why can’t you answer the Lord’s question from Lk 6:46?

Because if He is your Lord in truth, He won’t need to ask the question…thus, you won’t be able to answer a question that is not asked…

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Day Twenty-Five, Under-the-Influence

Posted in Under-the-Influence, Devo Shorts 2011, tagged , , , on September 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Day Twenty-Five

 

Arise and Shine!

 

“Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you – rise to a new life!] Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!” (Amp Is 60:1)

 

          Before Moses was commissioned by God to go deliver the Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt, their bodies were bowed under the strain of their evil taskmasters.  Their heads were bowed under the oppression of a system that only cared about what they could produce.  But their hearts remained attached to the belief that a Deliverer was coming to free them.  He did, and has freed – US ALL!  Yet – you and I today can often slide into a place of captivity and forgetfulness of that deliverance and freedom.  We can lose our perspective and thus our position through Christ.  There in that place of being weighed down, our heads are bowed, and we look like captives.  Even as believers, if we are not watchful, the cares of this world can choke and suffocate the Word that is in us (Mt 13:22).  But dwelling within us is the very Presence of the Most – High God, Who is more than a conqueror in us!  To be engaged with that Truth we must receive it, know it, and keep it as a light before us to walk out.

          Think of yourself like a balloon filled with helium.  Under normal conditions you are buoyant.  You float!  That is a picture of the Spirit-Filled life.  You are an over-comer.  But if you change the external conditions and begin to increase the pressure on the outside of the balloon – the balloon begins to struggle and shrink under that greater pressure.  The only way to avoid the collapse of that balloon is to increase the internal pressure to match that of the outside atmosphere.

          In life, when our focus is stayed on the world and its cares, our buoyancy begins to subside.  The problem is:  we are focused on the wrong thing.  Yes, we can be aware of the problem and issues – but we focus on the Lord!  Like Col 3:2 says, we set our minds and keep them set on things that are above, not on things on the earth.  To focus on the cares of this world steals our buoyancy and our over-coming strength in Christ.  This strength dissipates (leaks) anyway over time – so we must constantly fill up and be filled in the Spirit.  We do this by focusing on Christ, meditating on, and memorizing His Word.  We let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.  We put on the love of Christ and enfold ourselves with His bond of perfection (this helps slow down the leaking process) 🙂(Col 3: 14-16).  And we allow His peace to rule in us – this stabilizes agitation and upheaval in us that stirs us to fretting and worry.

          So then focusing on Christ, constantly connecting and filling up on His Word, being enfolded in His love, and having His peace fill and rule in our hearts  — these are the ways we keep our lives in a place of faith and strength before Him so we can indeed arise and shine in His glory.  These are the ways we throw off the shackles of prostration and depression that the enemy would like us to be captive to.  These are the ways we keep our spiritual life buoyant and inflated with the Presence of the Lord!

          Beloved – we are free!  Our circumstances may be pressing hard against us.  We may be perplexed.  We may be pursued or persecuted.  We may even be struck down by events – but we are not struck out and destroyed! (2Cor 4:8-10) Within us resides by God’s grace everything we need to overcome every situation and circumstance.  But our success lies in keeping our focus on Him, His word dwelling in us richly, enfolded in His love, with His peace ruling over our hearts! We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus!

          Arise and shine — beloved!

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