*I GOT THIS FROM CROWN LAID DOWN! The Cridet goes to her!*
"Are you looking for convenience?," says Beth " Well God's calling on your life will not be convenient for you."
He ain't 7-11, after all. (And that is just my take on Beth's words.)
Beth adds, "We need to adapt--we are warriors of God."
From these verses in Matthew 16:24-28, there are seven principles at work:
1) Christ offers us a life we would trade the world to have. (here)
2) This life cannot be sought. It can only be found. (here)
3) This life's biggest stumbling block will be self-protection. (here)
4) The cost of missing this life is infinitely higher than the cost of living it. We lose our life to find it. (here)
5) In this life, denying ourselves means denying self the right to rob us of God. (here)
Denying myself frees me from three things:
a) Selfishness
b) Insatiable Ego
c) Bondage of Addiction (both to substance and behaviors)
Substance addiction may be obvious, like drugs, alcohol, food and the like. But behavior addiction may be addicted to the need for approval or affirmation and a host of other behaviors. (I can think of things like addiction for control and manipulation. Or I can even think of some, who are addicted to power.)
In Sharon Hersh's book, The Last Addiction, she says that the Latin term for addiction is addictus, which means "to surrender to the gods." Addiction is stronger than any human love, says Hersh ( I will add that it is not stronger than God's love.).
Sometimes, says Beth, we need to admit and agree to flat be loved. For we do not want to be like Solomon in Ecclesiastes saying I hate my life.
Hersh says that the heart of addiction is worship heart and soul to release my pain that is out of control in a world that hurts me. It is a way to be fueled by addiction to serve something or someone and takes away stress or pain for awhile for control.
Jesus says to each of us, make Me your central activity. Find me-find everything.
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
The one central thing I do is to lose my life in Christ. Charles H. Spurgeon says this, every man is eaten up with some kind of zeal.
Zeal based in God's Word can be eaten up, and like the burning bush that Moses saw, it will not be consumed. It is a holy zeal.
Some people say to God, deliver me. Then He does. Then we go on like we were before and continue ahead with our own control over our lives. But Hersh says, "The idea that self must fix this broken self is self-defeating. But I sure kept trying to fix myself with self."
We must deny ourselves the right to fix ourselves, For self help is no help at all. Remember that in Jesus, there is no dark side at all. He is healthy and whole. He offers to walk with us one day at a time. So if we are going to live victoriously, it will be an every day decision on our part.
So we can pray daily, "God fill up my cavernous soul." Amen. Then we are able to walk this thing out, not filling our soul with stuff that doesn't satisfy.
6) This life involves giving ourselves up, not giving up.
I said it this way in my notes, "By standing firm, Holly, you gain life. Persevere to win, Holly."
Beth said this, "In our generation, we are losing the training to endure, fight, be strong and be brave. A narcissist will say any irritation is a tribulation. For instance someone might say, 'My decorator didn't show up today.' It ain't no thang." says Beth We have zero stamina. We give up too fast. This thing doesn't last long. Life is a vapor. (Fight for it, Holly.) Fight the good fight.
"We will never lose a fight for Jesus that we will not end up winning," says Beth. (Can you hear my groan? Amen, Sister. That is something this one needs to know!) Read that one again, please.
We need to learn to adapt. We are driven by convenience. God says, My calling will not be convenient for you. We are warriors of God.
J.P. Moreland says in his contrast between the Biblical understanding of happiness and the contemporary understand of happiness this:
Contemporary Understanding: Achieved by self-absorbed narcissism; success produces a celebrity
Biblical Understanding (Classical): Achieved by self-denying, apprenticeship to Jesus; success produces a hero
Beth said the opposite of deep calls to deep--shallow calls to shallow, about the celebrities, who are glorified in our society for nothing great at all. Some kids were polled about what they wanted to be when they grew up and the majority wanted to be a celebrity--5 minutes of fame.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul says, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
7) Whatever we lose to find this life will be incomparably supplanted.
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Hebrews 11:6c
He rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Jesus wants to do an Extreme Holly (Beth, Sue, Emily, your name) Makeover. Are you willing to live a life of self-sacrifice, so that His Name will be glorified?
He says to each of us, "I go to prepare a place for you." (My word: And Extreme Home Makeover ain't got a thing on what Jesus is doing!)
I hope that these notes will bring a word for you, as they did for me. So many things Beth said spoke to my heart. If you will--pray for Beth, Travis and the whole Living Proof team--pray for God to continue to make His Name famous through their serve. Pray for God to be their guard and their great reward in all things. Finally, pray for what He is speaking over your life. As Beth says, this thing doesn't last long. Let's make it count and walk this thing out in victory on Holy Ground following Jesus.
"Are you looking for convenience?," says Beth " Well God's calling on your life will not be convenient for you."
He ain't 7-11, after all. (And that is just my take on Beth's words.)
Beth adds, "We need to adapt--we are warriors of God."
From these verses in Matthew 16:24-28, there are seven principles at work:
1) Christ offers us a life we would trade the world to have. (here)
2) This life cannot be sought. It can only be found. (here)
3) This life's biggest stumbling block will be self-protection. (here)
4) The cost of missing this life is infinitely higher than the cost of living it. We lose our life to find it. (here)
5) In this life, denying ourselves means denying self the right to rob us of God. (here)
Denying myself frees me from three things:
a) Selfishness
b) Insatiable Ego
c) Bondage of Addiction (both to substance and behaviors)
Substance addiction may be obvious, like drugs, alcohol, food and the like. But behavior addiction may be addicted to the need for approval or affirmation and a host of other behaviors. (I can think of things like addiction for control and manipulation. Or I can even think of some, who are addicted to power.)
In Sharon Hersh's book, The Last Addiction, she says that the Latin term for addiction is addictus, which means "to surrender to the gods." Addiction is stronger than any human love, says Hersh ( I will add that it is not stronger than God's love.).
Sometimes, says Beth, we need to admit and agree to flat be loved. For we do not want to be like Solomon in Ecclesiastes saying I hate my life.
Hersh says that the heart of addiction is worship heart and soul to release my pain that is out of control in a world that hurts me. It is a way to be fueled by addiction to serve something or someone and takes away stress or pain for awhile for control.
Jesus says to each of us, make Me your central activity. Find me-find everything.
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
The one central thing I do is to lose my life in Christ. Charles H. Spurgeon says this, every man is eaten up with some kind of zeal.
Zeal based in God's Word can be eaten up, and like the burning bush that Moses saw, it will not be consumed. It is a holy zeal.
Some people say to God, deliver me. Then He does. Then we go on like we were before and continue ahead with our own control over our lives. But Hersh says, "The idea that self must fix this broken self is self-defeating. But I sure kept trying to fix myself with self."
We must deny ourselves the right to fix ourselves, For self help is no help at all. Remember that in Jesus, there is no dark side at all. He is healthy and whole. He offers to walk with us one day at a time. So if we are going to live victoriously, it will be an every day decision on our part.
So we can pray daily, "God fill up my cavernous soul." Amen. Then we are able to walk this thing out, not filling our soul with stuff that doesn't satisfy.
6) This life involves giving ourselves up, not giving up.
I said it this way in my notes, "By standing firm, Holly, you gain life. Persevere to win, Holly."
Beth said this, "In our generation, we are losing the training to endure, fight, be strong and be brave. A narcissist will say any irritation is a tribulation. For instance someone might say, 'My decorator didn't show up today.' It ain't no thang." says Beth We have zero stamina. We give up too fast. This thing doesn't last long. Life is a vapor. (Fight for it, Holly.) Fight the good fight.
"We will never lose a fight for Jesus that we will not end up winning," says Beth. (Can you hear my groan? Amen, Sister. That is something this one needs to know!) Read that one again, please.
We need to learn to adapt. We are driven by convenience. God says, My calling will not be convenient for you. We are warriors of God.
J.P. Moreland says in his contrast between the Biblical understanding of happiness and the contemporary understand of happiness this:
Contemporary Understanding: Achieved by self-absorbed narcissism; success produces a celebrity
Biblical Understanding (Classical): Achieved by self-denying, apprenticeship to Jesus; success produces a hero
Beth said the opposite of deep calls to deep--shallow calls to shallow, about the celebrities, who are glorified in our society for nothing great at all. Some kids were polled about what they wanted to be when they grew up and the majority wanted to be a celebrity--5 minutes of fame.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul says, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
7) Whatever we lose to find this life will be incomparably supplanted.
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Hebrews 11:6c
He rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Jesus wants to do an Extreme Holly (Beth, Sue, Emily, your name) Makeover. Are you willing to live a life of self-sacrifice, so that His Name will be glorified?
He says to each of us, "I go to prepare a place for you." (My word: And Extreme Home Makeover ain't got a thing on what Jesus is doing!)
I hope that these notes will bring a word for you, as they did for me. So many things Beth said spoke to my heart. If you will--pray for Beth, Travis and the whole Living Proof team--pray for God to continue to make His Name famous through their serve. Pray for God to be their guard and their great reward in all things. Finally, pray for what He is speaking over your life. As Beth says, this thing doesn't last long. Let's make it count and walk this thing out in victory on Holy Ground following Jesus.
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