Because of the evil, God extends His Grace.
Just look at Genesis 8:21 and the Flood.
Floods our wicked hearts w/grace.
Do men fall and not get up again?Do we turn away and not repent?
Jeremiah 8:4
"They have spoken what is not right;
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, 'What have I done?'
Everyone turned to his course,
Like a horse charging into the battle."
Jeremiah 8:6
Have thought deep and wide about conviction.
What does it mean to repent of our wicked ways?
Crabb talks about 3 tracks we are on in life.
The first two tracks are a call to repent.
1. The Managed Life - I will make my life work. God ought to help me get the life I want. I'll use God to get blessings to feel better about myself.
2. The Wounded Life - My life isn't what I thought it would be. It is a mess. Certainly God will help me feel better; that is His job. I'll use God to feel better about me.
3. The Forming Life - God is forming the life of Christ in me every given moment. My highest calling is to reflect something of His Love for me in every situation, whether those situations are good or painful. The bridge to genuine joy is learning to love all those difficult hard-to-love people in our lives.
Galatians 4:19 - May Christ be formed in each one of us.
PRAYER FROM PSALMS:
Just as David prayed that God would forgive him of his sins and help him, we are confident this day of prayer that changes us, O God! Help us all in our afflictions. Psalm 6:16
Compelling thoughts today, Bev. To be a refection of Him, requires me to be like water before him, ready to take on whatever he desires. The reflection doesn't say to the original, "What shall I reflect", it just reflects.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughts.
It's easy to reflect Gods love when we are being treated kind. It's just natural. Supernatural love requires us to extend Christs message of love to the hurtful, the unlovable. Not so easy then. Swallow pride and hurt, and be loving anyway.
DeleteAnd that is where our transformation begins to happen.
How true how true. I am seeing this lived out before my very eyes. My daughter and her family are moving to Dallas next week. She is 41 and has lived here all her life, went to school and lived at home when she went..all we could afford at the time...worked with me and my husband at his law office. Her brother lives i town too....everyone is stressed and very emotional right now. God is in the move and directing it...yet very very hard to let go of in this manner. My two adult children 41 and 39...she is the oldest have decided to have a "fight"...he more or less started it...he is trying to kiss and make up and I don't know how willing she is. She put me in the middle. I am seeing how hard it is being for her to respond in the Godly manner in which she should respond. She is the one who has lived closer to God all of her life. Just saying all of that to say...to sit back and also have to try to mediate, is hearing and seeing the responses that I do NOT like. Her husband is fueling the division as far as I can tell...would not thought that of him. God just told me how to pray for them as my son takes his two over later today to tell them good bye and hug and kiss her, when she asked him to leave her house on Monday. Both need to swallow a lot of pride...may get God get ALL of the glory and may what was meant for evil be used for good in all of their lives and mine as their mother, who wants to "kiss it and make it all better"....God has met me every step of the way the past two months when this process started of them "possibly" leaving down to buying a house in Dallas and selling the one here in less than a week and so many other things and now being in the middle of the two of them. They are both saved...may they show Christ and live it out before their flesh and blood that they brought into this world...Son in law not back till tomorrow which is a blessing. God is good and He is good all of the time. Thanks for listening and praying as I know you all will.
DeleteJust reading this late today. Oh, Mary Lou, it's so hard when our children are at odds. And on the heels of a big move. Know that must be tearing you up inside. I'm praying right now for humble hearts for all that soften with Christs love and their own love for each other. God bless you tonight as you deal with your own grief over the move, too. Hugs and love to you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteMary Lou, I came back to the comments to read yours again. I know you want the best for your family, and for everyone to get along. It is difficult to mediate people you love. Keep reflecting God's love. God is good, and I will continue to pray for restoration of peace.
ReplyDelete