Growing in Christ

Hi Chris:

I truly praise God with you and am encouraged by your excitement for Him! And thank you for sharing with me; that is uplifting to my spirit as well.

LeastOne

Hi Saints:

Once during a particularly troubling period of my life, I was walking along a dry river bed feeling kind of lost in myself and my life, when I found an old tea cup half buried in the dirt. I dug it out and it was caked with dirt on the outside and packed with dirt and rocks on the inside. As I was looking at it, the Lord said to me, "Son, that cup is you."

I replied, "Sir?" and He answered, "Let me ask you something. Would you put that cup as it is on your table or in your cupboard?"

"No Sir", I said.
"You would need to clean it up, inside and out, before it would ever be of use to you, wouldn't you?"

"Yes Sir", I agreed.

Then He said, "Pretend that cup is alive and can feel. If you started scraping the dirt out it would probably hurt it, wouldn't it? And it would really hurt when you had to scrape real close to the sides, right?

"Yes Sir", I agreed.

"And what would you do if it began crying real loud and squirming around in your hands?"

"I would probably stop", I replied.

"Otherwise, with it moving and flinching at every touch you made, you could really damage it, right? And you wouldn't want to do that, would you?"

"No Sir", I said.

"So, what would happen then?", He asked me. "Wouldn't you just put it aside, and not use it?"

"Yes Sir", I quietly replied, because I could see where He was heading with this.

"But this could be a beautiful cup for you to use, couldn't it? That is, if you could get it cleaned up!", He asked me. "But until it allows you to do what needs to be done to make it useful to you, all you can do is set it aside, right? You are surely not going to put it out on display, or drink from it, are you?"

"No Sir", I mumbled.

"That cup is you, Son.", He said again to me.

Hebrews 12:6 - "For those whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives."

Proverbs 1:23 - "Turn to my reproof; behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you."

My prayer today is that all of those who are His will sincerely turn to their Father's discipline, that all may grow up into the spiritual maturity in Christ which is their birthright and is worthy of the Lord Jesus, Who is their very Life.

LeastOne

Leastone

The LORD works HIS wonders through your writings. You are truly one of HIS children. I am thankful to HIM for having you here to share and encourage me in my walk with HIM.

Many do not know what it really feels like to constantly be in HIS presence. I can not find the words to explain it. I just know that in all things and in all ways I am truly happy and at peace.

Love in CHRIST

Janice

Hi GodsGrace:

Thank you for your uplifting words. The Lord continues to amaze me how He has used each one who has responded positively to keep encouraging me when I most need it. More than I can express, I deeply appreciate it.

And I fully agree: the more I come to know Him, the more I want to know Him more - and live always in His Presence. My constant prayer is that He would so clean me out that there would be nothing but pure love between us.

Again, thank you.

LeastOne

Hi Saints:

Joh 10:27 - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me"

Over the years one of the most frequent comments I have heard from other Christians is, "I wish I knew how to hear from God."

And during that time, I have also heard countless explanations of why we can't, why we don't, and why we shouldn't expect to hear from Him. Yet the Lord Jesus clearly says that we will hear His voice!

When we were first married, my wife (who has always been a "busy" person) had the bad habit of starting a conversation or asking me a question and then leaving the room. Quite honestly, it irritated me and we had several arguments about it. I thought it was rude (and still do) although she didn't mean it that way; it was just difficult to get her to sit still and stay focused.

Much of the problem Christians have with hearing from the Lord is for this exact same reason. So many of us - both individual Christians and entire churches - are so busy doing things for Him, we never take the time to just be with Him!

Luke 10:39 - "And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word"

To hear the Lord we must be in His Presence! We must put aside all the hustle-bustle of our daily lives and just sit at His feet and be still.

Luke 10:42 - "...only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Truly, all that is absolutely necessary to us in life is to really know Him. Everything else in our spiritual growth begins and ends right there.

In His Presence there is only peace, and as you sit still at His feet in that peace, you will hear His words. And as you begin to hear Him, you will get to know Him and not just about Him. And what is even more incredible, as you stay in His Presence, then He will recognize you and call you by name! No matter what great things you do in His Name, if He does not know you then what is the point?

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God"

My prayer today for each of you with ears to hear, is that you spend your time wisely and be as Mary, who "sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word."

LeastOne

Thank you and thank God for your openness and guidance, i personally know how hard it is to be so open and unselfish. However, your words and the teachings of the holy scripture will help me grow through Jesus. I will pass along these words as you have. Praise our lord Jesus.

I have missed this thread since i've been away the past week!

I did manage to sneak online at one point, LeastOne and read one of your posts during my week. Thank you for that one and the others that I just now got a chance to read properly!

Blessed be LeastOne, and praise God for His glory shining through you!

(edited for atrocious spelling)

__________________

"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."


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Hi Saints:


As always, I deeply appreciate all of your encouragement and prayers. And I praise our Lord for His allowing me to share what He has so graciously given to me. May His Body continue to be built up in His unceasing Love, until she is fully formed as His Bride.

The Way God Works

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."


Perhaps I am the only one to whom this happens, but sometimes when I pray and am believing for something it seems as if the very opposite takes place! For example, if I pray for patience then what begins to occur is I find myself put in situations that really try the little patience I have. Or, if we have financial needs, and I thank God for meeting those needs, then something breaks down or another bill comes in, so it appears we are worse off than before I prayed! Does this happen to any of you?

So what is going on here? Is it just the enemy attacking? Quite honestly, that is how I have always taken these kinds of things, but lately the Lord has been opening my eyes to see in a new way how God actually works. And interestingly, it has to do with the nature of love, God's principles of growth and the power of the Cross.

Real love has both feminine and masculine qualities: love is nurturing (feminine) and love is disciplinary (masculine); thus, God is both giving and demanding. He "supplies all our needs" and He "disciplines those He loves". Therefore, the response of our God of Love to our faith depends upon how best He can supply those needs: sometimes through a straight-forward gift; but most times through moving in circumstances to put us in position where He can develop us accordingly to where we have the answer we seek (as in my patience example).

So what often appears as the opposite of our faith - that for which we are believing - is really God moving in answer to that faith. And that is truly one of the principles of growth. The outer shell of a seed must die in order that the life within can be brought forth. The outer shell is put under pressure in order to crack it open; then the life within the seed - with the necessary watering and nutrients - is free to begin growing.

My dependence upon the little bit of natural patience I might have must die in order that the patience of God - found in Christ - may be brought to Life within me.

All growth is always inward first, where it is not seen, then outward where it becomes manifest to all. A plant grows in its roots first, then that growth appears in the branches.

And this is the principle and the power of the Cross in all of life: as we persevere in carrying the cross within us in each situation in which we find ourselves, it puts that part of us to death - cracking the outer fleshly shell - in order that the Life within us can grow and become fruitful.

I believe this is what Jesus is referring to in His statement in Matthew 21:44, "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken..."

My prayer today is that we can make this understanding a reality in our lives, and so see that God is honoring His Word and answering our prayers; and that He give each of us the strength and perserverance to endure our being broken in all our old hard parts in order that the Life of Christ may spring forth from within, producing good fruit to His Glory.

LeastOne

Wow!!! Leastone this is a very powerful post. First time I read it. Continue to be a disciple of Christ. It is very inspiritional. God bless.

Good morning/afternoon/evening wherever you may be!

I feel this is the right place to share this. Recently, whilst praying on a matter I received some words from the Lord.

The matter I had been praying on is a little personal and I don't feel like sharing it, but the advice given to me is something that I cannot keep to myself. It will surely benefit us all.

And so, in the moment of silence after I had expressed my concerns to the Lord the words fell on me gently, "The message is simple".

Too many of us, myself included, complicate things and we need to take a step back, look at our lives, read the word and apply it. The message is simple. You know what it is in your heart, and if you just be still and listen, you can get your answers easily.

I pray right now that the Lord softens the heart of each one of you reading this, and that you allow yourself to be filled with more of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Andy

__________________

"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."


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