"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)
To submit to God > God wants us to submit to Him. So, yes our Heavenly Father of our Lord Jesus is so great and better than we are, but He does want us to submit to Him.
While we submit to God, He changes our nature to become more like Jesus. So, this should answer the question about how much of our time we should be submitting to God > all the time, so all the time we are becoming how Jesus is, more and more maturely.
And God will personally guide us, in His own creativity and ability while we are submitting to Him. So, should we go on time out from being personally guided and cared for by God? "God is love" (in 1 John 4:8&16); so yes God who loves us does not want us to go on time out from Him.
But how well have we been doing this?
We need how God's grace changes us to be submissive to Him in the right nature which is submissive . . . in His love gentle and quiet. And then is when we can >
"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)
This "gentle and quiet spirit" of God's own love is in Jesus in us. This makes us pleasing to our Father the way Jesus is so pleasing, plus we ourselves experience and so deeply and pleasantly enjoy this; so if and while we are being God's way so pleasing, we ourselves are experiencing this Heavenly goodness and caressing of our Father's affection which He has for Jesus.
yes
Jesus Himself has claimed in prayer how our Father loves us as He loves His own Son >
"'I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.'" (John 17:23)
So, yes "God is love" (in 1 John 4:8&16) > God does want to be this personal with each of us.
So, thank You, God our Father, in the name of Jesus Your Son ! ! !
We trust You, LORD our Heavenly Father, to change us so we are submissive to You the way You mean and so desire. Yes, You are committed to this with us who are Your children, with us who have trusted in Jesus Your Son.
But haven't we failed to do this with You? So, this means we need Your correction, and Hebrews 12:4-11 guarantees how You personally correct each of us who are Your children; Your grace succeeds in us, more and more as we grow in Jesus, so we are pleasantly and sweetly sharing with You in Your own love in the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) > Heaven's own love with Heaven's own quality of pleasant rest and intimacy with You. Because You are love who shares Your very own and best . . . of Yourself in us.
In quietness and rest, then, we can be so sharing with God Himself . . . in His love's "gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." Notice how the beauty of this "gentle and quiet spirit" is "incorruptible" > 1 Peter 3:4. This can't be corrupted by arguing and complaining and boredom and loneliness and anger and bitterness and unforgiveness plus lusts which violate us and dominate us to seek useless pleasures and excitement and revenge and violence. God's love makes us immune to all these cruelly stupid and anti-love things, which are Satanic and against us becoming deeply and nicely quiet with our Heavenly Father in His peace. So then we need to stay wise and alert against these things, trusting how God's grace almighty is able to defend us while having us so sharing with God and one another.
But, also, being preferential and favoritistic can keep us from living in God's all-loving love > "if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" Jesus says in Matthew 5:46. This love of God in us is and makes us also all-loving, so we even can forgive the way God has forgiven us > "forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you," our Apostle Paul does say in Ephesians 4:32. God has forgiven us, with hope of our becoming family with Him in Jesus; so we too need to be so generously and lovingly forgiving with hope for any person to become sharing as family with us > love "hopes all things" (in 1 Corinthians 13:7).
So, unforgiveness is the enemy working against our being with God in His love.
So, then, we need to not excuse uncaring unquiet things which attack and violate us; nor should we just guilt-trip and shame and blame ourselves; but seek how You our Father are easily and almightily able to correct us and make us more and more deeply stable in Jesus > "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (in Ephesians 6:10) This is about how You are able; so this is for all of us
.
To submit to God > God wants us to submit to Him. So, yes our Heavenly Father of our Lord Jesus is so great and better than we are, but He does want us to submit to Him.
While we submit to God, He changes our nature to become more like Jesus. So, this should answer the question about how much of our time we should be submitting to God > all the time, so all the time we are becoming how Jesus is, more and more maturely.
And God will personally guide us, in His own creativity and ability while we are submitting to Him. So, should we go on time out from being personally guided and cared for by God? "God is love" (in 1 John 4:8&16); so yes God who loves us does not want us to go on time out from Him.
But how well have we been doing this?
We need how God's grace changes us to be submissive to Him in the right nature which is submissive . . . in His love gentle and quiet. And then is when we can >
"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)
This "gentle and quiet spirit" of God's own love is in Jesus in us. This makes us pleasing to our Father the way Jesus is so pleasing, plus we ourselves experience and so deeply and pleasantly enjoy this; so if and while we are being God's way so pleasing, we ourselves are experiencing this Heavenly goodness and caressing of our Father's affection which He has for Jesus.
yes
Jesus Himself has claimed in prayer how our Father loves us as He loves His own Son >
"'I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.'" (John 17:23)
So, yes "God is love" (in 1 John 4:8&16) > God does want to be this personal with each of us.
So, thank You, God our Father, in the name of Jesus Your Son ! ! !
We trust You, LORD our Heavenly Father, to change us so we are submissive to You the way You mean and so desire. Yes, You are committed to this with us who are Your children, with us who have trusted in Jesus Your Son.
But haven't we failed to do this with You? So, this means we need Your correction, and Hebrews 12:4-11 guarantees how You personally correct each of us who are Your children; Your grace succeeds in us, more and more as we grow in Jesus, so we are pleasantly and sweetly sharing with You in Your own love in the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) > Heaven's own love with Heaven's own quality of pleasant rest and intimacy with You. Because You are love who shares Your very own and best . . . of Yourself in us.
In quietness and rest, then, we can be so sharing with God Himself . . . in His love's "gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." Notice how the beauty of this "gentle and quiet spirit" is "incorruptible" > 1 Peter 3:4. This can't be corrupted by arguing and complaining and boredom and loneliness and anger and bitterness and unforgiveness plus lusts which violate us and dominate us to seek useless pleasures and excitement and revenge and violence. God's love makes us immune to all these cruelly stupid and anti-love things, which are Satanic and against us becoming deeply and nicely quiet with our Heavenly Father in His peace. So then we need to stay wise and alert against these things, trusting how God's grace almighty is able to defend us while having us so sharing with God and one another.
But, also, being preferential and favoritistic can keep us from living in God's all-loving love > "if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" Jesus says in Matthew 5:46. This love of God in us is and makes us also all-loving, so we even can forgive the way God has forgiven us > "forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you," our Apostle Paul does say in Ephesians 4:32. God has forgiven us, with hope of our becoming family with Him in Jesus; so we too need to be so generously and lovingly forgiving with hope for any person to become sharing as family with us > love "hopes all things" (in 1 Corinthians 13:7).
So, unforgiveness is the enemy working against our being with God in His love.
So, then, we need to not excuse uncaring unquiet things which attack and violate us; nor should we just guilt-trip and shame and blame ourselves; but seek how You our Father are easily and almightily able to correct us and make us more and more deeply stable in Jesus > "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (in Ephesians 6:10) This is about how You are able; so this is for all of us
.
