Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with truth.
(Rick Warren)
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few or you were wise in the worlds eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NLT)
I sometimes hear around the tables of AA that You cant be too dumb to get the program, but you can be too smart to get it. I find the same thing to be true when it comes to some people accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and understanding the finished work of the cross. I myself struggled with the idea of needing a Savior in my life. Im not saying that I was too smart to get it; its just that I had too many unanswered questions, and I was trying to come up with the answers on my own. Before I could understand anything about the cross on a personal level, I had to first surrender. As long as my ego, my will, and my mind were thrashing around looking for the definitive answer as to why all this was and is necessary I could see and understand very little. Before I surrendered, gave up, and realized that I could not make it on my own, I wanted answers. I wanted to know why I needed a Savior in my life? The truth is that I had been trying to save myself from all of lifes problems and had failed miserably. I wanted to know why God did not interfere in lifes problems and fix everything? Trying to work out my own problems I failed to understand Gods grace and the simplicity of receiving a gift that I did not deserve. I failed to understand that Gods love allows us to be ourselves and use our own will anyway we choose. God cant fix anything if we choose to go contrary to His will. I wanted to know why the blood of Jesus was such a big deal? I failed to understand Scriptures because I had not taken the time to study and read the Bible. Understanding the importance of the blood of Jesus took days, months and years of studying the Scriptures. I had to read all of the Old Testament, and make comparisons to what happened on the cross, and then come up with my own conclusions in my own heart. The concept of animal sacrifice and the purpose in using the blood seemed so primitive to my modern mind. I was too modern and smart to grasp the full meaning of the cross. Only by surrender ..did the wheels of my mind stop spinning long enough for Gods grace to seep into a heart full of pain and doubt. Today I realize that I have to surrender daily. If not my mind will manufacture false answers for questions that probably dont even need to be asked. I surrender to win, give up to gain, and give it away to receive. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself .JRE
It pleased God to confound the wise men of that day by the preaching of a crucified Christ. The Jews would not have Him because they expected the Messiah to come as a mighty conqueror. When he came to be crucified they stumbled at Him. The Gentiles could see no reason for salvation by a crucified malefactor of Judea. To those of both classes who would believe, Christ was the power and the wisdom of God.
FINIS DAKE .The Dake Bible, page 176
(Rick Warren)
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few or you were wise in the worlds eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NLT)
I sometimes hear around the tables of AA that You cant be too dumb to get the program, but you can be too smart to get it. I find the same thing to be true when it comes to some people accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and understanding the finished work of the cross. I myself struggled with the idea of needing a Savior in my life. Im not saying that I was too smart to get it; its just that I had too many unanswered questions, and I was trying to come up with the answers on my own. Before I could understand anything about the cross on a personal level, I had to first surrender. As long as my ego, my will, and my mind were thrashing around looking for the definitive answer as to why all this was and is necessary I could see and understand very little. Before I surrendered, gave up, and realized that I could not make it on my own, I wanted answers. I wanted to know why I needed a Savior in my life? The truth is that I had been trying to save myself from all of lifes problems and had failed miserably. I wanted to know why God did not interfere in lifes problems and fix everything? Trying to work out my own problems I failed to understand Gods grace and the simplicity of receiving a gift that I did not deserve. I failed to understand that Gods love allows us to be ourselves and use our own will anyway we choose. God cant fix anything if we choose to go contrary to His will. I wanted to know why the blood of Jesus was such a big deal? I failed to understand Scriptures because I had not taken the time to study and read the Bible. Understanding the importance of the blood of Jesus took days, months and years of studying the Scriptures. I had to read all of the Old Testament, and make comparisons to what happened on the cross, and then come up with my own conclusions in my own heart. The concept of animal sacrifice and the purpose in using the blood seemed so primitive to my modern mind. I was too modern and smart to grasp the full meaning of the cross. Only by surrender ..did the wheels of my mind stop spinning long enough for Gods grace to seep into a heart full of pain and doubt. Today I realize that I have to surrender daily. If not my mind will manufacture false answers for questions that probably dont even need to be asked. I surrender to win, give up to gain, and give it away to receive. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself .JRE
It pleased God to confound the wise men of that day by the preaching of a crucified Christ. The Jews would not have Him because they expected the Messiah to come as a mighty conqueror. When he came to be crucified they stumbled at Him. The Gentiles could see no reason for salvation by a crucified malefactor of Judea. To those of both classes who would believe, Christ was the power and the wisdom of God.
FINIS DAKE .The Dake Bible, page 176
