3rd F – Die to Live

“He said to them, The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables, so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise, they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven
Mark 4:11, 12 (AMP)

The following written by Brian Lassister of Heritage Church:

I’m astonished at God’s love despite my weaknesses.  My journey to know Christ was slow and tangled, I walked away numerous times out of fear of losing control.  However, after accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior I realized that dying to myself in order to gain a personal relationship with Christ enabled a freedom that I’d never experienced apart from Christ. I was like most unbelievers that thought Christianity was about religion and rules.  However, once I committed my life to Christ, I realized that Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus.

God wants His children (you and I) to see the Kingdom of Light with a level of clarity that enables us to grow in our spiritual maturity.  It’s imperative that we understand it’s not about who we are or what we’ve done, but who God is and what Jesus did for us on the cross that enables us to have a relationship with Him.  Mathew 6:33 states “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  When God sent His son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross, He created the environment for us to seek Him on a personal level.

Our belief and trust in Christ lay the foundation for transformation, from there our ability to learn and grow as a disciple comes from our commitment to seek God on a personal level.  We must remember that our relationship with God comes before anything else.  People often equate spiritual maturity to other areas of development.  However, at the highest level of spiritual maturity (living a God Centered life), is where the individual has learned to die to themselves daily, in order to allow Christ to flow through them.  This enables them to give, serve and expand the Kingdom of Light via their God given gifts, skills and abilities.  Victory to the believer is often characterized in different terms than the world uses to define success.

To the believer, our ability to display Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control always (regardless of scenario) is a mark of victory.  Until you’re able to gain a closeness with Christ its hard to believe you can walk through the various battlefields of life with this type perspective.  However, once you’ve gained this type of relationship with God, you realize it becomes the guiding point for everything in your life.

This week let’s pray for Anchorman, Waterboy, Virus, Fife, Dry Rub, Hermie, Gumby, Scribbles

Tiger