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The Shaping of a Christian…

Feb18

Isaiah 64:8

8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand. ESV

Last post I referred to God’s attention to detail which I discovered in my study of the book of Revelation. Details so precise, so detailed only God could have designed them. I learned that it is the application of these truths we find in the details that shape us.

But I’m sad to say this is where the enemy promotes his greatest deception. The point Satan aims for is to diminish the level of impact by Christians for the sake of Christ? He knows the outcome of a life shaped by the Truths of God’s word. And he fears it. So his goal is to keep us distracted so we aren’t shaped by those truths. That opens up the opportunity for us to be shaped by anything but God’s Truth.

So how does God’s attention to details shape us? It was a slow dawning for me. Several years ago, I was going through a particular difficult time. Prior to this, my commitment to spending time with God in His word was severely lacking. Oh I prayed a lot! So I guess you could say I was talking (more like complaining) to God more than I was listening to Him. But there came a time when I couldn’t even put words to my struggles.

Desperate, I just opened my Bible and began reading. Starting actually in Psalms. When I came to words that spoke to my pain, I recorded it. Keeping at it, eventually my mind settled down. Eventually, the fiery darts of confusion and fear were displaced with a clearer mind and a growing faith. Not to mention a growing dependency on the Truths of Scripture.

Once I began experiencing the healing as it applied to my trials, more and more of the details were revealed. For example, when I found myself worrying, God directed me to Scriptures revealing His plans to counter the fiery dart of worry. Philippines 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” NIV The more I focused on this Truth thought the more I believed it. The more resistance I gained in warding off the enemy’s fiery darts. The greater my peace.

Now, just multiply this act with consistency. Growing stronger and gaining in resiliency in warding off the enemy’s attacks is the shaping process. God’s word is designed to help us overcome the enemy. But deliberate effort made in the study of God’s word is the key. The deeper we dig the more we discover. And as life happens we will discover even more details that shape us. God will show us the right way, He will point out the road for us to travel, He will lead us by His truth and teach us.

A note from Jesus…

Feb23

Do you remember when you first came to me?

It was a glorious moment, wasn’t it.

Do you remember the peace you felt then?

Sleeping at night came a lot easier because of such peace, didn’t it.

Do you remember, as time progressed, the struggles you brought to me?

Each struggle only made you stronger, when you brought them to me, didn’t it.

But, remember when you began spending less and less time bringing your troubles to me?

Those struggles increased and almost overwhelmed you at times, didn’t they.

Did you happen to notice you were spending less time with Me in prayer and My word?

Peace lessened and justifying your action increased, didn’t they.

Yet, the peace you lack can be restored.


He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Ps 23:3 NKJV

Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long. Ps. 25:4

Dear One, I will close with this.

Matthew 16:24-26

24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat;  I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? (The Message)

Illusion of Truth

Jun27

I’ve often wrestled with how all the rhetoric about pro-choice totally excludes the voice of the unborn. Listening to their reasoning, it’s ALL about the mother, her needs, her situation, her future, her health, her well being, and it goes on and on. These are genuine concerns, yes! But what about the choices of the unborn? Are they not genuine as well?

It’s like the unborn child within her doesn’t exist. They have no needs, no future, no well being, their situation is precarious. They don’t have a voice. They aren’t even considered a person. How does a mom deny the undeniable?

Ever heard this statement?

“Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”,

After reading this article from which the above quote originated, I think I have hit upon the answer to my question. This article refers to the above statement as the “illusion of truth effect.”

For the ‘illusion of truth effect’ to succeed the person exposed to this illusion, must be far removed from the Truth. The article mentions how we take shortcuts: “Our minds are prey to the illusion of truth effect because our instinct is to use short-cuts in judging how plausible something is.” Repeating a lie often enough, causes us to take the shortcut of belief.

When we find ourselves in a situation we don’t like or want, we start looking for justification to get out of our predicament. One day we hear something that offers us a solution. We know deep down that it’s likely a lie, but our desperation drives us to ponder it nevertheless. Then our mind continues to replay this dressed up lie and eventually our mind embraces it.

BINGO, now we have a way out. And not only is it a way out, but the crowd that sponsors this lie, reinforces this repetition and we aren’t standing alone in our despair. There are all these voices that have redefined the lie, removed our guilt, and provided us license to do whatever we wanted to do without being criticized for it. What freedom (new word for license)!

That’s why the lie of abortion, disguised as a plausible truth, became more and more acceptable. As people became less familiar with Truth, then the easier it became to embrace something that sounded truth like.

There is a lot of forceful oration being shouted about now after Roe vs Wade was overturned. But remember these pro-choice individuals have been deceived. The truth has been stolen from them. Many (but certainly not all) are genuine in their belief and see no other way to solve their problem of an unwanted pregnancy. They are being taken advantage of by those who are profiting, either politically or financially, from those who have been manipulated and deceived into believing a lie.

Now that Roe vs Wade has been declared unconstitutional, Truth once again has been highlighted for all to see. Prayerfully, many, in being reacquainted with the Truth, will be set free from the enslavement of abortion.

Pray for them, for their eyes to be open. To come to know the Truth and be set free by it.

Life? Peace? Truth?

Apr19

     

     There was a day when it was relatively easy to be a Christian. But that’s not true any longer. And I believe that is a good thing. When it is easy to be a Christian, you don’t need to count the cost. Why? Because claiming we are Christian cost us very little. We grow apathetic. Much of the attacks on our Christian way of life happen without our even noticing. By the time we do notice, the job to reclaim our way of life seems overwhelming.

     It’s apparent with the pandemic, the governmental opposition to our judo-christian values, the loss of respect our country has experienced on the world’s stage that something is terribly wrong. Christianity is condemned at every turn. False assumptions and human reasoning about anything Christian, rules the day. Peace is in short supply. Life grows less valuable by the day and truth become unrecognizable. 

     Yet, I’m pretty sure that when things get bad enough, people will begin realizing that they have mislabeled right and wrong! When they get their fill of violence, anger, deception, and manipulation, they will begin an earnest search for life, peace, and truth. And since they have exhausted a search for such within their own current philosophies, they will turn to find life, peace, and truth right where they left it, at the foot of the Cross. 

                                                                     

Man walking to a cross and kneeling before it.