It’s been just over nine years since my initial personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
At that time, not only did He give me a revelation of Himself, but He also gave me a revelation of the church which is His body.
Since that time I have been through many different things.
I have experienced both the peace and joy of walking in harmony with Him, and also the pain and suffering of rebelling against Him.
All along the way, He has continued to work all things together for my good, and continued to prove to me that it is his love which draws men to repentance.
When He filled me with His Life, I was as a man raised from the dead.
Life took on new meaning as I saw the world around me with resurrected eyes.
I didn’t look around thinking, “Oh, nothing really matters, it’s all going to burn.”
No, it took me a couple years of exposure to the religious system to acquire such a twisted outlook on life.
Neither did I go around exposing the faults of others, trying to heap condemnation on their heads.
He didn’t send me to condemn.
As a matter of fact, I was so filled with the Love of God, that I had a hard time not spilling it all over those around me.
However, over time, the newness wore off, and the self righteousness set in, right along with the stumbling and falling that succeed a walk of pride.
Finally, after about a five year period of believing that the good Lord was all done with me…just knowing that I had displeased Him to the point of no return…
He proved me wrong.
Again.
Hallelujah!!
It was actually during these five years of almost total darkness that the Lord made it possible for me to get real with Him.
It was during this time that I learned just how superficial my thoughts and prayers to Him were.
During this time of ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ I was able to finally come to the beginning of the end of my old man.
Oh no, it’s not that I have already attained to anything. But I am aware of some things that I have gained along the way.
Reverence is one of them.
And adoration is another.
I also know what it means to worship in Spirit and truth.
Just to be clear…
It’s all Him.
Things are beginning to look a lot more like they did during our early days together.
Not to worry. I’m not ‘regressing’.
Actually, the Lord is just bringing me back to His original goal.
Nine years ago, I didn’t realize that someone had coined a term for it, but some people call it the eternal purpose.
Now even that term carries some religious connotations for some people.
Even to me personally, it doesn’t mean the exact same thing as it did just two years ago, but it is still based in the two revelations He gave to me at the beginning.
Christ and the Church.
The Kingdom of God.
The Eternal Purpose.
“LORD, I want to know You, and the power of Your resurrection, and the fellowship of Your suffering, being conformed to Your death; and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection of the dead.”
I am so thankful He does not give up on us! I long for the above verse to be my lifesong, yet, when He sends suffering my way (the very thing that helps me know Him), I rebel! I wonder sometimes how long He will put up with me! Now, look at this paragraph – there are at least nine me’s and I’s and only four He’s and Him’s! Yikes! LORD, YOU are the ONE and ONLY!!!! Increase! Increase as I decrease!!!!
Thank you for your candor. Your words encourage me and spur me to continue on.
A very wise man in Christ once said, “There are two ways of transformation; The way of the cross and beholding the Lord“.
Honestly, I think that they are so intrinsically linked together, that they are simply two sides of the same coin.
Had Jesus not such an intimate knowledge of the Lord (which would have been impossible, of course) He would not have been able to endure His cross.
I choose to behold the Lord, as we have no power or say in how the cross might come to us, but we may behold Him, in all His glory.
BTW, Marie,…
Your strength is Christ!
Yes! And my most fervent prayer of late is that He will bless me with His very faith. My own faith is useless. I never have enough to carry me through. Only by His faith will I accomplish what He purposes in me.
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live. Yet, not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me…
Yes LORD, let us behold You in all Your glory! And whatever crosses come our way will only cause Your light to shine all the more!
…and that is His most fervent prayer.
Now we know what the scripture says about the prayers of a Righteous Man…
Amen?
Amen!
You are blessed!!
I pray a wonderful evening in Christ for both you and Jerald.
Greetings. It’s so true that “all things do work together for good” for those who are in Christ. Even the darkest seasons of rebellion can work out for our good. I was thinking recently on the various seasons that I’ve been through over the years and how the Lord Jesus has brought me through them all. Changing from glory to glory; each day becoming less like us and more like Christ.
Thanks for the reflections. Have a blessed evening in Jesus.
timbob
Isn’t God good!
I praise Him for what He has done in your life. By His grace and mercy, you are a living testimony for Him.
All because of Jesus,
Richard
God is good!
All in all, we praise Him for His grace and mercy, while giving thanks for all things which work together for the good of us (those who love Him) who praise Him because of His grace and mercy, while giving thanks for all things………….
Thank you, my brothers, for your encouragement!
The Lord is your peace!
Happy 9th, brother! This is excellent to hear.