Christian Living
John 12: 23-27 The Message
Jesus answered, "Time's up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
"Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.
In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, if you be reckless in your love for Christ, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.
"If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you'll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment's notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.
"Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ' Father, get me out of this'? No, this is why I came in the first place.
The piece I want to get to is ; In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, if you be reckless in your love for Christ, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.
Its by following Christ that we get to be in the place where he is...
Its when we serve him for who he is not what we can get from him, that he is found...
Its when we become his servants that he honors and rewards us.
Its when we are willing to die to our own desires (no matter how in need we are) that we begin to bring forth fruit that remains, much fruit, fruit that glorifies God.
Its when we are dead to the world, dead to our flesh, dead to our own needs that God in his love draws us near to himself, its at the point of giving up that we give in to his wishes, his will, his desires for all our life that we touch heaven and God touches us.
Its by holding on to what we had or have that we lose the most important thing of all; real life, a real eternal experience every day, a place where miracles happen because we are heavenly minded, God conscious, and reckless enough to stay there.
Its by recognizing that the Lord he is God not us, that we are clay in the potters hands, shall we tell the potter what to do? Should we be surprised as clay that we end up in the furnace at times?
Should we complain when life treats us bad or when we get crushed, wounded and broken when all the time the potter is making a new vessel pleasing to his own eyes?
Clay never takes on true beauty until its been in the furnace, a life that's been in the refiners fire reveals Christ to a dying world with clarity and purity, its a life that declares 'for God's glory alone' whether I live I live for Christ alone or if I die, I die to Christ,
So what is this all about? The time is up, its time for God to be glorified as you stop trying to get health and instead say; 'thy will Lord should it be the furnace of affliction, the pit of despair, crippled or whole I will serve you all the days of my life' Stop asking God to help you out of your bed of sickness for it is a mere stepping stone to greatness and for the glory of God.
The time is up for struggling with; 'why me God' the time is up, for wondering how nasty things could have happened to you, and fearing the past and the future, let God be glorified in all your life, give up everything, remove the barriers of doubt, be reckless enough to follow Christ whatever the cost.
Pour your life into the lives of others, the sick, the imprisoned, the widows, the wounded and the lost, serve God with all your heart and your body will follow behind. Sure it been a long drawn out storm, sure you have been tossed about like a cork in an ocean of fear and pain but listen; God still gathers up the fragments that remain (Matthew 14:20) He still searches the shoreline of our pain for the renewed, the purified and the enriched portions of our lives for with what remains he creates himself in us.
My friend; may the Lord truly give you wisdom and understanding today as you read these scribblings from someone who has been to the furnace a few times...
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