Just as all things have their source and beginning in Christ, so all things will have their ending in Christ. He subdues all things, in order to gather together and reconcile all things, that He may fill all things.
The Crown of Life comes to those who lose their life daily in order to gain His Life daily. Overcomers cannot be hurt by death because they have already died – not once, but thousands of times: taking up the Cross daily, denying Self, and following the Lord.
The fact that God has a Will, and works everything according to this Will, is critical. There is a Purpose, a reason for being. Nothing is created apart from this Purpose. You are not an accident; you are not a mistake; you are not just a quirk of fate or a victim of circumstance.
We should work, but first we must wait. And if we will wait for the Lord then we will have Infinite Supply for the work at hand.
When people are in your presence, what do they touch – a system of beliefs, a code of conduct, an ethical standard, or a Person?
God is not searching for those naturally gifted souls who think they can do it and then set out in their own strength! It is those who embrace the weakness of the Cross and allow God’s strength to be perfected in them that He is looking for.
At the core of this spiritual and physical universe is a living, powerful, proactive Personality at work to bring fallen creation back to its original state,back into line with God’s Purpose, Heart, Mind, Desire, and Plan.
When the Lord showed me that I was raised together with Christ and was made to sit (past tense) in the heavenly places with Christ, do you think it changed the way I saw the world? Absolutely!
The process of increasing Christ and decreasing Self began long before you even gave your heart to the Lord. It made the actual giving of your heart to Him possible.
My children are immature, but I cannot expect them to be anything other than immature so long as they are children. I am lovingly committed to their long-term growth. In the same way, let us not despise the spiritually immature or the weak in faith.
You must sit at His feet and hear Him for yourself. Entering into the Lord’s thought, becoming acquainted with His Ways as well as His Word, takes the sort of love-devotion Mary demonstrates.
It is human nature to try and do it ourselves. This human nature is the flesh. It prevents us from entering into Grace. God cannot save someone who is still trying to save themselves. Similarly, God cannot do what we are still trying to do.