Bruised, beaten and battered to the gates......

"Give me the love that leads the way, The faith that nothing can dismay, The hope no disappointments tire, The passion that will burn like fire. Make me thy fuel, O flame of God."

God’s presence is to forsake all for Him and to Him. Let go of everything. Relinquish all to Him. Maintain no control over anything! Just to have God in charge of all things FOR you is enough. Each prayer time must be submitted to God’s sovereign direction that His will be done, without objection! With this acceptance and obedience, we attain immeasurable joy and sweet peace. 

“Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty you will be built up……. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will make your prayer to Him, and He will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your way.” Job 22:21-28

In the same breathe, I emphasize that we do not "obey" in order to get blessings. We obey as a reflection of our faithfulness, thus glorifying Him. He does not merely bless us because we obey, but rather He blesses us because He loves us for our faithfulness. I quote my friend Jay, "Obedience is faith put into practice." I REMIND MYSELF THAT MY LORD OWES ME NOTHING! I AM NOT DESERVING OF ANY BLESSING! Yet, He loves me, protects me, blesses me... because of His splendid grace.  (see my post http://mariyadost.blogspot.com/2012/06/faith-is.html )

I am at the end of my self-righteousness, self-effort, self-reliance… we must be at the end of SELF. Lean in on your thorns!!! Our Lord said: I am not going to deliver you out of your pain. I am going to deliver you THROUGH your pain. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

I cry out to God to help change my prayers from one that seeks to have Him fulfill my selfish desires which I have convinced myself to be pure, to prayers that only seek Him! Yes, I trust I can go to my Lord in prayer about anything, for nothing is too small. Yes, I pray for love, a wonderful husband, children, security, success etc. but I must FIRST seek Him. Yet, my prayers are often a check list of things I want and need. I "say" I seek Him first, but I don't. Do I truly pray with great honesty, passion and conviction to become more like Him?  Do I pray to praise Him with thanksgiving? I am blessed to know Him, to live for Him, and to hope in Him!! I have been given true freedom! Freedom in Christ, breaking away all chains from this paralyzing world. Focusing on God, knowing God, obeying God, trusting God, and LIVING for God's purpose in me and His glory, is the only thing I must desire for with my whole heart. His love is sufficient. THEN, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" John 15:7 Be a passionate and sincere seeker! “Lord, continue to ignite my heart for you, continue to feed my hunger!” Let your prayers be shouts of joy for your desperate need for Him! We pray with words, but God listens to our hearts, and it is not what we say to Him, but what He says to us.

Let us be wise in our perspective! When I graduated university, I asked my mentor/professor (who I remember to be a man of faith) to give me advice I could take into the world to guide me. He simply said, “Power is perspective. Power is position!” I did not really understand that until now. All power belongs to God. God IS all power. As we seek to imitate Christ in our Christian walk, we must also strive to see the world through the perspective and position of the Spirit and not the flesh. Therefore, power is perspective now means to me that as I think, act and react from the perspective of the Spirit of God that dwells in me, I stand strong in the presence of God’s power. That perspective is power! That position is power! God’s power!

I am learning to constantly examine my daily walk with you Lord, so that I may be assured that I am not deceiving myself. "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves"( 2 Corinthians 13:5) I may be able to deceive myself and the world of unrighteous behavior, but not my all knowing and all powerful God. Examine one self! Every step of the way! For when I “believed” I was holy, I was not. For when I “thought” I was blameless, I was not. For the eyes of the Lord is always upon my heart, so I must examine my Christian walk everyday. Point out my transgressions and my foolish ways oh Lord!…. I shall repent and my heart will be transformed with your sweet grace and mercy. Let me see my sin!! Let it consume me and bring me to my knees. My daily sins must joyfully remind me that I am desperately needy of Him!! Discipline me Lord!! May I feel your wrath, for you say, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge!” Proverbs 12:1

“….But he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:10-11

May our road to the gates of heaven be hard, painful, full of suffering…. May we be mocked at, spit on, beaten and proclaimed insane! What an honor. Although we be tempted, we pray to never take the easy or cheating road. May the wound of every hurt, betrayal, abandonment, sorrow and grief be a reminder of the wounds inflicted on our savior. Through His wounds, we are healed. May we not forget! May we endure it! We shall walk through the narrow gate, you and I. Nothing shall break you and I. Nothing shall separate you and I from God’s infinite love. Nothing shall deter you and I from the race ahead. May we arrive to heavens gates bruised, beaten, battered and worn out. “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” 2 Timothy 2:3-4 Victory is already ours.

I am happily and willingly enslaved to Him who loves me without measure. Although we may finish the race bruised and full of dirt, His blood has cleansed us... His glory shines through us and His power radiates within us. In Him, we are complete.