November 1st, 2004

[Bowser]

Quote[/b] ]Do you not know that . . . you are not your own?
—1 Corinthians 6:19

Quote[/b] ]There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.

The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, "Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine." If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?

 

[Bowser]

I feel that too many people are very self-righteous, and this is sometimes evident in the way we dress.  Some people think that having purple hair helps identify their personality, but many times I feel that they are just role-playing their life and trying to become someone they're not, or trying to exaggerate who they think they are; which is a very fake and false image.

Reading this scripture makes me think of how we need to break down before Christ as individuals and lose the pride that has been made out of wordly, material things.  It is this pride that in the end makes us weak, and I believe in fact that Proverbs has a verse claiming that this pride will be our undoing.  Let's strip it of ourselves now, and learn of God's teachings while we still can.