There is only one thing I am confident in... not my abilities,
talents or stature... not fame or fortune or anything else this world claims
brings significance or security and "SELF-worth"... my confidence is
in this, "that He who began a good
work in me will carry it out to completion... even to the day of Messiah Jesus…
so that love may abound in me more and more with knowledge and depth of insight
so that I may be able to discern what is best, causing me to be pure and
blameless until the day Messiah returns, or He calls me to Himself; filling me
with the fruits of righteousness that only come through Jesus Himself — to the
glory and praise of God. For it is God who is at work in me to will and to do
everything according to His good pleasure and purpose. He is the Author and
finisher of my faith”... not me.
It's a bold statement I'm about to make, not because I'm
spiritual, but because I know this first hand: I hate this world
and the flesh I live in. It is wretched... a beast without conscience... my
mortal enemy. It amazes me how often I've thought that I was good, when in all
honesty, nothing "good" dwells in me. The prophet said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it?" I don't know about you, but when
God, who loves me, lets me have a little glimpse of the blackness of my own
heart, I realize the gravity and severity of its depravity. It's Deep Space
9... a black hole. The process is without a doubt Divine Shock Therapy for sure.
Most never want to think of themselves in such a way, much less
want to see it or face the truth and then have to deal with it. Nonetheless
we're all in the same boat.
The longer I live the more I realize that I'm not here for ME!
What does it profit me if I gain everything my flesh wants but lose the very
thing my soul longs for: life and liberty and peace with God. I'm here for a
greater purpose... to lay myself down for others and tell anyone who will
listen the great things God has done for me, and how I, who deserves nothing
more than His judgment and wrath, have been forgiven and shown great mercy,
love and grace.
© 2013
Steven Bliss
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If you like this article, please spread it around! Hit the share buttons below! Your comments are always welcome; please feel free. Thanks!
Steven,
ReplyDeleteThank you as always for sharing your wisdom and sometimes brutal honesty. Your truth reaches my soul and encourages me to search my own heart. May God continue to let you be a voice in the darkness.