InChristAlone
Monday, February 06, 2006
Be Ready Always
I Peter 3:12-16
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
"And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?"
"But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled:"
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear:"
"Having a good conscience, that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ."
Various thoughts from my journal:
The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. He is seeking to give strong support to those whose hearts are His. My righteousness is His righteousness. Because of Christ, I am pleasing in His [God the Father] sight. He sees me and He hears my genuine prayers. But His pleasure is not on those who set their hearts on evil. Even those who desire to do evil cannot harm me by words or deeds if I follow after what is good in the sight of God. If I suffer, I suffer for the righteousness of a holy God. This should produce happiness because God's glory is being spread. The enemy tries to terrify me and get me to fall in faith by troubling my mind with doubts and fears.
So, how can I declare the Gospel to the world when I am afraid and feel unworthy to do so? By placing God first in my heart and mind. By setting Him (Who is holy, pure, true) above all else. By thinking about only things that constitute a holy God (Philippians 4:8-9). This is how I can speak that word in due season. This is how I can be ready to answer every man. Others will ask of the hope that is in me. I can answer with meekness and fear if God reigns in my heart. All I am and have been brought to is by His grace and if I boast, I boast in Him, not my understanding or good works. What people need to see in me is the power of Christ, not my determination to be perfectly righteous. I must be willing to admit my weaknesses, admit where I've been wrong, admit that I have to lean on God in order to live righteously. My goal is not to show people Christ according to my wisdom or good works or the standard by which I think they ought to live. I am teaching others what I am still being taught--that there is no hope of becoming righteous outside of Christ and that my purpose in living means glorifying Him, not living for myself. It is about brokenness and surrender. By laying my life at Jesus' feet, I am not being enslaved to His power, but being freed from all bondage and being kept by His power.
I often dwell on my inadequacies and see them as a stumblingblock in my faith. But the truth is that the more weaknesses I have and accept, the more glory is brought to God. However, I cannot hold onto my weaknesses or use them as a crutch, but must surrender them into the hands of an all-powerful God. The more I see I can't do things on my own, the more I rest in His victory. The more I rest in His victory, the more I can be ready always to answer those who ask of the hope that is in me. If I believe that I am nothing without Him and my hope is in Him, then I can express this faith to others and spread the Gospel. I am not trying to get others to see that I am perfect in faith, instead I am expressing to them my unworthiness and Christ's worthiness.
I found this quote in a devotional I am reading:
"It was said of the soldiers of the first Napoleon that they were content to die in the ditch if only he rode over them to victory. With their last breath they cried, 'Long live the Emperor!' It seemed as though they had lost all thought and care of their own interests, so long as glory was given to his name. So should it be of us. Higher than our own comfort, or success, or popularity, should be the one thought of the glory of our God. Let Christ be honored, loved, exalted, at whatever cost to us..."
As I lose thought of all my own interests and die to self, Christ is honored and exalted. I will become effective in sharing the Gospel because I have given up all of my own comforts for His victory.
These are questions I had to ask myself:
As I seek to share the Gospel, is the one thought of my mind the glory of God or how it enfringes on my own personal comfort?
If God is not first in my own heart, how can I move past my own comfort and be effective in sharing the Gospel?
Praise God for how He has spoken to my heart! He is so worthy!
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
"And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?"
"But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled:"
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear:"
"Having a good conscience, that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ."
Various thoughts from my journal:
The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. He is seeking to give strong support to those whose hearts are His. My righteousness is His righteousness. Because of Christ, I am pleasing in His [God the Father] sight. He sees me and He hears my genuine prayers. But His pleasure is not on those who set their hearts on evil. Even those who desire to do evil cannot harm me by words or deeds if I follow after what is good in the sight of God. If I suffer, I suffer for the righteousness of a holy God. This should produce happiness because God's glory is being spread. The enemy tries to terrify me and get me to fall in faith by troubling my mind with doubts and fears.
So, how can I declare the Gospel to the world when I am afraid and feel unworthy to do so? By placing God first in my heart and mind. By setting Him (Who is holy, pure, true) above all else. By thinking about only things that constitute a holy God (Philippians 4:8-9). This is how I can speak that word in due season. This is how I can be ready to answer every man. Others will ask of the hope that is in me. I can answer with meekness and fear if God reigns in my heart. All I am and have been brought to is by His grace and if I boast, I boast in Him, not my understanding or good works. What people need to see in me is the power of Christ, not my determination to be perfectly righteous. I must be willing to admit my weaknesses, admit where I've been wrong, admit that I have to lean on God in order to live righteously. My goal is not to show people Christ according to my wisdom or good works or the standard by which I think they ought to live. I am teaching others what I am still being taught--that there is no hope of becoming righteous outside of Christ and that my purpose in living means glorifying Him, not living for myself. It is about brokenness and surrender. By laying my life at Jesus' feet, I am not being enslaved to His power, but being freed from all bondage and being kept by His power.
I often dwell on my inadequacies and see them as a stumblingblock in my faith. But the truth is that the more weaknesses I have and accept, the more glory is brought to God. However, I cannot hold onto my weaknesses or use them as a crutch, but must surrender them into the hands of an all-powerful God. The more I see I can't do things on my own, the more I rest in His victory. The more I rest in His victory, the more I can be ready always to answer those who ask of the hope that is in me. If I believe that I am nothing without Him and my hope is in Him, then I can express this faith to others and spread the Gospel. I am not trying to get others to see that I am perfect in faith, instead I am expressing to them my unworthiness and Christ's worthiness.
I found this quote in a devotional I am reading:
"It was said of the soldiers of the first Napoleon that they were content to die in the ditch if only he rode over them to victory. With their last breath they cried, 'Long live the Emperor!' It seemed as though they had lost all thought and care of their own interests, so long as glory was given to his name. So should it be of us. Higher than our own comfort, or success, or popularity, should be the one thought of the glory of our God. Let Christ be honored, loved, exalted, at whatever cost to us..."
As I lose thought of all my own interests and die to self, Christ is honored and exalted. I will become effective in sharing the Gospel because I have given up all of my own comforts for His victory.
These are questions I had to ask myself:
As I seek to share the Gospel, is the one thought of my mind the glory of God or how it enfringes on my own personal comfort?
If God is not first in my own heart, how can I move past my own comfort and be effective in sharing the Gospel?
Praise God for how He has spoken to my heart! He is so worthy!
posted by Heather Livingston at 5:53 AM
2 Comments:
Heather,
I am so glad to see more posts from you.I like what you said about brokenness and surrender. We need to give ourselves up to the Lord. By living for Christ we set an example. Anything that we accomplish is because of God, not because of us.
These were great words to read today. I am thankful that God is using you to connect with others in His name.
Your sister in Christ,
Angela
This is definatly one of my favorite posts from you (out of the ones I've read)! I was just about to go to bed....but I thought I'd get on here real quick to see new posts and stuff. I am SO glad I did! Tomorrow morning I'm speaking at FCA and this post just boosted my confidence like 100%!!!!!!! "So, how can I declare the Gospel to the world when I am afraid and feel unworthy to do so?" Oh my gosh, that's almost the exact thing that's been running through my mind this week! I am SOOOOO scared to speak God's word tomorrow and yes, I do feel a little unworthy to do so. Now, THANK GOD for showing you....I know that's it's all for God. If I go to school tomorrow with my mind completly set on God, totally focused....I know I'll do fine. But, and this is what I'm afraid of, if I go to school tomorrow all freaked out and nervous....I won't do as good. Gosh, I am so thankful that God showed you this and that you posted it!!!!! THANKS sooo so much! I'll cya at church!!!!
Keep livin for Christ!
Ashley:)
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