These are just a few of the godly people the Lord has "brought into my life" to challenge and encourage me! I would also urge you to glean from those who have "gone before you", in a sense, and who have shown wisdom, discernment, and growth in their own Christian lives.
This morning I read a devotional by Leslie Ludy. It was beyond convicting. The Lord used what Leslie wrote in order to show me how I can bend my knees in prayer to my Heavenly Father, confessing and pleading with Him for His direction and correction in various areas of my life.
Please read the following:
~Under New Ownership~
"The secret to the true Christian life is exchanging our own lives for the life of Jesus Christ; allowing our bodies to be completely overtaken by a foreign power – the very Spirit of Almighty God. And declaring along with Paul, “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
Most of us stand in the way of letting Christ truly live in and through us.
Instead of giving Him the ownership papers to our home – our body, mind, and spirit – we treat Him like a hired servant.
We come to Him when we need answers; we expect Him to provide us with quick solutions to our problems; we demand that He meet our needs and follow our self-made agendas. And when He doesn’t respond, we quickly dismiss Him and take matters into our own hands. We are led by our own whims and desires. We make our own choices, and then ask God to bless them.
We often believe we are submitted to God’s will, but in reality we expect Him to bend to our own plans. We follow our own hearts and desires, and then ask God to make our spiritual lives vibrant in the midst of it all.
But the true Christian life doesn’t work that way. When we exchange our lives for Christ’s, we lay our own agendas, dreams, desires, and plans at His feet. We get completely out of the way, and allow Him to live His life through us in whatever way He chooses.
This is a difficult life-change to make. For our entire lives, we have been the sole rulers of our internal home. We are used to making the decisions. We are used to calling the shots. But now we must take a lower position.
Our entire home – our body, mind, and spirit – now belongs to a new Ruler. We turn the ownership papers over to a new Master. He is not our servant; we are His servant. We come and go as He commands.
Even after two years in Christian ministry, Eric and I were amazed to discover how much of our lives were still under our control. We had been trying to overcome spiritual struggles using our own strength and willpower. Our joy and peace were conditional upon our circumstances. And as a result, our Christianity mirrored the defeated, mediocre spiritual existence of our modern times.
Before we were married, we had given God the pen to write our love story. But now we knew we must allow Him to write our life story. We needed to give up our entire existence, so that Christ could live through us.
And once we exchanged our lives for His, things began to dramatically change.
The still small whisper of God’s Spirit began directing our steps, rather than our own logic and human reasoning. The supernatural power of God’s Spirit began challenging and fortifying us to conquer sin and live lives that radiantly reflected the righteousness of Christ. And though that refining fire was painful, we gained the unquenchable joy that comes from a cleansed inner life."
Is the Lord, you claim to serve, truly your Master or are you living as if you are the captain of your own ship and He is the crew member?! Really think about it dear friends. It is SO important to examine your own heart! (2 Corinthians 13:5)
~Grow in Grace~
2 Peter 3:18
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