Have you ever f…

Have you ever felt like you had made a stride toward brokenness, only to then feel like you slipped back ten steps?  That happens to me, though not as often as it used to.

When you do find that you’re not as broken in an area as you thought, don’t let the enemy, Satan, whisper discouragement and get you to spiral down into a funk.  If you let him, he will have you sitting in a puddle, staring at your belly button, bemoaning your worthlessness in no time. Or, he will hit your pride and try to tell you that you are being inordinately persecuted, that it’s not such a big matter and your spouse should get over it…

Instead, reject the lies of the enemy and do something to change, to become more broken, to become more like Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

One of the hardest things I wrestle with is truly dying to the flesh.  I am going to paraphrase a picture painted by Steve Gallagher of Pure Life ministries.  He talks about sin as a raging pit bull, muzzled and chained, that you are struggling to keep muzzled and keep under control.  He likens it to the flesh, and bondage to sin.  His recommendation is to quit trying to keep it muzzled and on a chain, and, “Just shoot the dang thing!”

Too often I think I am doing well because I am disciplined enough to look away, or to hold my thoughts captive, or to walk away from a situation…but my wife is devastated that I am still being tempted and drawn in that area, instead of being dead to it.  

How do I kill the flesh, dies to temptation?  One way is to stop feeding it, starve it to death.  At the same time, feeding the Spirit of God living within me through prayer and scripture and fellowship.

Brokenness is not instantaneous, but neither should your sanctification be so slow that no one notices.  You need to let the Holy Spirit do His work, and mold you into the image of Christ.

Take a good look at 2 Corinthians Chapter 3.  Apply it, along with Romans Chapter 8.  

 

Go with God,

 

George

The Holy Spirit

I am reading “Forgotten God:Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit” by Francis Chan, and this passage grabbed my attention:

“My guess is that you would love to be filled with supernatural power from the Holy Spirit. You probably wouldn’t be reading this book if you didn’t. The question I want to ask is why? Recently, a man dying of cancer asked the church elders to anoint him with oil and pray for his healing. Before we prayed, however, I asked the man a question I don’t normally ask: “Why do you want to be healed? Why do you want to stay on this earth?” The man, as well as everyone else around, seemed a bit surprised that I would ask such a blunt question. The reason I probed like this is because in the epistle of James, we are reminded that we often don’t receive the answers to our prayers because we ask for the wrong reasons: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” ( James 4:3 ). Our desire to live should be for the sake and glory of the God who put us on this earth in the first place. So, really, why do you desire the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life? Do you want to experience more of the Holy Spirit merely for your own benefit? When the answer is yes, then we are no different from Simon the magician, who tried to buy the Holy Spirit’s power from the apostles. Peter’s response to Simon in that situation was strong; he said, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” ( Acts 8:20 ). The Holy Spirit is not a commodity to be bought or traded according to our individual wants, whims, or even our felt needs. We absolutely cannot have this discussion about the Holy Spirit without calling our motives into question. Right now I want you to take a break from reading and spend some time asking yourself why you want the Holy Spirit. Is it for power? Is it for your own betterment and purposes? Or is it because you want to experience all that God has for you? Is it because you love the church and desire to be a better servant to your sisters and brothers?”

I think I usually want His power to correct what’s wrong with me so my wife will like me or forgive me, or so I can be a “better Christian” (so that others will look up to me), or so I can say some profound thing to wow the people around me. I think I’m afraid of experiencing all that God has for me…I need to get over that fear. I definitely want to be a better servant.

Food for thought.

My love be with you all in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 16:24)

George

Welcome!

Welcome to Walk In Brokenness, a blog which has grown out of a desire to share what God is teaching me through scripture and through others in my pursuit of true brokenness in every aspect of my life.  Sanctification is a lifelong process, I know – but it is based on being humble and willing to accept God’s molding and shaping of our lives.  A proud man cannot be taught, so God must break him:

(Luke 20:17-18)  But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?  Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

A man who humbles himself does not get crushed by God – instead, he is raised up and given grace:

(Psalms 147:6)  The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

(1 Peter 5:5)  Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

I am hoping that others will share their insights as well, that this blog may become a wellspring of truth and assistance to those who thirst for a closer, humbler walk with God.

George