1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
We all go through difficult times, it is a part of life. Even people "on top of the world" so to speak, who seem to have it all: fame, fortune, universal love and acceptance, etc, etc, etc... have problems, can't hold on to their spouses, go to rehab, or even kill themselves with booze, illegal mind altering substances, or sleeping pills.
Some people blame God for their inability to believe in Him because...
of the suffering they see going on throughout the world and throughout the history of this world. Yeah, well, I think that one will be a hard sell when they bring that one up with Him later, because He will hold an audience with them one day, before casting into outer darkness, He will allow them to have their day in court, not that He has to but He will. They judge God for not doing His "God-thing" right? Really? How arrogant can anyone be but to stand up against Him and say: "You really screwed up and I could have done it so much better because __________(fill in the blank) . That is pretty brazen.
When I was young, involved in the New Age Movement (NAM) I thought I was so spiritual and loving. And I couldn't wait to meet God, the "true god" that is, not the God of Christianity (at least that is the way I saw it back then). Then one day some friends of my then boyfriend who happened to be Christians were talking with me and the Lord gracefully opened my hearing and my understanding when they said: "Do you realize what you are doing? You are shoving Jesus, God's Son who died for you, out of your way and then after shoving Jesus out of the way you say "Here I am God!"....do you really think that will score points for you with God the Father?" I realized they were right. I had been rude to God, my Creator, my Redeemer, by thinking that I was so wonderful, and yet was shoving Jesus out of my face, and for the same reason, pushing Christians away thinking they were less intelligent than myself. I was mortified by my arrogance and my terrible and shocking rudeness. I came face to face with the real me, not the one I put on for others to see, but the real one that I kept hidden even from myself, the me that only God could see, and now He revealed THAT me to me, and I couldn't stand me.
Thankfully the Lord didn't leave me there. Jesus is a loving God. He showed me the truth so He could change me over time, changing me into His likeness. And He does this for His glory, not for mine, not to elevate my fleshy ego. You see, a funny thing about God's glory, He already has glory because He is perfect. He doesn't need me to boost His ego, for some sense of getting to feel good as a result. He already is good. When He does something "for His glory" it isn't to boost His ego (as I've heard some very foolish persons say, who reveal their extreme ignorance of the God of the Bible). Ego is something of this world, of the flesh. It is not of the Lord. Jesus revealed that fact about God when He took on the veil of flesh. He was the furthest thing from being egotistical as you can possibly get. He doesn't need ego. We do because deep down we know we aren't good, but we want to convince others that we are. God doesn't need to convince anyone of anything. God does good because He is good, and that His goodness is revealed to others benefits the ones who realize it who in turn become good from HIS GOODNESS, not their own. That is so completely upside down from the way the world thinks.
So as I was saying, Jesus didn't leave me there, in that awful state of ego and arrogance and foolish antagonism against Jesus. He humbled me and then forgave me, and has been growing me to mature in the truth of His Word ever since.
Oh what an awesome God I serve!
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
We all go through difficult times, it is a part of life. Even people "on top of the world" so to speak, who seem to have it all: fame, fortune, universal love and acceptance, etc, etc, etc... have problems, can't hold on to their spouses, go to rehab, or even kill themselves with booze, illegal mind altering substances, or sleeping pills.
Some people blame God for their inability to believe in Him because...
of the suffering they see going on throughout the world and throughout the history of this world. Yeah, well, I think that one will be a hard sell when they bring that one up with Him later, because He will hold an audience with them one day, before casting into outer darkness, He will allow them to have their day in court, not that He has to but He will. They judge God for not doing His "God-thing" right? Really? How arrogant can anyone be but to stand up against Him and say: "You really screwed up and I could have done it so much better because __________(fill in the blank) . That is pretty brazen.
When I was young, involved in the New Age Movement (NAM) I thought I was so spiritual and loving. And I couldn't wait to meet God, the "true god" that is, not the God of Christianity (at least that is the way I saw it back then). Then one day some friends of my then boyfriend who happened to be Christians were talking with me and the Lord gracefully opened my hearing and my understanding when they said: "Do you realize what you are doing? You are shoving Jesus, God's Son who died for you, out of your way and then after shoving Jesus out of the way you say "Here I am God!"....do you really think that will score points for you with God the Father?" I realized they were right. I had been rude to God, my Creator, my Redeemer, by thinking that I was so wonderful, and yet was shoving Jesus out of my face, and for the same reason, pushing Christians away thinking they were less intelligent than myself. I was mortified by my arrogance and my terrible and shocking rudeness. I came face to face with the real me, not the one I put on for others to see, but the real one that I kept hidden even from myself, the me that only God could see, and now He revealed THAT me to me, and I couldn't stand me.
Thankfully the Lord didn't leave me there. Jesus is a loving God. He showed me the truth so He could change me over time, changing me into His likeness. And He does this for His glory, not for mine, not to elevate my fleshy ego. You see, a funny thing about God's glory, He already has glory because He is perfect. He doesn't need me to boost His ego, for some sense of getting to feel good as a result. He already is good. When He does something "for His glory" it isn't to boost His ego (as I've heard some very foolish persons say, who reveal their extreme ignorance of the God of the Bible). Ego is something of this world, of the flesh. It is not of the Lord. Jesus revealed that fact about God when He took on the veil of flesh. He was the furthest thing from being egotistical as you can possibly get. He doesn't need ego. We do because deep down we know we aren't good, but we want to convince others that we are. God doesn't need to convince anyone of anything. God does good because He is good, and that His goodness is revealed to others benefits the ones who realize it who in turn become good from HIS GOODNESS, not their own. That is so completely upside down from the way the world thinks.
So as I was saying, Jesus didn't leave me there, in that awful state of ego and arrogance and foolish antagonism against Jesus. He humbled me and then forgave me, and has been growing me to mature in the truth of His Word ever since.
Oh what an awesome God I serve!
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