Good morning to all on this Thursday morning. Still ice and snow on the ground and God is in His Heaven and all is right in and with the world. My Waine is coming home to me today, please pray for God's traveling mercies for him. Continue to keep ET and his family in your prayers and continue to pray for JKS's healing. I am speaking this weekend so pray God's blessing on me.
I am continuing my journey in Philippians 2 verses 1 - 11, "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Amen and Amen! Wow I finally GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When God exalts you, when God raises you UP, when God rewards you it is on the basis of your obedience to humility--humility to His commandment to Love Him above anything and then to love one another as CHRIST LOVED US AND GAVE HIS LIFE FOR US. WOW! When is the last time you loved someone more than you loved yourself. That is to say, you loved someone inspite of being hurt or wounded by that person. I have someone in my life right now, and I am feeling so convicted as I right this blog entry, that is hard for me to LOVE. It is hard for me to lay hands on this person; it is hard for me to show affection for this person; it is hard for me to think kind thoughts toward this person; it is hard for me to be around this person and that means I am not humbling myself to the will of God. I am to love this person really love this person just like Christ loved me when I was in sin. That had to be hard for Him. God cannot be in the same space as sin yet Christ loved me through it and Paul is saying that we have to love each other not because it is our nature to love--we have to love one another because we are One with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We have to die to our own sin nature and have to exercise the Love of Christ that exists in us. EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE that which you do not want to do because of your commitment to obedience to Christ. I have to exercise my love for this person that I do not naturally love and the only way to do it is to be around this person. I have to make the effort to exercise my love for this person and I am going to humble myself in obedience to do just that. Then, then, then GOD WILL EXALT ME! When God exalts me then nothing in the heavens, on the earth or UNDER THE EARTH will be able to stop His exaltation of me. I can't wait. If I could go to that person now, at 6 AM, I would and I mean it.
If you are wondering why God hasn't exalted you; exalted your business, exalted you ove your current trials and tribulations, you need to look no further that your humility. I pray that you are bold enough to be humble today so that He, Jesus, can exalt you this very day.
Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen.
Stephanie
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