food for thought

Giving no cause for offense in anything!

OK um sounds nice but we are constantly messing up that one.  The bible talks about fires, trials, and hardships.  This life is boot camp and we groan with every task. Why?Because of our own affections!  They are most difficult to let go of and they are the weed that binds us. I work in my yard and there is this one weed that is a vine and it wraps itself tightly around whatever it is next to.  It is really quite amazing how fast it grows and grips its prey.  Not hard to pull out and when its gone the plant is free but many of the other plants face the same threat.  Left unattended it would attempt at a fast rate to choke out what it has clung to.  The vine has a unique quality of a very sticky grip and it never ceases to amaze me every time I pull one out. Now this vine is no match for the gardener, it actually takes very little effort to remove them. When I am weeding I often think of the parable of separating  the tares from the wheat.  As we face each new day we are learning to recognize the weeds in our lives, so we may separate unto God alone.  If we started with a perfect record we would indeed give no cause for offense but it just isn't so.  We get tired, run down and keeping out the weeds can seem quite a daunting task and it is indeed.  We can do nothing except for Christ's strength, lest anyone should boast.  The question is what are we asking Christ for the strength to do?  We must be willing to have our hearts examined here.  Are we diligently seeking to know Him, living separated  unto God? "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord."  Most of us race out in the mornings with little thought of anything except our own affections.  Those clinging desires we seem to be stuck to.  Most of us are like the song "I work and work until life's no fun..." and we are exhausted when the day is done.  Our own affections produce the weed of exhaustion and we do it day after day after day thinking we are needed and nothing will be right if we do not do it ourselves.  Now we know our God is an awesome God and He does not need us to do this or that, He lets us because He loves us.  As a child when our parents let us do something, there was excitement, anticipation, and joy.  Our Father wants the same for us now, yet unless we learn to separate unto Him alone we will not have what we had as a child.   It is indeed a growing process to become a child in His image;  giving Him complete control, desiring His desires over the weeds of our own, that threaten to choke us out.  It would be nothing for God to pull out the weeds of hardships, trials, and difficulties, but then what would we learn? Instead we must desire to root out the vines because without hardships, trials, and difficulties, we would not even know we were being choked.  We must go boldly before the throne and ask God to open our eyes and give us wisdom and understanding to see what is not of Him in us, and for the courage and determination to root it out!  "Through Christ we can do all things."  When our desires are freed from our own affections they are God's desires for those of us who love Him and desire His will for our lives and we will know what it is for our joy to be full in whatever the day may bring; by living a life separated unto God.

and Jesus told them "Love as I have loved."

Heavenly Father, as we walk through each day, help us to see through the difficulties to Your grace knowing our joy is full in You alone.  That we may desire Your desires above all else. In Jesus our Savior's name I pray, amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)