Our Weakness and His Strength

The Lord has been impressing me to share a message He has been putting upon my heart for the past couple of weeks. Don't you just love those Holy Spirit moments? Those times when something just pops out at you and you know it is coming from our Lord. I've been having a lot of those moments lately, when you hear it in your spirit, God quickens it to your heart and everywhere you turn it's repeated over and over. It just stands out and you feel it pierce your heart and soul. It pops out in a song, you see it in a book, you read it on-line, you pass by a poster....there it is...over and over. You even walk down the street and a stranger is talking about the very thing which was upon your heart. It's then time to stop, open the scriptures and ask the Lord, "What is it you want to teach me?.

Today I want to share about finding strength in our weakness. A few weeks ago I was struggling with my weaknesses and feeling self-condemnation. I had been battling an infection for weeks and was having trouble overcoming it. My mind began to spin and reminisce about the past and my weaknesses which have kept me from getting where I want to be. My health has been a life long struggle which I have battled fiercely  and not been able to overcome. I would achieve a relatively healthy period, start moving ahead and achieve some goals and then bang! My health would decline and I would fall down. It caused me to have a tender heart towards God when I was a child, yet I would wander when things improved. I found Jesus as my Lord and Savior as a teenager during a very trying time of health issues which stretched into years of total despair and hopelessness. It was Jesus who brought me hope in this time of despair. I turned to Him and asked for this weakness to be taken away. He didn't take it completely away and I questioned why. Couldn't I better serve Him if I were well and healthy?

Our culture teaches us that it isn't good to have any weakness in our lives. People don't want to admit to any weakness for fear of rejection. The emphasis is on those things we can achieve by our own strength. All of us have weaknesses in our lives of one type or another, whether it be an infirmity or a sin we can't overcome. The scripture says in the first epistle of John, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  One thing that I have been learning as He has been teaching me about His light is.....the more we walk in His light....the more it exposes the sin in our lives. Have you ever sat in a chair in a room and watched as the sun's rays pour through a window? Have you noticed when the sunlight shifts and moves throughout the room, you notice dirt and dust everywhere as the light rays shine upon it? So it is when His light shines on us. In His Righteousness, we see our unrighteousness. Thank God, we have an advocate! "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" 1 John 2:1 In the Gospel of John we read, "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

He will remove our sins and we can overcome them through the power of His Spirit, but what about those other weaknesses, those things we can't escape? What about those things we have asked Him to help us overcome or asked Him to remove, yet they still remain? Why does He allow them?

The Apostle Paul wrestled with this very same thing. He said, "Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

More lessons learned on His grace and His strength made perfect in our weakness.....next time.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Ocean Grove yesterday! It was so refreshing after some rainy, dark and cloudy days. I decided to take some time out from the daily tasks and spend some time outdoors, basking in the sunlight and seeking the Lord. What better place to commune with Him than outdoors amid His creation? The refreshing ocean breezes are a reminder of His Holy Spirit which refreshes and renews us.

                                                                                                            

As I was sitting upon a bench in the park, I was thinking about my relationship with the Lord and the things which He is speaking to my heart. I felt the warmth of the sun on my face and my eyes were blinded by it's rays. It reminded me of what we have in Jesus, the warmth of the Holy Spirit as He indwells us and the radiance of His glory which shines upon us. It makes all other things dim in comparison. It wipes out the darkness which so easily entangles us. What greater joy is there than this fellowship we share with Him and in Him!  What joyous fellowship we share together! We all have our different stories of how we have come to this faith in Him, but we all have found common ground and a meeting place at the foot of His cross. 

 I'm drawn to the book of 1 John ......"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Yes, this is the message we have heard from Him and which we need to declare. In Psalm 36:9 we read "For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light." Let us dwell in the light of Jesus!

John writes in His first epistle...."that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."

In the same way, I also share with you what I have seen and heard of Him, that we might have this fellowship together in Him. I write these things as well, that your joy might be made full!

Let us keep in His presence, let us stay in His Light.....for with Him is the fountain of life and joy everlasting!

Light-bearers

Today's post is taken from an email to a friend in September 2009. It was written after the sharing of the journal entry of 2006, which is in the previous post. May it be a blessing to you today, for the message is timeless...We are witnesses to His Light and called to live a life worthy of His Name......

September 2009

The Lord has been teaching me a lot about light and allowing His light to shine through us, amidst criticism and scrutiny by on-lookers. It is hard to keep one's eyes on Jesus in the midst of trials and hardship and to rise above it, but we do it by knowing that the Lord has a higher purpose that we can't yet see.

The other day after writing that little tidbit on being like those diamonds in the sea of humanity, reflecting the light of Jesus to those who can't see Him, I was led to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. The Lord was leading me to open a little pamphlet which was stuck in my Bible as a marker. It is a daily Bible reading guide given to me at church. Since I have studied the entire Bible, I allow the Lord to lead me into what He would want me to read on any given day. I opened the pamphlet up and felt the Lord telling me to read the portion for that day, 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. The chapter heading being, "The Light of Christ's Gospel". The Lord continues to speak about "light" and allowing that light to shine in and through us, no matter what is going on in our lives. I have a friend who says, “Who would want this Christian life after looking at the mess of our lives?" The Lord is showing me more and more that it is despite our lives that they see Him, it is above our lives they see Him, for it is by this Light that shines in and through us that they see Him. We don't want people to see our lives and desire them; we want them to see His Life and to desire Him!

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart..." 2 Cor. 4:1

We have His mercy to go on to be these light-bearers, He speaks to the consciences of believers and unbelievers alike through this light shining in and through us. It is very hard to withstand the rejection of people, who do not believe, but we can understand better when we understand vs. 4, "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." Who is the god of this age? The very enemy of our souls who deceives. They don't want to believe, lest this light shine on them, they don't want to see. They have been deceived, for this very light is what brings life.  It is sad, but true, that even believers sometimes don't want to see this light. It shines on the hidden things of shame, or exposes craftiness, or the deceitful handling of the Word of God. There are those who use the Word of God in such a way, for proving their own points for their own agendas.  We don't preach ourselves, but we preach Jesus, pouring ourselves out for Him and for His sake. "For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Our total reliance is on the Lord and most can't understand that. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed~ always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." We are being poured out for the many for the sake of Jesus. "So then death is

working in us, but life in you."  We have the knowledge that the Lord will raise us up and what greater purpose in all of this hardship, then to bring others who have witnessed this light and been transformed by it with us!

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." No matter what is happening outwardly, what the Lord is doing in unseen places overshadows it all. We need to keep our focus on Him and not allow these outward things to discourage us from being light-bearers for Him, or from moving ahead confident in Him. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Therefore, my friends, press on toward the goal.....

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog, "Walk By Faith Not Sight" and The Chronicles of Mrs B! I've shared with many of you that this blog was in the making and soon coming. I hope that you are all blessed, uplifted and encouraged in your daily walk. 

As I considered how to begin this blog, I was drawn to a journal entry from 2006. I read it and was impressed how timeless it was. I've cycled around a few more times since then and grown even more in my relationship with Jesus. I've met many people along the way and have realized all the more the need of being those light bearers and reflectors, as "we walk by faith and not by sight". 

Reflectors of Light.....August 16, 2006....

I'm sitting in Auditorium Square Park, watching the children running and chasing pigeons. They are doing the same things my children once did. They are climbing in the "climbing tree" as the mothers stand near-by talking ~ sharing their child experiences. It's interesting to watch the cycle of life. The children are doing things in the same way. The mothers are sharing the same type stories as they did 20 years ago. Isn't it the same as with the Word of God. The stories are the same, yet the people have changed. Human-kind are still in need of the same things ~ sharing like experiences and seeking common ground. The Creator is our common ground!

"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him." Lamentations 3:25 Hasn't He been faithful? Hasn't He seen us through? "He is the same yesterday, today and forever" We grow. The situations may repeat, but our responses are different. We are being conformed into His image ~ if we are looking to Him!

The Lord was speaking to me on Sunday morning as I sat at the pavilion at the end of Ocean Pathway. I was sitting at the 9:00 AM worship service. Jonah was the message and God's mercy and grace. It was a bright, sunny morning. The sun was over the pavilion ~ out of my view. As I looked out over the water ~ it appeared as though there were a million diamonds shining in the water ~ reflecting the light of the sun! God spoke to my heart ~ we as Christians are like those diamonds in the sea of humanity ~ reflecting His light! Jesus is hidden from their view ~ but in the light reflected by us ~ they see Him and are drawn to His love ~ His grace ~ His mercy.

I was just walking through Auditorium Square when the chimes chimed and it went through the very core of my being. A woman just walked by and said, " How peaceful ". Yes, the world is full of war and hatred ~ but right here, at this time and place ~ there is peace ~  the peace that only comes from God ~ the Creator.