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hot_foot_steph"The Vision and The Reality
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. . . to those who are . . . called to be saints . . .
—1 Corinthians 1:2
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Thank God for being able to see all that you have not yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not yet to the reality of it by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the bumps and bruises that must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to be battered into the shape of the vision to be used by God? The beatings will always come in the most common, everyday ways and through common, everyday people.
There are times when we do know what God’s purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends on us, not on God. If we prefer to relax on the mountaintop and live in the memory of the vision, then we will be of no real use in the ordinary things of which human life is made. We have to learn to live in reliance upon what we saw in the vision, not simply live in ecstatic delight and conscious reflection upon God. This means living the realities of our lives in the light of the vision until the truth of the vision is actually realized in us. Every bit of our training is in that direction. Learn to thank God for making His demands known.
Our little "I am" always sulks and pouts when God says do. Let your little "I am" be shriveled up in God’s wrath and indignation--"I AM WHO I AM . . . has sent me to you" ( Exodus 3:14 ). He must dominate. Isn’t it piercing to realize that God not only knows where we live, but also knows the gutters into which we crawl! He will hunt us down as fast as a flash of lightning. No human being knows human beings as God does." - Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"
Although I don't have the book. I just clicked on this link in Laura's journal that is a site that has daily devotions. I thought this one was interesting and I liked it.
Oh. And everyone. Check out Andrew Peterson. He's like a contemporary Rich Mullins. He is AMAZING and the way He sings about Jesus is just so...wow. His voice is amazing. And he's just so...real. I can't even explain him. But his music is like...Irish/Scottish sounding...without the bagpipes. Wow. Mmmm. Jared sent me lyrics of a song of his that had the lyric (er, something like this) "I'm just chasing me." But seriously. He blends in reality with the supernatural reality that comes into a human when Jesus helps us rest in His arms. :)
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. . . to those who are . . . called to be saints . . .
—1 Corinthians 1:2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank God for being able to see all that you have not yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not yet to the reality of it by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the bumps and bruises that must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to be battered into the shape of the vision to be used by God? The beatings will always come in the most common, everyday ways and through common, everyday people.
There are times when we do know what God’s purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends on us, not on God. If we prefer to relax on the mountaintop and live in the memory of the vision, then we will be of no real use in the ordinary things of which human life is made. We have to learn to live in reliance upon what we saw in the vision, not simply live in ecstatic delight and conscious reflection upon God. This means living the realities of our lives in the light of the vision until the truth of the vision is actually realized in us. Every bit of our training is in that direction. Learn to thank God for making His demands known.
Our little "I am" always sulks and pouts when God says do. Let your little "I am" be shriveled up in God’s wrath and indignation--"I AM WHO I AM . . . has sent me to you" ( Exodus 3:14 ). He must dominate. Isn’t it piercing to realize that God not only knows where we live, but also knows the gutters into which we crawl! He will hunt us down as fast as a flash of lightning. No human being knows human beings as God does." - Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"
Although I don't have the book. I just clicked on this link in Laura's journal that is a site that has daily devotions. I thought this one was interesting and I liked it.
Oh. And everyone. Check out Andrew Peterson. He's like a contemporary Rich Mullins. He is AMAZING and the way He sings about Jesus is just so...wow. His voice is amazing. And he's just so...real. I can't even explain him. But his music is like...Irish/Scottish sounding...without the bagpipes. Wow. Mmmm. Jared sent me lyrics of a song of his that had the lyric (er, something like this) "I'm just chasing me." But seriously. He blends in reality with the supernatural reality that comes into a human when Jesus helps us rest in His arms. :)
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Date: 2003-10-04 02:07 pm (UTC)