Fire & Water

Two thoughts for today:

WATER always delights in going lower...it always searches for a valley, for a way to descend...it never raises itself, it never climbs, it never strives to go up. A river runs downhill always.

Have you ever heard the roar of a waterfall? It is one of the most glorious sounds as the water--in its search for lowliness--leaps from the heights to be broken on the rocks beneath. I am reminded of the Scripture that speaks of falling on the Rock to be broken and not waiting for thr Rock fall on you and crush you (Matthew 21:44). Some wait for the Lord to crush them before they obey; some come to the feet of Jesus to break open and pour out their worth like the woman in Luke's gospel with her perfume and tears. There is true beauty in willing surrender. 

The essence of humility is a correct view of oneself. It is not self-degradation, but simply an understanding of who God is and who I am in relation to Him.  My focus is not on my weakness, but on His greatness. Not on my failing, but on His perfection. In fact, it's not on myself at all! This view will put in me a holy fear of God and will cause me to never strive for a position too lofty or identity that is not my own. I will walk every day perfectly in line with His commands because I understand that He is not a God to be treated casually.

The way of the Kingdom of God is not a power struggle, it is a race to the lowest spot. In God's Kingdom only the humble are useful - and it is the humble that He teaches in His way. 

FIRE can only burn up what is corruptible and dry. The incorruptible can only be cleansed by fire, not destroyed.

  If I am going through the fire and feel as if I am being destroyed by it I realize that I must be mostly made up of what is corruptible, worldly, and finite. I must allow the corruptible to be burned up completely in the fires of God until nothing but ashes remains. Will it destroy me? Oh, yes! You see, I am corruptible.

All that is of me--my desires, my passions, my will--is on a collision course with death. All that is of Christ is eternal, living, breathing, forever. 

Who I am must die...completely...so that Christ can live His desires, His passion, His will through me daily.

Galatians 2:20 states it well: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

How do I keep from being destroyed in the fire of God? If my coat was on fire I'd throw it off before it hurt me. I must throw off and separate myself from the things that will burn away so that all that remains is the gold, silver, and precious gems of an incorruptible faith and virtue!

In brokeness we find healing; in humility we find glory, in repentance we find guiltlessness, in nothingness we find the riches of the Kingdom of God!