THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - 2009
january 27th
"CULTIVATE
FAITHFULNESS"
...."Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass, and fade like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate
faithfulness"....
Psalm 37:1-3 NASB
The expression
"cultivate faithfulness" blesses me greatly! It paints the picture of
cultivating the same way that one cultivates a garden to produce healthy and
maximum fruit. For us, as Christians it means doing all those things - day in
and day out - that are necessary for us to come into a continually deeper
knowledge of the Father and His Word and, thus, a deeper trust and faithfulness
towards Him - knowing that He is faithful in all.
HOW FOOLISH IT IS TO
BE OFFENDED AT GOD!
If there are things in
our life [motivations and desires] that are not in perfect accordance with the
Word [Will] of God then it is because we have not yet truly believed that Word
- or received and maintained a revelation of His Will! The Father is
faithful, and if this has become the case in our lives then we must continue on
in the Word of God until we discover the ground for unbelief and rebellion
within us - through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. How foolish it is to
be offended at God! He "IS" faithfulness. He "IS"
integrity. He "IS" love - and He cannot fail. So let us NEVER blame
others, and let us NEVER be found blaming God for any shortcomings that may manifest
in our life, but rather let us humble ourselves in His presence continually
and, thus, allow the light of His Word to flood our hearts - continually
exposing and removing any ground of mistrust and unbelief within us.
THIS FELLOWSHIP IN THE INNER CHAMBER
INSTILLS WITHIN US A DEEP AND TRUE HUMILITY [HEART-DEPENDENCE AND TRUST] THAT
CAUSES US TO SEEK AT ALL TIMES TO BE DEPENDENT UPON THE FATHER FOR ALL THINGS,
AND PREVENTS US FROM EXALTING OUR THOUGHTS ABOVE THE REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF HIS
WORD [WILL]
The more that we come to
know the Father intimately - through fellowshipping in His presence and with
His Word - the more we come to realize how little we truly know and, thus, it
is always a very "humbling" experience to fellowship with the Father
in His presence. This fellowship in the "inner chamber" instills
within us a deep and true humility [heart-dependence and trust] that causes us
to seek at all times to be dependent upon the Father for ALL things, and
continually prevents us from exalting our thoughts above the revealed knowledge
of His Word [Will]. Any dependence upon ourselves, any looking to the
"world" for the meeting of our needs, breeds pride and rebellion
within us, and leads us into a deeper dependence upon the things of the world
rather than the things of the Kingdom. This will eventually lead to corruption
and death and the darkness in one's life, and the certain departure from the
will of God - a most dangerous practice in this final hour! This is exactly why
the Father calls us to be separated from the world, and to keep our hearts and
minds set on the things above and not the things below.
Related Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 10:5; Proverbs 4:23; 1 Peter 5:5b-7; Isaiah
60:2; James 4:4; Colossians 3:1-3;
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