We as believers have got to understand the importance of yielding our minds to the will of God, both in terms of allowing Him to use us as He wills, and of simple obedience to the Lord on a day-to-day basis. Now, I'm not referring to any sort of legalism here- I've both seen, and been a victim of that for so many years that I get sick to my stomach at the mere thought of it.....What I DO want to deal with here is our daily walk with Christ- in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we have problems in this area, it will be difficult to yield our members to Him in order to be used of Him in any significant way. Read the 119th psalm. David is so desirous of fully following the law of God- verses 35 through 37 read, "MAKE me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therin do I delight. INCLINE my heart unto Thy testamonies, and NOT to covetousness. TURN AWAY mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way."
David both craves the Presence and the law of God, and knows just how prone he is, left to his own devices, to wander from the God he so dearly loves.Re-read those words, "MAKE, INCLINE, TURN AWAY"...He is asking- beseeching the Lord to cause him to look to Him, for he knows what a rascal he is in the flesh, despite God referring to him as "a man after Mine own heart".
This is something we must all learn, if we wish to be used of God- our utter helplesness, and the Lord's all-sufficiency. Years ago, Phil Keaggy wrote and sang a song-( I don't remember the title, but) it contained the words, "I never had a selfless thought since I was born." When I first heard those lyrics, I thought to myself, "Finally- here's a believer that I can relate to, someone who knows the kind of struggles I go through!" .....
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Realizing the importance of looking to Him, and not ourselves, on a daily basis, is so important because we tend, as David knew, to go our own way. When we follow OU R will, we quickly get into trouble because we're naturally attracted to the things of the world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life), and its pull is far too powerful for any person to resist. God knows that our ONLY hope is trusting and depending upon Him, and that's what obedience to Him is. Once we begin to understand and walk in that truth, God can freely use us by His Spirit as He wills, and isn't that what we all desire in our heart of hearts? May He bring us all to that place!
God bless you.
pastor Jim Ewing
Realizing the importance of looking to Him, and not ourselves, on a daily basis, is so important because we tend, as David knew, to go our own way. When we follow OU R will, we quickly get into trouble because we're naturally attracted to the things of the world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life), and its pull is far too powerful for any person to resist. God knows that our ONLY hope is trusting and depending upon Him, and that's what obedience to Him is. Once we begin to understand and walk in that truth, God can freely use us by His Spirit as He wills, and isn't that what we all desire in our heart of hearts? May He bring us all to that place!
God bless you.
pastor Jim Ewing
