(Adapted from "Not Knowing Where" by Oswald Chambers) |
Perspective:
Lu. 9:23-24
; Rom. 6:11
; Eph. 4:22-24
; Heb. 5:14-15
; James 1:17
- The presence of the self , the subjective self, the old
nature, the false self of unconscious unreality , subsists by
feelings, the dust of the earth. This phony self is ever present
to substitute for the reality of living by the true self, the
self in union with the Holy Spirit. The old self is concerned
with its own survival, to feed its ego needs by the externals
and experiences of life - a co-dependency hatched by the world
, the flesh and the devil.
To practice the death of this egoistic self is to lift the sights of our souls from the horizontal plane of the earth to an otherworldly transcendental one. This is the wisdom from the Spirit of God which comes down to us in the pattern of the Incarnation. Christ came down from above, the Holy Spirit is poured out from above, the new birth is from above: all experiences of God's Presence come down to us from heaven as word and spirit.
Hope:
Ps. 107:20
; Acts 17:28
; Gal. 2:20
; Col. 1:10-11
; 1:27
- Healing
of the soul is a process to separate the false self from the true
self. Christ is with us whether or not we apprehend Him. His Presence
is a concrete reality but immaterial, and it takes constant perseverance
to practice His Presence in the realities of daily living . To
practice His presence is not a 'method' but a 'Person'. We cease
to look for signs or sensory proof but rather to delight ourselves
in Him. We practice His presence with us as we read Scriptures,
as we pray, as we walk, as we do our duties at home, at work
, at church, and wherever we breathe and interact with others:
to make Him known to others through us.
Ps. 95:7 ; Acts 17:11-12 ; Matt. 4:4 ; 2 Tim. 3:15 - As you listen to His words, and you walk according to His word, the healing process becomes a constant. The first principle in beginning to listen to God is taking sacred texts into our spirits and souls by prayerful meditation upon them. Thereby, His words 'abide in us' and the word aflames within, making our wills one with His whereby we begin to grasp the depth of His love( Eph. 3:18-19 ).
Change:
Col. 3:5-15
; 2 Tim. 2:19-26
- One must be separated from the
'old man', the sinful, the neurotic, the sickly compulsive, and
no longer define ourselves by our sins, our neurosis and our deprivations,
but by Him whose healing life cleanses and indwells us.
Jere. 2:13 ; Rom. 6:12-14 - Seek no longer to soothe your feelings by looking to others, to possessions or position to fulfill sense of acceptance and approval. Put all of this at the feet of Jesus, the depravities of rage and lusts, or the deprivations of faithfulness, anxiety, emptiness, compulsions, addictions, and fears. Acknowledge all these sins, accept responsibility for them, then discuss them in prayer, in conversation with God. Listen , and you will receive guidance and the word that breaks the bondages.
Isa. 10:27 ; Mark 11:22-26 ; Matt. 5:36-37 ; 1 Jn1:7 - We put no trust in our character by vowing, pledging ourselves to do anything. Rather than trusting in our own trust, we must trust in the Lord. We must fling ourselves clean over onto God and wash our hands of the consequences, making ourselves incapable of any self interest. Faith is not the means whereby we take God to ourselves for our own exclusive purposes; faith is the gift of God whereby He expresses His purposes through us. It is faith 'in' God , not in ourselves.
Matt. 5:48 ; Rom. 12:1-2 ; Rom. 8:1-2 ; 2 Cor. 5:17 , 21 ; Eph. 4:22-24 - Circumcision or sanctification which it symbolizes is the decision to cut away all self-idolatry and abandon to God entirely. The old nature and the new have to be made one. The old has to be turned into a noble nature by the incoming of God; the new disposition is the one in which God is all.
As you faithfully examine and judge yourself, look for and expect the Presence of the Lord in your life.