Tag: Cycle

Exponential Jesus

road to God

          It seems that some people have an easier time with obedience and their walk with the Lord. We should never compare our walk with anyone else’s because we were fearfully, wonderfully, and uniquely design for a purpose that we may not fully understand until me meet our Savior in Heaven. But since the community we are called to with other believers has us bearing one another’s burdens, I’d like to explore part of the psychology of our walk with God. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

          God begets God. When we focus on God and His design described in His Word we develop a sustaining focus on Him. That focus allows His way to permeate through us and grow in everything we do. As our focus grows the ways that God can intervene in all facets if our life become clear. The Bible talks about lineage and family trees and uses the term begets. Father begets his son and that son begets his son and so forth. The definition of beget says: “give rise to; bring about.” A focus on the ways of God gives rise to more God in you and make God more able to use you through your obedience. This works for His attributes as well. Peace begets peace, joy begets joy, love begets love, and faith begets faith. When the power of God allows the fruits of His Spirit to take root in your heart, they become your new natural, your new foundation. The more you see these attributes growing in you and manifesting in your life the easier it becomes to allow them to move in and through you. Your confidence in the power of God grows and the way He wants to use you becomes clearer. This is why Jesus gave the instruction to seek first the Kingdom. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

          Unfortunately the opposite is also true. Sin begets sin. The deceiver looks for opportunity to turn small sin into a snare and let that compound into larger sin. This can become true as we justify our sin and make it so common that its impact becomes ignored so it grows unchecked. The deceiver can also turn the conviction of sin into guilt and let sin grow through a weakened focus on the Lord. We are told not to allow the deceiver access to our minds to prevent this. Give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:27) If we allow sin to become common and don’t stand up for our conviction we let the new normal drift from God. The more slack we give to the darkness the more it will take, and the pull away from the light becomes faster and less obvious. This is true both in society and in our individual walks with the Lord. Take inventory of your heart and see what you may have been letting slide by and turn those things over to God. His love and mercy are made available to us in Jesus. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

         This idea of exponential growth in the Spirit or decay into sin is part of the way our minds work. The term that I have heard used is ‘positive feedback loop.’ What you feed back into your system will be the basis for your next steps. Letting God in will allow Him to guide your steps as He does for the righteous. The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way. (Psalm 37:23) In the same way letting the ways of the deceiver become normal will feed the darkness and dim the light God has placed into your heart. Through God’s perfect love and mercy He allows us to turn back into His arms at any place in this journey. He wants the positive cycle to begin when you are ready to let a moment in His love beget an eternity in His presence.

Lost in Pride

thDZTCNR6S

                Many people think of pride as someone who thinks they are better than those around them. People focus on the “chest beating” pride that is the most outwardly evident form. The dangerous kinds of pride are the less obvious types. These are self-reliance and self-focus. All pride drives us away from God and opens up a foot-hold for the deceiver. God opposed the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6) Pride is the reason the devil was cast out of heaven and is the source of all sin. The pride of the deceiver is what causes him to oppose God and oppose those who serve God here on earth. Any pride that you hold is a connection to the nature of satan and a barrier to closeness with the Lord.

Self-Reliance

                It is human nature to try and do things for ourselves in our own way. We drift from reliance on God. This sinful nature draws us into a life soiled by pain, frustration, and worry. We feel out of place and unsettled as we try and mask the missing peace with worldly pleasures through more self-reliance. These earthly “band-aides” leave us deeper in despair. Someone who lives in self-reliance builds a house with no foundation. When they fall there is no limit to the depths of that trouble.

                On the other hand, we can fight that nature. We can rely on God. He desires us to rely on His provision and designed us to walk in reliance on Him. We were designed for a purpose and God wants us to walk in His light. If we follow the path of God we a fulfilled and at peace in our journey through life. We draw closer to God in reliance on Him and the deceiver loses his ability to draw on the pride that causes self-reliance. God calls us to humility and submission so that He can lead us in the peace and joy found in Him.

Self-Focus

       Humans are selfish by nature. From birth we think only of ourselves. The dangerous position of self-focus causes many things that create deep turmoil in our live. This kind of pride is the source of anxiety, depression, anger, unforgiveness, etc. It’s sad to see the world turn to medication over God. When we think the world revolves around us or that we deserve more than we do, we fall victim to pride. We are anxious when we think we can control the things around us. We get depressed when we don’t get what we feel we should or feel the way we want. Anger occurs when we feel wronged because we don’t deserve undesired treatment or belong in a certain situation. We have trouble forgiving when we want additional attention for the wrong we perceive. All of those situations find their source in personal opinions on what we think should be true.

       We have to turn to God and realize our mission on earth is to serve the growth of His kingdom and to glorify Him as His image bearers. The world owes us nothing. We have no control over the outcomes when God is in control. People are not focused on how we are affected by their actions because their fallenness causes them to be self-focused. It’s not our job to hold anyone accountable for the pride that we can now recognize. We must show them what humility looks like as they continue to walk in pride. Their escape from the prison of pride is between them and God. Focus on God and His plans. Focus on your involvement in His kingdom and turn away from the temptation to make any situation revolve around you.

 

       The most dangerous part of pride is that pride keeps us from seeing the pride in ourselves and others. We cannot admit the existence of our pride because our pride will not allow it. That is the reason why, even in the eyes of defeat, the devil cannot admit to himself that he cannot defeat God. People cannot see their own pride so you cannot call out their flaw. You must be an image bearer of humility and love that draws them to God’s peace that radiates from you. If you read this and find pride in your heart, you can thank God for that revelation and know that He personally is calling you out of the darkness of sin. You cannot see your own pride without the humility God gives you. The cycle of pride requires Godly intervention to break. Thank God for His continued work in and through you. Love others in their fallenness and draw close to God who loves you too much to lose you to pride, the source of all sin.