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May you hear from the Almighty God, and be ministered in your present circumstance, as we continue in our meditation of the promise of His blessing that says May the Lord bless you from Zion; And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem All the days of your life. [Psalms 128:5,6] The blessing of God expresses itself in your life as a Christiaan maturity that sees you become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. The key to it is obedience. Empowering comes from Him, as you entrust yourself into His Hand in willingness so that even in weakness you are made strong in His strength. And the Apostle Paul writes thus to the Philippians, Let those of us who are mature then be of the same mind, and if any of you think differently, that too God will reveal to him. [Philippians 3:15] And Christian maturity is measured by having the attitude of Christ in you. [Philippians 2:5]
Attitude explained, scripturally:
It involves having the mind, and holding the conviction, that by the working of the Holy Spirit, gives comprehension that yields an empowering to carry out the will of God. It is the Holy Spirit alone who can bring conviction in you, regarding the sin in you, and therefore your need for the Savior, who has carried away the sins of the whole world. Paul’s description of his own personal experience says what needs to happen in you and I.
To know, to be convinced & to entrust:
But I am not ashamed, for I know the One in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard until that day, what I have entrusted to Him. [2 Timothy 1:12] And knowing, is a revelation knowledge in your spirit, leading to a relational experience with God. It then becomes part of your make up. It becomes your personal experience, even as the people of the village were able to affirm to the Samaritan woman, who had introduced them to Lord Jesus – ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world’. [John 4:42] Christianity is a personal relationship of sonship with the Almighty God as your Heavenly Father, through Christ, His Son. It is how the Lord who came down to reveal the Father has taught you and I to pray, emphasizing the need to pray for yourself. And when you call, He Himself will answer you… [Jeremiah 33:3] It is never an exercise in futility. What matters is the nature of your relationship with Him, how personal it is. He needs to be Your Lord, Your God, Your Shepherd, and Your Savior. It is the question that you need to ask yourself, for it makes all the difference.
To think in the same way-
Secondly -The person who is spiritually mature, having this mind, holding this conviction, needs to think in the same way, with its confidence and trust in God. And it is very important because, you and I live in a fallen world that thinks the very opposite, is self oriented, focusing on its own self, a narcissistic trinity of ‘I, me, myself’, that is a part of the world system and is ultimately going to fall. And it all began with the devil’s fall, described vividly in the scriptures, the reason for it being the pride and ego, or in their words the ‘I’ lifted up, to be at the center, and to make himself like the Most High God. [Isaiah 14:13,14] And the concept of ‘self help’ is pivotal in the world system even now, but only serves to reveal it’s immaturity.
‘I will’, but focus on ‘My God’-
For as a Christiaan, you do not lose your identity. But the wondrous truth is that on receiving Christ as your personal Savior, it is Christ who now lives in you, and the life you now live in the body, you live by faith in the Son of God. [Galatians 2:20] You are no longer centered and dependent on the self in you, to say .’I can’, or ‘I will’. With spiritual maturity, you still say ‘I will’, but your focus is upon God, whom you can consider in a personal relationship as ‘My God’, to say as the psalmist does -I will say to the Lord, ‘ My refuge and my fortress; My God in whom I trust’. [Psalms 91:2]
And He delivers you-
He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, And from the deadly pestilence; [Verse 3] A snare is something that is hidden to your eye, like land mines embedded in modern warfare, that go on to maim the innocent. Only God, can help you in such a dangerous landscape. And He is the One who can keep you safe when there is a deadly virus floating around. It happens when you can say, ‘My God, in whom I trust’.
He protects you-
He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. [Verse 4] Even when you find yourself lacking faith in any situation, in combating sin that is greater than your self will, He remains faithful. And His faithfulness is your security, thee Lord will cover you, to be all that you need in your life, in your cares, both big and small, even as you lay all your trust, put all your confidence in Him.
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Your Lord will accomplish-
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the work of Your hands. [Psalms 138:8]
1] When he is your God, and your Lord, He will bring to completion, a flourishing finish, all what He has begun in your life, and remains unfinished at present.
2] Relationships that could be broken or damaged, especially within the family, when a certain level of tension could be acceptable and yet painful, the mature mind in you says He will bring to perfection, by His grace being manifested in and through your life, making peace your experience.
3] In a situation of lack, when the worldly perspective says you can just about manage or scrape through, the mature mind will trust that the Lord would do much more; He would manifest His glory to satisfy your need in abundance, even as He fed the five thousand, with a meagre five loaves and two fishes.
The mature mind is never in denial, but acknowledging the need, lifts up it’s eyes, to the Heavenly Provider, knowing that His grace is more than sufficient. He is your strength. Lord Jesus is all that you need. And being convinced of it, may you entrust into His hands all that is troubling you today, knowing that He will accomplish it all, that it will not be about managing in your own strength, but a manifestation of His glory that is your experience in the coming days. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
