Okay........so, its about two plus months later since I last posted. All I can say is the past few months have been busy, a whirlwind, etc. Our family has been quite busy to say the least. Vacations, birthdays, etc. But, I am back.
During this time, the Holy Spirit has revealed so many many truths. One truth I would like to share is what the Spirit spoke in my heart and soul today. This morning I prayed for the Lord to empty me of all my thoughts and distractions so I could clearly focus on Him and His Voice alone. I prayed that He would reveal to me something that He wanted me to meditate on. Immediately, the Spirit revealed to me and might I say quite loudly these following words....
"The world will ensare you. Don't be of the world."
My heart nearly skipped a beat and the words were repeated again in my mind. God really does speak to you if you ask with all your heart and soul. Of course, I had to go to Scripture to find the Scriptual basis and test what I heard if it was in Truth...And, I as I already knew, it was. There are many verses in the Word to back this concept up...but the first one I came to in the Bible was this...
John 15:19 ~ "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, YOU DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD, but I HAVE CHOSEN YOU OUT OF THE WORLD..."
Simply amazing...my walk and journey is a slow one. I am very stubborn and rebellious child of God sometimes. Blatantly, resisting what I KNOW to be true. Yes, I am in a pruning season now. Painful but necessary. The world will try to hang on to the OLD you...but once Christ is in you, you are no longer of this world...YOU have been chosen out of the world...And the world will eventually hate this new creation, this new you...but you can't ride the fence forever. You can't have one foot stuck in the mud mire and the other foot placed on firm ground. You will never move forward. You will remain in that spot and your growth will be stunted.
You have to choose...And that's where I am at on my journey...and I choose Christ....I choose to leave the mud mire and grab His hand and let Him pull me out of this world and place me on His firm established ground...If you find yourself trying to live in both places, you will find it impossible. If you are truly a child of God, you will find that you just can't get by with it. The Holy Spirit will let you know it. And you won't want to get by with it. You will no longer want the things of this world. You will want the things of Christ...
Psalm 40:2 "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
Romans 12:2 ~ "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
One more BEAUTIFUL verse from the Book of John...this one is just speaking to my soul very strongly now...
John 17:8-10 ~ "For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
Thank you Father for choosing me out of this world...I know I have been a stubborn and rebellious child...keeping one foot in the world and one foot out of the world. You have shown me that is just not possible and it is not what you have planned for me or my family or any of YOURS...Thank you for your mercy, grace and love and for choosing to pull me out of the mud mire and place me on Your firm and established ground that will not move or sink or crumble. You are more than faithful, more than graceful, more than wonderful, more than anything, my little mind can fathom. I pray that this will touch someone out there who like me has been riding the fence. I hope it will encourage someone to turn to You and extend their hand out to You. Because You are faithful and will pull them out of whatever situation or place they are in, and You will place them on firm ground under the shadow of your wings. In your precious Son's name, Jesus, I pray....Amen... ~ cj patterson
Psalm 36:7 ~ "How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings."