Sunday, September 23, 2007
Life Verses
"Now all things
are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." - 2 Cor 5:18-19
"So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.
You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.
You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols." 1 Peter 4:1-3 (NLT)
I'm beginning to understand why they say the Bible is the living Word of God. Some verses just speak to me as though it were glowing and grabbing my attention (and it's not because I highlighted it). I highlight it because it seemed to glow at me.
Even in this season as I'm seeking the destiny that God has prepared for me beforehand (See Ephesians 2:1o), these verses seem to lay the foundation for leading me into His will. At this point in time it seems pretty generic but yet I feel its timeliness. In any case I believe I must live it out before I can even begin to be shown more. And I feel it's really true.
First and foremost we must understand that God has called us to be reconciled to Him, and then bear witness to a God who restores and reconciles. I remember how I first came to Christ by being told by God to reconcile with my family, and afterwards to facilitate for my parents to reconcile with each other as well as with themselves. I'm still going through the process for my family to be fully restored but much ground has been covered already. Praise God.
The latter verse seems to be a promise as well as an exhortation. We will suffer just as Christ did at one point or another (I can't deny the sufferings I have experienced myself). Yet it strangely summarizes my experience lately; I have had enough of doing the things I used to do, living like I used to, sticking to some die-hard habits and sinful behavior. It's time to get up and live! I look around me and begin to see that much remains to be done; so many have yet to get in touch with the part in them that yearns to get in touch with God. "As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain." 2 Cor 6:1. This is the follow-up verse. And I think of the many who have sowed into my life to lead me to the cross and I just got to do my part too.
Mantou at 10:16 PM