The halfbaked Bard

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Grace

Gal:1:15 But when God who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace. A persecutor of the church; a tormentor of Christians. Chosen. Set apart even from His mother's womb. By Grace. Grace is too simple a word to say. Yet a heavy word to comprehend. Why would He give unmerited favour, when we least deserved it. At the peak of rebellion; in the midst of clenched fists, He chose to reveal His Son to me. All I could say is. Thank you Father. Image credit: https://stockcake.com/i/desert-rain-approaches_1456001_163015

Why do I quickly desert?

I am amazed that you are quickly deserting Him who called you. Gal:1:6 How do I desert Him who called me? By believing in a different gospel! How has your belief changed? Has self sufficiency creeped in; instead of absolute trust? Has materialism barged in; instead of simplicity? Has pride crawled in; instead of humility and self denial? He should increase. And I should decrease. Paul the greatest missionary, the saintest of us all, trained and knowledgeable of all spiritual doctrines and truth, says I am a bond servant of Christ; I am the worst of all sinners. Where is the sin consciousness in me? Where is the person I used to be? Where is the passion to know Him? Where is the urgency to repent and correct myself for His sake? How did I get diluted? Why do I seek favour of men? Why do I live a life trying to please men; rather than God? Why are my standards that of the world? Why do I neglect the standards of God? Why do I give more importance to the outwardly e...

In you

That Jesus Christ is in you. 2 Cor:13:5 This is the test. Is Jesus Christ in you? Are you taking your choices, based on His presence in your life? Do you deny your desires to obey Him completely? Do you resist temptation, with a strong will power and self control, no matter how alluring it will look, knowing that these are things which He abhors, He disgusts. What is your driving force in life? And that is not something, you will train yourself out. But the grace of God. An even balance. It's a journey. 2 Cor:13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Image courtesy; https://bellatorchristi.com/2022/06/07/why-asking-jesus-into-your-heart-may-be-biblical-if-properly-understood/

Rekindle

Test yourselves to see, if you are in faith, examine yourselves. 2 Cor:13:5 This is something which we need to do repeatedly in our lives. To test our faith; to test the genuineness of our faith. Not about the saving faith we had once. That is not something that you might lose. For it says that, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and behold the new has come. It also says that; now there is no condemnation for those who are in the Lord Jesus It says about the earnestness of your faith. Have you grown in your trust in Jesus? Has your love grown cold? Is spending time in His presence a burden and a sense of responsibility rather than an excitement and an emotion? Where is your first love? You cannot lose faith. But you can freeze it and make it dead. Beware. How do you test? Keep checking. Keep reassesing. Take regular introspections, to see whether you are growing or stunted? Prune things which are unnecessary. Unwanted commitments. Unwarrante...

Trust the process

Thorn in the flesh. To keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me - to keep me from exalting myself. 2 Cor:12:7 Is there something which is a constant pain for you? Something which has not sorted out yet? Something for which you have fasted and prayed but hasn't worked out still? The pain is still there for a purpose dear one. To keep you from exalting yourself. To keep yourself humble. Know that your Abba is in control. He is Sovereign. He is good. And He will not allow anything beyond what you can endure. He has allowed this with a purpose. So when prayers are still unanswered, rejoice. For God is in control. He has this for a purpose. You might not get the big picture now. But God knows. Trust the process.

Undivided devotion

2 Cor:11:3 But i fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted. Where you are expected to have an undivided devotion to Christ, an undistracted devotion to Him, is it by any means corrupted and gone wavering? Have you been distracted by the pressures and pleasures around you? Are targets and expectations eating up your relationship with Jesus? How often do you open your Bible vs switch on your phone? Are you too busy with other things that you forsake reading the Word of God? Are you too tired in the dusk to pray? What feeds do you have in your search history? What motivates you? What is the most exciting thing that you want to do? You used to do it before! Where is your first love now? And once you realize that you are in the wrong track what do you do about it?