Zoe Believer is dying to herself, to her will, to her plans and to her flesh. It's been slow and painful but worthwhile.Fruitfulness involves death. He says,
"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a SINGLE SEED. But if it dies, it produces MANY SEEDS. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" John 12:24-25 (NIV)
To produce fruit in every area of our lives, we must go via death. Jesus is our model and pattern and has shown us the way. I strongly believe that the reason Jesus worked and walked in a dimension that has been impossible to follow is that in his humanity He was totally sold out to the will of God. 100% submitted, 100% obedient, 100% dead to himself and 100% sold out to the will of the Father.
"Believer, are you dying or are you struggling to live, are you letting go to drown in the river of His love or are you trying so hard to swim against the tide. Are you ready to die to your pride, to your will, to your plans that a new you may resurrect and emerge, even in the world of business and wealth creation, you must die to the lure of liabilities that you may invest your income in assets so that the things you said no to today, you will be able to say yes to tomorrow. Believer, I have put you in the position that you have found yourself in today. I am teaching you a lesson but you are not learning. Say no to your flesh and what it craves; physically, sweets that brings no nourishment; anger, holding on to your 'rights' about issues, you may be right but how does your anger move you forward??"
So Lord, help me. It's difficult to climb, to take up your cross DAILY and follow you because usually I want to go on my own path. Help me to die that I may live for to be carnally minded is death but when I live for you it is life and peace. Help me to pass the tests on the path you have designed for me. Help me to love you, myself and others as you would like me to.
9 comments:
I so love the message version of this passage especially the 2nd half of it....
"Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal."
This message has carried through in my walk with Christ through the years..Still daily i find new ways that i need to be put to "death"..yet, He's faithful, who started it, to complete it
Hmmmmnnn...God help us all...we need grace to dye to self...I'm a witness!!!
Difficult... But worth it at the end of it all... Keep plugging away!
True......
its just not easy....I understand you.
I pray God helps me to die to myself, so He can live through me
Thanks for this!
@jhazmyn : thanks for 'the message' version of that scripture, it made more sense to me. God bless you
daily dying is no joke
but u are right
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Sighs heavily...
That I may decrease so that he might increase.
While going through this post, a question came to mind - Is failure still under the umbrella of dying?
@naijagirl: Failure could be a form of death; death to one's expectations or dreams. Through failure, we learn to depend on His grace even more. I guess it depends. Remain blessed
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