Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > Blogs > How Do I Advance My Spiritual Life?
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Going to church, reading the bible, listening to Christian music will not advance your spiritual life. These activities may give you more understanding but until you are ready to lay down your life and take up your cross this leads nowhere.

What I am talking about is the sacrifice of self to advance the cause of Jesus Christ in the world. There is a destiny that God had for each of us that only we can personally discover. We can discover it only by detaching from the world and making ourselves available for the Holy Spirit. By detaching from the world--now you have time--the commodity that most Christians are not willing to give.

Jesus said, "Self-help is not help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, to finding yourself, your true self. (Matthew 16:25)

"God has planted eternity in the human heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

"Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)

"The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me." (Acts 20:24)

"We have been sent to speak for Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20)

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

Albert Finch
www.thekeys2kingdom.com
Rate this Entry

Hidden In Christ

Posted 08-25-2023 at 10:56 PM by Albert Finch


"Then Moses said, 'Now show me Your glory.' And the LORD said, 'I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,' he said, 'you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.'

"Then the LORD said, 'There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen'" (Exodus 33:18-34:1 NIV).


Though He hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and passed by to where Moses only saw His back, was it not possible that even then this was a shadow of Christ, the Rock, the New Testament example of the Lord revealing His glory through Christ?

In fact, as Believers in Christ, we each represent God's glory on this earth, because of who Christ is in each of us, as Colossians 1:27 states: "to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

HIDDEN IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK

We are "hidden in Christ," and that, because of Him, we are seated in heavenly places (see Colossians 3:3 and Ephesians 2:6)! God is hiding us right now in the cleft of the rock. The Rock is Jesus Christ, and no matter what we are experiencing, we are hidden completely in Christ. We are forgiven, protected, loved, and provided for. His glory is in us and we are seated in heavenly places with Him. It's time for us to see ourselves as victorious over every situation. His grace will be there for anything we need as we move forward, leaving the past behind and possessing every promise!

It is difficult to maintain faith in a world of problems. If we do not guard our hearts, we will look at our circumstances with natural eyesight and, therefore, stumble over situations rather than putting complete trust in God. This is why we need more of His PRESENCE – we will be strengthened as we see Him as He is!

Many people are content to discuss the presence of God, but are many willing to pay the price to seek Him daily and truly experience and encounter His presence? How can you hear God speak, in His soft and tender way, when your hurried thoughts create a whirlwind within? Be quiet, and He will soon be heard.

"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation." - Psalm 62:1

CENTRAL PLACE OF THE INWARD WALK


Be silent and visit the quiet recesses of your own heart -- there you will hear God's voice.

You cannot retire too much from the mindless chatter of the world. You don't need much time to tell God that you love Him! Lift your heart to Him. Worship Him in the depths of your spirit.

By not speaking, desiring, or reasoning, we reach the central place of the inward walk -- that place where God speaks to our inward man. It is there that God communicates Himself to our spirit.

We come to observe that marvelous pull that Jesus had as He walked along the road day after day "God-intoxicated" and radiant with the endless communion of His soul with God.

It is our duty to live in the beauty of the presence of God on some mount of transfiguration until we become white with Christ. After all, the deepest truth is that the Christ-like life is Kingdom glorious -- undefeatably glorious.

QUESTIONS TO ASK MYSELF:

Am I willing to come openly before God, presenting my heart naked before Him?

Am I willing to cast all aside that would grieve His presence?

PRAYER:


Father God, I know that it is Your desire to reveal Your divine glory through me because I believe. Draw me unto Yourself and that You would begin to reveal Your glory in me and through me. Lord, I cry out for more of Your presence! Without You and Your presence, I will never completely fulfill your PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE. You are all that I need in life to be content. Empower me as I pursue my DESTINY in Christ and the fruit-bearing that remains a demonstration of Your Kingdom on earth. In Jesus' name. Amen.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
Posted in Christianity
Views 27 Comments 0
Total Comments 0

Comments

 

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:22 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top