Its a Monday morning. A morning after our designated Sabbath day (Shabath Shalom). I wake up, go on a run with a fellow Forgie, take a shower, meet with the prayer group, fellowship with my roommates, and then begin to do my daily bible reading. You would say I live a blessed life, right? And you are so very right. I do. I am blessed beyond measure. But, it is so easy for me to not see that, and to see this as a daily routine for me. I can so easily get caught up in where I am right now, and completely forget about where the Lord has brought me out of.
Before coming to the Forge, I had no spiritual discipline what so ever. I had people encouraging me, but there were times that I even took advantage of that. I focused on doing what I needed to do in order to meet the requirements for the Christian faith. You could say that I was trying to earn God's love, every single day of my life. If I didn't do my quiet time, anything bad that happened that day was a result of God's wrath upon me for not doing my quiet time. PTL that he brought me out of that way of living.
A few months ago, if I had the same morning that I had this morning, I would have seen it as something that I had done, and as a result God was giving me a good day. Thank goodness for the renewing of my mind. I could not stop thanking the Lord this morning for blessing me with a morning that was full of joy and fellowship. There was a time that I lived in ignorance, a time that I saw my good deeds as a means of earning the love of my Savior and my God. "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all that you do, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." 1 Peter 1: 13-21
This renewing of the mind has come as a result of the process of refinining and sharpening. Point blank, I got called out on the way I was viewing the world and the way that I was viewing the love of God. My heart was not breaking for the Lord. I didn't see how I needed him in everyday life. But, I can honestly tell you that I have no idea how I was surviving those days.......but thats just it, I was surviving, I wasn't living in faith. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." Romans 1:16-17
I am blessed. You my friends are blessed. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is GOOD!
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