Jan 29, 2023
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A couple follow-up thoughts from the last Selah Episode #90,
CMAW191.
In that episode I talked about God's Master Plan that
including 4 steps:
1. Redemption
2. Baptism
3. Tutoring, Sanctification
4. With Freedom, choosing to whom we will be slave
In Luke 3:7-14, I read this week an interesting passage about
the 3rd step of sanctification. This passage takes us to John
the Baptist, where he's preaching the multitudes a message of
repentance.
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came
out to be baptized by him, “Brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? 8 Therefore bear
fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to
yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For
I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from
these stones. 9 And even now
the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree
which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire.”
10 So the people asked him,
saying, “What shall we do then?”
Before I go on I just wanted to
point out that these people were coming to be baptized. And
just like all the people who had lived before them, the Messiah,
Jesus Christ, had not yet died on the cross and paid the penalty
for their sins, but like so many before them including Abraham,
Moses, David they were believing in the one true God, humbling
themselves, and looking for the Messiah. Because God is
eternal and perfect, the penalty Jesus paid was an eternal payment
and therefore served as redemption for all those in history, past,
present and future. And like those before them and like you
and I today, they were asking, "OK, we believe, we repent, we
choose YHVH the one and only God" and we are following His
commandments, but what specifically does that mean for me uniquely,
how should I change my life, in other words how do I now walk out
this life, how do I do this sanctification process. How does
the spirit of Law apply to my individual life?
11 He answered and said to them, “He
who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who
has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Then tax collectors also came to be
baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, “Collect no
more than what is appointed for you.”
14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying,
“And what shall we do?”
So he said to them, “Do
not intimidate
anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your
wages.”
So a few lessons we can perhaps take from this. We all should be
more giving and think of others more than ourselves.
Second, we don't necessarily have to change our occupation to
walk out this journey, but how we conduct ourselves in our
occupation should change to align with God's will.
I challenge us all to think about what might need to change in
how we conduct ourselves within our current occupation.
Another follow up from the last Selah episode. I'm
reading the book "Boundaries" by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John
Tensend. In the book they list 10 laws of boundaries and Law
7 is the Law of Proactivity. One section says the following
"..."
This made me think about our discussion last time where we
talked about true freedom was not about fighting for our rights but
rather choosing our freedom to submit to our Master, Jesus Christ,
and taking up our cross, following Him and living out His
ways.
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Encouragement
2 verses about fear.
2 Tim 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of
fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind"
Romans 8:15 "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage
again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by
whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”"
So if you're feeling fear this week, remember that fear does
not come from God, but rather you have power, love, a sound mind
and you have a perfect Daddy who has adopted You and loves
you.
Sunrise over factory parking lot
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Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them
collapses. He's not breathing, so his friend calls 911. 'My friend
is dead! What should I do?" The operator replies, "Calm down, sir,
first make sure that he's really dead." There's a silence, then a
loud bang. Back on the phone, the guy says, "Ok, now
what?"
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“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and sees
such as have a contrite spirit “-Ps 34:18
Going by David
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Handy tip on How to do work Gods way
Isaiah 43:18-19
