The best magazine
I have always known that the challenge of walking in the Lord is not a walk in the park; in fact it took me a few decades to finally begin to show some signs of steadiness, some consistency.
Yet the Lord stayed faithful with me all the way, as I stumbled and fell so many times, and as I a few times even turned my face around, and started walking in the opposite direction.
And yet His steady hand kept holding on to me.
And He did let me crash a few times, yet always putting enough padding on my fall that I would not be hurt too badly.
Today I can clearly see the reason why the world lives in bondage, and I thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ for letting me live this flaky life for more than forty years, for the experience does give me an insight into the reality of spiritual death, and the impossibility of man finding his way out of it on his own.
What I mean is, I was given the Jesus treatment many times through the years, and even when I sort of knew I was predestined to be a child of God, even when He had pulled me to himself at early age, even when He gave me one evidence after another of His presence in my life, and even as many nights I cried out rivers and prayed to Him and read His word, I kept on sinning, and I kept on rejecting Him, just being a rebel.
And those who will not receive the call of the Sheppard of the sheep have no chance to find the way to Him, for according to scriptures, "a veil covers their hearts" But many of us get the call from the lord, so many of us get to see his surpassing glory even as we stomp on the cross of salvation.
And like I did in the past, we look it up for a second, we marvel at the power of His might, we maybe even praise Him for a minute or two, and then we keep on sinning.
And the opportunity to live a life of miracles, the opportunity to have the glory of the new covenant live in our hearts, and the power of the Holy Spirit work in us with ever increasing glory, passes us by, as we walk on the way to the next thing that will break the heart of the Lord.
I was a Store owner for many years, and from behind a counter, I got to see the many reasons of man, their steady lives, their busy schedules, their complicated agendas, their evil thoughts.
Every one has a reason to live, and to everyone, their reason is their priority, and it becomes obvious very quickly that although the reasons are diverse, there is a common factor, one which has entangled the world from the beginning, and which becomes more voiced as the moral fabric of man deteriorates, "I am about me and my own and I don't need anybody, and I don't care about anybody but me and my tightly knit circle of influence, and the rest of the world is only important when it affects me or my close ones" A person will compromise to participate in society as long as the 'what's in it for me' question gets clearly answered, and this attitude relegates God to the background, it gives Him a third rate importance behind everything else that makes our everyday life.
And many do go to church on Sundays in an attempt to mitigate the guilt associated with their lifestyle.
And many do give an offering on occasion, either to feel a sense of charity or to use it as a tax deferral; never as an act of worship to God.
And when a storm shakes some of the tiles of their castle, they will look for all possible ways out before they turn to God for a favor, and even if in His great mercy God will lend them a hand, they'll find a good reason to give thanks to their good fortune or to chance.
And when tragedy strikes, there is always the same question, 'why me' or 'what did I do to deserve this' But the Lord keeps steadily tucking and pulling and prompting those whom He has reserved for him and through the many blind eyes, and deaf ears, he does get us to turn our faces up to Him sooner or later, and when we do, then He reel us in and starts a steady work in our lives, removing the dry leaves, and de bad weed, to truly make us to His own image.
"But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
" (2 Corinthians 3:16-18) Many of us, strangers to Christ, and even many Christians, tend to pull away from the tucks and promptings from the Lord.
We rebel against Him for we are being deceived by the evil forces of darkness, and by the cravings of the flesh.
I want to encourage you today, to lend an ear to His voice, and learn a new way to live, according to his will, and I promise you that the greatness of His glory will take control of your life, and supply you an everlasting peace, and a joy which are beyond all human comprehension.
Let the peace of God be in you, embrace His calling, and learn to walk in obedience to His word, and live a life of true fulfillment and success.
May de abundance of His Blessings continue to rain in your heart! Rev.
Jose Antonio Luna A servant of Christ Jesus
Source: ...