Day II: Hard Words

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." - Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12: 5-6

In our culture, people seek to be understood, to be accepted, to be entertained.

In Jesus' day, at the height of his ministry, people saw his miracles and the crowds marveled. When Jesus said "I Am" God, the crowd left(John 6). They liked to be entertained, but they didn't want to molded and changed. The crowd enjoyed the entertainment, but did not care to worship Jesus. Are we more concerned with our happiness or our holiness?

"If we genuinely want to follow Christ, we need to be ready for him to point out those things that come between us and him, the thing or person we cherish more than him." - Nasser, A Call to Die

After being in a manipulative relationship, I truly understand what it means to worship someone more than God. I looked to my boyfriend for things that I should have been bringing to the cross. My heart had a huge chasm in it. Many nights, I would sit in my bed crying. I was torn. I felt God pulling hard on the strings of my heart, but I was so lost... so lost that I reasoned that I loved this guy so much that I couldn't leave the relationship. Finally, I asked God why I was so broken, so down and He showed me through church messages, through a friend, and through a movie that I was being pulled away by this guy. He was causing me to lose sight of my greatest lover, Jesus. So, I left the boy for intimate closeness with Christ. Because I allowed myself to be open to God, I was refined by grace and the chasm in my heart was filled with fullness that only the love of my Savior can bring.

"When [God] speaks, be still. Listen. It's not necessarily audible. It's even louder. It's straight to the heart. God doesn't need your ears to get your attention. Obey. Will it be hard? You bet! You can count on it. But he speaks those hard words because he loves you so much, and he honors your commitment to follow him with all your heart." - Nasser, A Call to Die

God is concerned with our holiness. He lovingly corrects us. As I have experienced and truly believe....Be willing to quickly slay the sin that entangles your heart... this is true freedom in Christ.

Today, I am willing to slay my negative attitudes and selfish ambitions. Come Lord Jesus.