Psalm 87
all
Psalm 42 all
Psalm 42 all
A Psalm or Song for the sonsa of Korah.
1 His foundation
is in the holy mountains. 2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion God
4 I will make
mention of Rahab and Babylon Philistia ,
and Tyre Ethiopia Zion
Have you ever felt dried up? A picture of a dried, cracked mud plain comes to mind. It can happen to anyone, most in fact. I was experiencing one for a time. As a Preacher, I say it is dry messages, a feeling of distance. I prayed for God to search me for some unknown sin or wrong attitude but his Spirit revealed nothing. I dug deeper in the word, prayed more but no change?
"As the deer pants by the water brook, so pants my soul for you O God." In a moment of despair a friend reminded me of the rivers we are, refreshing the lives of others. Then when God had my mind going in the right direction, he spoke through a devotion. When we are reborn we put on the new man and the old passes away. However, we are left with natural virtues, skills and abilities. The Holy Spirit does not build on these to use them at some later time. They are fragments of what Adam lost in the fall of man, nothing more. God wants to wither them, not build on them, because they are areas of False confidences. This must happen so we can learn to draw in the inexhaustible reservoir of Christ. He is the river or springs of refreshment, not our own skill set. These are the springs spoken of in today's reading. "He must increase and I (natural virtues included) must decrease. (John 3:30) It is an absolute sign that God is performing a work in you when out confidence in those natural virtues erode, wither and die because we are left with nothing to count on except Jesus, which should have been our first action! It brings us into harmony with the life giving power of Christ in us. "He will exhibit in us the virtues of Christ" (Oswald Chambers)
Are you feeling dried up, used up and empty? Glad to hear it! Let us pray:
My Father and my God, Thank you for the lesson of the dried up heart. Lord apply it to my heart, that it would not be forgotten. May it always be available to us that by its application we can remain planted by the streams of life renewing water that flow from the very throne of Christ. That we may be refreshed in this bare, dry and thirsty land. That we may serve you with vigor and vitality. You are the very air we breathe. Fall fresh on us. In Jesus’ name and for his sake we pray, Amen.
Have you ever felt dried up? A picture of a dried, cracked mud plain comes to mind. It can happen to anyone, most in fact. I was experiencing one for a time. As a Preacher, I say it is dry messages, a feeling of distance. I prayed for God to search me for some unknown sin or wrong attitude but his Spirit revealed nothing. I dug deeper in the word, prayed more but no change?
"As the deer pants by the water brook, so pants my soul for you O God." In a moment of despair a friend reminded me of the rivers we are, refreshing the lives of others. Then when God had my mind going in the right direction, he spoke through a devotion. When we are reborn we put on the new man and the old passes away. However, we are left with natural virtues, skills and abilities. The Holy Spirit does not build on these to use them at some later time. They are fragments of what Adam lost in the fall of man, nothing more. God wants to wither them, not build on them, because they are areas of False confidences. This must happen so we can learn to draw in the inexhaustible reservoir of Christ. He is the river or springs of refreshment, not our own skill set. These are the springs spoken of in today's reading. "He must increase and I (natural virtues included) must decrease. (John 3:30) It is an absolute sign that God is performing a work in you when out confidence in those natural virtues erode, wither and die because we are left with nothing to count on except Jesus, which should have been our first action! It brings us into harmony with the life giving power of Christ in us. "He will exhibit in us the virtues of Christ" (Oswald Chambers)
Are you feeling dried up, used up and empty? Glad to hear it! Let us pray:
My Father and my God, Thank you for the lesson of the dried up heart. Lord apply it to my heart, that it would not be forgotten. May it always be available to us that by its application we can remain planted by the streams of life renewing water that flow from the very throne of Christ. That we may be refreshed in this bare, dry and thirsty land. That we may serve you with vigor and vitality. You are the very air we breathe. Fall fresh on us. In Jesus’ name and for his sake we pray, Amen.
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