We will have to dress and undress in the year of 2009, part 3!
1st of March
Part 3
I wrote in the second part that we should lay aside all forms of lying and dress in the Truth which lives in us who are believers of Christ. We have a free access to the Spirit of Truth.
I mentioned that we should undress all falseness and hypocrisy. They might hide themselves behind a nice mask, but the Holy Spirit knows the difference between the real and the unreal.
Non-believers can quite often tell me stories about Christians who are not real and that has turned them away from Christianity. They might say: “I want the real stuff.” We are quite often hiding ourselves behind a mask, thinking that people will dislike us if they see us as we really are. That is most of the time a lie. TRUE, OPEN AND NATURAL CHRISTIANS ARE ATTRACTIVE.
I also wrote about faithlessness that is the opposite of faithfulness. I mentioned certain examples. Since faithfulness is a virtue, we have to be careful in choosing the right partner, right working-place and right congregation. GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL EVEN IF WE ARE FAITHLESS.
I want you to read 2.Tim.3:1-9 with me. These verses mention a lot of the things that I already have written about. It refers to the End Times and many of us believe that we are there now. That doesn’t mean that Jesus comes back right away. It says clearly that we should not know the exact time, but interpret the signs. When I compare people now with people living fifty years back, I have to admit that people to-day are more like the description in 2.Tim. than those before. We can read that the times will become perilous and men will be lovers of themselves. They will love money, be boasters, proud and unthankful. They will be blasphemers and disobedient to parents, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, traitors, without self-control and brutal. It continues to say that they will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. In verse five we read that they will have a form of godliness but denying its power. They will be learning, but never come to the knowledge of truth. Their folly will be manifested to all.
All these sins are already in the evil human nature, but will flourish to the fullest in the last of the Last Days. NEITHER ONE OF THESE ATTRIBUTES SHOULD BE PART OF OUR CLOTHING. We live in the world, but should not be of the world.
I want to write more spcifically about egoism. Egoism and harshness are connected. We must not believe that egoism is the same as loving oneself. WE SHOULD UNDRESS EGOISM AND DRESS OURSELF IN GODLY LOVE FOR OURSELF. You might be confused about the difference and I will make an attempt to explain. When we are egoistic, we are our own idol. We worship ourselves. Everything circles around myself. We are not really caring for those around us and do not see their needs. We might step on others and become very rude in order to get what we want. When you are egoistic, you do not mind to lie. “My selfish desires have to be met and I might walk over dead bodies to get there.”
The Word says that I should love my neighbour as myself and I can therefore be assured of the fact that I should love myself. God loves me and He did that even when I was a sinner. Jesus gave His life for me and in 3.John 1:2 we read: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” I have to be open to receive the love of God for me. He really wwants my spirit, soul and body to prosper. The Bible says: “Fear not and be happy!” Quite a few Christians say that it is the will of God when we suffer from anxiety and sickness, but that is far away from the Truth. WE HAVE TO GET OURSELVES DRESSED IN LOTS OF LOVE FOR OURSELVES, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS. God loves them as well. ASK GOD TO SHOW YOU HIS LOVE AND HELP YOU TO SHOW HIS LOVE TO OTHERS.
I want you to undress unthankfulness and to get dressed in thankfulness this year. Thankful people are often happy people and fun to be around. Do you want to be called a grumbler? That is a person who always complains. I believe that the devil has given such a person special “glasses” in order to see only negative things. Do you have such “glasses”? I do not only want people with such “glasses” to take them off, but to destroy them for ever.
A thankful person is thanking both God and others for small and big encouragements. There is something good and light surrounding a thankful person. One is drawn to a thankful person. LOOK FOR THINGS YOU CAN THANK FOR IN THE YEAR OF 2009!
You should also undress unforgiveness and dress in forgiveness. You can read Matt. 18:21-35. There we read about a man who was forgiven a lot, but he himself could not forgive others even small things. I think we should take some time thinking about all the sins that God has forgiven us. We are totally dependant on His grace in order to be saved, but also for all the other things in life. When I see the grace that He has poured on me, how can I be hard toward others? The Bible says that if we do not forgive others, we, ourselves, will not be forgiven. (Mark 11:26) We are actually having no choice, but choose to wear the dirty clothes of unforgiveness anyway. They are ugly and smell badly so I say: “Take them off and dress yourself with the nice clothes of forgiveness.”
Do you know which clothes that match the clothes of forgiveness? HUMILITY. We read following in 1.Pet.5:5 “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” We should therefore get dressed in humility We read in 2.Tim.3 that people would become boasters, proud and blasphemers. We can mock both God and others and both are very wrong. When we mock somebody, we are actually proud and ridicule and humiliate them. Did you get yourself a garbage-bag? You need a big one and I will tell you what to do with it later. THROW PRIDE, MOCKING AND BOASTING IN THE GARBAGE-BAG! They are perfect garbage.
I will not elaborate on the point of disobedience to parents since I have mentioned that before.
I will continue to write about those who love pleasures more than God. To-day we will find many forms of sexuality and some are very pervers. They are not natural. The lust can become so strong that it is hard to control. Remember what I wrote about deliverance. We cannot undress sexual urges, but the lust that doesn’t come form God. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you should keep and what you should throw away. Some of you might say that these are things we do not talk with the Holy Spirit about. Why not? Nothing is hidden from Him and He would rather see the dirty clothes in the garbage-bag than hanging on you.
GOD BLESS YOU IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING DRESSED AND UNDRESSED!!!!!!!!!
A big hug from
Mother Else