31 August 2020

DO YOU SEE GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU? (2)

By John Ollis

I am very conscious that I was a little slow to recognise that God wants to use this pandemic, to His honour and glory, and for His children to recognise it is time to press in and let the Holy Spirit do a work of SANCTIFICATION in us, not only that we are truly ready for when Jesus breaks through the clouds, but that we make the resolve, that by His grace we will build our lives ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN OF THE WORD OF GOD, and fully appropriate our inheritance that was purchased for us through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is available to us NOW.

I want to say today “Thank you Holy Spirit for putting your finger on some areas in my my life that MUST CHANGE“. I have thought I recognised the “little foxes” that spoil the vine, but my understanding of their subtle deception in ever increasing.

Margaret my wife was brought up in the country on a farm, and saw the sneaky deceptive “work” of foxes on hens and rabbits etc. and she shared some sad stories of foxes destruction.

We sure know how we must work hard on our MOTIVES & ATTITUDES, as it is so easy to start to justify our attitudes and actions, for example we all I guess have people that are in our world, or have been in the past, who have said and done things that have really hurt us, or who strongly disagreed with us on what we believe and/or think is important and essential. We may not call them enemies but we sure don’t call them friends, Jesus tells us in Matt. 5:44NKJV But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

Naturally speaking, our response is “how can I love him? I am so glad we read in Rom. 5:5 NKJV The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who the person God wants us to be.as given to us. I am so glad Paul uses Agapeo here and in this next verse. Thank God for His divine love placed in our hearts to be

Just yesterday I was reading Col. 3:12 NLT Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. I read this verse in the same way I read Paul’s challenge in Eph. 6, to “put on”, we must make a decision, that by the grace of God, I will LET LOVE FLOW OUT OF MY HEART TO EVERYONE.

The subtly of the “little foxes” influence on us is to tempt us to compromise and we justify out actions and attitudes, we may be 100% right, (or maybe not) what we need to do is LOVE, LOVE LOVE. If not then we start to judge that person, we must remember the words of Jesus in Matt.25:40 NKJV And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

It seems to me the Holy Spirit is talking to us through this pandemic about the INNER LIFE, that most of the time no one else can see BUT GOD SEES, and the Word of God make it totally clear that by indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit we can and must recognise when these sneaky “little foxes” raise their ugly heads we may first have to repent, and re-affirm Christ’s Lordship over our lives and then lay hold of all that is available to us and let the Lord live His life out through us. Amen.