Do not forget your purpose
What you are in His+ sight
Remember that when you leave this earth,
love,
sacrifice
courage."
-- St. Francis of Assisi
Worthy is the LAMB+... worthy is the LAMB+... worthy is the LAMB+ that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing! Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto HIM that sitteth on the throne and unto The LAMB+ for ever and ever. Amen.
Gracious SAVIOR, My burdens I reliquish unto THEE+. They are too heavy for me. I quit being "my own boss." I'd rather have Thy+ yoke and Thy+ burden. I know THOU+ cannot lie. Show me how to yoke up with THEE+ and grant me Thy+ yoke that is easy. Give me only Thy+ burden which is appointed for me.
Help me to put my hand to Thy+ Kingdom's plow and not look back to this world, this time. Here I stand, empty and waiting, if THOU+ still would want me. I love THEE+, LORD JESUS, my only hope and true Home. Amen.
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary...
THINE+, THINE+, I would be
THOU+ blest ROCK of AGES...
I'm hiding in THEE+.
Yes, THOU+ blest ROCK of AGES...
I'm hiding in THEE+.
hymn by William O. Cushing
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, and of the SON+, and of the HOLY SPIRIT + + +
"Keep a clear eye toward life's end.
Do not forget your purpose and destiny
as GOD's Creature.
What you are in His+ sight
is what you are
...and nothing more.
Remember
that when you leave this earth,
you can take nothing
you have received...
but only what you have given;
a full heart
enriched by honest service,
love,
sacrifice
and courage."
- St. Francis of Assisi
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"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can take NOTHING out"(Apostle Paul)
Materialism is futile, a waste of the small amount of time we are given to be here on earth.
JESUS has warned us about this futility.
Let us all take heed to Him+.
In the Name of the FATHER, and of the SON+, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. + + +
Our LORD JESUS CHRIST
gives us the power
to attain spiritual fruits;
it is our part to embrace the labor.
This is what Scriptures mean when it says to
“walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing…”
Col. 1:10.
.
.
Putting TEETH into the spiritual battle is what we want. We want to see the victory come in all areas of prayer. We want to see friends, family members, and even our enemies saved.
.
.
We want TRUTH to be established so firmly
in all of us Christians
that not only will we be
NOT AFRAID TO DIE,
but we will
NOT BE AFRAID TO LIVE !
.
.
We want HIS+ victory over fear of the face of man, fear over the face of mammon, fear over aloneness and outward-looking defeats. We desire to do the work of The LORD, in HIS+ Kingdom. And, we want to do it effectually. What does Scripture say about effectual prayer?
.
Confess your faults one to another,
and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man
availeth much.
James 5:16
.
After we are “prayed up” in all areas of our lives, we stand repented, bare, and clean before Our LORD. There is no short-cut to this; we do NOT wish to become like the sons of Sceva who in unrighteousness and presumptuousness thought they could wrestle with evil spirits.
Step 3 brings the time to don some armor… armor distinctly sanctioned for spiritual warfare. We don this divine armor over CLEAN bodies, souls, and spirits. We put on the armor of discipline. This entails a denial of some sort.
Our flesh is not yet glorified, so it becomes vitally important to submit our very own flesh to our Regenerated Spirit. We will have a hard time winning a battle abroad--- in other places, with other spirits--- if we have NOT WON THE BATTLE at home first, that is, in ourselves first.
There are many ways to do this. But one thing is certain: if it doesn’t hit the flesh, it is not the discipline that will be effectual in spiritual warfare. Here are a few disciplines we have found to be effective in Spiritual warfare.
The Discipline of Food
Besides fasting, there are other ways to enter into this discipline. We can eliminate certain foods or drinks, making it or them an offering unto The LORD, putting it or them upon His+ altar.
No, this is NOT REQUIRED FOR OUR SALVATION.
We do this to accomplish a goal, a task we have embraced for love of HIM+, for the love of the Brethren. We can limit amounts, or times, or intakes. We can substitute carrot sticks instead of candy, nuts and honey instead of cake and ice cream. We can simplify. We can GRADUALLY eliminate… every week, add another delicacy onto His+ altar. Most of us eat and drink more than enough “pleasure” foods to do this easily.
Personally, I have gone to drinking a cup of hot water instead of coffee or a cup of cold water when I wanted a tastier drink. This is a little thing, but believe it or not, I still have times when I quarrel with my flesh to accomplish this tiny denial. Sometimes, I lay in wait for my Self to yearn after some treat… then I get Her good (!) for casting her eye upon something to eat … not because I’m really hungry… but just to treat my flesh. [I believe St. Francis used to fling himself into a thorn bush whenever he was tricked by his flesh! ]
.
We train our flesh
to practice submission
unto the spirit
by spiritual disciplines.
.
The Discipline of the Cloth
Another good discipline is the Discipline of the Cloth. Again, there are many, many good ways to do this. The main idea here is to 1) please GOD; 2) be in line with Scriptures, and 3) bear witness of CHRIST at all times, in all places, and to all beings…. both seen and unseen.
To please GOD, we seek His+ will in this matter. To be in line with Scriptures, we dress modestly, amply covering our bodies. Use cloth to bear witness to CHRIST JESUS. Although not in costly array, we dress dignified, as being an ambassador of CHRIST. We dress simply, quietly, and self-effacing.