"Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world."
Philippians 2:14-15
Murmur murmur murmur...gripe gripe gripe...complain complain complain. That sounds all too familiar. I am as guilty as the next person. When we see things that are not right (in our eyes) and there is nothing that we can do about it then we have a tendency to talk about them. If we get enough people to see it our way then maybe something can be done. Well, that sounds good, but it might also be described as, if we get people to agree with us it makes us feel better or more important. If it is a person we are complaining about then it certainly makes us look better than that person!
We are in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation and among crooked and perverse people. That is a fact. We must deal with non-Christians all the time. They are in stores, on the street, in our workplaces, in our schools, in our government, and even in our churches.
We are going to come up against criticism, anger, hatred, and much more. We have a big advantage over them. We do not have to deal with those things alone. We have the Holy Spirit within us that will help us to maintain love and peace in the midst of turmoil. There is one condition, however. We have to want it. We have to truly want it. Otherwise we will end up acting just like "them." (Murmur murmur murmur...gripe gripe gripe...complain complain complain.)
God intends for us to be a light in the midst of darkness. When people are falling apart around you and you maintain that love and peace then people will notice. It will be just like turning on a light in a dark room. They will see Him in you!
How do you get the strength to be able to resist the temptation of acting in the flesh? It doesn't come easily, but there are many benefits to be gained as you take that journey.
Have a blessed day!
Cheryl
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4 comments:
Amen my sweet friend.
Great post!
For me, it's being in tune with the Holy Spirit living inside me.. so when my flesh is weak, my spirit can rise up and say..
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me :-)
Hey buddy! You've crossed my mind so many times today. Wanted to stop by and tell you so. Hope you're doing well and hope you enjoyed that long weekend.
Great post! Submitting my will daily (sometimes even moment by moment) to the Holy Spirit helps greatly. Sometimes my own stubborn will gets in the way. I'm praying for more Spirit, less me.
Thanks again for sharing these thoughts.
Love & blessings,
Tracy
P.S. I wore my necklace the other day and everyone LOVED it! = )
What a great post, Cheryl, and so true. I think the main thing that helps me is that God has really been working with me on discretion (do people need to know all I know) and reading Scriptures about the words we speak, what to speak, what to avoid, what to think on, the fruits of the Spirit, etc.
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