Dreams from the LORD 2003-2006
11 April 2005
I John 2: 15-17: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." Let us look at the origins of sin in the earth and go back to Genesis 3: 6: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant (Hebrew: "a desire") to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her: and he did eat."
"The lust of the flesh": "the tree was good for food." "The lust of the eyes": "it was pleasant to the eyes." "The pride of life": "a tree to be desired to make one wise." Look at the word "desire": it is a snare unto itself. Just because you are a Christian and you desire something doesn't mean that it is God's will that you have it. "But I have my needs!" Maybe your needs and your desires need to be put to death. Maybe the Lord wants you to be content with Him and Him alone before He deems it necessary to give you anything else.
Before I got saved, my desire in life was to be a writer. I wrote a novella at the age of twenty-one, but it never got published. I wrote several short stories and some poetry, but was never published. I got saved at the age of twenty-two. At the age of twenty-five, I burned all of my manuscripts--somewhere between ten to fifteen legal pads and notebooks--because I wanted God and God alone (seek the kingdom of Heaven first).
When I was twenty-eight, the Lord told me to go back to college. At Iowa State University, I majored in English Literature with a supporting field in Journalism and Mass Communications--I wrote a lot of papers and had a lot of essay tests. During college and just after college, I had a short story and two poems published (because it was God's will) by Ethos magazine. When I was thirty-nine, the Lord told me to write a book about hitchhiking. Now, at the age of forty-five, I am working on a journal. I may be writing this journal for the rest of my life. I don't see how it will ever be published, but there may be a few Christians out there who might appreciate it. If I get married and have children, then hopefully my children and descendents might get something out of it. If my journal glorifies God, then that is all that matters: the Lord will multiply my work and it will bear much fruit.
The key thing is this: I was desperate for God, not my writing. When the Lord could see that I was wholly dedicated to Him and absolutely locked into Him, then He told me to start writing. Don't get the cart before the horse: put God first. Then the Lord will provide the road and then the horse and then the cart and the destination where the goods need to be transported. Without God there is no road, there is no horse, there is no cart, there are no goods and there is no destination. Without God there is nothing.
My desire is to know God and to know Him more perfectly. The word "know" isn't having knowledge of God, but to experience God, to abide in God, to have the Presence of God invade and permeate my body, soul and spirit. Without intimacy with God, I can do nothing for my fellow man. I cannot turn the world upside down for Christ.
If a light bulb has no electricity running through it, it cannot give light in a dark place. If a light bulb is broken, it is useless. If a light bulb is not screwed into the socket, it is useless. If a Christian is busy chasing the world and is not abiding in Christ, He is useless. If our light is darkness, then how great is that darkness?
One of my heroes of the Christian faith is John Milton (1608-1674). Why did his life and writings affect so many millions in England, America and the rest of the world? Because his desire was to know God and to know Him more perfectly.
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Wonderful. Good stuff to meditate upon for sure. Thank you... May our Lord open the eyes of my understanding. Search my heart dear Lord. Give me 'the' desire to seek FIRST your kingdom and not to love this world. Amen.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, I am glad that I burned all those manuscripts. It showed the Lord that I was serious about pursuing Him and Him ALONE. I didn't need to be weighed down by the garbage of my selfish dreams.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you got to burn your bridges behind you and keep moving forward with God.
Within a few months of my burning those manuscripts (I believe it was in the late fall of 1985), my faith in Jesus Christ healed me of manic-depression (demonic bondage). Burning those manuscripts was one of those Mount Moriah Moments in my life. A number of years later (1995), I had my first short story published ("High Plains Drifter"). In 1997, I had my first two poems published ("Shiloh" and "A Prophet's Eyes"). The Lord had resurrected my writing talents from the dead.
I am so grateful for what the Lord has done in my life.
Because the brethren of The Messiah have their "citizenship is in Heaven" they choose to be but "aliens and pilgrims while on the earth"! So it is that they no longer have their portion with those who follow "the broad way that leads to destruction" because they have taken heed unto The Call to "Come Out of her, MY people"!
ReplyDeleteThey have "Come Out" of this wicked world and it's systems of religion and have taken heed unto the exhortation to:
“Love Not The World”
”For the WHOLE(not just a portion) world is under the control of the evil one”.......(I John 5:19)
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world will pass away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of The Only True GOD will abide for ever.”(IJohn2:15-17)
“If you were of the world, the world would love it’s own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.” (John15:19-20)
“Where do wars and fighting among you come from? Do they not come of your lusts that war in your members? You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war yet you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts. You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is to be at enmity with The Only True GOD? Therefore whoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of The Only True GOD.” (James 4:1-4)
“The world cannot hate you; but the world hates Me, because I testify that the works of this world are evil.” (John 7:7)” and “The Messiah gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of The Only True God, Our Father.”(Gal 1:4)
The Messiah testified: “If the world hates you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”(John 5:18) Truly, Truly, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life in this world shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall have it unto life eternal.” (John 12:24-25)
John testified: “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you.” (I John 3:13) “ James testified, “Whoever would be a friend of this world is the enemy of GOD”(James4:4)
"Come Out of her, MY people"!
Global warming, polluted air, land and waters, toxic wastes, sexual perversion, evil inventions of destruction, greed, hate, carnal warfare, dis-ease(no-peace),,etc,, are all destructive processes that have their root in “the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life” all of which fuel the fires of mankind’s “imag”ination ;-(
"Come out from among them and be separate"!
Peace, in spite of the dis-ease(no-peace) that is of this world and it's systems of religion, for "the WHOLE(not just a portion) world is under the control of the evil one" indeed and Truth......
Truth IS, a lie never was and is not.......
Abide in Truth....... francis