Paul, the great
fighter.(and
the chiefest of sinners),
conquered the downward drag toward depression and was hot for the things
of the Creator: Philippians
3:7-14 "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge.(note
how important knowledge is).of
Christ Emmanuel my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung,
that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ.(note
that it's the faith of Christ
that keeps one going), the
righteousness which is of God by.(or,
through, that is, when you have faith, you are as righteous as the Creator
is; you'd have to be because the Creator is
in you, expressing
as you).faith;
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by
any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already
perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also
I am apprehended of Christ Emmanuel. Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended, but
this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which
are before.(why
is it people look behind so often talking of the 'good old days'?.Ecclesiastes
7:10. Are they just negative about the
future?), I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Emmanuel.".Job
15:14.
Paul is saying that whatever
he has to do to receive the highest
reward was worth it for him and it is
for us too. Emmanuel advised us on that too.
Paul continues:.2Timothy
4:8 "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of.(or,
because of).righteousness,
which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love His appearing.(and
you will if you know you are righteous)."
Paul tied his
identity to Christ.
Paul knew the Creator's grace
would always be sufficient
for him, that when he was in the Creator's attitude of grace, that this
was the answer and/or an innerstanding
to his problems;
that this was his unfailing strength.
Paul was looking for a 'quick
fix' to this issue he was dealing with. He apparently
had some trouble with his eyes in seeing:.Galatians
4:13-15; 6:11; Colossians
4:18.
The fix was the unfailing
strength of the Creator:.2Corinthians
12:7-10 "And lest I should be exalted.(the
Creator wants us to rely
upon him, not prideful over what
we may have been given in the way of abilities and material goods).above
measure through the abundance of the revelations, there
was
given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan.(one
of the
devil's demons).to
buffet.(original
means 'to prune',
'to keep in check', in other words, to keep him cognizant
of reliance upon his Creator).me,
lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord
thrice,
that it might depart from me. And he
said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you. For my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions.(2Timothy
3:12), in distresses for Christ's
sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong."
Joel
3:10 "..... let the weak say, I am strong." Isaiah
33:24..Why?
Comprised
with Barnes
New Testament Notes: Often grace will be imparted
if the calamity
is not removed. This can be of greater value to the individual than would
be the direct answer to his prayer. Such was the case with Paul and with
David. The removal of the calamity might be apparently
a blessing, but if not removed there is still
something to be learned, as there was in the lives of David,
Job, Jeremiah, Moses and Paul.
The Creator has often some
better thing in store for us than would be the immediate answer to our
prayer:.Romans
8:28.
It was the design of the
Creator to humble.Paul
and the Creator figured, in His wisdom, that this could be accomplished
by continuing his affliction and by imparting the promised grace, rather
than by withdrawing the affliction and withholding the grace. The very
thing to be done was to keep him humble. Why? See the Paul subject and
read about his life.
The affliction was not removed,
but there was a promise that the favour of Christ would flow.
But sometimes in each of
our lives, it feels like there is little or no hope for going on. These
scriptures are then helpful and so is this
movie.
And,.1Corinthians
1:25-29 "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness
of God is stronger than men.(*).
For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen
the foolish things of the world.(the
things many out there would think were odd; such 'foolish' things which
are of God; such 'foolish' things that are the wisdom of the Creator; such
'foolish' things that are so strange to others who know not God yet).to
confound
the wise and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty. And base things of the world and things which
are despised has God chosen, yea and things which are not.(at
the present, have no influence),
to bring to nought things that are. That no flesh should glory in his.(or,
'its'; meaning the person; that is, no flesh should think it is above others.(Philippians
2:3,4).because
we all have our individual
pathways according to our life's purpose).presence."
Our lives lack
finesse
in so many areas. We often
botch
much of what we get involved with. Such is the way
of the ego. Things we seek often go awry,
off on a very different course than the way we would prefer and/or have
expected. People prefer not the hard things for learning, but the comfortable
and pleasurable:.Isaiah
30:10. But the Creator has different
plans for all and each of us that we would think He would have and
greater plans than you could imagine:.1Corinthians
2:9.
Most people have a different
outlook regarding their weaknesses.
Where are you weak? Are you
good
looking enough? Got enough money? An
excellent
parent? Got intelligence and finesse?
Health
good? Got good relationships?
Got too many
trials
in life?.Romans
8:35-37 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation
or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As
it is written, for your sake we
are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through
him that loved us."
1Corinthians
15:57 "But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through
our Lord Emmanuel the Christ." 1John
5:4 "..... this is the victory
that overcomes the world, even our faith."
Focus
on Him! You do this by always being aware that you have your Creator's
nature of love in you when you look for opportunities to use it:.Hebrews
12:22-24.
Emmanuel came to Earth, giving
up what He had in that realm,
suffering here.(Philippians
2:7-9),
rising
from the dead and now eternally reigning over
all things, provides confidence
to us that nothing can ever separate
us from this Eternal Being flowing as us through life.
This life is nothing in comparison
with what's to come, and I don't mean 'going to heaven'.Hebrews
10:34 ".....you have in heaven
a better and an enduring substance."
1Corinthians
2:9
Today is the tomorrow we
worried about yesterday! When you walk daily in the light of higher
consciousness things, worry is always absent
and one becomes strong. Put
all your concerns into the hands of the non local mind, the multiversal
intelligent powerful energy we commonly refer to as the Creator or God.
When
and how do you do this?
Take an interest in the future.
That's where you'll spend what's left of your physical life! Why screw
up your future by robbing your present time with thoughts of worry.
One of the great energy thiefs is worry
and the other is guilt. Master
the things that contribute to both and you'll have a solid handle on
life.
Some
people worry over mostly anything, even dandruff, which, after all,
does not crawl around! To worry about what we cannot help is useless. To
worry about what we can do something about is stupid!
Getting depressed
over
yourself is the problem, according to Psychologist Martin Seligman.
It's usually the self you
may be depressed about. Get over it quickly by losing yourself in loving
others, caring for them, helping them out, praying for them and thinking
about their lives and what you wish would be better for them.
Some people mourn
over sufferings, yet do not alter
the things they could change that cause them. This is not insanity. It's
'unsanity'.
Dr. Joe Murphy can help with advice
on altering.
Worry depresses people. Whenever
you are robbed by worry, remember, it is always
an
inside job.
Today will soon be history
and tomorrow's a mystery. Why worry! Worry involves thoughts of unsureness
regarding one's constantly changing place in life.
One trusting in the Great
Infinite One, commonly called God, does not worry, neither
does Bruce Lipton, because he knows he has already given
up his life:.James
4:14; Colossians 3:3. He knows
God is in total control of absolutely all
and feels confident placing
his hands in His hands.
Worry never changes a single
thing, except him who worries. It is a fact that 90% of worries never come
to pass and the other 10% can be circumvented
if one is smart about life.
