**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
Author: Lynn Green
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Keep on Growing – Day 3
Photo by Fares Hamouche on Unsplash
**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to have a quiet retreat in a very special place: The Western Desert of Egypt. You might have heard some places described as a “thin place”. It might be a particular church or property or even a region. There is no doubt that the Western Desert is a thin place.
That is, it is a place where the “veil” that separates us from the spiritual realm is very thin. Another way to say it is that the Western Desert is a great place to seek God’s presence because He seems to be particularly near.
That is because women and men have sought God in this region, sometimes in isolation and often in monasteries, for centuries. They have lived lives totally dedicated to God and many have been martyred over the centuries as a result of the ebb and flow of anti-Christian sentiment.
During my short retreat, I wrote three brief devotionals which will be posted over the next few days.
DAY THREE
The motivation of self (we might also call it ego) is to seek glory and honour. Jesus made it very clear that if we succeed in our hunt for glory, then we have had our reward and none awaits us in eternity. It is quite possible to live an apparently godly life with many good works, fasting, prayer and much sacrifice—all to no lasting benefit.
Mat 6:1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Mat 6:2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Mat 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”
It is essential that we realize that our egos are in direct competition with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants us to live a life that brings honor and glory to Jesus Christ. But our egos demand and are offended if we don’t get glory. When we do get honor and praise for our righteous acts, then the spiritual and eternal reward to which we should have been entitled is squandered; spiritual growth comes to a halt and our good works can easily become worthless religion.
“Lord, I get so easily offended when my acts of service are not recognized by others. I confess that this is the voice of the easily offended ego and that my ego works against your purposes in my life. Help me today to deny my selfish interests, take up my cross and follow you.”
Lynn Green.
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Keep on Growing – Day 2
Photo by Denis Oliveira on Unsplash
**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to have a quiet retreat in a very special place: The Western Desert of Egypt. You might have heard some places described as a “thin place”. It might be a particular church or property or even a region. There is no doubt that the Western Desert is a thin place.
That is, it is a place where the “veil” that separates us from the spiritual realm is very thin. Another way to say it is that the Western Desert is a great place to seek God’s presence because He seems to be particularly near.
That is because women and men have sought God in this region, sometimes in isolation and often in monasteries, for centuries. They have lived lives totally dedicated to God and many have been martyred over the centuries as a result of the ebb and flow of anti-Christian sentiment.
During my short retreat, I wrote three brief devotionals which will be posted over the next few days.
DAY TWO
Jesus said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself…”
(Mark 8:34).Self-denial is the cornerstone of spiritual growth. Jesus emphasized it again and again:
Luke 9:24: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
Mat 18:9: If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
Luke 14:26,27: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
There is no doubt that our brothers and sisters who live lives of deprivation and persecution have an “advantage”. Each and every day presents them with the contrast of following Jesus or choosing a life of greater ease and freedom from threat. The choice before them is often stark and obvious. As a result, they cannot and do not escape Jesus’ demand that they should deny themselves daily, take up their cross and follow Him.
We, who were born into more comfortable circumstances, where our faith does not make us vulnerable to persecution, battle with a mortal enemy who attacks us with stealth and subtlety. The Apostle Paul refers to this enemy as the ‘old self’. “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—“ (Romans 6:6)
The power and subtlety of our self is such that we can succumb to its demands again and again, choking our new life in Christ—unless the Holy Spirit comes to our aid, exposing self and enabling us to put it to death. Pray for the Spirit of Jesus to shine His light into your life, revealing the old self where ever it is at work.
Lynn Green.
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Keep on Growing
**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to have a quiet retreat in a very special place: The Western Desert of Egypt. You might have heard some places described as a “thin place”. It might be a particular church or property or even a region. There is no doubt that the Western Desert is a thin place.
That is, it is a place where the “veil” that separates us from the spiritual realm is very thin. Another way to say it is that the Western Desert is a great place to seek God’s presence because He seems to be particularly near.
That is because women and men have sought God in this region, sometimes in isolation and often in monasteries, for centuries. They have lived lives totally dedicated to God and many have been martyred over the centuries as a result of the ebb and flow of anti-Christian sentiment.
During my short retreat, I wrote three brief devotionals which will be posted over the next few days.
DAY ONE
From time to time I meet someone whose Christ-like character shines like a lighthouse from deep within. Perhaps you also have met such a person. I have found that I am drawn like a magnet to their presence that seems to exude love and warmth and sometimes, in spite of most difficult circumstances, a deep sense of contentment and shalom. Along with being drawn to them, I feel a paradoxical sense of discomfort. I fear that they can see right through my relatively shallow character and that I am in constant danger of being unmasked.
More often than not, these godly individuals are not from our Western world, but are from a part of the world that is thought of as undeveloped. They often come from a nation or region where the Church has been persecuted and they have suffered their share of pain.
I think of a little Korean woman I met in China. Jesus himself seemed to shine from her face and everything she said and did was flavored with godliness and grace. She had spent about one third of her life in prison in both China and North Korea and yet she continued to fearlessly preach Christ in all circumstances. In her presence, I felt like a spiritual pigmy.
Such an experience—and I’ve had several—provokes fundamental questions: is great spiritual maturity reserved only for those whose circumstances produce suffering? Is it possible to experience sustained spiritual growth in a comfortable Western environment? Is persecution and privation required for spiritual maturity?
Surely God does not discriminate between races or nationalities and has not abandoned us to a spiritual fate that is determined by where we happened to be born. Rather, the scriptures are clear that he shows himself and draws near to those who seek him whole-heartedly.
(Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.)
So, there must be hope for those of us who were born into a more comfortable life-style. There must be a way for us to grow in Christ continuously. That is my desire and I hope it is yours.
Take some time to pray and tell God that you want spiritual growth and maturity. Tell him that you long to have more intimate fellowship with him and that you will not shrink back, even if the price is very high.
Lynn Green.
Lynn Green 