Titus 2 Men And Women |
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| Neutral Promises by Pastor Jeff Haney "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" Matthew 5:8"It changed my life"! Have you ever heard or made that statemenet? What about, "it made a real difference for me"? Do these phrases ring bells? I’ve learned a little bit about people over the short time, that I’ve been in the ministry, and one of those things is that listening to them carefully is required inorder ro properly deal with them. I can hit you in the head with a hammer and "change your life". Eat a three day old bologna sandwich, and I assure you that it will "make a real difference" for you. Drink a little Penzoil 10/40 and I would be willing to bet that you might "never be the same again." People continually throw around "neutral" promises and phrases about what God has done in their life, without the clarity of mind to qualify those "changes". It is one thing to say that Jesus changed my life, but for some it is another thing completely to say what He changed. I have found that most Christians, myself included, are so preoccupied with the day to day affairs of life that they cannot tell you what Jesus has done for them since they rolled out of bed. ...The problem with generic "praises’ is that it proclaims a "generic" God. A God that is not identifiable. It proclaims a God that just does "something" without any quality of what "thing" He’s done. A God that just does "things" is not really that impressive, powerful, or awesome. I realize that sometimes God is so awesome in the moving of hearts and lives that we have no words to describe what He’s done. However, if we are going to tell the truth, most of the time God works in our lives in very specific ways. He grants specific prayer requests. He intervenes in specific circumstances. He touches specific people with His presence in specific conditions. He does more than "make a difference" or "change lives’, He transforms my soul from something bad to something good. He reveals truths to me that are not new, they are just new to me. He doesn’t just "change’ me, He grows me. ...I’m not sure exactly what the problem is, but I believe there are three possible reasons why we "generalize" God. 1.) Our vision is Blurry, 2.)Our lives are Busy, or 3.) Our minds are Blind. Many people are looking at what they percieve to be God through frosted glass. Have you ever looked through frosted glass? You can see diffused light, color, and obscure shapes, but there is no clarity, no definition, no confidence in what you are actually looking at. If you look through a frosted glass window you can easily say, "Boy, they’re doing something out there." The problem is, you can’t tell who, and you don’t know what. My point is, that when you and I fail to see Christ clearly in our lives and in our circumstances, we have a problem with our eyesight, and our insight. We stay distant, unsure, and more wishy than hopeful. Christ doesn’t just save "people", He saved me. Hopefully He saved you. Just so you’ll know, I am a very specific person, not just a generic human or face, but an individual. He is a specific God that desires a specific relationship with you. ...Get focused and get honest with God, and you will have the clarity of midday. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.".....Bro. Jeff |
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