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The ABCs Of Christian Survival And Growth- GHG - Powerful Medicine To Cure The Runaway Human Ego

GHG - Powerful Medicine To Cure The Runaway Human Ego

Part 1- Introduction


Most people seem to have something they prize or pride themselves on. It may not be outward, but given a little time, you may eventually spot it. In the world, self reliance, self confidence and pride are promoted regularly as necessary elements to get ahead, achieve a higher position, to amount to, or accomplish anything. They can become core elements or foundations stones of thinking that establish a perspective that everything in ones' life is built on. In the world, the natural human focus is generally on self first. Humanistic views and values are taught in public schools, are available through worldly counseling and are shared regularly in the various forms of media and human conversation. If accepted, they can establish a rating system by which people and things are valued. It's the world's intellect - what it "knows". Growing up exposed to the world, it's hard to avoid and without realizing it, Christians can find themselves clinging to remnants of the human values that seem to make sense to our flesh. But even the smallest fragments of the wisdom of the world and its' value system left in the foundation of a Christian can lead to dysfunction, instability and spiritual frustration. The things that I want to talk about here don't make sense from a human view point. They "don't add up" in self centered thinking, but I believe they make perfect sense to the God who's not bound by our thinking.


For example, as I said earlier, most people seem to have something they prize or pride themselves on. For me, one of those things used to be my tenacity and ability to carry heavy life loads. Not surprising given that as a father of seven children, life hasn't been a cake walk. I've endured much (many things being the product of my own decisions), but these days when I count the hardships that I've endured, I see them quite differently than I once did. I once saw myself standing tall against life's challenges and mourned the hardships not understanding why the God who claimed to love me allowed them, but not anymore.


The difference in my viewpoint between then and now involves looking at those things through the truth of God's Word instead of my flawed humanity. Where I saw myself as one man bold, strong and enduring against various obstacles, I now see that one man ... and the God who was carrying him the whole time. I now see that He was patiently and thoughtfully paving the way and teaching me through life lessons that were all part of His plan for my life. He knew me before I was born. He saw what I lacked, so He knew what things were necessary for me to learn to become more like Him - someone He could relate to and that could relate to Him. When I look back now I can see a Father - my Father, teaching His child. He was always ready to intervene if needed, but He was also willing to let that child suffer when it was necessary to teach something of life giving value. I was on my way to learning rare and precious things by God's accounting that amount to real and lasting wealth. One of them being the truth of my own frailty - my real condition in the eyes of God. I was in for a revealing lesson of truth and a huge spoonful of humility and because of His mercy ... that spoon was full! That story may be for another time, but for now I need to stick to the point ...


There were serious flaws in my foundation. Things that I couldn't fix myself that left the structure of my life leaning in the wrong direction. But just as no house can cure itself, I was unable to even begin to address these issues. I needed the master builder, a Jewish carpenter whose living examples of grace and humility had not only the power to fix my fractured foundation, but that changed the world ...


There are three words that are weighing on my heart these days. All three are awesomely powerful and have the ability to be life changing in deep ways. The true revelation of the full extent and existence of the first tends to lead to the second and the third. All three are essential to recognizing our proper posture before our God and enabling an honest relationship with Him. All three require honest acknowledgment in order to release their enabling power in our relationship with our God.


The presence of these words weighing on my heart is no accident and as usual the patience to meditate on them and wait for the revelation of a complete message has been a challenge. Their weight on my mind may be His response to my prayers for the restoration of His church in America and the purification of His bride. They may be the product of His structural assessment - a revelation of some existing foundational flaws that need to be addressed. I'm not stating that I know this to be true, I'm looking myself for the answers. But I can see the values of humanity in the world today and I can see dysfunction in the church, the body of Christ in our country. I can see a strong human counter culture that seems to be thriving around us fueled by the enemy of our King. I see Christians struggling to experience the truth of God's promises and power in their lives. I see people blaming God for things that they don't understand instead of submitting to His greater wisdom and holding firmly to and trusting what He's said about us and His intentions toward us. I can see a posture in some before Him that lacks Holy fear, humility and true gratitude for what He's already done while they constantly ask for more. I can say with conviction that there has to be a reason and also that we know that if there's a lack, it's not in our God.


We know from scripture that we're in the end times and that some of these things are a part of prophecy. We're at war with an enemy that's had thousands of years to perfect his attack and that many will be lost by his cunning and discreet deception. But for those of us among the body of Christ who will strive to endure the coming storms to be counted faithful ... our foundations must be honestly and truly solid - laid firmly in the words of our Lord because scripture tells us that what lies ahead. To borrow a secular movie line "something evil this way comes ..." We can see the tell tale signs of a coming storm and a prudent man will check in advance of the storm to make sure that his house is secure. If we're secure in our faith, if our foundation is truly solid, we know that we have no reason to fear - our God is faithful! We will celebrate the greatness and faithfulness of our God in the light and security He provides in our house while the storm rages around us. But in this moment, let's be checking our foundation ...


Coming Up:

Part 2: Grace

Part 3: Humility

Part 4: Gratitude

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