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Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Twenty-First Time




25And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, 
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26He said unto him, 
What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27And he answering said, 
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28And he said unto him, 
Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29But he, willing to justify himselfsaid unto Jesus, 
And who is my neighbour?
30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, 
he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, 
and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, 
was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. 
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10

The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered with a different question, "Which of these three was a neighbor..?" Our Lord is less concerned with who our neighbor is and more concerned with us being a neighbor to those around us. If I were the priest or Levite in this parable I would be thankful that there's more than the twenty-first time... 
and I am.

Dying to Pride

True Woman | The Heart God Revives by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
"Proud people focus on the failures of others.
Broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need.

Proud people have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope.
Broken people are compassionate; they can forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven.

Proud people are self-righteous; they look down on others.
Broken people esteem all others better than themselves.

Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit.
Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for others.

Proud people have to prove that they are right.
Broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.

Proud people claim rights; they have a demanding spirit.
Broken people yield their rights; they have a meek spirit.

Proud people are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation.
Broken people are self-denying.

Proud people desire to be served.
Broken people are motivated to serve others.

Proud people desire to be a success.
Broken people are motivated to be faithful and to make others a success.

Proud people desire self-advancement.
Broken people desire to promote others.

Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated.
Broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; they are thrilled that God would use them at all.

Proud people are wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked.
Broken people are eager for others to get the credit; they rejoice when others are lifted up.

Proud people have a subconscious feeling, “This ministry/church is privileged to have me and my gifts”; they think of what they can do for God.
Broken people’s heart attitude is, “I don’t deserve to have a part in any ministry”; they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives.

Proud people feel confident in how much they know.
Broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.

Proud people are self-conscious.
Broken people are not concerned with self at all.

Proud people keep others at arms’ length.
Broken people are willing to risk getting close to others and to take risks of loving intimately.

Proud people are quick to blame others.
Broken people accept personal responsibility and can see where they are wrong in a situation.

Proud people are unapproachable or defensive when criticized.
Broken people receive criticism with a humble, open spirit.

Proud people are concerned with being respectable, with what others think; they work to protect their own image and reputation.
Broken people are concerned with being real; what matters to them is not what others think but what God knows; they are willing to die to their own reputation.

Proud people find it difficult to share their spiritual need with others.
Broken people are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs.

Proud people want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; their instinct is to cover up.
Broken people, once broken, don’t care who knows or who finds out; they are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.

Proud people have a hard time saying, “I was wrong; will you please forgive me?”
Broken people are quick to admit failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary.

Proud people tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin.
Broken people are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin.

Proud people are concerned about the consequences of their sin.
Broken people are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin.

Proud people are remorseful over their sin, sorry that they got found out or caught.
Broken people are truly, genuinely repentant over their sin, evidenced in the fact that they forsake that sin.

Proud people wait for the other to come and ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding or conflict in a relationship.
Broken people take the initiative to be reconciled when there is misunderstanding or conflict in relationships; they race to the cross; they see if they can get there first, no matter how wrong the other may have been.

Proud people compare themselves with others and feel worthy of honor.
Broken people compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy.

Proud people are blind to their true heart condition.
Broken people walk in the light.

Proud people don’t think they have anything to repent of.
Broken people realize they have need of a continual heart attitude of repentance.

Proud people don’t think they need revival, but they are sure that everyone else does.
Broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit."

I am so prone to be proud. My flesh feels safe hiding behind pride. 

I am so thankful, so incredibly thankful, for my Jesus whose blood washes me clean and whose indwelling Spirit began a work of death-to-self and abundant-life-in-Christ, a work within me which He will faithfully complete. 

I have a long way to go before my pride is all gone but by the almighty grace of God I am not a hopeless cause. My God is a Redeemer and I can testify to that fact. Reading the above post by Nancy Leigh DeMoss I was convicted, yes, oh yes, but I was also encouraged. The Spirit used it to show me where I am lacking, true, but He also took the opportunity to show me how He has grown me. I am beginning to take on the likeness of my Lord! 

If I had been left to myself I never would have been able to say that, I would have forever been lost in my pride, but instead I have been freed from the bondage of sin, freed to be in-dwelt by the Spirit in order that I might bear the likeness of my Lord, that my King might live through me -- to advance His kingdom and to bring His name glory! 

Oh, to think that He could gain any glory from my life. Marvel of marvels! To think that He could advance His kingdom through someone who was once headed toward destruction. Wonder of wonders! 


Though I still find myself thinking proud thoughts, trying to convince myself that I have merit of my own, my Beloved will not allow me to be fooled. Oh, how firmly and mercifully He reminds me -- stubbornly-proud me --  that anything good within me, comes from Him

My only pure boast is that I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine. He is my boast!

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
(emphasis added)

What Now?

34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, 
Come, ye blessed of my Father
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: 
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: 
I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
 36Naked, and ye clothed me
I was sick, and ye visited me
I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, 
Inasmuch as ye have done it
 unto one of the least of these 
my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.





 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, 
Depart from me, ye cursed
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: 
I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: 
naked, and ye clothed me not
sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
 45Then shall he answer them, saying, 
Verily I say unto you, 
Inasmuch as ye did it not 
to one of the least of these, 
ye did it not to Me.
 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: 
but the righteous into life eternal.
Matthew 25

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Welcome!

Far from being in-depth, my research is only scratching the surface of the injustices in the countries (including the U.S.) I am studying in my blog series, Project Awareness. Anyone could do the research I have done, but I will share what I find as well as the portions of the Father's burden that He shares with me in the hope that, as rough and only-ankle-deep as this series may be, you might grow in your personal awareness and realize that we as the Body are responsible to BE the Body.

In this blog you will find two categories of posts:

"The girl after His heart"
which will serve to spread awareness, move you to action, and link you to ministries

"The heart of the girl"
which will contain bits and pieces of the lessons that the Lord is teaching me 
in the form of stories, devotionals, and testimonies

I truly love my Lord, the Body, and the vulnerable children around the world -- and I desire to with even greater sincerity and even richer love, His love. May this be a place where you will find: the Gospel, a growl for the King to receive His due glory, absolute truth in the humblest of love, and a sweeter taste of the Lord's presence than you have previously experienced. By my own efforts I will fail to meet these standards, but I pray the Spirit will guard my mouth and give me the grace needed to do everything, even blog, for the glory of God!

His and yours,
Ms. Mills