Mr Ugly

"If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old is gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 "What is your idea of salvation? The experience of salvation means that in your life things have actually been changed. When you are saved, you no longer look at things as you used to. Your desires are new. The things which used to rule you have lost their power." OC "A key question in this experience is... Has God changed the things that matter? If you still long for old things, it's absurd to talk about being born from above. When you are born again, the Spirit of God manifests a change in your mind and life. Afterward, when a crisis arises, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference in you. There's no possibility of imagining that YOU caused this difference; YOU KNOW beyond a doubt that it was the Spirit of God. This complete and amazing change is the evidence that YOU ARE A SAVED SOUL." OC "'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud' (1 Corinthians 13:4). What difference has salvation and sanctification (Purity, God's Spirit in us changing us) made in me? Can I walk in 1 Corinthians 13, or do I have to shuffle? The salvation that is worked out in me by the Holy Spirit EMANCIPATES ME ENTIRELY. As long as I walk in the light as God is in the light (because GOD IS THE LIGHT), HE SEES nothing to censure, because HIS LIFE is working through every aspect of my own – not only those aspects I am conscious of, but also those that lie deeper than my consciousness." OC GOD bless your day!

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 ESV

Colossians 3:1-2: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Amen if you know Him

Proverbs 23:4-5: Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.

"We sent Timothy, who is our brother and coworker in God's service in spreading the gospel of Christ." 1 Thessalonians 3:2 "After I am sanctified and become 'a coworker in God service,' I will probably find it difficult to state what my aim in life is. This is because the Lord is taking me up into a purpose which HE alone knows. What I do know is that He is using me for His purposes..., just as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation." OC "If I seek great things for myself – and cling to purposes of my own, I put a barrier between myself and God and make it impossible for Him to use me. As long as I have an interest in my own character or in any set ambition, I won't be able to fully identify myself with God's interests." OC "I have to learn that the aim of life is GOD's, not mine. God is using me from HIS great personal standpoint. All He asks of me is that I have implicit faith in Him, and in His goodness, such faith that I never say, 'Lord this gives me such heartache.' To talk in that way makes me an impediment (obstacle) to Him. When I stop telling God what I want, HE can take me up for what HE WANTS without hindrance. He can crumple me or exalt me. He can do anything HE CHOOSES." OC "Self-pity is of the devil. If I go down that road, I cannot be used by God for HIS purpose, because I live in my own private sphere, a little, 'world within the world.' God will never be able to get me to come out into HIS WORLD, because I'm too afraid of what I'll encounter. I have to set aside my selfishness and fear and become entirely IDENTIFIED WITH HIM." OC GOD bless your day!

“Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.” Psalm 26:9-10 ESV

Proverbs 3:3-4: Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Amen if you believe

1 Timothy 6:12: Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

“Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.” Psalm 25:20 ESV

Romans 10:9-10: Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

"Whoever lives by believing in ME will never die. Do YOU believe THIS?" John 11:26 "Martha believed in the power at the disposal of Jesus Christ. She believed that Jesus could have healed her brother, Lazarus, if only Jesus had been present when Lazarus was dying (John 11:21). She also believed that Jesus had a unique relationship with God and whatever Jesus asked of God, God would do. But Martha needed a closer, personal intimacy with Jesus; her program of belief was entirely focused on FUTURE fulfillment. When Jesus told her that Lazarus would rise again, she replied, 'I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day' (v. 24). Jesus wanted her belief to be rooted in the present moment; He wanted her faith to be a personal possession, and He asked a question that led her to a new understanding: 'Do you believe?'" OC "Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive HIS question home to you – 'Do YOU believe THIS?' Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal BELIEF? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal NEED." JR "To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning, I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief, I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be DOMINATED BY HIM ALONE." JR "When I stand face-to-face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, 'Do you believe this?' I find that faith is as natural as breathing, and I am amazed that I didn't trust him before." OC GOD bless your day!

Psalm 121:5-6: The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

"Rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ." 1 Peter 4:13 "If you are going to be used by God,HE will take you through a multitude of difficult experiences asking you to participate in the sufferings of Christ. These experiences aren't meant to enrich you or benefit you personally. They're meant to make you useful in God's hands and enable you to understand what happens in other people's souls, so that you will never be surprised about what you encounter." OC "The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered, 'according to the will of God' (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It's only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God's purpose beforehand. In the history of the church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God's orders through a shortcut of their own. God's way is always the way of suffering – the way of the long road home." JR "Are you participating in Christ's sufferings? Are you prepared for God to entirely stamp out your personal ambitions and destroy your individual determination? It doesn't mean you'll know exactly why God is taking you a certain way. In the moment, it's never clear; you go through more or less blindly. Then, suddenly, you come to a luminous place and say, 'Why, God was there all along, and I didn't know it!'" OC GOD bless your day!

James 1:5-6: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.