Form of a slave...

A little bit from Jan. 2, 2015...

‘What is evil?

In a nutshell, evil is selfishness, self-centeredness, evil is self-indulgence, evil is self.

We are to abstain from anything that would keep us centered on ourselves!

How can that be? How would we live at all if we weren't concerned for our own well-being- feeding, bathing, clothing ourselves?  All these things are necessary just because we exist, right? So how can they be evil?  They can be perverted. There is an acceptable indulgence of self so that the needs of living are taken care of, but beyond that shouldn't our center be on God and others, and off of ourselves?

No wonder so few will be known by our Savior when He returns. We are a world filled with self indulgence, self centeredness, selfishness.  We come first simply because we exist, and others may come (before us) only as it suits our selfishness to put them there.’

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Jan. 3, 2015

Renouncing SELF.

Mat_16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mar_8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Let him deny himself.  

What exactly is this saying?  A renunciation of self? A doing away with self? How do you deny yourself?  We know that we can deny ourselves *things*. I can deny myself a chocolate sundae and that means I’m denying myself….something.  But what does it truly mean to deny ourselves beyond denying ourselves *things*?

If we deny ourselves aren’t we truly giving ourselves up? Aren’t we giving up supposed ownership of ourselves? If I deny myself I am deny myself of having self-sufficiency. I am denying myself of having possession of myself.  How can we give up possession of ourselves?  

We know how it is possible to do this literally in the physical world between each other, don’t we? We can offer ourselves as a slave to someone allowing them to make all our decisions for us, allowing them to direct our lives in every detail. We can allow them to tell us what to do (and we have to do it no matter what it is). We can allow them to tell us everything- when to sleep, eat, drink, use the bathroom, bathe, talk, see, hear, touch, taste.  To be a slave, as only slaves could probably tell us, can be - but doesn’t have to be - horrific.  What do I mean by that? All slavery is horrific, right?  Not necessarily.  A case in point is the slaves who are treated like family, only they are owned by another and have to answer to another. A slave owner can be loving, kind, compassionate, inspiring in many ways. After the civil war there were many tales of slaves being lost by not being owned, of slaves wanting to be slaves because suddenly they were denied the security they had, the protection, the love, the care from their compassionate owners.  No, I am NOT saying it was like that even in the majority of cases, in fact the opposite is most likely true- slavery was awful for the majority.  However, there are cases of generations of slaves (not necessarily here in the United States solely but throughout history around the world) where one generation after another were slaves and were content in their lot, never abused, never harmed as what we would imagine a typical slave had to endure.

Why am I touting the positive side of slavery? Because of this--

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

We are bought if we are Christ’s. We are BOUGHT by HIM.  He is our MASTER we are HIS SLAVES.  And we are NOT slaves in a bad sense, but WILLINGLY slaves, desiring Him to be our owner, to be our master.

In fact read this--

Php 2:5  For think this within you, which mind was also in Christ Jesus,

Php 2:6  who subsisting in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,

Php 2:7  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, having become in the likeness of men

Php 2:8  and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, having become obedient until death, even the death of a cross. (LITV)

Our Savior took the form of a slave when He became human.  

Our Savior- a slave!

We are to be slaves of Christ and we are to be His slaves in the best sense ever!

Yet Satan would twist everything around and most people just hearing that we are to be slaves of Christ would rebel against the suggestion.

Slavery is truly horrific and anyone FORCED into slavery is a victim, a tragic victim! No one should EVER be forced into slavery, no one!

And Christ would NEVER force any one into slavery, NEVER! We are invited into this form of slavery. Christ put HIMSELF into the form of a slave! We are to be like Christ, and if HE took on the form of a slave, shouldn't we? Don't we need to?  We are BOUGHT and the price we are bought with is the Blood of Christ! He bought us with His life!

More on all this tomorrow by the grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Amen!