“…Brokeness is the beginning. I do not wish to sound overly “spiritual” or “mystical” because I believe that God is very practical in His dealings with us. However, at somepoint in our lives we must run into the Cross. For some it is a head on collision. For others, the road on which they have been traveling merely comes to an end. The Cross is that area in our lives where God’s will intersects with our will. We encounter Jesus in a life changing way and something inside of us brakes. For some, real brokeness occurs when they discover Christ as Saviour. For others, brokenness occurs when they gain a full and even dramatic revelation of Christ as Lord. Tragically for some it never really occurs. When we are broken, we no longer seek to do Christ’s work in the “glorious” power of our own strength and abilities. We no longer, for example, expect to redeem the world with gifted planning and energetic programming. How much of our Christian work is carried on in a spirit of “strong human ability.” How often we get so carried away with doing God’s work “for Him” that we never even stop to ask, “Lord, are You still here?” How terrible it is when worshiop is undertaken in this spirit! It very often is. Only when we come to the end of the road of “accomplishement through our personal strenght and zeal” do we realize how unclean our garments really are. At this point a feeling of being tainted and worthless descends. “O Lord, there is no good work in me. Only You are Holy!” It is by the grace of God that we are able to come to this place. How very blessed we are when we can throughly cast off our personal goals and ambitions which have become gift wrapped in “spiritual paper” and be content to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to what He has to teach us. Our only motive then is learning to love Him more fully. Obedience begins here. Frequently, what we do in the Lord’s name is subconsciously undertaken to bring us glory. “Only You, Lord, are worthy to receive glory and honor and praise now and forever!” Out of the seeming wrekage of a broken and contrite spirit, God begins to create a beautiful, tender plant. This plant is one which receives nourshment directly from its Creator and which, as it grows, reflects more and more of its Maker’s glorious handiwork…” – from “The Beauty of Worship”, by William Bay
Hebrews 12:1-11(The Message) – Discipline in a Long-Distance Race
1-3Do you see what this means-all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running-and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed-that exhilarating finish in and with God-he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
4-11In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through-all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God
If brokeness is the beginning, then where I end He can finanlly begin… I am praying for this brokeness. I am scared of it but I long for it. I want to be moldable, fillable, usable… less of me and more of Him. No – none of me and ALL of Him!!
I am praying for the end…
