The Cross, My Hard Heart and Jesus' Transformation

The Cross, My Hard Heart and Jesus' Transformation 
Written by me on 3/19/19 (edited by me on 3/22/19)
(copied and pasted from a Facebook post I made on 3/22/19)

"We cannot reach the ends of the earth until we have reached the end of ourselves." Steve Conway #GYC18
"Before we can reach the deepest, darkest corners of the world, we must let God reach the deepest, darkest corners of our hearts." Taj Pacleb #GYC18
Last night, God gave me a revelation about myself. I cried for a few minutes and prayed earnestly and then I knew that God had set my heart free and that He had indeed given me my heart's desire, which was in accordance with His will.
God showed me that I really did love myself supremely. I told God, "I don't really love anybody!" I was so sorrowful, so disturbed by the things that I was seeing about myself.
Wasn't jealousy the first sin? Isn't pride jealousy's twin? Why can't I be happy for others to have more than I have? Why don't I have more compassion and self sacrificial interest in those that have less than I have? Why am I so determined to stay even with those who are similarly situated to myself in life?
I am tired of using people as tools for pride and prestige! I am tired of looking to people for undue sympathy! I am also tired of using people as crutches! I'm tired of being irritable over things that frustrate me everyday. I'm tired of expressing irritation instead of praising God and and thus creating a more pleasant atmosphere for those around me.
Right now, I'm thinking about the cross. Jesus' love compares to no other. People spat in His face. People falsely accused Him. The people Jesus created treated Him with utter disrespect. People who had once followed Him and professed to love Him mocked Him, or ran away from Him. They revealed that they loved themselves more than they loved Him. For all the love that Jesus showed the Pharisees, which too often had to be tough love because of the state of their hearts, they returned His gestures with a degrading display of hate. In the face of all of this Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do…" Luke 23:34 (NKJV)
Now, I'm thinking about Jesus' life before the cross. He loved the publicans, the tax collectors, the foreigners who were scorned, the Romans, Mary Magdalene, demon possessed people, and yes, people rarely say it but it needs to be said, He even loved the Pharisees! Read John chapter 3, the story of Nicodemus, if you don't believe me!
So, I know what I need. I need to become like Jesus, and I'm opening my heart to Him. He has forgiven me for not loving people in the way that He loves them and He has promised to make me an overcomer like He is. I know that this overcoming process will involve a tremendous struggle. Throughout the duration of my experience with Him, it generally has. But He is always by my side to encourage me, and as long as I am willing to cling to Him, to be watchful, prayerful and decidedly determined to be on His side no matter how hard this is, my victory is assured. I'm trusting God. Thank you Jesus. :)

Scripture used under the "Gratis Use Guidelines" for the NKJV.  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. https://www.harpercollinschristian.com/sales-and-rights/permissions/#1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tornado Roll Hair Tutorial

Image
Hello everyone. :) (One important note: I mentioned that I wear a panty hose on my head at night to keep my hair neat. I either tie up the legs or wear a panty hose that has had the legs cut off. I wouldn't want anyone to have the legs end up becoming tied around their necks during their sleep. That doesn't sound safe). In today's video, I am showing you all how to do what I have termed a "tornado roll" on stretched natural African-American hair. This style would not work so well on most freshly washed natural African-American hair. African American hair is generally not washed daily. My definition of stretched hair is the following: natural African-American hair  that has been twisted, braided or put in buns for more than one day and that has then been combed out dry. This style can be done with straight or wavy hair as well. The hair tools that I use in this video are the following: A wide tooth comb A bristle brush A pony tail holder A large jaw clip Bobb
Read more

The Amazing Benefits of the Whole Foods Plant-based Diet part III

Image
Hello everyone, Today I will be sharing part III of the series I am doing on the Whole Foods Plant-based Diet. Up until now I have not shared any recipes for foods that can be eaten in this diet. I am happy to let my readers know that this diet can be very tasty and delightful. In this part of the series, I will be letting my readers know what some of my favorite dishes have been through the years, and I will be providing links to where you can purchase the cookbooks that contain the recipes for these dishes, if you are interested in trying them. :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are vegan versions of very many kinds of foods. There is vegan macaroni and cheese, vegan lasagna, scrambled tofu (a great substitute for scrambled eggs), vegan pizza, vegan cheese and sour cream etc. There is so much out there for vegans to eat. A vegan diet does not have to be a deprived, boring and miserab
Read more

The Amazing Benefits of the Whole Foods Plant-based Diet part IV

Image
         Would you be excited if you learned that there is a diet that has been shown to help people to drastically improve, and even reverse, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and which also makes weight loss tremendously easier? Some medical professionals have come to see that the Whole Foods Plant Based diet can do incredible things for many of their patients: things that conventional medicine struggles to accomplish.  Today I will be sharing some free, online resources that give my readers scientific information on the benefits of the Whole Foods Plant-Based diet for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. I will also be sharing testimonials of people who have overcome obesity on this diet.       What I am sharing isn't a comprehensive ( comprehensive definition ) list of resources on these topics, but I hope that what I am sharing will be food for thought (that sounds like a pun!). As a friendly reminder, I am not a medical professional and what I am sharing is not a substitute fo
Read more