Everything Must Go

Galatians 2:20 (AMP) I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Every now and then when we take an inventory of ourselves, we find things in ourselves that we expected and sometimes things we didn't expect to find. Over a period of years each of us has tried to improve ourselves where we thought we needed improving, similar to pruning the healthy tree to keep it producing good fruit. The thing we miss sometimes though and most of the time we are not aware of it is this. There are things that we in the natural think are wrong, and then there is a whole different standard of what God thinks is wrong. The two are never close by comparison. We give ourselves way too much grace when we know we've done something wrong and in sin.

How many times I've heard people say ("Jesus is very forgiving, so I can keep on doing things wrong and he'll keep on forgiving me"). It can no longer be measured by what we think is right and wrong. We're either doing it Gods way or we're in sin. It's that simple. That said it's time to have a spiritual cleansing, and (Everything Must Go). We have to keep on dying to self. Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me."

Romans 8:13-14. For if you keep on following it you will perish, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

In order for God to use us fully He needs to remove things from our lives. We also have to be willing to let these things go. In order to be used by God it is necessary for us to be an empty vessel. We need to be empty of ourselves so that God can fill us up with Him. Our thoughts need to become His thoughts. Our opinions need to become His opinions. Dying-to-self is a never-ending process. We have to continually ask God to show us what needs to be removed in our lives. We want to be used by Him. In order to be used we need to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. It has to be acceptable to Him.

We have to come face to face with the fact that we must decrease so He can increase. We need to learn how to deal with the fact that our feelings and wants are not the most important things if we are to be used by God. The more serious we get about our relationships with God the more He expects from us. Ultimately, He expects us to live for Him and not at all for ourselves.

We can't possibly do Gods will on earth unless we are fully yielding to Him. Before we can be effective in sharing Jesus with others we need to first be sure that we are letting Him share Himself with us, without any obstructions. Many times people without knowing it keep God in a box and limit what he can or will do. That stuns many people because they say "how can we limit God if he is so powerful?" He is omnipotent but he is also a gentleman and will never force his way in to our lives.

He knocks quietly at the doors of our soul. If we are tuned in to God, we will answer the door and let him have his way in our lives. That is what he wants us to do. However there are many that feel they want to retain some form of control. Saying things like, (I'll let God change this or that) but they don’t yield completely. God does not need our help to change us or the world around us. We just need to yield our Spirits to him and say Yes God. We need to seek out the deepest darkest things within us and we need to confess it to God and ask for His forgiveness and then let it go.

Then and only then will we be able to be in that place where we are able to receive what God has for us. We're human and we’re far from perfect. Sin will try to work it's way back in and we may fall prey to it again and again, but each time it happens we have to squash whatever it was, whether it be temptation, addiction, anger, offensiveness, or profanity. It's all SIN and it's all got to go.

Romans 12:1(AMP) I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

A Prayer from me for you.

Heavenly Father I first want to thank you for all of the wisdom you’ve given me recently. It is with this wisdom that I have found things that need to be addressed, that would have otherwise gone unknown to me. Thank you for the Holy Spirit guiding me each day to close the gap between where I am and where you want for me to be.

Father I ask a special blessing on all of the men and women of God that read this. Lord, I pray that you would seek them out and show them any areas that are sinful in your eyes. Give them the strength God to conquer any sin that is in them. Reveal to them all of the things that are not of you Lord God, so that they can get rid of those things, repent and receive your forgiveness. So that they would be able to be in that place you want them to be in, to receive the blessings that you have for them.

In Jesus Name I Pray

May God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”