One of my favorite movies is "The Green Mile". A memorable scene was when the presumably guilty murderer was being brought into the jail and they announced his arrival as "the dead man walking." His sentence was already passed on him even before he was properly accused. As humans, we tend to judge others just by the way they look. Our carnal eyes can only see from the inside out, and are blind to seeing what's on the inside of us! In our own mind's eye, we are blameless, but woe to the other person who doesn't meet our perfect standards.
This was true of this prisoner who was accused of rape and murder of two young girls. The prison guard who was making the announcement was himself a deadman walking because he was blind to his own faults. All he could see was someone who he assumed to be guilty because this prisoner wasn't what he thought to be "normal".
The truth is, no one is normal by sight, everyone falls short of perfection and God doesn't look at the outward appearance. God looks at the condition of our heart, this is what determines if we are dead or alive in this life or the next.
Until we have been redeemed, bought and paid for by the blood of Christ, we are all dead men walking. Before salvation, we are guilty of sin, there is no presuming our innocence or guilt!
"You foolish man! Every time you plant seed, you sow something that does not come to life, unless it dies first." 1 Cor. 15:36 (Amplified)
As Paul the apostle points out, we are all being foolish if we believe that until we first die to self, our flesh, our carnal desires that we could be living at all.
God gives us perfect examples of this theory. There is nothing that hasn't already been made perfect by God and when we stop and listen, we will learn valuable lessons to His Word. One lesson I learned from the perfect balance of nature was through the planting of seeds to grow some pepper plants for my garden. I had saved some seeds from a pepper and let them dry out before I planted them. I put a group of seeds in seperate containers and watered them daily. After a few weeks, some of the containers started producing new life, but some of them remained unproductive.
I kept hoping that the next day would show signs of life, until finally it hit me...the seeds that had been planted were not fully dead in the first place, and therefore would not live again. In this simple lesson I started to think how profound it really was.
How much we are like those seeds! Unless we die first to ourselves we will never be brought back to life, an eternal life with Christ. What exactly does it mean to die to self? How is this done? It takes sacrifice and obedience to God. It's doing His will and not our own. In order to accomplish this, we must first learn to do three things. These three things must become our whole meaning for living.
First, we must earnestly seek God. It's going to Him first in all situations and in everything we do. Matt. 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of God in all it's righteousness and all else will be added unto us. When you make this a focus point in your life, you will soon discover that God will supply you with everything you need, which are His attributes that will give Him glory when others see you going through trials with Grace. To seek Him first is to run to the throne and not the phone for opinions of others. God is jealous. Yes, He gives us other people for their wisdom and advice, but it's also waiting on Him for His advice and not acting out on our own.
Secondly, we must ask Him to show us a true heart. If we have to, ask Him to forgive you and show you whatever may be blocking your blessings. God, through the Holy Spirit will convict us of things that we perhaps never even knew was there. His convictions should not be confused with condemnation. God doesn't condemn the sinner, only the sin. His convictions are to enlighten us and bring us closer to Him. His convictions are to lift us up to another level. Condemnation however is what the enemy uses to bring us down in guilt. God gives us peace about our sinful situations by forgiving us, not to make us feel as though we aren't worthy, because we aren't worthy on our own. The devil is a liar and wants to keep us in the dark about our sins.
Thirdly, we must submit to God. This calls for dropping to our knees and letting Him have His own way in us. We belong to Him anyway and to act as though we are the boss of us, is only foolishness in the first place. This submission is the start of a new life and things will start to change surpernaturally. He will make our paths straight and clear when we approach Him in humbleness.
"The body that is sown is perishable and decays, but the body that is resurrected is immortal. The natural body is sown and the spiritual body is raised." 1 Cor. 15:42-43 (Amplified)
"When the perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, 'Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory." Isaiah 25:8 (Amplified)
"Death, where is thy victory? Death, where is thy sting?" Hos. 13:14 (Amplified)
These scriptures tell us that in order to be resurrected into new life, we must first die to ourselves. Christ took the death of our sins away, when He said these three small words on the cross, "It is finished." He defeated the enemy and when we are saved by the blood, we will no longer know the sting of death, it will be our victory!
To remain in sin will be to experience the sting of death. It will be inevitable unless we become children of God through His Son Jesus. Hell is a very real place. It's eternal torment, darkness, lonliness and a place where one's sins are lived over and over for eternity. The pain is immense and there is no turning back at this point, the sentence has been handed down by the Judge who sits on the throne in heaven.
But thank God, He loves us all so much to give us a way out of this dark and bleak situation. To confess our sins and give them to Christ will insure us of our place with Him in His kingdom of heaven. This is the victory of our death. Heaven is also a very real place. Revelation chapter 4 talks about the church after the rapture when God's children are taken up together at Christ's return. This is where we will all be joined at the banquet table as Christ's Bride and oh what a ceremony it will be!
Ask yourself today, are you a dead man walking or will you be resurrected into eternal life? If you're not sure, ask God to forgive you and confess Jesus as your Savior. Since no one knows the hour or time of His return, there won't be a second chance to reconsider where you will be. Those who are left behind will have to survive the most horrendous 7 years in life's history called the great Tribulation. Do you trust your life to be left in the hands of the Anit-Christ? It's not "If" it will happen, it's "When" it will happen. God's Word doesn't lie, know what the truth is!
Vivian Gordon, an inspired writer. She is called to reach out to those who are hurt and have fallen away. She has been called into the ministry of teaching God's Word and is an intercessory prayer warrior to pray for those who need healing and wholeness. She is also persuing a dream of writing and publishing Christian children's books; currently working on her first one.
To many people in the Western world Metaphysical Healing is... Read More
If we are honest with ourselves, we would have to... Read More
We shamans are a strange breed.....often we tend to isolate... Read More
I believe in the source we refer to as 'God'.... Read More
Looking for some ways to feed your soul in the... Read More
It is no doubt that so many of you are... Read More
I come face to face with self whenever you come... Read More
Your guardian angel is your link to the divine. The... Read More
In Corrogue the air is chill and the frost is... Read More
In our fast paced society we often want everything done... Read More
(Channelled)Good morning Roy, good morning Joseth.What has love got to... Read More
"This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as... Read More
Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?"... Read More
It seems to me that our moment to moment relationship... Read More
Freedom....The cherished goal of humanity throughout its history.No society has... Read More
Today is the day that I'm getting back into exercise.... Read More
The Mind in an Advanced Thought System:The center of our... Read More
As we walk these halls of Life viewing the world... Read More
Forget what you have read or seen about vampires. The... Read More
Echo was a flea-bitten gray horse, with brown speckles everywhere,... Read More
We all hear of the concept of the "Enlightened Master",... Read More
An etheric body, also known as the aura, surrounds every... Read More
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken... Read More
People rarely live up to a hundred years of age... Read More
Life is like an obstacle course in which we run... Read More
Have you ever experienced a traumatic event? I'm sure the... Read More
Some people go to physics and spiritual readers for advice... Read More
Many of our great religions hold that numbers contain hidden... Read More
Before the movie "Finding Nemo", came out Steve Jobs the... Read More
Years ago, my minister spoke to us about how you... Read More
Universal Law is an invisible influence in every individual's life,... Read More
In the movie "Forest Gump" we see Forest succeed in... Read More
The practice of meditating on loving-kindness may be over two... Read More
You will become as great as your dominant aspiration...If you... Read More
In the early 90's I had a spontaneous Kundalini Awakening... Read More
Even Pandora and her box come in two versions. In... Read More
For me, the best poetry stirs my soul; it awakens... Read More
Life is full of ups and downs, trials, and tribulations.... Read More
In Corrogue I am finding it's a wonderful life.Let me... Read More
1. Life is a precious gift given to us by... Read More
Sometimes, in traveling a path, we discover a short-cut, and... Read More
Last week, I sat at my computer and watched the... Read More
It's human nature to point a finger when we think... Read More
Yes, we are living in a world where we are... Read More
The Tarot is not just a divinatory tool, but it... Read More
Have you ever heard something that really "resonated" with you?... Read More
To a shaman a kachina isn't really a doll or... Read More
Surveys show that religion and spirituality play a central role... Read More
I want to share with you something that happened to... Read More
Meeting someone so attractive, so beautiful. Your heart beats like... Read More
Among some of us who deem ourselves spiritual, the use... Read More
Listen to the sound of silence. Enjoy the peace and... Read More
Malice is a great enemy to mankind. It is evil... Read More
Oxford dictionary defines PRAYER as "a request for help or... Read More
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and... Read More
I am sure many of you reading this article have... Read More
We have a proclivity to think of individuals and nations... Read More
Today I was in rather a whimsical mood, and so... Read More
I know God will not give me anything I can't... Read More
After 6 years, I left an abusive relationship with an... Read More
Prayer from a child's simple bedtime prayer, to the prayers... Read More
In the spring of 2003, I spent three weeks in... Read More
You have everything you need: a miraculous body, a phenomenal... Read More
With those words recorded in Exodus 15:26, God proclaims to... Read More
Adam had it right when he covered himself with fig... Read More
Uh, oh. I'm in trouble now. I found God. Now... Read More
Spirituality |