"Play it Again Sam" -Again

"Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies." (Psalms 69:18) I know, I need to explain. The greatest Gift of the Spirit is love; all the Gifts are good also, such as joy, peace, speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing, teaching, etc, etc; but the greatest Gift that God can empower us with is love. Nobody can love like God can love, and if we ever going to come close, it's going to be God loving others through us. But you see, although love is the greatest Gift, it does not work alone, as strange as that might sound. Love is something that requires action, reaction, and patience; all of which are also things that require us to be yielded to the Spirit. I know it might seem difficult to comprehend, but that is because it is something that requires movement! We are the vessel in which God works, but that does not mean that we get to control how He works in us. And yet, how often do we hold back for fear of what others might think? How often do we gauge how much we are doing is enough, or too much? We are not our own! If we are going to be sold-out for Jesus, and if Jesus is Lord of our life, then we no longer can make the choice as to how much is enough or too much; it is God working through us, not us working through God's power! It started with a comment from someone at one of the Men's Meetings, but it was reinforced within my own heart, and probably with a little help from the devil. I had only been out for a month or two, and was really trying to get active in the church; going to at least one Service on Sunday, Wednesday night, Thursday Men's Group, Friday Night movies, I even joined the softball team; what ever I could, I wanted as much fellowship as I could possibly get. One day after the Men's Meeting, as I was bouncing around and talking with the guys after the meeting, a somewhat caring brother placed his hand on my shoulder, asking, "You must be a new Christian?" I exclaimed that I was, and even started to share some of what God had done, but he cut me short, and just said, "Don't worry, you will adjust." A group of guys kind of chuckled, and a couple of them even added a few additional comments, like "Amen", and "Settle Down, is more like it", or whatever. It really did not matter, because at the moment I really did not care, all that I knew was that I never felt like I was doing anything wrong, but it all felt totally right; almost natural, as if it was part of who I now was. But it stuck with me, and sooner or later, I began to 'tally up the books'; determining what was too much and what was enough, I began to control what was otherwise not mine to control. So what if there was more than I needed, it wasn't mine to begin with, it all belonged to God. I did not throw it away, and I surely did not spend it; no, I just stuck it in an envelope and placed it in my pocket. But that is not right, nor will God honor us for doing that. Sooner or later, we will find ourselves no longer letting God work through us, but we will be trying to do God's work in our own strength. Unfortunately, it does not give the same result; and sooner or later, we are going to realize what we have done, or give up all together. The Holy Spirit will not force us to do anything, but He will help us to do all things...
"Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly; like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:8-13) NLT