"Three Steps" -2

 "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." (John 5:8 KJV)

  "I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." (Psalm 9:1-2 NLT)

 Just in case you were wondering, the bed that is taken up, is pretty much his cross; it is as though Jesus is telling him to take up the cross, which his bed has now become, as a symbol of the deliverance. That which once held him, he now holds, carries, and displays, for all to see and wonder. 

 When the Lord saves us, we are made into vessels that must be used; you can be used as a vessel that pours out, or a vessel that stores up; one is made for serving others, while the other is for serving self. The deliverance is spontaneous and complete; just as the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt all at once; but Egypt was not completely taken out of them! 

 I know it is not as easy as I try to make it out to be, because it really is not, if you don't want to do what is right. There is a constant struggle between the flesh and Spirit; but the Spirit must be moving in your life! I can tell you without a doubt that my flesh never stops moving; it makes its desires know, loud and clear; therefore, I must constantly obey the Spirit more; the more you move in the Spirit, the more you are going to overcome the flesh. 

 All that and more, we still are trapped in these needy vessels! They want to be filled, to hold onto that which is stored up, and to selfishly claim any hidden treasures as its own. Everything belongs to the Lord! Absolutely everything is His; He bought and paid for our very soul; we are the property of Jesus Christ! 

 Okay, so there you have it; you seriously don't have to worry anymore about anything, because it all belongs to Him. Doesn't that make you feel better? Well, it should! No matter what happens in this life, which is actually a very short life, we have eternity to be with Jesus; our eternity is secure in Christ, so what can happen? 

 Be a vessel that can be used, while the using is good! Whatever that might look like, it really does not matter, as long as you are being used, always stepping forward! Even if you step three steps forward and two steps back, you are still moving forward. Did you notice that Jesus calls it well done, not perfectly done; He is the perfect One, we are His vessels...

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputing: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." (Philippians 2:12-16 KJV)