When you are forgotten or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you do not sting and hurt with the insult or oversight, but your heart is counted worthy to suffer for Christ...that is Dying to Self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, and take it in patient, loving silence... that is Dying to Self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, and unpunctuality, or any annoyance; when you stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure as Jesus endured it... that is Dying to Self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown... that is Dying to Self.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God... that is Dying to Self.
When you see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances... that is Dying to Self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart... that is Dying to Self.
Are you dead yet? In these last days, the Spirit would bring us to the Cross, "That I may know Him... being made conformable to His death."
(Author Unknown)
3 comments:
Boy, I think I'm too alive! I need to work way more on dying, that's for sure!
You have been busy lately! I'm on my way to listen to that long sermon you posted recently!! ;)
God has really been working in my life lately, and I'm just so excited to share it all! I have been so challenged and in this day and age, the more we stay in God's Word, the better. That's what I've been trying to do. I have so much going on in my head all the time that I want to share, I just wish I had a faster computer and more time to sit and write it all down! :) Writing it also helps me to process it more.
Enjoy that sermon. I actually listened to it 3 times total and 2 more of his recently. He says truth without sugar-coating, and that's what I like. Thanks for all your comments. It makes me feel like my blogging isn't for nothing!
I know what you mean. Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads mine as well!
Todd walked in while I was watching the sermon last night and said "boy does he get into it!" ;) He had some really good points. I had 4 pages of notes!
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