Buy of Me Fire-Tried Gold (Msg 21): May 6, 2015 I asked Him,
Lord, what would You like to speak about tonight? "Dying to yourself. This is a concept that isn't much thought of these days, and yet did I not say that unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. John 12:24-25
"There is so much for people to do, but they have encased themselves in their comfort zones. They live where they feel drawn to live, they choose everything to their liking - and this is why so many are lost and lonely, lukewarm, walking down a road with no real destination other than the status quo. Living for the pleasures of the flesh.
"The enemy uses the flesh to encase a soul in their likes and dislikes: where to live, what work to do, how to dress, how to eat, how to be secure. But I say: you must live like the sparrows to be free! Live for the Spirit and follow My will for your life. You have only to look around you and see the frustration and unhappiness of those who live to the comfort of their bodies. Something is dead inside, the spark of life is gone - buried under layer after layer after layer of likes and dislikes according to the flesh.
"Life is an adventure, full of new experiences when one lives it for Me."
Yes, and you know the struggles I have day after day' "Yes. You are living for Me, Clare. You did not choose where you live, I did. And you obeyed. You've been offered other alternatives, but each time you've chosen what I wanted. This is why you are alive inside. Had you lived for yourself, well... you don't want to know."
Nursing home?
"Perhaps.
"But most definitely you would feel lost. My Children, when you live to yourself, you frustrate My plan for your life, you limit what I wanted to do with you. The place you live in is extremely important to My agenda for your life. You have no way at all of knowing what a certain move will bring. You only look at the shallow externals: the climate, job opportunities, your relatives, the culture and appearance of a place.
"But, I look at it to see if it's fit for you spiritually. Is it the place you need to be to grow, to reach out to others, to have opportunities to grow spiritually, to touch lives - a place that truly fits My plans for your lives?"
I know, Lord. I'm always shocked when people say they are going to live somewhere because they like the climate. I used to do that and I was so lost. But somehow you brought good out of it. "Yes, and I can use every circumstance as an opportunity to grow. But I prefer to put you where I know you will mature and advance the quickest. For this to happen, I need you to be detached from your own likes and dislikes." I remember, with our four children - the Lord had us in Iowa in the dead winter! The absolute dead of winter - fifteen below, in the middle of Iowa. And then, when He moved us on, it was Florida in worst heat of the summer! Ugh. You surely put our flesh to the test.
"And this is what I need of My vessels unto honor: flexibility and a willingness to go where I lead, when I lead. There is so much richness in a life lived in the Spirit and so much sediment in a life lived for the flesh.
"My Children, I have such wonderful things for you to do, but your obstinacy in choosing your location ties My hands. There are connections waiting to be made, a broadening of your horizons, a deepening of your understanding, if only you would come under the yoke of obedience. "There is no reason why a person has to be tied to a house, a piece of land, a city, a country. The world is an exciting place with many opportunities for those who are willing to live for the Spirit alone and go where I send them."
... "I bless you now with the courage to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Me."
