originally victoria — unfiltered blog

CRUCIFY THE FLESH SERIES: PART TWO

Although I was raised in a Christian household with some praying, tongue talking, and believing parents that just happened to be pastors, that has nothing to do with my intimate relationship with God. My parents taught me right from wrong, and the importance of living a true christian lifestyle, yes, but I had also had this desire stirring inside of me that made me crave something I knew from experience the world could never give to me. I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered. All the prayers my parents prayed throughout my life of “Lord open the eyes of my daughter” finally came to fruition. Along with the stirring that was happening on the inside of me, the Lord opened my eyes and ears to the spirit realm– to the holy of holys, to the courthouse and inner gates. My parents taught me all that I know, please don’t think I’m bashing that. I respected my parents and trusted their wisdom. They poured all that they knew into me. But without that self-hunger, their wise advice would’ve gone in one ear and out the other. Just as it did years before, until I wanted the change for myself. My parents couldn’t want change bad enough for me, I had to want it for myself. This goes for relationships too. You can’t want something bad enough for the other. You can’t fix people… TRUST ME!!! All you can do is step back and pray.

We know right from wrong, it doesn’t matter what one’s upbringing may look like. We know on the inside of us what is pleasing and not pleasing to God. And if you truly do not know what is pleasing or not pleasing to God, open your bible. Take the time out to read the word of God. When we spend time in His presence we grow. Sit still long enough to hear the voice of God. Not only to hear it, but to TRUST it. God speaks in so many different ways. It’s not just through the most common known to man way, peace. Peace can be deceiving. Remember you’re working with two strong spirits. The natural and the supernatural. Our flesh can be at peace while our spirit mans’ alarm is going off. Often we tend to fade our spiritman out and tune into what we want to hear. Just like our heart, our mind, and gut instincts. Culture tells us to follow our hearts because it leads to “satisfaction” but in Jeremiah 17:9 it states “the human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.” “Leading us to satisfaction” is actually the answer that sounds like a decision out of selfishness and flesh. Our heart always tugs on the flesh to see how far we’ll go when all along, in our mind we knew what to do. Have you ever had a really important decision you had to make and your heart is telling you something yet your body and mind are feeling something else? We can want something so terribly bad but there is that still small voice, or small tug that we feel that just doesn’t feel right. Right then and there, we know our answer. We can’t ignore the small voice that is holding our decision back. If the decision is 90/10 and that 10% has that much power to be holding you back, that says something.

DIE TO YOURSELF DAILY:

Matthew 16:24-27 AMP “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. 

16:24 Recap – conforming to His example through living it, talking it, and walking it, even through pain and suffering 

25 For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity]. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory and majesty of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each one in accordance with what he has done.

This passage is so self explanatory, yet we tend to blow right past it and not give it a second look. It doesn’t get any more simpler than the AMP translation. To truly follow Jesus, we must conform to His example through living like Him, talking like Him, and most importantly loving like Him. Even if we have to go through pain and suffering.

Pain and suffering comes with growth, maturity, and becoming a gold vessel. You have to be processed through fire to become something useful for the Kingdom. 2 Timothy 2:20 talks about the “Great House”. Not only is there silver and gold in a great house, but wood and clay also. Some for honorable and some for dishonorable the bible says. The church needs useful vessels. How do we become a useful vessel of gold and silver? No, we were not born into gold and silver. We were born as wood and clay, but when you get born again!!!! That is the start of burning and purifying into gold and silver. To die daily is to flee from the world.

From experience, it doesn’t matter how holy you think you are, what you grew up in, or the lessons you were taught growing up, there are some things that if you hang around long enough it will mess with your mind. It will open doors to the natural realm– the drinking, smoking, sex, pornography, drugs. You can never be too sanctified to bypass temptation, but you can flee from it. The enemy is looking for any opportunity to sweep you right off your feet and make you forget what you know is right. The enemy knows the calling and anointing on our life and he gets nervous when we start to operate in it. Remember there is no reason for your battle unless you are a threat to the enemy. You can love God, love family, love your church, and love the Kingdom, but get tossed in the wind because you didn’t flee what you thought you could fight. What are you following and pursuing? What you’re following better be worth it when you catch it. To die daily is to follow. Don’t chase amplitude and fame, follow peace, faith and God’s everlasting love. Don’t become a part of today’s culture to where our hearts and love for God’s children– our brother/sisters has become numb. To die daily is to form relationships who follow God with a pure heart.

Where you go and what you do matters– we are the image of God, so reflect the image of God. Remember we become products of our environments. What we hangout with can eventually become our future. We can either form to or turn away from. Friend, you have got far too great of a calling to be giving your life away, you are called to be gold. Stop giving your life away to this world! To be tried by fire and tested is to create your testimony. Without the test there is no testimony. Quit the infatuation of pleasing people. It’s not all about chasing a blue check mark. Matthew 11:7-10. Jesus asks the crowd he was speaking to about John the Baptist. He asked if they went to the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind? No He says, you went out to hear a voice. More than a voice, you went out to hear a prophet. It is time to prophecy until dry bones come together, you see the lame walk, and the desert starts flowing with streams of water. You were made for such a time as this!