" LORD I AM BROKEN, MY LIFE IS IN PIECES, BUT YOUR STRENGTH IS PERFECT, IN ALL OF MY WEAKNESS,

JESUS, JESUS, I'M CALLING YOU!!!

JESUS, JESUS, I'M CALLING YOU!!!

I KNOW I'M BROKEN , BUT YOU CAN HEAL ME,  JESUS, JESUS,  I'M CALLING YOU!!!

JESUS, JESUS, I'M CALLING YOU!!!

 MIGHT NOT BE WORTHY,  BUT I'M STILL WILLING !!!JESUS, JESUS,  I'M CALLING YOU!!!

 JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, HE'S CALLING YOU!!!

Mathew 5:13

Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?  It is henceforth good for nothing; but to be trodden under the foot of men.

Can I just say; this is where we all stand, as salt that has lost it's savour and we became useless and without God because of our sinful nature unherited through the fall of Adam.

Jesus came and brought to us restoration through the sacrifice of His precious blood on calvary that day, which opened to door for us to again become the son's and daughters of God.

But God as our Father still has the challenge of taking our sinful nature and transforming us into the nature of Christ.

Now, In order for us to have a REAL relationship with the LORD, we need a "basic bending."  Our flesh, which includes our mind, attitude, basic viewpoint of reality, needs to be dealt with (broken) radically.  Our being dealt with ("broken") may be called the END of SELF, the "mortifying (putting to death) the deeds of the flesh," the LORDSHIP of Christ, the dethroning of self, sanctification, or some other term.  However, it consists of our giving up our own will so that His will can be done.  Said another way: Jesus is Lord; I no longer reign. 

The process of giving up our own will is also described in the Bible as "repentance", or being "turned" by God.  Repentance means to change direction or "turn."  As we will discover, it is God Himself who causes us to repent because He is the one who "turns" us by creating the circumstances which cause us to repent (turn).

What we will learn is that there are TWO things we come to realize in the process of "repenting:"

        1. We are NOTHING
        2. God is EVERYTHING.

So in the course of repenting, actually on the way to repentance, we learn who we are and who God is.

 Why is all this so necessary?  The answer lies in the utter depravity of the nature of man as a result of his fallen state.  Man has absolutely no ability to approach God.  Man does not even have the ability to have faith.  He is utterly fallen and without hope on his own.  So, then, how can a man have faith or repent?  We know that a man is given a measure of faith.  Faith actually comes after the Almighty acts upon us with the Word of God and the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 How about repentance?

The process of accomplishing repentance is the work of God, not our own.  Remember that He is the "author AND finisher of our faith ."  Repentance occurs when we come face to face with OUR OWN INADEQUACIES and we are at the "end of our rope."  The Lord's work in bringing us to the end of self is seldom recognized because it comes in ways that are difficult to accept.  We like to say that the things we see could not be His work.  The following verse presents this truth.

Jeremiah 5:12   They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:

 Now some say that "prosperity" is the measure of Christians.  They say that we will have no " evil ", nor difficulties such as " sword " or " famine ." 

However, just as God allowed the testing of Job, God does at times allow us to endure hardships and suffering for many reasons.

It could be that God is trying to build up certain character traits within us, that will prepare us for His ultimate calling and destiny in our present and in our future.     


Why does God use difficulties to teach us?

What is His message? 

Answer -  Sometimes He may want us to be defeated so that we will  learn how to rely on Him,  and not ourselves.

 What is at the root of our self reliance problem?

There is a strong element of PRIDE in all of us,

Pride is the most deadly and subtle of sins, that must be searched out and rooted up from the depths of our being. 

Pride is the sin that enthrones self.

It is the sin that mandates we  keeps other sins a " secret ."

John 3:30     He must increase, but I must decrease .

Psalms 90:8   Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

His light shines on our secret sins. 

It is the light from His person that causes us to see. 

His countenance is his face. 

Being " face to face" or "seeking his face " sheds light on us and we see our sins when we see ourselves as He sees us. 

To be face-to-face means to know a person. 

He judges us by His Word causing us to judge ourselves.

When we come face-to-face with Jesus, we can judge ourselves by his example of "obedience unto death ." 

Knowing Jesus himself is EVERYTHING . 

Seeking the Lord means being prepared to have your "secret " sins revealed to you. 

These sins are secret because they are unknown to you until the light of Jesus shines abroad in our heart and is able to reveal to us our own weaknesses.

Psalms 19:12   Who can understand his (OWN) errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults . (We are unable to understand our own faults without light.  These sins are indeed " secret " because they conceal  in us rebellion/pride.)

To get rid of these secret faults, God has the following plan:

Proverbs 3:11-13   My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding . 

A MESSAGE FOR YOU:

Have not I said that unless you experience chastening, you may doubt that your my child...Then why do you run away from my rod of correction as I am trying to teach you even through the hardships and trials, I am growing you up into a nature more like Christ.

My child, you are not the teacher, but you are the student, and not the parent but you are my child, not the vine but you are the branch, who recieves all it's nourishment from me.

Discipline and correction must come if you desire to be brought into my divine plan and purpose for your life.

Do not harden your heart against me during your time of  BROKENESS but accept my blessings and my comfort to bring you into my arms of peace but do not despise my stern hand at times, just know that I am bringing you to ultimate perfection in me.

Trust me that I am working all things for your good.

For I will not leave you broken, but my hand is at work in your life today crafting you and molding you into all I have called you to be in me...To give unto you hope and a future!!!