December 4

“Christ has undertaken His duties, knowing perfectly well what the responsibilities are.  He knows that He is dealing with very silly sheep who have no strength to protect themselves, no wisdom to guide themselves, and nothing to recommend them but their utter helplessness and weakness...There is only one thing that can hinder the Good Shepherd:  refusal of the sheep to trust Him and let Him care for them”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 11/11

Up until now I've only been aware of the tip of the iceberg.  Now God is showing me what is under the water--this in itself has been overwhelming.  Earlier this morning my phone call to a friend was an opportunity to "let love happen" and in doing so I was brought back above the surface.  This may be the only way we are able to deal with that hidden mountain of ego below the surface--it can't be chipped away by going under with an ax.  When we attempt to deal with ego that way we are trying to fight the enemy with the same means it is using to gain victory. This leaves us vulnerable to falling back into our old ways of the flesh. Instead we need to deal with it by remaining on the surface and expressing genuine love.  The surrounding water is warmed by this love and the hidden part of the iceberg begins to melt away.  This is the power of genuine love, which can only come from God through Christ. 

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff; they comfort me.  Psalm 23:1-4  

September 3

“A disciple named Stephen, outstanding for no other reason, kept looking at Jesus, and as he was murdered, he didn’t fall to the ground screaming in self-pity and anguish, ‘...he kneeled down, and cried in a loud voice [as his Master had cried], Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.’”  Eugenia Price, S.P.S., 8/31

Self-pity is devastating.  It saps you of all strength and then finishes you off with your own hands around your neck.  It’s not a pretty sight.  Why do we succumb to this so often?  It’s because it’s the only tool the ego has to get attention for itself.  Ego thrives on attention.  If we could just see this, we would see ego as our enemy because it is the antipathy of self-respect.  When we give it power over us we become duped into thinking it’s looking out for our best interest.  But it’s not.  We suffer greatly under its rule.  This is what Jesus came to save us from--the tyranny of the ego.  I think one of the ways ego has blinded us is to make Self out to be the perpetrator.  Then when ego gets caught we blame Self instead.  All this does is lead us further into self-pity because we begin to attack Self.  We need to understand that Self is who God made us to be and it’s only in giving ego power over us that Self has become corrupted.  Christ has come to save Self from this corruption and restore Self to HimSelf.  We need only allow Christ to love us into this restoration by declaring our old Selves dead and our new Selves alive in Him.

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”  Psalm 23:1-4