tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608884299319995914.post6160749566498203543..comments2013-05-17T16:01:40.882-04:00Comments on Newt Crenshaw's blog: Step One: Deny YourselfNewthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865642775615302328noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608884299319995914.post-8907957960362757172009-07-30T17:39:20.359-04:002009-07-30T17:39:20.359-04:00Hey Newt!
I agree that in today's society the ...Hey Newt!<br />I agree that in today's society the concept of self-denial seems wrong, but it God's society it is right. As I was reading your post I was thinking about how the trials raise our awareness of the needs of others. When I was diagnosed, my thoughts were about my family and their needs. I did not want to tell my mother until I had more details, because she would worry herself sick. (She's a worrier warrior.) When friends came over to pray before my surgery, we turned to one of the friends facing a spiritual trial and poured prayers out over him, also. <br /><br />We live in a world filled with people brought up to focus on their own needs, and it breeds selfishness. (Like drivers at the intersection of Ford Rd. & Mulberry St.!) The good news is that it is a thin layer that can usually be peeled back to reveal a kind and caring person. When we deny ourself, it thins out that layer of selfishness.<br /><br />I am also convinced that there are many rewards for denying ourself, but they are not obvious to us...but they are to GOD. I think afirst about Jeremiah 32:27 -- "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?" In our "flesh" this is a great promise. (God's promises are the antidote for the poison we call fear.) But, as I read the passage in context, Jeremiah is being asked to do something irrational. Purchase a field as Babylon is about to overtake the land. God says to do it, because nothing is too great for him. He promised to restore His people. <br /><br />So, I say...Deny yourself, even when it does not seem right or fair or fun. Nothing is too hard for Him! Amen?!<br /><br />Living by His Grace,<br />BlaneBlanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136503562856558369noreply@blogger.com