7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
not just life, but life to the full.
1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? ... 18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"[a]; 20and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."[b] 21So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[c] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
If ever it becomes all about me, may the tap run dry. If ever the glory is mine, may the light fade. May my dark and sinful heart be exposed to me, and me alone, in light of His awesome glory and grace. May it never be about how much I know, but about how much I yearn to live. May I always cease to think about what I am doing, and yet allow the outflow of His Holy Spirit through me. Without Christ, I am dead. Without life, a pile of dry bones. May the word continue to invigorate and pierce. The conviction of the Holy Spirit break and crush, and yet the loving hands of the potter continue to gently mold, for His purposes, and His alone.
Dead to sin, alive in Christ.
Post a comment