I MUST DECREASE

The man who Jesus said was the greatest of all men (Matthew 11:11), John the Baptist, said this: "He must increase, but i must decrease" John 3:30. He was speaking of Jesus.

i must decrease. My flesh, self-will, my reliance on the seen physical reality, my acceptance of worldly standards. We are here on earth in physical bodies to serve the Lord Jesus, our God. These physical bodies are the temples of God, occupied by God by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The Holy of Holies foreshadowed in the Old Testament by the physical temple of worship and sacrifice built by David's son Solomon. Our temples cannot be defiled by the body-food we eat and expel (Matthew 15:11-20), but by what goes into and out of the heart (Matthew 12:34, Proverbs 4:23, Psalm 44:20-21). Are we guarding our hearts? Are we monitoring what goes in (Philippians 4:8)? The heart is deceitfully wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and can be used for the glory of God, or Satan. So, what are we feeding the heart? Because the tongue will tell on you. This little member, the tongue, can defile the whole body (v6 of James 3:1-11). It can build up and tear down, it can worship and profane, it can heal and wound.

We here in Florida are in a time of fasting and prayer, of intense study and discipleship. The focus here is on God and pointing each other and the lost to Jesus. This does not just happen. It takes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week focusing on Him. It takes commitment, consistency, obedience, submission to authority, prayer; it takes love, faith, trust, patience, endurance, prayer; it takes mercy, compassion, encouragement, testimony, covering, prayer. It takes a people who love God more than anything, want nothing more than to grow in his character and to serve him with all their lives, each moment they breathe. It takes putting God first, seeking him first (Matthew 6:33) and early (Proverbs 8:17), in all things great and small so all things can flow from him within us.

i have recently repented of the sin of omission. Not bringing prayer to a situation where i should have. We can no longer, as ambassadors for Christ, idly stand by and listen to things that should not be fed to our heart. We are to truly fear God with that gut wrenching moral dread of being displeasing unto him. And fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). We must hold each other accountable in the body to the high standard we have been called to. Cover, encourage, hold accountable in love. Amen.