"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."
Ephesians 3:20

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3:17 Lessons From the Furnace God's Keys for Making Overcomers by Bob Heil Roll problems onto Jesus. But how do you do that? Pray and give Jesus the problem, but right away the problem would return. What would there be to do but to pray again. Real problems would not go away. Are we carrying the responsibility also? To give Jesus the problem is to trust Him with the responsibility also. How can we give Jesus the problem if we don't trust Him with the responsibility? Forgiveness is a key to peace in human relations. Jesus said to forgive 70 times 7 times. But there sometimes remains a sense of bitterness after we forgive. We haven't forgiven completely. Forgive with names and specific events. But this is not a complete forgiveness. Forgive not holding i.o.u.s against them either. Forgive them of their i.o.u.s and free them of any repayment. But when you see them again, how do you respond? Is there a sense of ill will? Do you wish that they weren't there? Renounce these negative feelings in the name of Jesus. Look on them with the eyes of compassion. The Father loves us just as He loves Jesus. (Jn. 17:23) How can this be? It is what the cross is all about. Jesus died for us to bring us into His family. God turns around our failings and makes blessings out of them. Love is given by grace not by works. We can't earn it. The Father loves us as He loves Jesus, as He loves Paul the apostle and Moses and Billy Graham. There is no reason to hang onto jealousy. We are all on the same team. It makes no difference if someone succeeds, they are also succeeding for us. Don't look down on others who are not as spiritual. God loves them as much as you. Give up your pride. If we don't walk through our wilderness rejoicing we will not enter the promise land. To start loving decide to give love. Make a deliberate decision to love those who hurt you. To give love see the Father's love. The Father loved us so much that He let us try to destroy His Son. To give love, see Jesus' love. We are the apple of God's eye. His desire is to have fellowship with us. See the furnace with the mind of God. We are what we think. Life is as we see it. See yourself under the blood of Jesus, don't consider your past sins. David did not consider the size of Goliath, but the greatness of God. Mental outlook has a great deal to do with how you face the flames. The war is in the mind. (2 Cor. 10:3-5) A critical spirit starts a spiral effect into more negativism. As we judge we will be judged. (Matt. 7:2) Criticism is used in self defense. But it is counter productive because of retaliation. Don't reprove to improve, wait for the Holy Spirit to lead so that you can sow seed. Break the cycle of retaliation by considering others more important than yourself. (Phil 2:3) Ask the Holy Spirit to give you an alarm system against negative thoughts. No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1) Walk in the Spirit. Commit to going on a journey with the Lord. Walk a step at a time. Don't only seek to follow the Lord all your life, seek to follow the Lord tonight. You can't have a divided heart and walk with Jesus. How do you acquire an undivided heart? Old fashioned repentance. Not a repentance of self pity, remorse or sorrow. A true repentance is deeper than this, it is of brokenness and surrender. Be lined up with the Lord's will and don't let your right eye offend you. It is not something that you do or don't do, it is something that Jesus does for us and gives to us. It is by grace. We walk the same way we are saved. (Col. 2:6) Yield your will to God's will. Yield your thoughts, feelings desires and spirit to God. Let him fill your soul with His presence. The Lord clothes us with a robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10) He will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. God will bring us to maturity. It is God's job to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn. 1:9) We can't cleanse ourselves. Keep our eyes on Jesus and not on our feet that get trapped in sin. (Ps. 25:15) Forgive yourself for your sins. Rejoicing in the furnace. Out of two to three million people that left Egypt only two reached the promised land. Why? Because of murmuring. They did not rejoice in the furnace. If we don't walk through our wilderness rejoicing we will not enter the promise land. Murmuring is an expression of doubt while rejoicing is an expression of faith. It creates the very atmosphere for faith to grow. "Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; let those who love Thy salvation say continually, 'The Lord be magnified!1" (Psalm 40:16) Make mirth, dance, jump for joy, make a joyful noise. The blessing of rejoicing is that it allows us to pass through without any lasting effects. (Heb. 12:2) It will bring patience and we will grow to completeness. Joy is a spiral, joy brings joy. We don't live by our strength, but by God's strength. The Lord's joy is our strength. (Neh. 8:10) "THE LORD YOUR GOD IS IN YOUR MIDST, A VICTORIOUS WARRIOR. HE WILL EXULT OVER YOU WITH JOY, HE WILL BE QUIET IN HIS LOVE, HE WILL REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SHOUTS OF JOY." (Zephaniah 3:16) Notes taken by Scott McCrae Home | Back to Top

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