"When asked how he carved beautiful elephants from blocks of stone, a famous Indian sculptor replied that he just chipped away everything that wasn't an elephant"
What isn't "Leslie" that needs chipped away?
An even scarier thought,... what IS "Leslie" that has been suppressed because I've been trying to fit some mold of what someone else tells me I am, or should be.
I just deleted a paragraph of all the definitions I have claimed, because they don't deserve any more recognition than the time and space that I've allowed them to waste in my life. Definitions that come from other people who don't know, don't care, or are the spawn of Satan. Ok maybe that's harsh... the tool of Satan? The voice of Satan? Wolf in sheep's clothing? It's unfortunate how we can be so devastating in someone's life, sometimes without even realizing it, or intending it. I'm guilty of believing the lies. For claiming lies as truths they are not, and impressing them into others for whatever selfish and sinful reasons I justified in the moment.
Lord, forgive me. Show me your Truth, about yourself, about me, about your children. About the things that break and anger your heart. Show me where I care too little, and where I care too much.
Pastor Jim refers to theology/ doctrinal issues as Primary Issues vs. Secondary Issues. This also applies well to the primary and secondary issues in our life. The [primary] things that should be there, and the [secondary] junk that needs trashed.
Is it essential?
Is it enhancing life?
Most importantly, is it glorifying God?
I have a corner of my room that has been the accumulation of clutter since I've moved in. No matter how many times I go through it I always think of all the reasons why I can't throw it away. Right now, I cannot tell you more than two or three things in that box. It just sits there, taking up space, serving as a table for clean clothes that I'm too lazy to put away. Making my room feel just a little claustrophobic. But it's not "hurting" anything, right?
How many things in our life do we hold onto because it's not "hurting"... but they aren't HELPing either. So is there a difference?
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.
When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
Pure.
καθαρός
-Imparts no uncleanness
-free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt
-free from every admixture of what is false, sincere genuine
-blameless, innocent
-unstained with the guilt of anything
Pure is about as simple as it can get.
Pure in Mind, Heart, Speech, Actions, and Soul.
καθαρός is what we should strive for, because of the grace of God, by the grace of God.
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