DAILY MEDITATIONS AND AFFIRMATIONS - 254

[Albert Finch]

John 3:27,30 - "John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. He must increase, but I must decrease."

Some Christians say that they were trying to decrease so the Lord could increase in their life. This seems noble, but it is not biblical, and is actually the opposite of what John the Baptist said,
If we try to decrease before He increases in our life, we will just be empty, and the void will usually be filled with an evil, religious spirit. When we walk with God, we will decrease because He is increasing in our life.

Genesis 5:24 - "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."

Even though Enoch did not "taste death" in the natural, his old nature was consumed in God. By walking with God His glory changed him, consuming his fallen nature and replacing it with His nature.

Even so, if we try to crucify ourselves, the result will be self-righteousness. Our old nature was crucified with Christ on the cross. The rendering of our old nature as dead, so we can experience the resurrection life in Christ, is a process that takes place as we walk with God. We will never be changed by seeing who we are, but by beholding who He is. As we behold Him, we embrace and identify with His cross and His resurrection.

Affirmations:

I AM DEAD TO SIN, DEAD TO MY FORMER LUSTS, DEAD TO THIS WORLD, BUT ALIVE UNTO GOD.

MY HIGHEST PURPOSE FOR THIS DAY IS TO WALK WITH HIM.

WHEN I LOSE MYSELF IN HIM I DO NOT LOSE - I GAIN EVERYTHING TO INFINITY.

Song of Solomon 8:5 -- "Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?"

In order to learn new ways to walk, we must first learn to lean.

Proverbs 3:6 -- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

Leaning on our Beloved often requires us to lean away from our own understanding. His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. This often leaves us with a lack of understanding. When leaning and depending on God for direction, more often than not He will ask us to do things and go places that make no sense to our natural ways of thinking. And when we begin to obey His leading, the "leaning" will become even more essential.

Intimacy and dependency are vital for receiving knowledge and revelation about how to walk and where to go -- as well as the timing of each step.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/