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Nugget 2 God's Dealings June 1981 The Lord deals with us in so many different ways, yet we know for sure He always deals in love. Yes, He loves everybody, though He delights in some. Praise the Lord, the Joy of Salvation can never be experienced unless and until we forsake the things that are contrary to God and righteousness, and follow after Jesus Christ who is our Salvation. After He has pardoned us through His blood, there remains much of that contrary nature in our souls. He gives us the Holy Ghost: that purifying, cleansing portion to bring that carnal soul nature into Christ-likeness. This operation, sometimes, is not joyous, but yields righteousness, peace and joy. In these writings I hope to share some of the experiences of God's dealings in my own life which are Nuggets. SACRIFICIAL GIVING: Looking back a little, I can remember one day the Lord telling me to make a certain gift to someone. I realized that I had very little, but wanted to obey the Lord, so I did as He told me. In a few days, I stood in dire need of the very thing I gave. Doubt crept in with all its ugly thoughts, but the Lord intervened by saying, "This is the sacrifice of giving: the greater the sacrifice in giving, the more precious the gift." To give of your abundance is not doing much, but when giving hurts, it touches God. "I" was in the way so much that I almost lost my blessing. HOW TO PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES: Let me share another experience with you. Someone had hurt us very badly by slander. Of course, I went to God weeping my heart out. The Lord said to me, so clearly, "Oh, you are so sorry for yourself, that you are not able to see the condition of that poor man. He must be in an awful state to cause him to do such a terrible thing to you." What I saw then was a poor human being taken captive by demons, and manifesting the evil nature of the demons. Surely the man we knew and loved as a Holy Spirit baptized Christian was definitely a different person from the satanic manifestation which came against us. When "I," "ME" and "MY" were out of the way, my eyes were opened and I began to see from the Mind of Christ. Then and only then I could pray for him. There I saw myself again; self-pity blinded my eyes so that I could not see the man's great need. Whenever a person is spiritually bankrupt, God will always use another to pray and activate God's forces of deliverance. On the other hand, the enemy will do anything to prevent this intercession. Satan very often causes the person in need of prayers to strike at the person who should pray for him/her. If this praying Christian can see beyond self-pity and his own pain through God's eyes of compassion, then his/her suffering will be nothing compared to the deliverance of the soul in bondage. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him," 2 Timothy 2:12. No one can pray for his enemies unless he/she can see "the enemy" from the perspective of God. That day, as soon as my self-pity was rebuked by the Lord, my eyes were opened, and I could see the awful plight of another human being who needed deliverance. Dear ones, we must always be watching for the big "I," "ME" and "MY" which rise up like mountains, always present to block our vision and cloud our minds from seeing and understanding the needs of those around us. May the Lord help us to prefer one another as brethren, and have compassion on all those who are taken captive by the enemy. We are all in battle against one common foe over whom Jesus Christ has had the victory once and for all, and has lifted us up together with Him so that we too might overcome. Oh, what a glorious day when the prince of this world will find nothing in us, because we continue to cast him out through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah. "Fight the good fight with all thy might Christ is thy strength and Christ thy light. Lay hold on life and it shall be Thy joy and crown eternally. Run the straight race through God's good grace, Lift up thy eyes and seek His face. Life with its ways before us lie, Christ is thy truth and Christ thy guide. Faint not nor fear; His arms are near. He changes not for thou art dear. Only believe and thou shalt prove That Christ is all in all to thee."
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