Sandy Brunson In Jesus

Humility
Sandy Brunson
May 16, 2009


America and her people are IN TROUBLE! Our country, our heritage, and our government are reeling and falling away from their roots and foundations. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is God's prescription for healing our land, "If MY PEOPLE who are called by My Name,(not the lost), will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin, and heal their land! " The responsibility is upon US…God's People. The prescribed action: to humble ourselves!

The Lord gave me this message on "humility" in September 2002 to share with His people. It has been posted on InJesus.com on 7 different occasions since then, for I know it is a key for us in these critical times...part of our "preparation for presentation" as the Bride of Christ for our Bridegroom, Jesus! Recently, the Lord has "nudged me " to start writing on Holiness once again…however, practical holiness must be prefaced by humility in the child of God, or His holiness will not be authentic in their lives.

Too many of God's people are shuffling around in the dust of the desert of life, not walking with Jesus on the Highway of Holiness. This must STOP! These must REPENT, TURN AROUND, and GO BACK to the only way that is HIS WAY…that of practical holiness in the routines of daily life. Walk with HIM on His Highway! God has mandated it, and we do not have authority to change His mandate! Isaiah 35:8 and Isaiah 40:3-5

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord," Hebrews 12:14

Humility PRECEDES holiness! Let us not only look well to it…but practice it in spirit and in truth!
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It takes HUMILITY to acknowledge that there is an Authority higher than our own... day by day...moment by moment.

HUMILITY: this is not the self depreciation with which many of us are often acquainted. Rather, it is the refusal to trust oneself for fulfillment of needs...looking instead to the Lord!

THE PRIDE OF MAN: this is a personal sense of "rightness" as a result of our identification with our culture, class, race, marriage, family, possessions, position (even in churches), job, finances, etc. Though all these things can be and often are blessings from the Hand of God...to trust in them for a personal sense of "rightness" is vain...empty. Association by them is as nothing…in God's eyes.

Only that "rightness" (righteousness) imputed by Christ Jesus by personal association and full reception of HIM; all that He is and all that He does...ONLY THAT makes any person able to stand before God. Diligently avoid any form of personal validation through the SELF-nature. ONLY THAT which comes by and through God shall stand in the Day of the Lord.

SELF - righteousness. SELF - provision. SELF - protection. SELF - validation. Reliance upon these at any time makes one unteachable and unshapable in God's Hands. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART. Lean not to your own understanding. In ALL your ways, acknowledge HIM and HE shall direct your path. Proverbs 3:4-5

Humble yourself regularly in the Presence of the Lord. This conscious act of humility places you in the only position by which you are able to truly TRUST HIM and be led by Him…resulting in a lifestyle of holiness and righteousness.

The wise man is able to humbly and patiently embrace and endure suffering...KNOWING that God's loving Hand will prevail BEYOND IT! Understand that adversity is a fire by which God is seeking to purify and purge your life of all pride, smugness, of all unrighteousness and self - validation. Yield to God…in such times! Wrap the cloak of humility tightly about you! It will serve you well!

HUMBLE YOURSELF in the sight of the Lord. Refuse to trust yourself to meet your own needs. Instead: Look to God directly to be your PROVIDER, your PROTECTOR, your SHELTERING TREE, your FATHER...to work out the affairs of life for you. And more so than ever in this Day of Trouble which has come upon the earth...allow HIM to direct your path. He knows the way!
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"It takes some PRACTICE, some DILIGENCE, some DISCIPLINE on your part, but as you continue to give those things, you will see My Plan for you unfold one day, one step at a time. You will see My power demonstrated to you and through you, here a little, there a little, it will SURELY come and flow through the efforts you give; but see to it that you remain constant and humble in your personal life. Seek not to exalt yourself, but exalt Me, point others to Me and know that it is only as you LOOK TO ME, saith God, that you shall see My plan and purpose unfold in you.

"Draw no attention to yourself, but rather unto Me, and My power shall overtake you and flow through you. Prayers will be answered. Efforts will multiply. People will fall before you asking to know the source of your life, or your behavior, of the service and ministry that will flow through you. You will see much unfold before you as you are faithful to reach out and touch people in My Name and for Me, and you shall see change come in their lives. They will testify of it and you shall hear of it."

THIS is the fruit of humility!
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Looking unto Jesus,
Sandy

"Jesus Christ is the same...yesterday, today, and forever!" Hebrews 13:8

Fresh Wave of God's Holiness
Sandy Brunson
May 13, 2009

I have always had a thing for books...words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, essays, blogs, posts.... and the like! Is it any wonder I majored in English in college? Though I have taught a bit of that (English in elementary, middle school, high school, college, and now tutoring) over the years, it is not where my HEART abides. GOD alone is the STRENGTH and PURPOSE of my HEART!

As a little girl growing up in the Baptist Church in a small middle Georgia town, I was very "taken" by TWO books...the Bible and Hymnals! They both had my attention, and they fascinated me to no end! I knew they were "special"...but it took many years to unveil some of the "mysteries and secrets" found in their pages! I am still seeking...still learning...and am CONVINCED that we are all life-long learners concerning the things of God and His Kingdom!

I do remember that Song #1...the very FIRST one in the Broadman Hymnal....was "Holy, Holy, Holy"! I was in AWE of it...and I was hooked! I just knew that must be something SPECIAL! Then, later, I found another one called "Take Time to be HOLY", and that got my interest even more. One day I was reading in that "other" Book, the HOLY BIBLE...and I saw in 1 Peter 1:13-16 these words: "Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to your at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is HOLY, you also, BE HOLY in all your conduct, because it is written, 'BE HOLY, for I AM HOLY."

I wasn't too sure, as a little girl, about all that "girding up your loins, be sober, and former lusts stuff"...but I did fix my attention on the HOLY part! And I have never lost my interest and longing to fulfill those words. Now, you ask...have you done that, Sandy? ARE you HOLY? Well, by HIS Grace, I am...but I DO have to work on my "mind" and my behavior as all of us do...day by day! To walk it out in any measure...I DO have to "take time" to seek Him, to learn His ways (which ARE ALL HOLY), and to not only meditate on Holiness, Truth, and the Presence of God...but PRACTICE those things, one day, one step at a time...with HIS GRACE and HIS HELP!

Jesus did not die on the Cross for us to be "religious"...but for us to BE REAL! REAL in HIS REALITY...which is a HOLINESS of spirit, soul (mind, emotions, and will), and body. It takes a willingness, a humility, an effort, and a surrendered clinging to HIM to attain ANY of it. But our God would not have spoken the above "Be Holy, for I am Holy!" if He did not mean it nor provide a way whereby we could attain to it! Think of it! He is a Being of His Word...and He "says what He means...and means what He says"...unlike His human creation which speaks out of both sides of his or her mouth! God is OTHER THAN us; He is different...AND a BEING of HIS WORD, as I said.

His thoughts and His Ways are" higher than our thoughts and ways"...(Isaiah 55:8-11), but He calls us OUT of ours...and into HIS! So He provides a way, (Ironically, HE IS THE WAY! John 14:6); ...we are but to follow! (Matthew 9:9, John 12:26)

For the past 9 years I have been an online writer about this and similar subjects and have evolved in that genre through life's experiences, much prayer, study, worship, fellowship with like minded ones...and ALSO through the many venues the internet makes available. I have been on Yahoo Groups, InJesus.com, MySpace, WordPress, and now....I find myself on FACEbook! How to "blog" there? Well...all I can see is through the NOTES section! So a fresh attempt to write out my heart is made there. I have not written much on InJesus.com this past year due to a transition and learning new online formats, but I will transfer them to this venue for the readers that still remain here. (You can also read some new BLOGS on the site called JESUS PEOPLE I have on MySpace. URL is www.myspace.com/jesuslivesnow and one does not have to have a site there to read the blogs!)

In the past...I have only written in what I would term "safe" groups of like minded Christian people. Those who, by their very membership to that particular group, expect to read about such things. On Facebook...I find a collection of family, old friends from elementary and high school, college, young marrieds, twenty-somethings and thirty somethings....people from several church denominations and many diverse generations later...and I am attempting to write, in part, about HOLINESS to a very diverse group of people.

Well...people have the free will to CHOOSE to read it...or not read it! No hurt feelings here. All I am to do is to write it..."put it on the table". The Father gives it to me to SERVE...I put it out there...and people can CHOOSE to do what they will with it. That is between them...and HIM. My assignment is just SERVE it! AND...only when HE moves me to do so! Some of these "dishes" will come frequently..and some will take their time in the "oven". On the table when they are "ready"!

I, of course, am not the only servant He has and nor am I the only one to be very fascinated by this HOT TOPIC!!!! I want to suggest a 13 year old book on the topic (for those who are interested) that goes into much depth on the specifics of the title: HOLINESS, TRUTH, and the PRESENCE OF GOD! Written by a Pastor in Iowa...Francis Frangipane, I can say it is one of my TOP 10 FAVs of all time! The subtitle is very captivating: "A Powerful, Penetrating Study of the Human Heart and How God Prepares It for His Glory!" WHAT A REAL CONCEPT!!! Chew on that one for a while!

ANYWAY! You will begin to see more "posts" (as we call them in the online community) from time to time on the subject of Holiness! (I will explain why in future posts!) But I will preface the study by an original post I made some years ago on HUMILITY on InJesus.com You will begin to understand (in case you don't already know it) that a "Holy Person is an Humble Person"...that Humility PRECEDES Holiness, for Humility (as Pastor Frangipane reminds us) is the substructure of CHANGE...the essence of all virtures!! God gives GRACE to.....WHO? To the HUMBLE! And boy do I need His GRACE (ability, power, wisdom, love, mercy...)...how about you? I can't make it...without it!

So the GRACE to walk in practical holiness comes ONLY from God...and that, by His GRACE! Because of this, I HUMBLE myself at His Feet...the starting place for the BEGINNING of HOLINESS! Bring on your FRESH WAVE of it in us all, O God!!!

The Lion's share of what is posted in this COMPASS Archive are original "downloads", His heart to mine, in times of growth, experience, study, and seeking...but you may realize that I also include excellent insights from many others who love GOD as I do, too! One day I will have my OWN website as a place to deposit them in categories for "whosoever" will wants to read. Maybe even a book for some of the collections in the future!


Looking to JESUS....one day at a time,
Sandy

"JESUS CHRIST is the SAME...yesterday, today, and forever!" Hebrews 13:8