Who made this river?

There are prophecies dealing with Egypt's judgement in the Old Testament. Egypt had great gifts and blessings. The Nile was their pride and joy and rather than thanking God for what they had been given, they claimed "the Nile is mine, I made it." Now before we judge the Egyptians for such silliness, we have to think about what we do in our life. We might say things like, "This house is mine", I built this church, ministry, business, organization or reputation from the ground up". OR "I brought myself to the place I am today on my own." "I raised my kids the right way and put them through college" Yikes!
Sometimes we take for granted what God has blessed us with thinking we did it ourselves. These kind of statements reveal our pride and where our heart is. There is no denying that we put forth a lot of hard work and effort as we should in life, but God provided the resources, abilities, energy, and opportunities to make it all happen. Instead of conveying what we perceive to be our own greatness, we should display and shout His greatness for what He is doing and give Him the credit. From Ez 29:3
Thank You Father for what You have created in Celebrate Recovery and may we never forget that You are the one that has built this globally.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 10:04 PM

    Gail McConnell: There is a reason that Jesus taught His disciples the way to pray "Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come; Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

    As God has imprinted this on my heart through meditation and the Holy Spirit, this is my prayer each morning, throughout the day with various people and circumstances and trials of faith, and each night before going to bed.

    My pride use to be fighting hell's way to be safe and secure. My joy use to be having a husband, having possessions and money, being the center of attention, and having it all my way. MY, MY, MY, ME, ME, ME, I, I, I....self-absorption and self-centeredness of the ego of self. The bottom root was "my will be done". What a lie and a deception!

    Today the Cross has set me free from this insanity thinking. Today the Cross has crucified my old life and given me new Life in Jesus Christ. What job I have is not according to my will, but His. Whether I stay single or am married is not according to my will, but His etc. etc.
    My part is to act in faith and intentionally spend time with the Lord in prayer and in meditation. My part is to move forward prayerfully and with fear and trembling (of my self who could easily get in the way) and trust God to move in me and through me to discern His Will, not mine and not another human beings. Dependency on others and pride in my own person have both battled to live in me; God is bigger and today I depend on One only--God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am now on my knees with weeping for how safe and secure I now feel knowing He is in control of my life. I am now on my feet with arms lifted and heart bowed in full awe and surrender to the One Who did it all for me.

    Today I boast in Him all the time. I am not afraid to boast in Him. He has given me a boldness to stand and to bow and to be a voice for His Kingdom.

    The only river I boast of today is the River of Life Who lives in me and flows through me...Jesus Christ.

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  2. AnonymousNovember 25, 2009 at 6:15 PM

    Gail McConnell: There are the natural rivers which God the Creator made. Every natural river has a source from which it flows. Then there are two other spiritual rivers: 1)the river of denial whose source is the father of lies--satan; a river of denial that runs deep inside the sinner saved by Grace (who doesn't even know it because of being dead to the spirit)and who clings to unrighteousness ways of thinking, speaking and acting, living blindly in a state of pride, unwilling to be humbled by God in order to later be exalted by Him and 2) the River of Life whose Source is Jesus Christ; a River of Spirit and Truth that runs deep inside the sinner saved by Grace who has humbled her/himself before God and asked God to be Lord of his/her life and to rescue him/her from self-will and self-centeredness.

    God the Creator made the natural rivers. He did not make the river of denial...satan did.
    God made the River of Life--this River is Christ Jesus, His Son, Who came to earth to die for sinners and Who resurrected to new Life...and Who comes to Live in all who call on Him and believe He not only can, but that He will.

    The question is: Which spiritual river flows in and through you? The river of denial or the RIVER OF LIFE? The river of denial is very powerful and cannot be overcome in one's own power. Why? Because the self is rooted in denial and is bound to denial by sin. The other river is the RIVER OF LIFE. It is this River alone WHO moves within the saint to provide him/her with power to overcome the river of denial that has ruled sinners.

    The river of denial had me chained and held captive in my mind, soul, and body for years.
    Today the RIVER OF LIFE, Jesus Christ, has set me free from the sting of death and from sin's power over me even today as I live on this earth until the Master calls me to my true home with Him in eternity. I know who I am and who I am not. I am Gail, not God. Whatever I receive on earth comes from Him. Whatever is taken away from me on earth is because of Him. I am on my knees daily in awe of the One Who did it all for me--JESUS. I will never again forget who I am and who I am not. Today I am single, yet I am not alone. I am lonely at times, yet He comforts me in my loneliness. I am overwhelmed at times with decisions and responsibilities, yet He provides and helps me. I have been abused over and over, yet He puts His will in me to forgive over and over. I have been struck down by unfairness in life, yet I have not been destroyed. I have been hedged in (pressed) on every side (troubled andoppressed in every way), but not crushed. I have suffered many embarrassments and am perplexed and unable to find a way out, but I am not driven to despair. I have been pursued (persecuted and hard drivedn), but not deserted (to stand alone); I have been struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed. In Christ Jesus alone, I persevere and endure suffering and hardship as I draw nearer to Him each time and find His peace in me on this narrow pathway that leads to LIFE.

    Whatever I have in life, it is because He gives it to me. He knows what I need and what I don't need. He knows who I need and who I don't need. He knows the plans He has for me the rest of my time on earth and He knows the plans He has for me in eternity to come. If there be any pride left in me to slay, I pray that He slay it. All I want to do is love Him and praise Him all day long. In myself I am nothing; in Him I have everything.

    All honor, all glory, all power be unto YOU...Oh HOLY is YOUR NAME, JESUS CHRIST. Let all the earth proclaim that YOU ALONE ARE HOLY . I AM HOLY ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE DECLARED IT TO BE SO.

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