HE is going to use what works...

if GOD is going to make me like JESUS, which is HIS ultimate purpose for me, then HE's going to take me through some situations that JESUS went through

hebrews 5.8 (ms), though he was GOD's son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered. just as we do. how do you think you're going to learn it? hebrews 2.10 (nlt) says, through the suffering of JESUS, GOD made him perfect. how do you think you're going to be made perfect?

HE works first through HIS word, then the HOLY SPIRIT, then, if those two don't work, HE uses circumstances.

for instance: scripture says, be humble. before honor is humility. you read it from the word and ask GOD for the power to get rid of the ego in your life. that's GOD's ideal way of dealing with that. but if you don't learn to be humble from GOD's word, HE will humiliate you through a circumstance.

and it's very easy for GOD to humble me. HE has 1001 ways to do it!

even if you read the bible six hours a day, it's still not the major section of your life. how many hours a day do you have circumstances? twenty four hours a day. GOD often has to depend more on the third way than the first two. those are the tools that he uses in your life.

proverbs 20.30 (tev), sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.

we rarely change until we get desperate. we don't change too often when we see the light, but we always change when we feel the heat. GOD lights a fire under us and we get moving. often we will put up with things we know needs to be changed in our lives until we begin to be uncomfortable. GOD sometimes has to bring some thunderstorms into our lives to say, "do something. I want you to change. don't get stuck in a rut." (a rut is just a grave with the ends kicked out.)

just some thoughts from the front porch...