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Posts Tagged ‘Image of Christ’

God Is Stretching Us

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , on June 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: Romans 5:1-5

One day I went down to the Ford factory. No place on Earth reminded me of hell more than that foundry where they smelt the metal. We walked along, watching the metal being changed, and I could imagine if I were that metal I would be complaining all the way. They put it in a terrible furnace; it was glowing so brightly that you couldn’t even look at it. Then they began to push it through rollers. One roller flattened it a little. I thought it was flat enough, but the other roller flattened it again. They kept on stretching and flattening that one small piece of metal until it was 3,000 feet long. It started at the length of about 20 feet, but they flattened it and stretched it to 3,000 feet. I said to God, “Lord, isn’t this what you are doing to us?” Some of the metal complained so badly that they had to discard it; it just wasn’t up to the mark. They had to take it off and throw it away. May God help us to realize that the circumstances of life which beat us, the ones that hit us hardest, are the things which are transforming us into the image of Christ. Every one of us has something that we hate. We would almost prefer to die than for some things to happen to us. But sometimes these are exactly the ones that happen to us.

One of the things that I feared most was my family being in want. When God sent me out on the mission field, I had no church behind me, no congregation behind me, and yet He commanded me to give up my profession, go out and preach to a people who I didn’t even know. I lived with people who never had a meal for a day; the area was so poor. They would boil a bush tea, take some sugar (sugar was easy to get in a sugar country of Jamaica) and give it to the baby. And that is what the baby and the parents lived on. We had to weed a field of about 10 acres with a hand hoe. There we were weeding all day so thirsty and so hungry that at about 2 o’clock we prayed that God would send us some food. Then we looked around the rocks and saw a little tray coming. It was a sister who said the Lord told her to bring us water and food. This is how those people lived. They really had a faith in God that was above the faith of those who had something. Sometimes they would eat one little dumpling and a little coconut oil for all day, but then  when we got home from the fields in the evening, we would go off to service and God would meet with us. God taught me to live with those people to learn what it was to really trust God and to know Him.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, February 1978)

Thought for today: May God help us to realize that the circumstances of life which beat us are the things which are transforming us into the image of Christ.

Read Full Post »

The Lord Waits on the Increase

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[Printable version]

By Mavis M. duCille

Scripture reading: Isaiah 5:1, 2, 7

In different cultures, and at different times in the history of the world, men have changed their basis of assessing value. For example, in the time of Job, riches were counted by the amount of cattle and servants one had. We, therefore, have the tendency to think that the things which are precious to us are also precious to God. But this is not true, unless we have the mind of Christ.

As man would now count gold in this modern age, even so does God count His people, and their increase SPIRITUALLY is a precious thing to His heart. Any other form of prosperity outside of spiritual prosperity means very little to God.

The picture which we see in Isaiah 5:1, 2 and 7 depicts the very heart of God, and the whole purpose for which He made man: “…the men of Judah, His pleasant plant.”

James 5:7b, “Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”

The fruit comes before the harvest. God’s intent and purpose from His first planting of Adam and Eve was to bring forth His glory in the earth. “Be fruitful and multiply” and have “dominion over the earth” – fruitful, bringing forth godliness, and dominion in righteousness and holiness, not worldly dominion. God tended His vineyard from Adam to Enoch, through the age of the Law and the Prophets: Moses and Elijah, to Jesus Christ.

What was lost in Adam was regained in Christ. He showed perfect and complete subjection to the will of the Father in all things. The first manifestation of this restoration and showing forth of the perfect will of the Father was seen on the mount in His three-phased temptation.

1. Making stone into bread – type of which was to satisfy the human nature.

2. “All this power will I give thee” – the craving after power.

3. “Cast thyself down” – self-exaltation and satisfying of ego – showmanship.

Jesus was put to the test, but stood on the authority of the Word and overcame in each case, as Satan could find nothing in Him. In Jesus’ dealing with people, His love and compassion, His care for the little children, He pleased the Father in all things. In Him, we see perfect fruit bearing which pleases God. There was no place that Jesus went where there was a lack of this showing forth of fruit unto God in His life.

As He was in the earth, so are we to be. Through the effectual working of the Spirit, fruit bearing takes on a new dimension wherein the soul of man is transformed from his vile nature and brought into conformity to the image of Christ.

Jesus Christ, our Lord, established a church built upon the apostles and prophets. He laid down all the necessary foundations for its continuation as a fruit bearing institution, but so many churches have been deceived, even in the concept of what fruit bearing is. One denomination believes it is winning souls, and another that it is the gifts of the Spirit. ABUNDANT FRUIT is abundantly exuding the life and character of Jesus Christ in our daily living.

The whole creation is waiting in pain for that manifestation of the church, of that abundance of life in Christ coming forth, but individuals have to be delivered from “the foxes” (little or big), the “caterpillars and cankerworms” which destroy the vine and retard the increase.

John 15:1-2, 4-5, 7-8:

  1. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
  2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
  3. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
  4. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
  5. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
  6. Herein is my Father glorified, that YE BEAR MUCH FRUIT; so shall ye be my disciples.”

“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE…” Galatians 5:22-23.

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” Ephesians 5:9.

(Excerpt from Nuggets for the Needy, pages 100-103)

Thought for today:The last two scriptures give us an insight into what the increase which God expects is, and how they are obtained – not in our good deeds for God or our imaginations, but in GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUTH.

Read Full Post »

The Lord Waits on the Increase

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 22, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[Printable version]

By Mavis M. duCille

Scripture reading: Isaiah 5:1, 2, 7

In different cultures, and at different times in the history of the world, men have changed their basis of assessing value. For example, in the time of Job, riches were counted by the amount of cattle and servants one had. We, therefore, have the tendency to think that the things which are precious to us are also precious to God. But this is not true, unless we have the mind of Christ.

As man would now count gold in this modern age, even so does God count His people, and their increase SPIRITUALLY is a precious thing to His heart. Any other form of prosperity outside of spiritual prosperity means very little to God.

The picture which we see in Isaiah 5:1, 2 and 7 depicts the very heart of God, and the whole purpose for which He made man: “…the men of Judah, His pleasant plant.”

James 5:7b, “Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”

The fruit comes before the harvest. God’s intent and purpose from His first planting of Adam and Eve was to bring forth His glory in the earth. “Be fruitful and multiply” and have “dominion over the earth” – fruitful, bringing forth godliness, and dominion in righteousness and holiness, not worldly dominion. God tended His vineyard from Adam to Enoch, through the age of the Law and the Prophets: Moses and Elijah, to Jesus Christ.

What was lost in Adam was regained in Christ. He showed perfect and complete subjection to the will of the Father in all things. The first manifestation of this restoration and showing forth of the perfect will of the Father was seen on the mount in His three-phased temptation.

1. Making stone into bread – type of which was to satisfy the human nature.

2. “All this power will I give thee” – the craving after power.

3. “Cast thyself down” – self-exaltation and satisfying of ego – showmanship.

Jesus was put to the test, but stood on the authority of the Word and overcame in each case, as Satan could find nothing in Him. In Jesus’ dealing with people, His love and compassion, His care for the little children, He pleased the Father in all things. In Him, we see perfect fruit bearing which pleases God. There was no place that Jesus went where there was a lack of this showing forth of fruit unto God in His life.

As He was in the earth, so are we to be. Through the effectual working of the Spirit, fruit bearing takes on a new dimension wherein the soul of man is transformed from his vile nature and brought into conformity to the image of Christ.

Jesus Christ, our Lord, established a church built upon the apostles and prophets. He laid down all the necessary foundations for its continuation as a fruit bearing institution, but so many churches have been deceived, even in the concept of what fruit bearing is. One denomination believes it is winning souls, and another that it is the gifts of the Spirit. ABUNDANT FRUIT is abundantly exuding the life and character of Jesus Christ in our daily living.

The whole creation is waiting in pain for that manifestation of the church, of that abundance of life in Christ coming forth, but individuals have to be delivered from “the foxes” (little or big), the “caterpillars and cankerworms” which destroy the vine and retard the increase.

John 15:1-2, 4-5, 7-8:

  1. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
  2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
  3. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
  4. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
  5. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
  6. Herein is my Father glorified, that YE BEAR MUCH FRUIT; so shall ye be my disciples.”

“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE…” Galatians 5:22-23.

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” Ephesians 5:9.

(Excerpt from Nuggets for the Needy, pages 100-103)

Thought for today:The last two scriptures give us an insight into what the increase which God expects is, and how they are obtained – not in our good deeds for God or our imaginations, but in GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUTH.

Read Full Post »

God Is Stretching Us

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , on February 24, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: Romans 5:1-5

One day I went down to the Ford factory. No place on Earth reminded me of hell more than that foundry where they smelt the metal. We walked along, watching the metal being changed, and I could imagine if I were that metal I would be complaining all the way. They put it in a terrible furnace; it was glowing so brightly that you couldn’t even look at it. Then they began to push it through rollers. One roller flattened it a little. I thought it was flat enough, but the other roller flattened it again. They kept on stretching and flattening that one small piece of metal until it was 3,000 feet long. It started at the length of about 20 feet, but they flattened it and stretched it to 3,000 feet. I said to God, “Lord, isn’t this what you are doing to us?” Some of the metal complained so badly that they had to discard it; it just wasn’t up to the mark. They had to take it off and throw it away. May God help us to realize that the circumstances of life which beat us, the ones that hit us hardest, are the things which are transforming us into the image of Christ. Every one of us has something that we hate. We would almost prefer to die than for some things to happen to us. But sometimes these are exactly the ones that happen to us.

One of the things that I feared most was my family being in want. When God sent me out on the mission field, I had no church behind me, no congregation behind me, and yet He commanded me to give up my profession, go out and preach to a people who I didn’t even know. I lived with people who never had a meal for a day; the area was so poor. They would boil a bush tea, take some sugar (sugar was easy to get in a sugar country of Jamaica) and give it to the baby. And that is what the baby and the parents lived on. We had to weed a field of about 10 acres with a hand hoe. There we were weeding all day so thirsty and so hungry that at about 2 o’clock we prayed that God would send us some food. Then we looked around the rocks and saw a little tray coming. It was a sister who said the Lord told her to bring us water and food. This is how those people lived. They really had a faith in God that was above the faith of those who had something. Sometimes they would eat one little dumpling and a little coconut oil for all day, but then  when we got home from the fields in the evening, we would go off to service and God would meet with us. God taught me to live with those people to learn what it was to really trust God and to know Him.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, February 1978)

Thought for today: May God help us to realize that the circumstances of life which beat us are the things which are transforming us into the image of Christ.

Read Full Post »

The Lord Waits on the Increase

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[Printable version]

By Mavis M. duCille

Scripture reading: Isaiah 5:1, 2, 7

In different cultures, and at different times in the history of the world, men have changed their basis of assessing value. For example, in the time of Job, riches were counted by the amount of cattle and servants one had. We, therefore, have the tendency to think that the things which are precious to us are also precious to God. But this is not true, unless we have the mind of Christ.

As man would now count gold in this modern age, even so does God count His people, and their increase SPIRITUALLY is a precious thing to His heart. Any other form of prosperity outside of spiritual prosperity means very little to God.

The picture which we see in Isaiah 5:1, 2 and 7 depicts the very heart of God, and the whole purpose for which He made man: “…the men of Judah, His pleasant plant.”

James 5:7b, “Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”

The fruit comes before the harvest. God’s intent and purpose from His first planting of Adam and Eve was to bring forth His glory in the earth. “Be fruitful and multiply” and have “dominion over the earth” – fruitful, bringing forth godliness, and dominion in righteousness and holiness, not worldly dominion. God tended His vineyard from Adam to Enoch, through the age of the Law and the Prophets: Moses and Elijah, to Jesus Christ.

What was lost in Adam was regained in Christ. He showed perfect and complete subjection to the will of the Father in all things. The first manifestation of this restoration and showing forth of the perfect will of the Father was seen on the mount in His three-phased temptation.

1. Making stone into bread – type of which was to satisfy the human nature.

2. “All this power will I give thee” – the craving after power.

3. “Cast thyself down” – self-exaltation and satisfying of ego – showmanship.

Jesus was put to the test, but stood on the authority of the Word and overcame in each case, as Satan could find nothing in Him. In Jesus’ dealing with people, His love and compassion, His care for the little children, He pleased the Father in all things. In Him, we see perfect fruit bearing which pleases God. There was no place that Jesus went where there was a lack of this showing forth of fruit unto God in His life.

As He was in the earth, so are we to be. Through the effectual working of the Spirit, fruit bearing takes on a new dimension wherein the soul of man is transformed from his vile nature and brought into conformity to the image of Christ.

Jesus Christ, our Lord, established a church built upon the apostles and prophets. He laid down all the necessary foundations for its continuation as a fruit bearing institution, but so many churches have been deceived, even in the concept of what fruit bearing is. One denomination believes it is winning souls, and another that it is the gifts of the Spirit. ABUNDANT FRUIT is abundantly exuding the life and character of Jesus Christ in our daily living.

The whole creation is waiting in pain for that manifestation of the church, of that abundance of life in Christ coming forth, but individuals have to be delivered from “the foxes” (little or big), the “caterpillars and cankerworms” which destroy the vine and retard the increase.

John 15:1-2, 4-5, 7-8:

  1. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
  2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
  3. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
  4. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
  5. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
  6. Herein is my Father glorified, that YE BEAR MUCH FRUIT; so shall ye be my disciples.”

“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE…” Galatians 5:22-23.

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” Ephesians 5:9.

(Excerpt from Nuggets for the Needy, pages 100-103)

Thought for today:The last two scriptures give us an insight into what the increase which God expects is, and how they are obtained – not in our good deeds for God or our imaginations, but in GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUTH.

Read Full Post »

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