Still Here!

One thing I must say about this journey of being led by the Holy Spirit is that the more I get to know the Lord the more I get to know myself. As He reveals Himself He also opens my eyes to show me more about myself. Lately I've been going through a conviction/correction phase. Which is a good thing. It's just not an easy thing. It's a phase I seem to be repeating actually. And so they say deliverance is a process. As I am delivered from one thing there is another to be corrected. When I was a child, before I got spanked by my dad, he would preface the beat-down with "this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you". If only that were true I would think to myself. Actually I would think worse things, let's just keep it one hundred! But you get the point. These days I imagine how it must feel to the Lord watching me do things that separate me from Him. Things like sin. I'm talking I'm a big ol' filthy sinner. So filthy, oftentimes, I know well in advance what I am about to do is wrong but there I go anyway. Feet first into a steaming heap of sin. Be it my thoughts, words or actions I'm generally up to no good. Actually with me it's usually mouth first- my words are what get me. Lord, help me the spirit is willing but the flesh, well, it's still flesh. Rather, my mouth is still my mouth and I talk a lot of smack. Speaking of g.i.g.o.! I am working towards being less that way. It is frustrating that I can't just say boom, I'm saved and I will sin no more! That would be heaven, indeed. I recognize the things I do, now, and the conviction hits me. Conviction, by the way, is no good without repentance. Therefore, I have been quite busy repenting of some thangs. Why is all this, this, stuff necessary? The answer is quite simple. I want the Lord to dwell in me. Only if He is in me can His will be done. The Lord and sin cannot dwell together. What's more is it breaks the line of communication between the two of us affecting my prayer life. Isaiah 59:1-2 says it best Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened , that it cannot save ; neither his ear heavy , that it cannot hear : But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear . 'Nuff said. My goal is to stay in God's face, not have him hide his and turn a deaf ear to y prayers. So, when you start feeling convicted about something that's a GOOD thing. It gives a whole new meaning to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Conviction brings about the opportunity for correction which is a sign of love. Parents correct their children out of love. It is the same with God. He corrects you not to make you feel badly about yourself. He corrects you because he loves you. Have you ever had something on your face, unbeknownst to you, and you were walking around with that something on your face and by chance you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror? Your first response after how long has THAT been hanging out there is why didn't anyone care enough to tell me. You then rationalize the situation by saying to yourself maybe they were afraid to say something because it is an awkward subject to broach. Better to let that person walk around with that thing hanging and hope they notice it on their own; sooner rather than later. But what if it goes unnoticed or worse yet ignored. When your in the midst of doing your thing, your thing being sin. Sometimes you don't recognize it. A person really does need to hear someone say, hey, take care of that thing on your face, that sin. I admit I got sidetracked but that's what conviction is. It is the Lord's way of telling you there's some business that needs to be taken of. So, I'm still here. I was just taking care of some business. Suggested reading: Proverbs 3:11-12, Proverbs 12:1, 15; Proverbs 8:10, 33; Proverbs 9:8, Proverbs 20:30, Job 5:7, Revelations 3:19,