"When thou pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walk through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame scorch thee." Isaiah 43:2
The presence of God in a person does not mean that that person shall have an absence of troubles, but that they shall barge right through them with all the might and power of God Almighty. The Incarnation is our inspiration: "God in the flesh" did not mean the avoidance of death for Christ, but of smashing right through it unto life. So too are we. Read Isaiah 43:2 in the light of II Corinthians 4:8-11 and you will understand the nature of they who have been indwelled with the Holy Spirit: never safe, ever invincible; and ever barrage of the enemy, when passed through and not avoided, draws us deeper into the life of God.
Routinely dismiss those whose religion placates (as Lewis would put it) to their "congenial preference for safe investments and limited liabilities." They have not the hardiness of the Son of God in them. Equally dismiss, however, those who foolishly claim that Christianity is merely a religion of death. Death as an end is diabolical; the sacrifice that leads to life, however, is the Gospel.
"Finally, finally, finally
Free to be Strong,
To face fears head first, heart first, feet first,
Following Love through the fire..."
-Jon Vowell
The presence of God in a person does not mean that that person shall have an absence of troubles, but that they shall barge right through them with all the might and power of God Almighty. The Incarnation is our inspiration: "God in the flesh" did not mean the avoidance of death for Christ, but of smashing right through it unto life. So too are we. Read Isaiah 43:2 in the light of II Corinthians 4:8-11 and you will understand the nature of they who have been indwelled with the Holy Spirit: never safe, ever invincible; and ever barrage of the enemy, when passed through and not avoided, draws us deeper into the life of God.
Routinely dismiss those whose religion placates (as Lewis would put it) to their "congenial preference for safe investments and limited liabilities." They have not the hardiness of the Son of God in them. Equally dismiss, however, those who foolishly claim that Christianity is merely a religion of death. Death as an end is diabolical; the sacrifice that leads to life, however, is the Gospel.
"Finally, finally, finally
Free to be Strong,
To face fears head first, heart first, feet first,
Following Love through the fire..."
-Jon Vowell
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