face down with walls down.

this.
because when He speaks,, it's to edify, exhort and comfort.
and we all know that sometimes that comes in the form of a word of discipline.
the perfect Father,, who corrects and disciplines out of one hundred percent pure love and tenderness. He is firm and unshakeable, and His holiness ought to cause us to tremble,
but even when He cuts to the heart, the love and comfort of Holy Spirit just draws us even closer into the arms of the Father.

so if this is for you. (like it is for me)
be encouraged.
He disciplines those whom He loves.

The need and tendency to always be strong,
is actually a weakness.

It's not what He intends for us,
and He desires to break this spirit of pride off of His Bride.

the reality of the Gospel begins and ends with utter and complete, on your face, humility.weakness. need.
both on this side of eternity when we see what we are and what we need and the hope of what He intends us to be.. and with the tax collector we cry out "God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"
and on the other side when we're bowed low,
with the only the utterance "Jesus is Lord" escaping our lips, as the echoes of Holy Holy Holy surround us on every side.
this.
this is where we find victory and strength and power.
this is where we find community, both serving and being able to served.
this is where we find identity, as completely righteous sons and daughters.
this is how we enter the Kingdom of God, and this is how we bring the Kingdom of God to earth,
[as little children],
because that's who He says it belongs to.
and this is where we find freedom.

and for some this may be easy..
to bow down low before your Maker.
recognize your need.
but when it comes to taking down those walls with the flesh and blood body of Christ that sits next to us, it's a whole different story. 

because if you're like me,
you want to focus only on the areas of growth.
the areas where you excel.
the ways you've been completely transformed.
and would rather just avoid the places of current toil and struggle and battle.
but it's in this place of humility,
bringing our weakness to the table,  not only our strengths,
that we're going to find true unity.
because we'll finally see each member and each gifting as truly necessary,
on a corporate and individual level.
i'll see that i need you, and you'll see that you need me to fully advance the Kingdom,
both in our own lives and the lives of those around us.

so allow Him to break off the pride.
and break down the walls.

so He can be strong and seen and glorified
through our weakness and our need.



[just to clarify.. please don't hear what i'm not saying.. this is not a call to a false humility Christianity, with the "woe is me, i'm just a sinner and will always be a sinner mentality".. it's actually the opposite. if you've been redeemed, you're just that. completely new, set free and totally righteous in His sight, with all the grace you need to obey His commands and fulfill the destiny He has for you. and that's exactly what you need and what causes you to overcome-- His grace!

and obviously, when it comes to sharing specific areas of weakness.. use discernment.pray about what to share, when to share and with whom to share. ]