DYING TO SELF

DYING TO SELF

I recently spoke to a lady who is in her 90's. She has become a dear
friend to our ministry and I love her because she is really wanting to
see God work in her life. She recently shared with me that one of her
friends loved her enough to confront her about her attitude. She told me
that this friend told her she was a spoiled brat and needed to be put
over their knee and get paddled! Not that is bold words to tell someone
in their 90's!

But she asked the Lord to examine her heart and concluded that she was
self-centered and spoiled rotten. She was so wrapped up in herself and
her on little world, that she was actually miserable. Her prayer has now
been that she will "die to self" and allow Christ to live through her.

Louie Giglio shares that when we refuse to die to self we become more
interested in "the story of us." We try to become the I AM rather than
the "i am not!" Here are the signs that that he gives to demonstrate
that we have slipped back into the "story of us":

1. When I live like I am privileged, I have lost the plot. In other
words, when I start acting like I deserve a certain outcome or a higher
standard of life, I have failed to strike the fatal blow to self and am
living like I actually have rights in this world apart from God.

2. When I am demanding, I have lost the plot, insisting that God and
others meet my needs on the timetable that I see fit.

3. When I act pompous, I have lost the plot, thinking I am somebody
while only proving that I haven't had a good look at God today.

4. When I crumble under pressure, I have lost the plot, declaring the
outcome of life rests squarely on my shoulders, not his.

5. When I start protecting, I have lost the plot, marking turf as though
it were actually mine and forgetting that everything I have comes first
from above.

6. When I crave the spotlight for myself, I have lost the plot, losing
sight of the story line and the one true Star!

7. When I fail to celebrate the successes of others who are living for
HIS fame, I have lost the plot, thinking that possibly we are on
different teams when we actually share the same supporting roles in the
same story.

8. When I dwell on feelings of being unloved, unnoticed, or
insignificant, I have lost the plot, abandoning the miracle of knowing
God on a first-name basis.

"All of these privileged, demanding, arrogant, frazzled,
turf-protecting, glory-stealing, self-loathing moments are nothing more
that a clarion call alerting us to the fact that it's time to die again,
reminders that the life of smallness requires a vigilant watch and a
constant willingness to strike the fatal blow in the heart of me. To die
to self is to gain an unfathomable scale -- a daily funeral that is
nothing more than the doorway to a life filled with the matchless WONDER
OF ALL THAT HE IS!" -- Adapted from "i am not but i know I AM" by Louie
Giglio, published by Multnomah.

So how are you doing today? Good thoughts to ponder.