By Darrell and Justin Creswell- A Father and Son Collaboration. My son Justin and I wrote this article together. I pray that it is a blessing to you.
When we think of healing we usually target and address physical ailments, without recognizing that emotional pain is the original condition of most human suffering. We struggle against expectations, fears, and despair when our seemingly well-designed plans go astray from the predetermined outcome we have determined for our life. As a result, our self-worth, success and failure are relative to our own self-imposed standards.
By His grace God has prescribed for us an axiom of divine standards, but many times by choice we reject them. It is best not to make plans or intentions for our lives outside of Divine Counsel. Doing so creates an open-loop, an indefinite accountability factor. Without Christ we will have to personally account for all of our actions, misgivings and disappointments. As a result we will question and criticize our own failures.
The enemy does not want us to succeed and he knows that our self-imposed intentions make it easy for him to sabotage our success. Human goals, many times, are too emotionally charged. Self imposed goals often end up becoming “failures” that would otherwise have not existed if we had allowed Christ to direct our paths. God in His divine wisdom has chosen most the most logical and beneficial course for each of us. If the choices that God has ordained do not come to the end that we expect, we must accept them and understand God’s reasoning. In Christ there are no failures, just outcomes of action, circumstance, and inherent abilities by His grace.
We have the ability to mold and shape our future according to the designs that God has for us by replacing our objective emotional reasoning with His spiritual thinking. Nothing beneficial can come from negative thinking and emotions. Negative thoughts and emotions will come. We must indict the accuser as the cause of our negative thoughts, and purge them quickly. As Christians we are a manifestation of well executed, best-intended objectives emerging in grace; not superficial, egotistical goals.
God had plans for each one of our lives. We are recipients of plans of hope, founded in grace for a future filled with promise. In Christ we will have success. Success, like failure provides the platform for learning. We must learn from success by not overly celebrating it. When we experience success, by His grace we should reinforce our correct spiritual decision-making abilities as references for future use.
When we attach our own self-worth and vain emotions to our achievements, we have the tendency to grow in our own ego. This in turn will lead to an unwarranted confidence in our own abilities instead of trusting in God’s grace and favor.
When we elevate ourselves instead of being thankful to God and humbly accepting success, we deviate our mind from that of a spiritual state to that of a carnal one. Seeing ourselves as the reason for our success will lead to a life of anxiety and disappointment, for without His direction we will ultimately fail. In grace, we are to live our lives in a state of thankfulness; appreciating all things for what they are worth, letting our values and goals reside in Christ.
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Categories: Bible, Christ, Christianity, Dreams, future, God, God's Love, Grace, Hope, Jesus, Love, Success, Thankful
Inspirational Bible Verses, Images, Pictures, Photos, Depictions, Quotes and Imaginings of God’s Love 
Darrell Creswell - A Study of Christian Grace 
amen
Thank you – Blessings Darrell
A grand blessing indeed. Thank you both for writing. Be Blessed!
I appreciate the kind words – Blessings in Christ Darrell
Your article also covered the next verse, “and be not wise in your own eyes”. Great article, guys. Look forward to MUCH more from the two of you. God bless you big-time! We’re listening…
Thank you so much…I appreciate the kind words – In Christ Darrell and Justin:)
What a joy it must be to work together, father and son! I’m envious. 😉
“We must indict the accuser as the cause of our negative thoughts, and purge them quickly.” This is a moment-by-moment battle right now. It’s making me crazy!!! Hopefully the degree will lessen sometime soon.
Thanks for your insightful message.
\o/
It is indeed a tremendous joy to work with my son, I am truly blessed. Thanks for the kind comment – IN Christ Darrell
Very Deep Thought and Faith. Amen.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing – Blessings Darrell
Through failure we learn how to minister under grace: Personal sin often teaches us the urgency of clinging to the grace of God in our lives. In the same way, failure in ministry teaches us how urgent it is that we learn to appreciate and appropriate God’s grace in a living way. Most of us come into ministry feeling on some level that the work depends on our competence and personal charisma, and this becomes confusing, because on some level our gifts and abilities are instrumental. God may have to work with us for years to bring us to the place where we understand in our heart how it can be possible that my abilities matter, and yet take no sense of egotism from that fact. Most young ministers insist on taking their identity from their ministry results. Usually, only profound failure will convince us that “apart from the vine we can do nothing,” and yet we need to strive all the harder. (I Cor 15:10) This is the paradoxical outlook of the mature worker–an outlook only accessible through a combination of success and failure.
Thanks so much for sharing Henry. Grace is everything. Blessings in Christ – Darrell
Great father and son teamwork Darrell and Justin. Justin is privileged to have his godly father as mentor. Darrell great job that you have a teachable son as you obey the Lord in teaching him early the precepts based on the Word of God before the evil days come.
“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”
Praise the Lord for your godly example Darrell
How wonderful Darrell to see Father and Son so strong in The Lord, Justin must be a blessing to you and no doubt you are to him.
What you have both said is Truth, if we Trust in our own limited resources we will fail , if we Trust in fleshy, worldly , wisdom , reasoning and logic, we will also fail, we need God’s, which we ask for and receive His wisdom is the principle thing and is found in Jesus Christ.
Your statement…… Negative thoughts and emotions will come. We must indict the accuser as the cause of our negative thoughts, and purge them quickly.
We are to make every thought captive to Christ and as you both shared Darrell, not exult ourselves but to be obedient as we Trust Him to give us the right focus and not man’s worldly reasoning. How wonderful that when we come close to God the Devil flees, he can’t stand our Holiness in Christ Jesus.
Titus 2:13-15 Looking for that blessed Hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
2 Timothy 2:19-21 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
As you know Darrell my Mother has had a stroke, thank you for your prayers, I’m going to Sydney to see her, I leave tomorrow , I’m staying down there from two weeks to a month, I will be in touch when I get back, sorry I had hoped to catch up on reading more of your passed messages but you will be in my thoughts and Prayers. I’m going to pray for all my Blogging friends on the plane to Sydney and on the return, however the Spirit leads.
Take care -Christian Love from us both – Anne
great post! through failure we always learn something.
thanks for sharing this awesome post with us. i really appreciate your writing skills.
God bless to both.
Thanks for sharing – I visited your page at http://1800churches.wordpress.com/ It is always good to know where to find a house of God to worship 🙂 Blessings Darrell
thanks darrell to visit my wordpress blog. 🙂
YW 🙂