Mhttp://godsbigshow.blogspot.com/y Blog List

Saturday 4 August 2012

He must increase and I must decrease

One day I saw a book in a table top sale called 'By bread alone'.  The write up on it said it was about a woman who 'took charge of her own life'.  For some reason it did not appeal to me and yet I could not pinpoint why.  The next day the UCB reading was about not living by bread alone, but living by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  I thought of the book and felt the Spirit of God was speaking to me.


The following morning I was listening to a recording of an American preacher talking about the Lord being inside us in the form of the Holy Spirit, and how to overcome trials.  As I was listening to him encouraging the listeners to allow the voice of the Holy Spirit to become the dominant voice in their lives, and learn to act on its instruction, I heard a noise in the room.  On investigation I found that a little plaque that stood on my windowsill had fallen over onto the floor.   When I picked it up I realized it was the one with the scripture 'He must increase and I must decrease' printed on it.  The wind coming through the open window had caused it to fall over and this emphasized to me the Holy Spirit bringing something to my attention.  Now I was even more convinced that the Spirit of God was speaking to me.  

                                                  
Later that morning my husband was quite irritable and began criticizing little things that I was doing for no apparent reason.  Although I felt like telling him off and asking him what I had done to deserve his snappiness, on this occasion I spent quite some time trying to alter his mood by saying, in betwen my chores, 'cheer up' and 'what would make you happy?'   'I don't know' he said grumpilly.  My mind continued to advise me to retaliate.  Then some scripture I had been reading earlier 'Bless those who curse you, love those who hate you' came into my mind and I went over to him and gave him a big hug.  He immediately responded and hugged me back and smiled, and I realized just how powerful God's word is when acted upon.  The carnal mind is at enmity with God and unless it agrees with what God is saying to us at the time we must not listen to it.  The Spirit knows the mind of God and will reveal His will to us in every situation as we seek Him, equipping us for what is coming into our lives.  Then the choice is ours.

I was visiting the local psychiatric hospital one day and one of my granddaughters, Hayley, was with me.   Our two granddaughters were on holiday with us at the time.  A lady there had some material that she was making something out of and it had writing printed on it saying something about 'your own destiny'.  There was also a bag on the table in the room which  was made of the same material, with the same writing on it.  However neither of the articles had the whole sentence written on it.  I asked the lady if she knew what the missing words were, but she did not. 

A few days later Hayley came into my kitchen and said 'Look nan'.  She had borrowed her sister's T-shirt and, amazingly, the same writing that had been on the material in the hospital was written sideways across the front of it, only this time it was complete.  It read 'Make your own destiny'.

I had been reading a book in which someone is quoted as saying 'One's will is his chooser, with it he makes the choices which determine his eternal destiny'.  God's message became very clear.  As a Christian I can choose to listen either to the Holy Spirit or my caral mind, but I am told in Romans ch.8 v.13 that if by the Spirit I put to death the deeds of the body I shall live, that all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.  As Timothy was told by Paul, the scriptures are able to instruct for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, that they are inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correctionand for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, eqipped for every good work.

The Lord had been bringing my attention, firstly through the book and the scripture written on the little plaque and then through the quote in the other book and the material, to the fact that the Spiritual in me must increase and the carnal that opposes it  must decrease, bringing complete renewal.

Some years ago the Lord spoke a large message to me through two small poems.     Occasionally He reminds me of this message, as I believe He did through this particular experience.


Renewal
Do not be tainted by a love that is not God's. 
don't let innocence be spoiled by a wisdom that is earthly 
Always remain as a child in your own wisdom
so that the greatness of God's words
can be allowed to enter into the ears of your heart
so that you may grow up into Him
and remember no more the foolishness of this present world
For there is a part of you which cannot understand His words
and it would seek to rob you of His truth
It is the mind of your first father Adam, a fleshly mind
The Lord speaks and your heart receives
but your mind tries to intervene and to reason with logic
Oppose that which is at enmity with God
and receive into your heart only that which is pleasing to Him
His words ........which are Spirit and life



Put away the mirror child
Put away the mirror child  lay it on a shelf
it won't reflect perfection it only shows you self
Look into the well of life and see another face
the face of God the Father -  full of truth and grace
This water it will cleanse you from the filthiness of sin
throw off your rags of this world
Come son of Adam....... step in









Yes put away the mirror child and lay it on a shelf
Lest you forget what God's making you
........... and become your former self


I bought a clock for a pound at the weekly table top sale that is held at the psychiatric hospital.  It was a nice wooden clock which had a very similar grain in it to the mantle piece in the back room of the house that we were living in at the time, and that is where I placed it.   However, it would not keep the correct time.  There was a lever at the back of the clock which I could either move to the plus sign if the clock was running slow or to the minus sign if it was running fast.  Getting it just right was a matter of small adjustments to the left or right, and this was what I started doing, and kept doing until the clock kept perfect time.  Sometimes my husband did the adjustments and sometimes he, as are other people, is used in my life to do the spiritual adjustment.  We can all be built up by one another.

There is a lovely prayer in Psalm 40.  It is verse ten which reads 'Teach me to do Thy will.  For Thou art my God.  Let Thy good Spirit lead me on a level path.'
I finish with  my own prayer regarding increase and decrease.

You and me

Increase the 'You' in me Lord
increase the solid rock
increase the strength the Father sent
to protect from every knock

Increase the 'You' in me Lord
when I try to stand alone
remind me that I'm still a child
that in You I'm not yet grown

Increase the 'You' in me Lord
take all my foolish pride
take the 'me' that still remains in me
and place the 'You' inside

Increase the 'You' in me Lord
that when all is 'said' and 'done'
if people say 'Thankyou, thankyou'
I'll say 'Not me ........God's Son'

                                                                                   
                                                                                 





27 comments:

Darryl Orrell said...

Greetings Brenda,

It is not wonderful how the Lord speaks to us using the most inconspicuous of items such as an ornament on a tabletop? Is it not comforting how He reveals His transforming work within us by showing us examples that we can relate to like fine-tuning a clock? So many people spend their days looking for the big signs from God only to miss the subtle personalized messages meant for them.

I too, like Psalms 143 verse 10 – it is definitely a wonderful prayer to begin one’s day.

Blessings!

Brenda said...

Hello Darryl,
Yes, this is what I love about the Lord, His total understanding of how to speak to each of us individually in a way that we will 'get the message'.

Frank E. Blasi said...

When you gave your husband a hug and lightened his mood...that is a very moving story. After reading your story, I too gave my wife a hug after feeling irritable myself this evening, when she burned the dinner she was cooking.

Brenda said...

Oh that is lovely, and I hope your hug brought a smile to your wife's face too. I have 'oh dear' times with my cooking too sometimes, like when we could have used my scones for stepping stones in the garden.

T-Childs said...

Excellent post Brenda. I certainly God 'speaks' to us in many ways and through many different experiences and many different people. Thanks for the comment on my blog; much appreciated!

Brenda said...

Hi Tim,
Thankyou for your kind comment, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post, it should be part of a book, if it isn't already.

child of God said...

Hi Brenda,
I love how God speaks to you and how you listen and know His voice. This post has confirmed to me that most often it is the little things that I may neglect that may be His voice.

Thank you for sharing this story along with the poems.

Blessings,
<><

Brenda said...

Hi child of God,
I have always seemed to hear God's voice this way, I think that is why I feel He is so real. He is everywhere. When I first came to the Lord, in Australia, I used to have a saying 'Tune in to radio Jesus', because I was amazed at His presence when I finely tuned my mind to receive it. He always confirms His voice with scripture.
God bless

Reformed rebel said...

Hi Brenda~Love your blog. The verse, "He must increase and I must decrease" is one of my favorites. I go back to it quite often. For a couple of weeks now I have been being reminded of that. When I saw it on your blog I knew that I was brought here for a reason. Then in church this morning the speaker we had used the verse again. I know that the Lord is speaking to me about this. The quote you used..."One's will is his chooser, with it he makes the choices which determine his eternal destiny."...love it! I have choices to make this week and with the Lords help I will choose correctly.

Thank you for your prayer for Wayne. I am passing it along to him.

Blessings...Chelle

Brenda said...

Hi Chelle,
So glad that the Lord has confirmed something to you through this scripture. I beleive this is what being a christian must involve, sharing with one another. We are all a part of the same structure in Christ as it has been for two thousand years. When I went to church yesterday, there was even the same message there with the same scripture about loving your enemies quoted.
God bless you

Unknown said...

Hi Brenda,

I'm always most impressed with the way our Father speaks to us. How He leads us from glory to glory in the light of His word, teaching and guiding until the message comes through and is complete!! You're a great writer and a great woman of God, I've said it before. Being one who knows how the Lord communicates His message to us, I can see the truth in your words and how acutely tuned you are to His prompting. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Brenda said...

Hi Kelline,
yes I can tell that you know how the Lord communicates His message to us, it is so simple isn't it. We deffinately have to become childlike to understand what He is saying and just accept it as it is.
God's wisdom makes mans' wisdom foolishness.
God bless you and I hope things are working out well for you.

Sincerity said...

What a beautiful testimony you have! Thank you for sharing your experiences and for listening to the Holy Spirit as He directs you.

You are a blessing and as a single Christian it really is such a help for me to read how relationships in marriage are nurtured and protected.

The poems are lovely. I love the Put Away The Mirror Child the best. :)

Brenda said...

Hello,
thankyou for your kind comment. Yes I really believe that if we listen to the Holy Spirit, and try to do what He is telling us to do, then we actually start living the best life that we could possibly live. That is not a life based on fame or wealth, it may include those things if God wishes, but a life based on a peace and contentment that surpasses what these things are able to bring. I love your little cat picture, both my husband and myself are cat lovers.

joy said...

I was overwhelmed (in a positive way) by what you shared how God talked to you through different methods and really, we have a mighty GOd who cares for us in every area of our lives. And being obedient, you are rewarded:) I love especially the last part. Your prayer. Thanks for visiting:)

Brenda said...

You are very welcome.

RussDaMan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
RussDaMan said...

WOW. Thank you for the many Blessings I received from this post. I loved all of the poems. Simply lovely.

Brenda said...

Thankyou Russ,
I am glad it was meaningful to you.
I think I shall have to get a better camera as far as the pics are concerned though.

Unknown said...

Yes, you are coming along quite nicely.

Brenda said...

Thankyou Jerry,
It must be the good influence on me from reading excellent blogs like yours and others that I read.

Unknown said...

Be assured that there is nothing good about any of us (regardless of whether acknowledged or not) apart from our Heavenly Father's (albeit in the form of His Holy Spirit) presence and influence. Subsequently, when that is clearly recognized and fully understood, it becomes so much more than just a matter of praise to say that He gets all of the glory.

Brenda said...

I agree one hundred percent with you.

S. Knowles said...

I can't even begin to express how much I love every inch of this amazing post. I love the way you write. When I read your post's it's like I'm sitting right in front or beside you and your talking to me, like we're longtime friends. The poems are beautiful as usual.

When you mentioned how your husband was being moody and you hugged him, it reminded me of my brother when he gets upset at me, I wait a little while until he cools down then I go up to him and say I'm sorry and I hug him and it's like he was never upset to begin with. I only wish me and my older sister had that kind of relationship, I'm usually afraid to hug her because i think she'll push me away, she's almost always angry and think the entire planet is against her. She say's nobody loves her and when I tell her I do and God does, it's almost like I can see those words go right over her head, she doesn't listen and I never know what to say after that.

This post was so lovely. I'm glad you shared this story with us.

Brenda said...

Hi Sateigdra,
thankyou for your kind comment. I believe absolutely that there is a close connection between all of us that interact with one another on these blogs, and I know that the connection is Jesus and God's love in Him. I feel exactly the same, I even have pictures in my mind of what all the people who have no photos of themselves look like. I am probably totally wrong, but it only emphasises to me how our carnal mind can be totally deceptive, and how we can't rely on it in so many ways. As far as your sister is concerned, that is very sad that she feels nobody loves her, and quite often it is difficult to convince a person, especially a close relative, that God loves them and there is help through Him. If we give it to God, the Holy Spirit will do the convincing eh? The Bible says that God wants all to come to the knowledge of salvation through Jesus, and that if we pray according to His will we shall receive what we ask for. It also says that where two agree as touching anything on earth it will be done for us by our Father in Heaven. We know that God is not a man that He should lie Sateigdra, so if you would like to agree with me in this prayer, then it will be done according to that word. Father we ask you to send labourers to Sateigdra's sister, to plant and water seed that You might add the increase and she might come to know salvation through Jesus. We ask you to protect her from any lie of the enemy that might try to rob her of the knowledge of Your love for her, that she might come to know You through the One who is the only mediator between man and You. Thankyou Father in Jesus name.

Sandi said...

This was timely even though I am two years late to the party!

:)

Blessings.

Brenda said...

Hi Sandi,
I am glad it was timely for you, and there is no time to God eh?
God bless