Dealing with the Root of the Problem

"Like Isaiah, I saw the holiness of God," Res Howell said, "and seeing Him, I saw my own corrupt nature.  It wasn't sin that I saw, but nature touched by the Fall."   (Res Howell Intercessor, by Norman Grubb)

Res Howell had an encounter with the Holy Spirit of God and he realized that God was not just interested in behavior modification.  He saw that there was a core issue at work in his life that caused the actions and attitudes of sin.  God was revealing that his outward sin was being caused by an inward cause.  God took Res through a journey dealing with surrendering his life to the life of the Spirit.  God dealt with four core issues in his life: 1. Love of Money, 2. Family relationships, 3. Ambition and 4. Reputation.  

When Res Howell surrendered each of these areas to the will of the Holy Spirit in his life he felt the cleansing he had longed for and he began to live a life in the Spirit. 

How often are we dealing with the symptoms, symptoms and more symptoms of our spiritual issues and don't ever deal with the root causes?  

Take some time in prayer to ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to what are some root cause issues that are still alive and active in your life.  Ask God to not just help you with the sin symptoms, but to help cleanse your selfish nature. 

Your journey will probably be different than Res Howell's journey or mine, but we all have core selfish issues we must surrender to God for cleansing and then daily keep those surrendered as we live in the Spirit.  God will be faithful to reveal these to us if we are willing to ask.  Go to prayer with a pen and paper so you are clear on what God is asking you to surrender.  Wrestle with it for a while and make sure you are willing to let it go.  Then let it go!     

Deep Rooted Faith

Ephesians 3:17b Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong! 
What are your strengths?  What are you good at?  Do we naturally answer those questions with our own personal strengths?  I am a good friend!  I am a good listener.  I can rope a horse.  I can ride a skateboard.  I can roof a house.  I can balance a checkbook.  
What if we started thinking about the reality that our greatest strength is our connection to God.  And in fact the more deeply I am connected to Him the stronger I become.  Just like a tree - the deeper my root system is the more tree can withstand the hardships of the environment.  

2 Corinthians 5:14 Christ love controls us!  Some versions of the Bible say Christ love compels us!  Somehow we need to get the concept that God's love must be the foundation of our lives and when it is it will cause us to act in love.  It will control us or compel us into action.  When we experience the deep love of Christ it will impact us and impact the way that we live, move and our very being!

How do we grow deep roots?  Spend time with the only one who can help us grow - Christ!  Let Him mentor us and mold us!  When you pray take time to listen to His voice in response to your words!