BEFORE we embark upon the next chapter of study in The Principle of Position, I’d like to take a little pause in our consideration. So far, we have looked at our Position “in Christ” Defined and Illustrated; Justification and Assurance; the meaning of Reconciliation and Acceptance; and we just recently finished with Completeness and Security in Christ. Next comes Sanctification, and how that works out in the context of our study. But right here, let’s take a break and think on these wonderful teachings and the rest of our understandings that coincide; how they are not to be held in the abstract, but are in fact centered on a person, the rock of our salvation and lover of our soul.
WE have at the school where I served for nine years a little mentoring/discipline device called the STAR process, or STARRING, which stands for Stop, Think, Acknowledge, and Respond. It is an attitude and actions assessment and evaluation tool, teaching the children to stop and prayerfully think through their behaviors, attitudes, and actions, acknowledging their heavenly Father and own deceitful hearts, and proper response (and if necessary “repentance”) in a Christ honoring way. Psalm 139:23-23 says, Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting This coupled with Prov. 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths, provide a framework for understanding the necessity for “Starring” as a pattern for self-assessment and godly response to all life’s decision and situation that may and do confront us. Scripture is full of examples of those confronted with the need to STAR, be it Joseph confronting his brothers as Egypt’s second in command, or the Prodigal Son finally making the right choice and course correction after wondering in the darkness.
AS explained to the children, “…God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also (Gen. 1:16); the stars fixed in the heavens, used from the beginning of time to guide those on land and sea to chart their course and direct their path. As a metaphor, stars can point mind and heart in the right direction. A wondrous and mysterious Star in the night lead the wise men to the bright and morning star, the offspring of David (Rev 22:16), that light that shines out of darkness! So it is, that all that we learn, know, and go through is by design meant to lead us to Him the son of Glory, the one who is, and was, and is to come! (Rev 1:8), if we but take the moments that avail ourselves to Stop, Think, Acknowledge, and Respond rightly in humble submission and faith.
SO with that, we take a moment from our look at Positional Truth, to STAR, and consider a reflection below from None but the Hungry Heart by our author, Miles Stanford.
In the wondrous blessings of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa. 30:15 & Job 2:10
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1-4. DESERT RICHES
“And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart, into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mk 6:31).
In the early days of our lonely pilgrimage, the desert is nothing but burning heat and barren sand. As we “keep on keeping on,” we see our desert become full of springs and blossom as the rose.
“Has the Father led you into the desert? Has He plucked from under your feet all that you depended upon? Then a glorious experience is yours. See if this be not a way whereby God will be glorified in you! Do not complain about what you have lost, and do not yearn to have it back again, for then you are like Israel who wished to turn back to Egypt. God leads on, and instead of the flesh-pots He gives you bread from heaven, and instead of water from the Nile, water from the Rock. But you must put your trust in Him also in the desert, and through the days of darkness and difficulty. This is possible, however, only for those who have lost their self-assurance in the desert whereto God beckons His children.”
“Are there sorrows that sorely test our hearts? Be assured that our Father intends every one of them to be a road for us to Christ; so that we may reach Him and know Him in some character of His love and power, that otherwise our souls had not known.” -C.A.C.
“And they thirsted not when He led them through the deserts: He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. . . .” “. . .for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (Isaiah 48:21; 1 Corinthians 10:4).
