Peter McCarthy

Life… the glorious endeavor to fulfill destiny. A place of longing, and yet appreciation. Is life a place? Or is life a race? Is life our story? Or is it his story? Ponder these.

Recently I have been captivated by a mindset of fulfillment, a mindset of catching the vision in Heaven and somehow through obediance and faith bringing that vision to earth… I pine, I perish. If the truth truly sets us free, then why do we not pursue truth? The realm of truth is this; Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Church, Kingdom, advancing, sacrifice, measure, time, love, obedience, decrease, increase, serve, die, live.  I love the fact that somehow in our greatest weakness we are made great, not in human eyes, or hearts, but in the sight of God we are made great. There are times where I certainly do not realize that in my weaknesses I am being perfected, yet I hold on to the truth in which “where there is less of me, there shall be more of Him.” Isn’t it a blessing that Christ has allowed us to be less? I’ve been pondering this… and it really is a blessing.   Philipians 1:21-23: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me;and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.”    Here there is obviously a statement that it is obviosuly better to be with Christ away from the body, and yet… much to be gained while here in the body! INCREASE!

Where has God called you to instill increase today? If nothing can truly seperate us from the Love of Christ,then all power is ours. Here’s why; because Christ was seperated from the Love of God so that we would not have to. His fulfillment of filling that void, and becoming that void on our behalf has made our entire being, calling, destiny complete in him who is our completion. So when we put our hand to the plow, the power of fulfillment is our portion in Christ! It is ours to gain Church, the increase!  Realizing this is the first step to mobilization. Mobilization to what?  To doing the same as Christ… laying down our lives to declaritively gain what we cannot gain in the body. To raise up what only comes to fruition by ones sacrifice, it is our motivation to persevere, and our revelation to serve.  Till death do us part, and yet we will be closer.

You may be saying… how is this practical? Read you Bible. In the Old testament “practical” was raising sheep, in the New Testament “practical” is dying to gain. To submit all that you have, your desires, your fears, your wants, your sheep, your money… so that there will be room for the Holy spirit to fill you, and plain and simple… if you die to your flesh… then you become more like Christ. Example, if God is love… and Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it’s own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails! – 1st Corinthians 13:4-8ish. If that is love, then of course we have to die to our flesh… our soulish desires ( I want, I think, I feel.)  But in dying… you see what we gain… love.  Love births in us Christlikeness,  because he love… it increases our portion, the portion that he has set for us. I LOVE it!

So my question for the day is: What is your love, and how can you decrease so that you may increase?   When increasing, it is not just you who are increased, but those around you.   The desire is that we become more like Christ… but that all people and places around us become more like Christ to the glory of God the Father!

In all things we are able!

-Pete