WE BE BRETHREN

• Messages sorted by:[ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]

My "book keepting" does not indicate that I have sent this one, so if it as a
repeat, please forgive me.   Bro. Fretwell




                       WE BE BRETHREN
        
             Genesis  13:8  And Abram said unto Lot, Let  there  be  no
strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy
herdmen; for we [be] brethren. 
        
             Most of us know the story of Abram and Lot having  difficulty
over grazing land after they arrived in the land to which God had directed
Abram.  We also know that Lot chose the better  land for his part.
        
             It  is  very easy to see why Lot would do  this.   HE  HAD NO
PROMISES FROM GOD.  He had best look out for  himself, which he did.
        
             Abram  could feel secure with the poorer pastures  because HE
HAD THE PROMISES OF GOD.  God was his provider.  He did not have to be
influenced by circumstances--, neither the good nor  the  bad.  He could
depend SOLELY upon the  Word  of  the Lord.
        
             Differences  between brethren are SURE to  occur,  sooner or
later, when humans try to work together in any capacity.
        
             In  these  times of stress, we would do  well  to  remember who
we are, and whom we serve.
        
             The  late  Ellis Scism used to tell a story of  two  mountain
goats  meeting  on a narrow ledge-- not wide enough for  them  to pass.   One
 of  them must LIE DOWN and let  the  other  WALK OVER  him  in  order for
them to pass.  Otherwise,  one  or  both might die in the resulting conflict.
 I wonder how the goats decided which should lie down, and which should walk
over the other.
        
             Lot did the NATURAL thing for a MAN to do.  There is a SPIRIT OF
MAN which tries to influence everything we do.
        
             We  also  have  access to the SPIRIT OF  GOD,  which  is often
 diametrically different than the SPIRIT OF MAN.  We  can yield  to
 whichever  INFLUENCE we choose.   It  often  depends upon which influence we
have been nourishing in our lives.
             One  of them will be stronger than the other.  
        
             To  make  the  MAN spirit the stronger  of  the  two--  WE NEED
TO DO NOTHING.
        
             To make the GOD Spirit strongest in our lives will  require much
effort in prayer, Bible reading and consecrating of ourselves to  God.  His
Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Holiness) must be made  to "feel at home" in our
lives.