Betrayals by Os Hillman
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By Os Hillman
If an
enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself
against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my
companion, my close friend. Psalm
55:12-13
"You will always be attacked
in the place of your inheritance," said the man sitting across the
breakfast table. "God dhas called you to bring people together and to
impact other people's lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You
must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships."
Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to
me.
I have had a number of close
relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those
with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how
righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving
those who betray you is "graduate-level Christianity." The religious
community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest
to David betrayed him. Joseph's own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies
cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come
to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of
those acts of identifying with the cross.
If you are a leader, you can be
sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in
the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have
successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut
wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our
natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness.
Our natural response is Satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires
much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such
attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in
righteousness.
Os Hillman
By permission only. To learn more about Os Hillman, go to: www.marketplaceleaders.org.
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"And the Lord said to Joshua, 'This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.'"(Josh 3:7-8). Joshua had been a faithful number two man under Moses for 40 years. Can you imagine serving one man for 40 years? Now that is faithfulness! Even so, when the time came to pass the mantel to Joshua, God knew he needed to be elevated in the eyes of the people in order for Joshua to accomplish his purpose. That is the purpose for elevation - so that you and I can fulfill our purpose and our mission.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=206343&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Os%20Hillman&fldTopic=0
"Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband." Ruth 1:3-5 Naomi's life was going well. A great husband. Two fine sons who had two wonderful wives. Then the unthinkable happened. Her husband died. A little time later both her sons die. Her and her daughter-in-laws find themselves in the midst of shattered dreams. This isn't how life was supposed to be.
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"While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.'" Acts 10:19-20 Peter had never preached to the Gentiles. In fact, he believed it was against Jewish law to associate with the Gentiles. God needed to change Peter's attitude about this, so God gave Peter a vision that showed him it was permissible to preach to the Gentiles. The Spirit came to Peter and informed him that some men were about to come visit him, and he was to go with them. He went with them, and the Lord did great miracles in the lives of Gentiles through Peter.