God’s Kindness
God wants to show you off
2Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Notice how it speaks of the excellence of the power! Wouldn’t you agree that statement has a great ring to it? God has not done away with our humanity. He has left our humanity intact, letting us live on this earth as His vessels carrying a great treasure. Why has He done such a thing? So that the excellency of the power may be of God, not of us!
It is His light, presence, and glory that is attractive! He is not polishing us up so that men are drawn to us; He wants us to display the work of His mighty power so that others are drawn to Him! Granted, this is not accomplished by being undisciplined and immoral as human beings. The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness, which means grace when it comes leads us into a place of being submitted to God and yielded to the Holy Spirit. But He has left our humanity intact so much that others can see and know that the excellence of the power is of God, not of us.
If I were to take fifty pounds of gold and place it in a large secure box so that it could be kept, and someone heard I had a box with fifty pounds of gold, they would not desire the box because of its own great worth. They would only want the box because of what is in it.
There is such a thing as “the law of attraction.” Let me explain what I mean by that.
If the only way for a young woman to get a particular guy is based on her figure, due to his dominant preference, she must find a way to maintain her figure to keep him. Good luck with that. If a young man has to be buff and have lots of hair to attract a particular woman due to her dominant preference. Well, I lost out on that one a long time ago.
If, for instance, the people a church wishes to attract require events with bells and whistles and all the latest theatrics, you’d better be able to keep up with the newest technology and keep up the pace of it to keep those who were attracted by it. You’d better be able to do it on a larger scale than others.
Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus was nothing to look at; in other words, He wasn’t handsome. The glory of God manifested in the way He went about His business each day, and the message He spoke made Him attractive. Jesus allowed the Father to draw all men to Him. Jesus relied on the excellency of the power.
If the only way to attract people is to do with you or what you do, you must be sure it can be maintained perpetually if you intend to keep them. You risk becoming a slave to whatever it was you believed is required not only to attract but to keep.
This is why it is so vital that the church attracts based on the presence of God and the integrity of the gospel that they believe in and live in. Granted, a person walking in the Spirit will not be mean and spiteful, always finding ways to offend everyone in meaningless and malicious ways. Someone manifesting the work of grace is attractive because of the presence of God in and with them. They are joyful and peaceful and have a certain confidence they exhibit that can be attractive. But it is the presence of God that is attractive. That is why the Scriptures say to be ready to give every man a reason for the hope that lies within you. God set it up this way so that the glory is His as people witness His kindness towards us in Christ! Let the Holy Spirit fill you with the hope only He can produce in you through the revelation of Jesus. Be encouraged and walk in the grace and peace that is yours in Christ Jesus. When we walk confidently in our relationship with Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in and through us, it puts the excellence of the power of God on display. I encourage you to enjoy Him and show off His kindness today!
Knockoffs
Do you know what a knockoff is?
In modern times, telling an original from a knockoff is becoming more challenging.
Ironically many are happy with knockoffs of an original. They cost less and are easier to obtain. But a knockoff gospel is not a smart way to go.
2Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
It can be all right to use generic medicines when you can’t afford the original brand. But going after a generic gospel or Holy Spirit will never be all right.
The most important thing for a believer in Jesus is getting the gospel right, getting the gospel deep within, and then getting the gospel out.
You are saved by grace through faith in Christ, not of works. A gospel that comes to you and says you must believe and…………… to be saved is not the simple gospel we find in Scripture.
Works-based righteousness is not the gospel. When it comes to being made right with God, He only accepts the work Jesus accomplished. It is by faith in the finished work of Jesus that God is looking for.
But it is not unusual to encounter ministers who preach add-ons to the gospel and ignore the Holy Spirit, which is a part of it. They will preach to you what “you” must do to be saved.
When the gospel is correct, there is simplicity to it. An overcomplicated gospel should cause alarm. The real gospel always comes with the right Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a spirit of condemnation with lists of accusations that leave a person hopeless.
John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
The Holy Spirit convicts people regarding the sin of unbelief in Jesus, that Jesus ascended to the Father, and that the devil has been judged (defeated).
Whenever someone tries to become too intellectual regarding the gospel, it complicates it. The gospel first delivered was so simple that even those uneducated could hear it, believe it, and be transformed by it.
If the gospel you heard preached or are currently preaching requires an educational degree or certification, it is not the gospel. The gospel is confirmed by the presence and power of God at work in it to transform someone’s life. This is why Paul said in the Scriptures,
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Don’t be fooled by knockoffs pretending to be gospel proclaimers who make you dependent upon them by complicating it. Don’t allow anyone to move you from the simplicity that is in the gospel. I encourage you to keep your faith in what Jesus has done to make you righteous and never be ashamed to say it is where your confidence flows from.
Heaven’s Treasure
Do you know what the greatest treasure is?
When we think of what Heaven’s treasure is, some’s thoughts might run towards streets of gold, a crystal lake, a throne of jasper, etc. But those things are not the treasure of heaven.
Heaven views treasure very differently from how this world perceives treasure. The real treasure of heaven is the presence of God.
God’s presence is the greatest treasure there is. Heaven knows this, God knows this, and the church is supposed to know it too.
The activity of the Holy Spirit represents God’s presence in the church. Under Moses, a temple tent was constructed, and a special place called the Holy of Holies was in that tent. In the Holy of Holies, there was an ark of the covenant. On top of that ark was a mercy seat, and during the time of sacrifice, blood was to be sprinkled on that mercy seat. God promised it was where He would meet with them. So the ark represented the presence of God (so to speak.)
During the captivity, the ark disappeared, and it was speculated through the ages that Jeremiah may have taken and hidden it away since he foretold the coming captivity. Whether or not that is true, no one knows. All that can be known is that the ark is gone. Today people are looking for the ark, thinking that if they find it could be restored to the temple once a new temple is built.
For an authentic New Covenant believer finding the ark isn’t a thing. We already know where the ark is because the Bible tells us.
Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
But it is more than just this passage that comforts a New Covenant believer about matters of the ark of the covenant.
You see, when it comes to the treasure of God’s presence, we know that it is now in earthen vessels here on this earth.
2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
When Jesus makes New Creations, it is so that they can house His presence. Jesus was excited about returning to heaven so that the Holy Spirit would come because Jesus knows that the treasure of heaven is the presence of God.
Jesus gave Himself so that we, as believers, could be made into a habitation for the Holy Spirit. We do not need an ark of the covenant. The church has become the ark (so to speak). We are the carriers of the presence of God! This is New Covenant teaching, but sadly, many claims to be New Covenant have so much mixture of the Old Covenant still at work in them that they think the ark of the covenant needs to be found for God to do what He wants to do. They believe God will relate with Israel under an Old Covenant construct in these last days. They believe a temple will be rebuilt and sacrifices reinstituted in Israel, so they are in a frantic search for the ark of the covenant.
If you genuinely believe in Jesus, you are created to be a presence bearer! May I encourage you to be available to the Holy Spirit with no hesitation so that the treasure of heaven can be manifested here on earth?
Being filled with His presence is the most incredible privilege you will ever know. Don’t let anyone take that away from you by offering you distracting, time-wasting notions having nothing to do with the truth of the New Covenant work of Christ. Stand firm in your faith in Him and enjoy being filled with the Holy Spirit by faith alone.
Outcome?
What are you expecting?
Many decisions are made in life based on an expected outcome. In the news, we have heard of outcome-based education. The focus of outcome-based education is on achieving better test results. The focus is less on a well-rounded and well-grounded education in the essentials.
We risk getting off track whenever we gear ourselves to make the goal a particular outcome that was never intended. Outcome-based thinking can lead to unwarranted discouragement.
I’ve seen this happen to believers many times. For instance, I have watched as a believer gets excited about sharing their faith and then loses that excitement when they begin to think everyone they shared it with should have been saved and was not.
In His parable on the sower, Jesus explains how the seed the sower sows is the word of God, and everywhere the sower goes, he is sowing that seed, but the seed falls on different types of ground. If the sower determined whether or not to continue sowing seed based on the outcomes, he would likely give up because only one of the four types of ground described produced as it should. In that parable, Jesus clarified that the soil types described people’s heart conditions.
This is a great parable to instruct us on understanding the purpose and being committed to it versus being outcome-based.
The purpose of the sower was to sow seed (The Word of God). The outcome would be based on the condition of the hearts the seed landed on. The sower has no control over the state of the heart. The seed sower was not sent to plow, condition, de-weed, or alter the soil the seed would fall on.
In this parable, the purpose of the sower is to sow seed faithfully and let the outcomes be whatever they end up being. If the sower were to become distracted by the soil condition, he might only sow his seed selectively or cease sowing his seed altogether because he is determined to work on the state of the soil versus sowing his seed.
When it comes to being witnesses for Christ, we are only asked to share the truth concerning Jesus with others. If we do that, we have done what we were asked. If we become obsessed with the outcome, we can become easily discouraged and give up on doing what we are meant to do if the outcome isn’t producing at the level we initially hoped for.
Outcome moves our focus from the calling of obedience to His will from being the objective to an objective of what happens. If what we expect that outcome to look like isn’t occurring, we can begin to question His will and end up getting off course from it.
Hebrews 10:5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’ ”
I am so thankful that Jesus did not lose sight of His calling and purpose. He pushed through the rejection of His people and the religious leaders, misunderstandings, false accusations, well-crafted temptations, and even death on a cross to complete His mission to fulfill the Father’s will.
We should remember how Jesus said, “nevertheless, not my will but Your will be done.” Jesus did the Father’s will continually; it was His purpose. His will is just as much our purpose; to know it and comply with it, we need the Holy Spirit. Let’s not get outcome focused when it comes to being His witnesses. Let’s enjoy being His witnesses in the power of the Spirit and let Him be the One who determines outcomes.
Distracted
Ever made a bad choice?
Have you ever been someplace you were not supposed to be at a time when you were supposed to be somewhere else and doing something other than what you were doing in that wrong place?
I remember when one of my older brothers skipped school to go joyriding with friends, and they had gone downtown to have fun. They were driving up and down the main street, mooning people out of the window of the car they were in. My older brother’s turn came up, so he pulled down his pants and stuck his bare bottom out the window. As far as he knew, he had a great time laughing with his friends and mooning people for most of that day. But when he got home, he discovered one of the people he had mooned was our mother. So much for a really fun day.
If he had been at school where he was meant to be doing his studies as he should have been, he would have never mooned our mother and gotten himself into trouble.
He’s not the only one who has ever allowed himself to get distracted from his real purpose and discovered it results in hardship.
King David in the Bible experienced this too. You see, it was at a time when kings went to war, but David decided he would send out his men and stay home relaxing this time. Since David had already said no to his purpose and yes to something that was not his purpose, he was already set up for trouble.
David was out on his rooftop when he noticed a beautiful woman bathing. Since his ability to say no to the wrong thing was already weakened by his first choice, he found himself saying yes to another bad thing and had her brought up to him. It turned out this woman was the wife of one of his loyal warriors, who was where he was supposed to be fighting a battle for David.
Later David learned that the woman had become pregnant, and since he had already made two bad choices, he scrambled to cover his tracks with another wrong choice. He had them send the warrior home, hoping the man would spend time with his wife and think the child, when born, was his. But the warrior loyal to David slept at the palace door, refusing to be with his wife and declaring he was dedicated to the king and should be at war. When David noticed his scheme wasn’t going to work, he sent the man back to the battle with a note for the general instructing that this man be sent to the front line of battle, and then everyone else retreat so he could be killed.
In that very true story, one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history reveals that one poor decision of not being where he should be and doing what he ought to be doing can cause a landslide of bad choices that can hurt not only onself but a lot of other people. David created a question in the heart and mind of his military leader based on his actions, the woman’s husband, a respected, loyal soldier, lost his life, and later the baby she gave birth to died. All this because at a time when kings go out to war, David remained at home.
New Covenant living is about doing life according to the Spirit. It is being submitted and surrendered to the will of the Spirit. But like David, if we say no to what the Holy Spirit reveals is ours to be and to do, we set ourselves to struggle with saying no to other things because we refused to say yes to the right thing to start with.
Our yes to the Holy Spirit, even in the smallest of things, is important because it sets us up for the amazing things He wants to do in and through us that will not only bless us but bless others. What we choose to say yes to is much more important than we sometimes realize. The simplest obedience to the Holy Spirit leading can save us from a lot more trouble than we might be able to perceive. It also sets us up for surprise blessings the Holy Spirit has lined up for us.
I encourage you today to be in tune with the Holy Spirit as you go through your day and say yes to however He wishes to lead you. It is never a bad decision when we submit ourselves to the will of the Holy Spirit, who leads us to both will and do of God’s good pleasure.
Misunderstood?
Have you been offended?
Being misunderstood happens easily to most people because the truth is that we do not say or do everything perfectly.
I remember decades ago, in a church I was part of, there was an older widow and an older widowed man whom I dearly loved and respected, and they likewise loved and respected me. Over time they discovered each other and became interested in each other. The day arrived when he asked her to be his wife and presented her with a ring. The following Sunday morning, she tracked me down to show me the ring and tell me the good news. Man, it was a large diamond ring, and I was genuinely excited for her, for both of them. So I said to her, “You must rate way above all others.” I thought I was paying her a high compliment, but when I said it, her countenance fell, and she turned and walked away in a huff. She began ignoring me, and I couldn’t get her to talk to me. I had no clue what I had done to cause such a reaction.
Sometime later, when talking with someone about the strange incident and seeking to know how to fix it, I was informed that what I had said was the worse thing I could have said because of how she must have taken it. I did not realize that the man had been widowed two times before. She had taken my comment to mean I was comparing her to his former wives. I was trying to compliment her with the idea of her rating high above any other woman on earth to him. We were eventually able to correct the misunderstanding, but it happened nonetheless. It turned out she was made more sensitive about things due to some well-meaning but misguided people advising her to avoid getting involved with the man in any serious manner. Those bad and unwelcome experiences with others left her vulnerable and tender, and my comment was taken wrongly.
There’s no way to know what has just happened or has been happening to someone we might encounter and speak with. The potential for being misunderstood is an ever-present reality. If you over-obsess about such a thing, fearful of blowing it with someone, you will most likely avoid them or allow fear of being misunderstood to rule you and silence you altogether. Either way, a decline in the relationship will occur.
Often many offenses are the result of a misunderstanding. Usually, but not always, they can be remedied with effort. That is why it is best to be a person who is not easily offended.
Making decisions from a place of offense can have unpleasant long-term effects on a person’s life. Jesus warned about being easily offended. While teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus said something many did not understand. In fact, many of His followers at the time did not understand it.
John 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” 61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?
John 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
If Jesus could be misunderstood, I promise we can be as well. We can just as easily misunderstand the intentions of others. I encourage you not to allow being misunderstood or someone being offended by you to drive you to make a poor decision. Ask the Holy Spirit for His wisdom and do whatever He tells you to do. Do your best to seek peace whenever possible and be ready to accept moving on if it is not possible.
Not Many Fathers
Do you know what makes a father?
There’s a lack of spiritual fathers in these modern times. There are plenty of peers doing ministry but not many fathers. Peers do ministry to affirm themselves more than to establish those they minister to.
Fathers are more concerned with someone discovering their destiny and purpose. Fathers encourage others in God’s direction for them and rejoice when the person they encourage discovers it. Fathers also offer necessary correction when appropriate, rooted in the authority that a father walks in.
Fathers aren’t looking for personal affirmation because they already know who they are and their purpose.
When fathering is not understood, someone becoming aware of how much God is for them can be interpreted by others as being self-centered or what some call “too caught up in oneself.”
It might be time to ask: Is it wrong for someone to see God as a Father who readily and consistently encourages them and seeks to direct them into prosperous kingdom living?
Before Jesus had done anything in the ministry besides being baptized by John the Baptist at the river Jordan, the Father spoke from heaven and declared, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus had only taken a very simple step in the right direction.
Jesus had not yet done anything to prove Himself to His Father. He had not cast out any devils, nor had He healed anyone. He had not even preached a sermon or performed any miracles that we are aware of. He submitted himself to the baptism of John, a baptism of repentance. Jesus was sinless, so one could ask why He would need to be baptized. John certainly wrestled with that idea at that moment. But Jesus explained it to John, and John baptized Him.
Jesus’ Father knew it was important that Jesus be affirmed for who He was before He could embark on what He was called to do. The Father affirmed His Son right before He would be led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan based on who He was.
Fathers help children understand who they are and bring correction when a child is out of step with who they are.
1Corinthians 4:10 Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. 11 Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. 12 We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. 13 We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. 14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me. 17 That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go. 18 Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. 19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.
As a father, Paul patiently instructed a group of believers who were a mess in many ways. A group that Paul himself had preached the gospel to and had introduced to Christ to start with. If you read the letter to the Corinthians, you will find how much Paul labored to straighten out their identity and purpose as a father to them. His reason for doing so was not about how it might sully his reputation; it was about how they were living out of step with who they, indeed, were called to be. As a father, Paul was not ministering from a place of insecurity that coveted their approval of him. Paul could lovingly offer them all they needed to hear and have exampled for their benefit instead of his own.
Do you have a father in the faith? Are you a father to others in the faith? Fathers are important because encouragement about who God says we are is essential. I encourage you today to be in touch with whom God says you are and let that be the fuel that carries you into a faith-filled adventure with Him.
Unpredictable
You can’t always know what lies ahead
Where I live, I would hate to be a meteorologist. Trying to predict the weather here is like predicting the final score of a game that hasn’t been played yet. You might get close, but accurately predicting the exact score of two teams before they meet doesn’t happen often.
I can imagine it might be that way in most places. Often there’s nothing more disappointing than getting one’s hopes up based on a prediction of something only to find it will not happen after all. People make plans based on some predictions, such as an extended forecast.
When our kids were much younger, we would go on vacation to the beach as a family. The timing of the vacation depended on what dates were available on the schedule for the condo we would use. A wonderful brother in the Lord provided ministry families free stays at this condo, but you had to get on the schedule for it.
Every time we scheduled, we ended up in September after the hurricane season had started. That meant taking a chance that the weather would be good. We experienced a vacation enduring a severe tropical storm one year before we could enjoy the beach. It could have been a real bummer because we were spending our time grabbing towels to try to stop the water from running into the condo around the seams of the windows due to the high winds. We couldn’t sleep well due to the howling noise of the wind on the windows. We were a bit nervous about our vehicle as the waves washed all the way to the condo parking lot where our van was.
But we were grateful for this amazing gift of a free condo for a family vacation, and we determined that although it wasn’t going as we had hoped, we would consider this as part of our family adventure and enter it into the catalog of family memories. As it turned out, the shore fishing was incredible once the storm passed and things calmed down! The morning walks to find sea shells provided way more exciting finds. The remaining days we had were excellent. We just had to weather the storm for the first part of our stay.
My family had never been in a tropical storm like that, so it was scary. But we decided to hang in there rather than give up and go home. We were glad we did. We now have great memories and a story to share from that experience.
You know, like the weather or scheduling a vacation in a hurricane zone during hurricane season can be unpredictable, life generally is that way. You can never be sure what you’ll be faced with. You know there will be times when your expectations will not be met. What you choose to think and do about such times will determine the kind of story you will tell later.
In John 16, Jesus is preparing His disciples for a difficult time. Jesus is about to be betrayed into the hands of men and crucified, and His disciples will scatter. They will have a bad experience that will blow up their expectations. To prepare them, Jesus says,
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.b But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
I do not know what you might be going through or how many expectations may have been shattered. But I know this much you can choose what to think and do about it as you look to Jesus and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. I encourage you today to turn your thoughts and concerns over to Jesus and allow Him to give you His peace amid your storm. I promise He will help you through this. It may not be going as you had expected it to start, but it can become one of your more remarkable stories in life if you allow Jesus to help you through it. Grace and peace to you today in Jesus, my friend. You have an Advocate who gives you the Holy Spirit as a Comforter today. You are greatly loved regardless of what might be happening at this moment.
Springtime
Jesus is alive
I love springtime. It’s my favorite season. I love it because of its beauty. Where I live, the trees burst forth with blossoms as well as hedges and flowers. The color pallet of spring is the color pallet of new life. After everything looks dead from winter, all dull and gray spring breaks forth to tell us life overcomes. It overcomes very beautifully too.
Springtime makes people happy; many of them often cannot explain why. But I believe it is due to a hope it draws on deep within. A hope that desires all will be well.
I am not surprised that the resurrection of Jesus would have taken place during springtime. The two seem to go together. It’s just another reason for me to love springtime all the more.
Hopefully, some are happy just reading how happy I am about spring. The lighter greens as new leaves emerge on the branches, the vivid colors that dance in the breeze, the quality of the light during the day, and the blue of the sky all give me cause to praise Jesus, my Lord, and Savior. It just makes me happy deep down to think about it.
I love the expression of the creativity of God in creation in spring. To me, spring also is like a prophet of freedom. After being all shut in during winter due to the cold, spring is like being released to get outside again and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.
My Father uses springtime in my life to remind me of the victory of His Son Jesus, who gave Himself for me at the cross to pay for my sin and reconcile me to God and then three days later rose from the dead, triumphing over death, hell, and the grave!
Winter, to me, is like the days after the cross when the disciples were hidden away due to fear of the Jews. I imagine that it felt like the end of a wonderfully good thing to them. I imagine it felt like a final moment, every day feeling like weeks or months to them. I know how winter drags on for me—shorter days of light causing there to be more darkness than at any other time of the year.
I don’t think it is by mere coincidence that Spring follows winter as it does. It is just as God intended it to be. He created it to speak to those who can hear its message.
Oh, the declaration of life spring is. Jesus is alive; death could not hold Him, which means Satan could not defeat Him!
No wonder I am so happy and full of joy. My Savior lives! He loves me! Just as He lives after death by rising from the dead, I, too, will live after my physical body has come to its last day. Jesus is coming again; when He comes, my body will be raised to be with Him!
I never die, just as spring plants aren’t dead in winter; they’re just sleeping. It just looks as though they are dead. But they are always alive and just waiting for the sun to shine on them in such a way as to call them forth into a glorious manifestation of life!
Hope springs eternal in those who genuinely know Christ! Jesus is coming soon! the dead in Christ will rise first, and those of us who remain will be caught up, and so will we ever be with the Lord.
My Jesus is alive and loves me. Can there be anything better than that?
If
If can be a very powerful word
My mom had a saying whenever I would try to use the excuse of “if only.” Hopefully. you can identify with what I mean by “if only.” “I would have gotten that done “if only” …….
My mom would say to me, “If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t scrape his bottom every time he hopped.” She aimed to suggest that the frog needed to hop regardless of how many times he scraped his bottom. She hoped it would get through to me to keep trying, stay firm in my resolve, and be more determined to stick to it.
The fact is, “if” can be a very powerful word, and believe it or not, it is used in the Scriptures. “If” is a conditional word. Suppose I were to say, “I could have been a professional drummer if I had taken lessons and practiced with much greater diligence,” I am using “if” to explain why I am not a professional drummer and the conditions that are part of that reason. A somewhat similar kind of example appears in Scripture.
Colossians 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
A believer in Jesus was at one time alienated from God. Clearly, we were enemies to Him in our thinking. Something happened, though. That is what But now is getting at. God has reconciled the believer by the physical body of Christ being put to death on the cross. Jesus had to die on the cross so the believer could be holy and without blemish in God’s sight. More than that, the believer is free from accusation as a result of Jesus dying on the cross and them having believed in what that accomplishes on their behalf.
But did you notice there is a condition on this? The condition is not based on an outward work we perform to make ourselves holy, without blemish or free of accusation. It is an inward work of continuing in faith despite our shortcomings or failures.
It says, “If you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.”
This is why the gospel will always be relevant and vital to believers in Jesus. It is the means of becoming saved; it is also the means of remaining holy, without blemish or accusation. Our defense against accusation is not our best behavior; it is Christ’s work on our behalf.
It is not just any gospel that we are meant to be confident of and established in faith by. It is the one Paul preached, which is a gospel of grace, not one of mixture with law, but one entirely reliant upon the finished work of Christ.
The primary and first thing, as well as the continuing things every believer needs to be established in, is their faith in the gospel. They need to have their confidence firmly based on the finished work of Jesus instead of their own work to be holy and acceptable.
1John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus loves you! He gave Himself for you to make you holy, blameless, and free from accusation. You are no longer the object of His anger once you are in Christ. You get to enjoy Him and the fellowship you have been given with Him through Christ. I encourage you today to take advantage of that fellowship and allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with His extraordinary grace and love today. Have faith in Him!
Right With God
Do you know how complete you are?
Jeremiah 33:16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Notice how Jeremiah prophesied by the Holy Spirit, “The Lord our righteousness.” Jeremiah was being given a glimpse into the New Covenant of Christ. It was glorious to him.
The essence of the New Covenant is summed up in the following,
2Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What Jeremiah was given a revelation of, and what the New Covenant brings in answer to that revelation, is vastly different from what Moses spoke.
Deuteronomy 6:25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”
Under Moses, Israel could only obtain righteousness by keeping the law perfectly. They never achieved it because none ever kept the law perfectly. Moses made a mistake when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it; it was enough to keep him out of the promised land. Unfortunately, many are still trying to get themselves in a position to receive from God all that He has promised based on their good behavior as opposed to faith.
Romans 10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
When a person rejects the righteousness being offered based on faith alone in Christ alone, they reject the only means of being made righteous.
Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
The truth is that Jesus is our righteousness now! The ability to have a fantastic relationship with God and be filled with the Holy Spirit does not rest on how much you have your act together. It rests on whether or not you will believe the report of the Lord concerning you in Christ.
Colossians 2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
If you believe the gospel as you should, the fellowship and power of the Holy Spirit are yours by faith, just as salvation is yours by faith in Jesus. Your relationship with God is ensured based on what Christ Jesus completed on your behalf. It is not about your excellent performance or the lack thereof. It is about His obedience being imputed to you so that you are made into a New Creation by faith in Him and thus a fitting vessel for the Holy Spirit. You have been given everything that pertains to life and godliness in Christ Jesus. It is yours already! But to take full advantage of it, you must first believe it is true.
I encourage you today to take stock of what Jesus has done instead of what you have done. Look to Jesus today, and let His grace and peace fill you!
You Have Authority
Do you know how much authority you have as a believer in Jesus?
Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
I remember it well. It happened after our fourth child Isaac was born. My wife experienced a severe episode of postpartum depression. She would cry for long periods for no reason and struggled to get through the day. This went on for several weeks, and with the long hours I was working and her being at home with four kids, and one of the four being a newborn, it was exhausting for her and all the rest of the family. I felt so bad for her and wished I could help her, but I was totally at a loss for what to do. I couldn’t quit work and stay home; I was the sole provider. I went to work every day, apprehensive about how she would be doing that day.
One evening in a moment of sheer desperation, I sought the Lord and began to hurl my complaint to Him about the situation and how it was unfair and needed to end. As I went through my list of reasons for why it was not right, declaring He needed to do something about it, I heard a voice inside me saying, “I have already supplied you with what is needed. Now go and speak over your wife and release her from this.” I knew that voice well. It was my father from heaven speaking to my spirit. I responded, “God, you know that if I go back to where she is right now crying and do something and it doesn’t work, it might push her over the edge.” His reply was simple, “Are you going to trust me, or are you going to talk yourself out of this opportunity to see her set free from this?”
So I called her to come to where I was, and she did with tears flowing. She was so helpless, and my heart was so moved with compassion for her. I told her the Lord spoke to me and that tonight this will end, it has to go. So I laid my hands on her and rebuked it and commanded it to leave her, and it did. That night she was set free from that postpartum depression she was battling. God moved mightily on her behalf and on behalf of the family. I was then kicking myself and saying to myself, “why did I wait so long to get with God about this and do something? She could have been free much sooner.” Sometimes it takes me a little while to get a clue because I am so caught up in a moment. Perhaps you can identify with me on that? But thank God for His incredible patience and faithfulness. I am so glad He loves us.
You are loved today and always by your faithful gracious Heavenly Father. By coming to His Son Jesus in faith to be forgiven and made alive, you became His child supernaturally, and He is for you, not against you. He can heal you or the ones you love just as easily as He forgave you and made you righteous. It is by the same means, it is a gift, and it works based on faith.
So I speak healing to you today in His marvelous name. I declare that He is not only able to heal you, but He is also willing. Go and have a blessed day today in His name. Be an extension of His compassion to someone you get the opportunity to encounter today, and His grace and peace be with you.
Get Back Up
You might stumble but that shouldn’t stop you
Proverbs 24:16 For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.
When I was young and living in south Florida, I had a silver ten-speed bike. I could wheelie that bike through three gears around the block. I was proud of it too. One day I was doing my usual wheelie when the front tire came off my bike. There was something about that tire coming off that threw me off my game. Instead of thinking of going around the block, I was just trying to make it to the ditch, but I just couldn’t keep the front end of my bike up any longer. As the bike came down, the forks dug into the street, and I flew over the handlebars and landed on my chin. If you know anything about south Florida pavement, it can be unfriendly with jagged pieces of shells, etc. When I got up off the street, my shirt was covered with blood, and I had a huge chunk of skin missing from my chin. My mom had to take me to the hospital, where a very mean doctor gave me eight stitches. It was a traumatic experience for me.
Someone might think that having that experience would have stopped me from trying to wheelie my ten-speed as before, but it didn’t. I came home, put the front wheel back on my bike, and, this time, ensured it was secure. In no time, I went right back to doing wheelies.
I share that story to demonstrate the many instances where the thought of getting back up after a mistake is no big deal. So why should it be a big deal for anyone regarding spiritual things?
A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again!
The great apostle Peter stumbled and denied the Lord three times, but he got back up and went on to be and do what the Lord said he would be and do. He later stumbled again in Antioch when he was leading believers down the wrong path when the Judaisers had come to visit from Jerusalem. He separated himself from the Gentile believers and only spent time with the Jewish ones. It was even leading Barnabas astray. But after Paul rebuked Peter for his mistake, Peter repented and changed his ways again. He got back up!
During our journey with the Lord, we are going to make mistakes. We are going to fall down, so to speak. But we are made righteous with the very righteousness of God, and a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again!
I may not know what is happening in your walk with Jesus right now, but I do know that no matter what is going on, He is always for you rising back up after any fall.
Rising back up means going back to what you were supposed to be doing when you fell. Like me as a kid returning to doing wheelies and not allowing any fear or trauma to stop me from doing what I enjoyed, you and I are not supposed to let any fear or trauma from a fall hinder us from doing and enjoying the will of God for our lives.
The beauty of grace is that it allows us to make mistakes without losing our hope of recovery. Grace brings us back to where we were meant to be to start with. It will enable us to look to Jesus when we stumble and fall and realize His love hasn’t changed, He has not changed His mind about being for us, and He wants to help us get back up and get going again.
God is not only for you when you are experiencing success. He is also with you and for you in the midst of your failures. He loves you and is for you, and He wants to equip you to succeed. Mistakes are part of that process, and He understands that about us. So even if this is the seventh time you stumbled and fell, get back up! Jesus is extending His arm and hand to you in grace and mercy to help you. You can rise again and get right back on track with Him. I have had to take His hand many times and will do so many more. I am just glad He loves me so greatly and cares so deeply as to be willing to help me every time.
New Discoveries
There are new things to see and do every day
I still remember a field trip I was part of in the fifth grade in south Florida. We went to the coastline and waded through a tidal pool area with diverse species of sea life in it. It was like a nursery of sorts. I remember being amazed and feeling like I was discovering another world. I was fascinated, and it was my favorite field trip ever.
Discoveries have that kind of power. They can make you feel alive by opening your eyes to the wonders around you. The kingdom of God is like that but even better!
When living in step with the Holy Spirit, every day can be a new adventure with new discoveries. Not only does He reveal things concerning Jesus in fresh new ways, but He also leads us into doing things in fresh new ways.
The Christian life is anything but boring for those who live according to the Spirit as opposed to falling into the snare of business as usual. Business as usual functions as though all there is to know and discover has been done and, as a result, goes through the motions.
But whenever I allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of me and my day, new and exciting things open up. I get fresh revelations on something I have read or considered many times before. New opportunities present themselves—opportunities to bless others and make a difference in someone else’s life.
It is exciting to be used by the Holy Spirit to encourage others in their journey in Christ! It feels more alive than when I make discoveries as I did in the fifth grade and many I have made as an adult on trips taken and things explored.
For me, nothing is more exciting or fun than being available to the Holy Spirit to be a difference-maker for the kingdom of God.
People get burned out on dead religion because it is stuck in a “business as usual rut.” They are attracted to authentic Christianity full of joy, on adventures with and encountering the surprises the Holy Spirit has in store.
The Holy Spirit has discoveries awaiting you and me today. All we need to do is ask Him to reveal where He is at work and how we can join Him in what He is doing.
As a boy, my dad worked at the water plant, and whenever he would allow me to join him at his work, it felt so special to me. It was an adventure to join him at his work, and for him to allow me to do something he would usually do made me feel significant. His allowing me to partner with him in his purpose felt important and special to me.
We are invited into the partnering process with the Holy Spirit daily. It is not a just-on-Sunday occurrence for believers in Jesus. If the only time we are qualified to engage in spiritual life is on Sunday at church, all we have is religion. When we are alive spiritually, we cannot help but be who we are daily. That opens doors to adventures in the Spirit.
So, I encourage you today to ask the Holy Spirit what He is up to and to show you where and how you can join Him in what He is doing. You will not regret it!
A Big Solution
When your solution is greater than your problem there’s peace
As a child in elementary school, I thought using a microscope during science class was a major privilege. We would put something on a slide, add another slide on top of it, put it under the microscope, and voila! Once focused, we could see things that were before invisible to the naked eye. It was fascinating!
A microscope used in that context is a good thing, but trying to put yourself under a microscope is not a good thing. Negatively focussing on a problem does not bring improvement. It is not a solution. A solution to a problem always requires the right source.
There is a right source for every problem faced in life. Every problem you will ever meet, big or small, needs this source. That source is Jesus, and He is never too little or too much, nor is He too early or too late.
Jesus is the answer! His kingdom is powerful, and it brings with it righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. You can have joy amid struggle and peace amid pain, no matter how big the problem that created it is. Big problems need a big God, and you have a big God who is on your side!
God is so big that when things seem to be going wrong around you, threatening your safety and well-being, you still have more than enough life and hope to encourage others generously. You just need to see your source. Your source is greater than all other sources! When the most skilled thief that has ever existed tries to come against you, always remember what Jesus said.
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Difficult situations or trials of life cannot dam up the flow of that river you’ve received in Jesus. The only thing that can stop the flow of the river is unbelief. As a believer in Jesus, your possibilities and opportunities are endless.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Go in that life today and let the river of the Spirit of the Living God flow out of you to others. Look past your difficulties and see the horizon of hope set before you in the Spirit by a loving Father. Remember, there’s no problem too big for the God who loves and cares for you. He has ensured that you have what it takes to rise above your circumstances and seize the possibilities He says are yours for the taking.
Be encouraged in the Lord today and always, and know that He will never leave you, nor will He ever forsake you. He has given you His promised Holy Spirit to be with you and help you. The Holy Spirit administrates the grace of the Lord Jesus in your life and gives joy and peace to those who will, by faith, allow Him to do so.
Grace and peace to you today in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Things Unseen
Sometimes what you can’t see is more real than what you can
Some things cannot be seen, but we know they exist and are real because of their effect on other things.
For instance: Take oxygen in the air, you cannot see it, but if it were to disappear, you would suffocate and die.
Then there’s the wind, the only way we know it is there is if it is heard or felt by us, moves the leaves on trees, or is accompanied by rain or snow. We do not see it aside from how it affects other things.
No one I know of struggles to believe in oxygen or wind. It is accepted as being true and real.
For anyone who has been born again, spiritual things, although unseen, are just as real, if not more so, than natural things to them. Because of the Holy Spirit, they can receive the unseen things of the Spirit that are supernatural, which before were unattainable to them due to being blind to them before they became born again.
1Corinthians 2:13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.
Born again is strictly a New Covenant privilege. It was unavailable during the Old Covenant. Born again is about becoming a New Creation. It became available when Jesus died on the cross, rose again after being dead for three days, and later ascended to heaven with a promise of returning.
This is why even devoutly religious people who have never been born again struggle to understand the things of the Spirit and misunderstand those who walk according to the Spirit. Jesus encountered such a person.
John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
Jesus was misunderstood by both religious and non-religious people because Jesus operated according to the Spirit, which is unseen except for the effects. That means those who are born again and walk according to the Spirit as Jesus did will be misunderstood by those who are not born again.
To tribal people without electricity, television, or technology, someone from the United States of America telling them about the advantages and possibilities experienced daily in the U.S. would seem ridiculous. They cannot see it or even envision it. So it is with those who are not born again. But we still need to witness the gospel to others even when we are being misunderstood. We still need to walk according to the Spirit even though we will be misunderstood.
Never feel like you have to apologize for the supernatural person you have become in Christ. The world would like to pressure you to forget about being in touch with who you are Spiritually and be more down to earth like they are. But you’ve been born from above, and being normal according to this world is no longer for you. I encourage you today to rejoice in knowing your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Conduits
Your full potential awaits
When you give your life to Jesus and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you have the source of all that is good residing in you, which can flow like a river from you to others! As New Creations in Christ, you are meant to be a conduit through which the Holy Spirit flows and does His work! It is an integral part of the New Covenant promise and hope. The goal of Jesus was not just to give you eternal life; it was to provide you with life in abundance and to baptize you with the Holy Spirit so that you would be endued with power from on high.
John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus had to first die to pay for the world’s sins on the cross. Then He had to rise again to prove He had dealt with sin completely and conquered death, hell, and the grave. Then He had to ascend in bodily form back to heaven, where He would be seated at the right hand of the Father. All this was leading up to that long-awaited and important moment when Jesus could release the Promise of the Father He had been given, which is the Holy Spirit.
The New Covenant Gospel is filled with Holy Spirit. The first apostles frequently spoke about the Holy Spirit in their preaching. Peter’s first major message preached at Pentecost is unapologetic about the Holy Spirit. Peter is very direct when he brings up the Holy Spirit, and Peter speaks very direct about repentance, water baptism, and the importance of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The idea of being baptized in the Holy Spirit permeates the book of Acts in the Bible.
Here are just a few passages you can read for yourself and see where the Holy Spirit is directly mentioned with purpose:
Acts 1:16, Acts 2:4, Acts 2:33, Acts 2:38, Acts 4:8, Acts 4:31, Acts 5:32, Acts 6:3, Acts 6:5, Acts 7:51, Acts 7:55, Acts 8:15, Acts 8:17, Acts 8:18&19, Acts 9:17, Acts 10:38, Acts 10:44&45, Acts 10:47, Acts 11:45, Acts 11:24, Acts 13:2
There are way too many times the Holy Spirit is at the center of what is going on and is being pointed to by the Apostles for me to add them in today’s devotional.
He is directly and significantly mentioned 93 times in the New Testament. To leave out the Holy Spirit when seeking to instruct others in the gospel is to offer an incomplete gospel and leave off a major part of the purpose for Jesus doing all He did.
It is true that Jesus shed His blood and gave His life to forgive you of your sins, but it doesn’t stop there. As amazing as that alone can be, it is not all that Jesus accomplished on your behalf. Jesus shed His blood, died, and rose again so that you could be baptized with the Holy Spirit and, as a New Creation, live a life filled to overflowing measure with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’s invitation is to come and drink and get so saturated in the Spirit as you believe in Him that you become a river source to others. Which gospel did you receive? One that only speaks of you being forgiven of your sin, or one that is more complete and speaks of your sins being forgiven, and you being baptized in the Holy Spirit as a New Creation in Christ designed to be filled as a source point for the flow of the Holy Spirit to others?
I want to realize my full New Creation potential in Christ and receive all He has so graciously and freely offered to give to me. I trust that you do as well. I encourage you to pray today to be filled with the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised and to experience the flow of that river Jesus said would occur in your life. It is your destiny in Christ to be always full of the Holy Spirit and be that river of life to others. Grace and peace to you in Jesus’ name.
What Is Passing Away?
What have you been taught regarding the work of the Holy Spirit?
1Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
Notice it says three things will eventually go away. Tongues, prophecy, and knowledge.
They go away when that which is perfect has come. The classic argument against the work of the Spirit in the way of the gifts and prophecy uses this passage to say there is no longer a need now that the Bible has come.
They do this while promoting the idea of increased Bible study and reliance upon the word of God. They promote biblical courses and conferences that elevate Scripture’s validity while dismissing the gifts of the Spirit and prophecy.
Obviously, the word of God given to us in the Scriptures is of great value and essential. I, too, promote that valuable gift we’ve all been given. But to encourage that is to promote the activity of knowledge. So how is it appropriate to encourage knowledge which is one of the three things that will cease once the perfect has come, and denounce the other two items?
This is an inconsistency if you think about it. The truth is that we need the Holy Spirit and the word. We need the gifts of the Spirit and prophecy in the church.
1Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Putting trust in our ability to break down written encouragement and instructions in the Scriptures and then talk and act like we do not need the help of the Holy Spirit according to the way He wants to give it is an attitude of arrogance. It demonstrates greater confidence in our intelligence rather than putting us into a position of greater dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
Jesus declared it was essential and profitable that He go away because if He didn’t go to the Father, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t come. When the Holy Spirit came, He demonstrated what His showing up looks like.
In Holy Spirit-led times, it is not a business-as-usual way of operating, and the body becomes equipped to minister according to the Spirit, and life, joy, and peace are the fruits of His work.
God wants to bring supernatural Holy Spirit solutions into our daily lives so that we might be encouraged, equipped, and strengthened to be His witnesses in these last days. The Holy Spirit loves to minister to you and others through you. True New Covenant gospel includes the work of the Holy Spirit, knowing that Jesus looked forward to His coming after He ascended. Jesus taught His disciples about the importance of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
If you have struggled in any way with the idea of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I invite you to give today’s devotional some thought and then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to you so you might grow in your revelation of Christ and walk according to the power of the Spirit. If this is not new information to you, perhaps the Holy Spirit wishes to refresh some things in your soul concerning this subject. I pray that all will be encouraged to step forward in faith regarding the work of the Spirit. Grace and peace be yours, and may you be filled afresh today with the Holy Spirit.
Our Need For The Holy Spirit
Feeling overwhelmed lately?
John 1:1 In the beginning, the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
John 1:14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
According to the Bible, Jesus was the Word in the flesh, in human form. Now that being the case, someone might think that should be more than enough and all that Jesus would ever need to accomplish what He was sent to this earth to do. But we find something occurring that is very interesting.
John 1:32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.
Matthew 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
I am unaware of anyone who professes to know Jesus and follow Him who does not believe that Jesus is the source of all truth because He is the word of God made flesh, just as we see it stated in these passages.
Who would even dare argue that there could be anyone who would know the truth and have their doctrine more together than Jesus did?
But even with all that going for Him, Jesus still knew He needed the help of the Holy Spirit to do what He was called to do. I love the way Jesus responded to John’s reluctance to baptize Him. John knew who Jesus was, and I understand his struggle with baptizing the Messiah, the Son of God. That would be a hard thing for anyone to wrap their mind around. Think about it and put yourself in John’s sandals and imagine here is the One who has come to save and rescue you, and He wants you, a finite man, to baptize Him?
Jesus said, “it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness!” The question at this point is complex. Is Jesus saying that water baptism fulfills righteousness? Or is He pointing to what will follow His water baptism as what fulfills all righteousness? Or is it a combination of both indicating a shift in how God is working and something new and different is coming?
I believe it demonstrates a shift in which the Spirit of God is brought forward in significance as it pertains to the New Covenant Jesus intends to establish. You have to pause and consider the fact that the One Who established the New Covenant demonstrated a need for the Holy Spirit. Even though He was and is the Word of God, the perfect fullness of accurate and complete truth and doctrine, he needs the Holy Spirit to do the will of God!
If having sound doctrine was enough for the church, you would think it should have been enough for Jesus, the head of the church. But Jesus emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit, and He is the One who baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit.
We need the word, obviously, but not to the exclusion of the Holy Spirit and His power. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and the church needs the gifts He graciously gives her. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father. The Holy Spirit is the gift of the Promise of the Father. That means He is good and can be trusted. I want to be filled to overflowing by Him every day! I want to gather with others who have an overflowing measure of His presence and power. There’s nothing better! It is the abundant life Jesus promised. I encourage you today to submit to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to fill you to overflowing measure so you can be equipped as Jesus was to do the Father’s will.
Image
What’s in your mirror?
In the world today, image is everything. In social media, millions are scrambling to create an image of themselves that is attractive enough to gather many followers. In their effort, they are willing to photoshop their pictures and use the art of illusion to present themselves as something they aren’t so that they can gain “friends.”
If gaining the approval and friendship of someone requires you to be false to who you truly are, is that friendship worth having?
The better question might be, do you know who you are and what you really look like?
What do you see when you look in the mirror each day?
1Corinthians 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the mighty things; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”
When the Lord chose us, He did not do so based on our pedigree, good looks, social standing, personality, education, race, gender, financial status, or level of intelligence. None of the things that matter so much to this world had any impact on His decision to choose us.
He chose us in Christ! God can look beyond the outer shell of what we appear to be in the natural and sees us according to who we are as a new creation in Christ. He makes us alive in Christ and transforms us into the image of Christ as we learn more and more about Christ. His purpose in this is to reflect the image of His Son on this earth until the time Jesus returns to claim His own.
God is not asking us to rely on our own strength to change ourselves and improve our place in Christ. He has given us His Spirit to empower us to see Christ as we should and realize we now live by faith in Jesus, and the life He gives is supernatural and leads us into triumph in all situations.
Are you struggling? Look to Jesus, let go of what you think you can do to improve yourself (as though it were possible if you could just muster up enough willpower for it,) and turn to the Holy Spirit for His help.
This is how we ensure God gets the glory for the transformation occurring in our lives. The sad thing about dead religions is that although they claim to be zealous for giving God glory, they inadvertently rob Him of His glory, with their claims of personal devotion and discipline being the reason they live such chaste lives. They are crediting themselves for their chaste living instead of acknowledging it is God at work both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
God does not need the superstars, the super disciplined, the highly motivated self-help people of this world to produce vessels for His glory in His kingdom. He purposefully avoids such things so he can make new creations in Christ who walk according to the Spirit and live as supernatural people on this earth who know the difference between real spiritual life and death.
If, at first, when looking in the mirror, you see yourself according to the limitations of what you are in the natural, remind yourself that God chose you with purpose. He did not make a mistake, and He does not expect you to transform yourself by your own willpower. He wants you to surrender yourself to Him and let Him transform you. he wants to show what Jesus has done and how that has changed who you are so you can give all the glory to Him and have your confidence in Christ alone.
To Him be the power, glory, and majesty forever! He alone makes us something, although we at one time were nothing. Even the most perceived successful person on the planet is nothing without Christ! You have Christ! That changes everything!