A Deeper Sweeter Fellowship

Acts 13:49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit decided to throw His arms around these two men, pull them in close and encourage and strengthen them.  He was with them as they were persecuted; they all went through that event together.  Jesus was just as much a part of that rejection as Paul and Barnabas were.  Paul and Barnabas got to experience what Jesus had already experienced before them and was now experiencing again along with them.

When we, as believers, allow ourselves to partner with the Holy Spirit, as did these men, we, too, can be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit should we ever be subjected to rejection and persecution because of what we stand for and declare to others.  This deeper fellowship with the Holy Spirit is not based on how someone responds to our sharing the truth with them.  It is based on us deciding to lock arms with the Holy Spirit and speak and do what He shows us is ours to do.  It is the way we experience a deeper, sweeter fellowship with Him.

When I was a boy, one Christmas, my dad decided we would bless some neighbors from Puerto Rico who did not have much money or means.  So we collected some old bikes, stripped them down, painted them, rebuilt them to be as new as possible, and gave them as gifts to the neighbors.  While doing that, we talked, laughed, and imagined many things together.  It is still a precious memory I carry of my dad.  I felt so close to my dad during that mission moment with him.  It was a deeper, sweeter bonding moment for me with my dad.

I love how Acts 13 reveals that our joy and being filled with the Holy Spirit never hinges on a good response from those we preach the good news to.  We can be on a mission filled with opposition and still be overwhelmed with joy and be filled with the Holy Spirit just because we joined Him in a purpose He intended for us to join Him in.  Like with my dad, it is in those moments that He wishes to reveal things to us and even show us things about ourselves we would not be able to realize apart from this experience.

God has a joy for us that is not contingent on things going ideally for us.  It is ours as we partner with Him in the purpose He has called us to.

But how can anyone experience this rich, deeper, sweeter fellowship if they do not know what God has purposed for them?

I encourage you to become an avid witness to Jesus Christ. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, you can experience a fourth man in your fires of opposition and rejection for taking a stand for Jesus.  You experience that anytime you take a stand to speak and do what He has asked of you.  He wants us to cast off the fear of man and grow in our witness of Him to others.  He will never abandon us when we step out in faith in this way.  It’s time for the church to regain its voice in this generation.  Your testimony of Him matters.

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A Perfect Way

Many years ago, I was someone who thought that unless I could be just like Jesus; I wouldn’t be loved by the Father.   I was often discouraged because I knew how much I wasn’t like Jesus.  Thankfully the Holy Spirit revealed the truth of the good news of His kingdom to me.

Jesus came because we were nothing like Him; we still miss the mark even on our best days. I am still developing in my being transformed into His image.  I have yet to arrive. Thankfully we are told in,

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God loved us even when we were unaware of Him and living in rebellion against Him.  That doesn’t mean He condoned our rebellious behavior against Him or our denial of Him.  His love set out to change us.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus came to give us a righteousness we could never earn.  A righteousness the Father would approve of and welcome.  God’s own righteousness.  This reality is our security.  Jesus is the reason we have a relationship with God, and He remains the reason we are kept in that relationship.

The Bible says that God cannot deny Himself, and since it is His Own Righteousness we now possess in Christ, He will not deny us.

The law of Moses was never intended to be a way of being made righteous before God. It revealed righteousness very clearly and, as a result, condemned us.  That is why the Scriptures refer to it as the ministry of death.

2Corinthians 3:7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?

Regular sacrifices were required when the Law was in force because no one fulfilled its demands.  If the standard of holiness it required could have been attained, there would have been no need to repeatedly shed blood for the remission of sins.

The righteousness God desired from before the foundation of the world and in the law of Moses is the righteousness we now possess in Christ.  Jesus fulfilled the righteous demands of the Law fully.  At the cross, Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness in exchange.

You see, God planned to make us righteous by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.

This glorious hope and promise cannot be found in any other person or method.  We need not add anything to Jesus to have a relationship with the Father and maintain it.  Jesus completed the work at the cross, He rose from the dead, proving God authorized him, and then He ascended on high to sprinkle His blood on the real mercy seat of heaven, forever cleansing our sin.  Then as the baptizer with the Holy Spirit, Jesus released the Holy Spirit to come those who would believe and receive.  Even the gift of the Holy Spirit is received by faith and not according to works.  When God provides a solution, He makes sure the problem is solved.  God made a perfect way!

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On Mission Joy

Acts 13:49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

I know it may seem odd to start a devotion with such a passage of Scripture.  But if we stop long enough to allow the Holy Spirit to show us something from it, we will be enriched.

Paul and Barnabas had been sent out on a mission to preach the good news of Jesus and His kingdom.  They had made the synagogues of the Jews in every region a top priority.  But the Holy Spirit had plans that extended beyond the synagogues.

Here we have two men who love Jesus being persecuted for trying to spread the love and hope revealed in the gospel.  They are not persecuted because they are taking advantage of anyone, stealing, or being mean and obnoxious to others.  They are persecuted for advancing the word of the Lord.

It says they shook off the dust from their feet.  That gesture indicated they were done with that group and no longer felt responsible for offering them the hope they had been so graciously offering.

It’s one thing when you are on a mission, and people do not wish to listen.  It’s another thing when someone goes out of their way to shut you up and turn others against you.  This is a form of rejection on a larger scale than just not listening because it is persecution.

New Covenant believers are not promised never to face persecution from others who reject the truth.  We are told we will be hated, persecuted, and rejected.  If we are on a mission as Paul and Barnabas were, we too may experience opposition to what we wish to share with others.

I love that Paul and Barnabas keep going.  Even though they feel they are released from the ones who were persecuting them, they move on to the next place to offer others the good news of Jesus and His kingdom.

When we, as believers, allow ourselves to partner with the Holy Spirit, as did these men, we, too, can be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit after severe rejection and persecution.

I love how this reveals that our joy and being filled with the Holy Spirit never hinges on a good response from those we preach the good news to.  We can be on a mission filled with opposition and still be overwhelmed with joy and the Holy Spirit.

God has a joy for us that is not contingent on things going ideally for us.  It is ours as we partner with Him in the purpose He has called us to.  It is an On Mission Joy!

This joy is not ours for doing our own thing apart from Him.  It is ours when we join with Him and find the deeper depth of our fellowship with Him involves doing the thing He is leading us into even when the people it is aimed at do not appreciate it.  I encourage you to know what His purpose is and join Him in it and let the joy and power of the Holy Spirit fill you today as you keep moving forward in whatever it is He has given you.

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Healthy Obedience

Is there such a thing as a healthy relationship without loving submission, vulnerability, trust, and respect?

In the two-way exchange of relationship, there is always a first person who extends themselves in such a way as to make the introduction and possibility of a beautiful connection, something that could and should be desired and grasped.

But a one-sided approach can spoil a golden, wonderful opportunity for a beautiful connection.

In this case, as I am describing, I will identify God as the first person in an opportunity.  God initiated, He sent His only beloved Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay for our past, present, and future sins.    Jesus, who was perfectly righteous, became sin so that we could become the very righteousness of God.

This amazing first step for connection was made possible because of the Father and Son’s glorious relationship.  Jesus was willing to let Himself be put out for the desire of the Father to be realized.  The Father’s desire became the desire of Jesus.  This is a two-way relationship.

The way we define this requires the word obedience.  Jesus was obedient.  Not as a slave would be obedient, having no choice but to do so.  Jesus was obedient as a Son.  A son’s obedience differs from that of a slave.  A son’s obedience is born from a place of relationship and love.

This is more in line with the point that is being made in,

Philippians 2:5   Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God the Father and Jesus the Son made the first move to initiate a relationship with us.  All we are asked to do is to believe and receive by faith the work Jesus accomplished to enter into a relationship with God and maintain that relationship.

The most basic and primary element of expected obedience is to believe.  Without faith, we cannot please God.  So to take Him at His word and stand in faith upon His word is our first act of obedience.  It’s the response we are expected to bring to the table of fellowship with Him.

Granted, our obedience will go even further than just believing and speaking things we have come to know about God. As we grow in our fellowship with Him, we become aware of His desires as the Holy Spirit makes known to us His heart and will for our lives.  When these things are revealed to us, and we step out in faith to embrace them and do according to what He has revealed to us, that is healthy obedience.

Religion will never produce this. It wants to spell out a list we must follow to earn His affection, attention, and blessing.  It does not move us into a place of obedience based on a relationship already made possible with Him based only on the merits of Christ.

Grace-based relationship is a healthy relationship, but it, too, is a two-way reality.  Be confident in the merits of Christ, but also be encouraged to bring your submission to the table of fellowship so that as you learn His heart, you can say I am willing to go and do whatever You may ask of me.

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Cop-Out Or Contement

When I was a young boy, there were some things my friends would do that I wouldn’t even try.  My reason for not trying was mixed.  At times it might have been due to fearing failure.  Other times it was just because I thought it went too far, and I just wasn’t interested.  Yet sometimes, I was already content with what I was doing and did not need something else.

So you could say that I was copping out in some cases, and at other times, I was simply content.

As a man who has been in ministry for many years, in fact, decades, there are many things others think I should do that I feel the freedom to say no to.  There are also levels of lifestyle that others think I should live that I feel no need to pursue.  I am content.

But some might attribute their assessment of my spiritual maturity and effectiveness to things I have mentioned, but that does not matter to me.

Philippians 4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

There was a time when the group Paul was addressing had fallen off their attention and care for him.  At the time of his writing, their care had resumed.  It also appears that there may have been some obstacles to their ability to show their care that has now been moved out of the way.  It was not that they stopped caring, just that their display of it was hindered.

But Paul makes it clear here that he was not in need in such a way that their hindrance hurt him.  You get the impression he does not want them to feel responsible for him being without. He is not using manipulative language to coerce them to up their giving.

In other words, Paul will not present his need as urgent and pressure them to give to it.  Even if Paul were hungry, he would not seek to coerce them to give.  He then uses this as providing an opportunity to offer a lesson.

When Paul speaks of Christ strengthening him to do all things, he is talking about what it means to be content in all situations without it being a cop-out.  Paul can be content and not be a cop-out because he can do all things through Christ, who strengthens him.  Life does not have to turn out as Paul dreamed it would for himself.  Paul’s contentment and happiness are not based on what level of lifestyle he can live. It is based on his relationship with Christ.  Paul is not affected by the things of this world in this example.

When we walk in a close relationship with the Lord, we know our worth and value are not determined by how much of a thing we do that is good.  We are free to do according to what He reveals is ours to do, however great or small.  Knowing we are in step with Him makes our contentment real and not a cop-out.

Your assignment might look different from another’s, but that is okay.  All you need to know is that it is your assignment, and take heart in knowing you are doing what He has asked of you.  Do not get trapped in the game of comparisons.  I encourage you to look to Him and live!  Let Him tell you what is yours in your right now moment.  Let Him set your path, and He will bring you into the future He has ordained for your life.  I promise that whatever it is, you will have His strength to embrace it.

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Sure Words

Matthew 5:33 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the LORD.’ 34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

To say more than yes or no is neither healthy nor fruitful.  Jesus took it further and declared to go beyond saying yes or no and mean it is to be under the influence of the evil one.  Being able to be matter-of-fact due to being confident of what your response should be is a precious thing.

Going beyond could indicate a fear of man, an insincerity of intent meant to move the other person to like you even though you are not in complete agreement with them in your heart.  To tell you the truth, I swear it, or on my mother’s grave, has no power to prove your sincerity.  In this case, the common practice among the Jews was to make a vow and then swear to uphold it by heaven, the earth, Jerusalem, or even by one’s head.  This would have been stated to convince another person of one’s sincerity and commitment.

Jesus was taking the need for such shenanigans off the table.

Many years ago, when I worked for a large company, I had an experience.  It was evaluation time again.  I had already been there several years and had excellent yearly evaluations.  At every review, my boss told me he wished he had ten other workers with my work ethic and abilities.  On the particular occasion, I want to bring to your attention, I was sitting at his desk when he once again, for the umpteenth time, stated how great I was and how he wished he had more like me; he then slipped a piece of paper across his desk showing what my raise would be.  When I viewed what was written on the paper, I was insulted.  What he had written wasn’t even close to what he was stating.  I slid the paper back across his desk, looked him straight in the eyes, and said, “If you believed what you have stated to me just now and the many other times we have had these evaluations, you would never have put such a number before me.”  He acted shocked and declared I do believe what I said to you.  I told him, “Then do not try convincing me with your words. Make that number larger in accordance with what you said; that number you just gave me is nothing more than a cost of living increase.  Your words of flattery do not feed my wife and kids or pay the bills”  I got up and left his office when he told me it was the most he could do.  He got up, following me down the hallway, declaring you can’t just get up and walk out during an evaluation.  I turned and said, “I just did.”

To make this story shorter, he asked me to come back, and I did, and he then slid another piece of paper across his desk to me, reflecting a much better number, to which I said, “This is better, thank you.”

People do not thrive on flattery.  People do not feel secure just because someone offers them insincere, over-the-top statements to get them to trust what they say.  Jesus never spoke words of flattery.  He did not talk to others with insincerity.  Jesus was genuine.  What you saw and what you heard was what you got.  He was consistent.  I want to be consistent and not worry about how others might perceive me but trust the Holy Spirit to help my words land on a heart the way I intended.  I realize I, too, will be misunderstood as Jesus was.  But that’s not bad company to be in.  The insincerity of flattery is like poison. But the genuine encouragement of truth is healing and empowerment to those who love the truth.  You can take what Jesus has declared about you to the bank and cash it in!  His words are true and trustworthy.  He is prepared to back them up with His power.

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Hope

On what is observed as Good Friday, Jesus shares His last meal with His disciples and prepares them for His death and resurrection.

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”  27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”  30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Jesus knew that His death would bring His disciples great sorrow and pain.  Jesus knew they would not have an easy time dealing with their loss.  Jesus knew their grief would be persuasive in their decision-making immediately following His death.

The more wonderful and loved the person we lose, the more deeply the loss is felt.  Jesus was and still is amazing, great to spend time with, and a better friend no one could ever ask for.  That was what Jesus’ disciples experienced the most wonderful person they had ever encountered or known.  But that wonderful person was about to be taken from them.  He would be arrested, falsely accused, sentenced, and put to death on a cross.

As Jesus had spoken, His disciples were scattered and went into hiding after His death.  Even though He had also talked of His resurrection to them, their grief overshadowed the hope such words could offer them.  The reality of loss can cloud our minds and capture us in surreal moments where time passes without our detection.

I have experienced much loss in my life.  I know the process all too well as a result. I have learned how to hold on to the hope given in the promise of resurrection! I have found that it can shorten the surreal time frame and empower me to press forward in the wake of grief and great sense of loss.

We cannot know how familiar the disciples were with a loss in life before they saw Jesus die.  They were still unprepared for this loss even if they had been made aware.  Unlike us, they had no resurrection story to look back on to draw comfort from.

Their grief was soon turned to rejoicing when Jesus rose from the dead just as He said He would. It took some time for Jesus to break them free of the fog of the loss they felt so deeply.  But after appearing to them at various moments, they realized that all that Jesus had told them was true.  Jesus was alive again!  Jesus is alive today!

As the Christian world prepares to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the Lord’s Day, on Good Friday, we observe what led to such a glorious resurrection.  As we observe, we should remember the hope that resurrection is intended to sow into our hearts and allow it to minister to us in the power it offers.

Jesus is alive!  He is coming again!  He will never leave us, nor will He ever forsake us!  When He returns, those we’ve said goodbye to will be raised from the dead, and we who remain will be caught up to be with Him.  So shall we ever be with the Lord!

If there is no resurrection from the dead, there is no hope in death.  But we who know Jesus have great hope knowing that just as He was raised from the dead, we will also be raised.  This is why the day of His death is called Good Friday.  He paid for our sins in His death and gave us the promise of hope in resurrection life by His being raised from the dead.

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Sweet Fellowship

2Corinthians 13:14   The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion (Koinonia - intimate fellowship) of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Paul concludes his second letter to the Corinthians with this statement we just read.  It is a trinitarian blessing.  He speaks of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, which would indicate the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

In our relationship with God, each member of the godhead works to bring us into a full experience and expression of what a relationship with God is meant to be.

To disregard even one member of the Godhead in that experience and expression is to reject the means God has chosen to make it available and bring us to a complete understanding and experience of Him.

The Holy Spirit is the tangible witness of our relationship with God.  It is by means of Him expressing Himself to us and through us that we can bring a powerful witness to the reality of the grace of Jesus, the love of the Father, and the fellowship we have with the Holy Spirit.

For anyone to carry on as though the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted and, therefore, should not be submitted to is a lie the enemy uses to keep believers in Jesus from the full experience they’re meant to have and to enjoy.

The early church and the New Testament Scriptures are inundated with attention given to the importance and the purpose of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life and practice.  The Holy Spirit was a welcome person of the Godhead to the church, and so it should still be so to this day.

In this New Covenant, Jesus established with His blood, the Holy Spirit plays a significant role and purpose.  Jesus established a Spirit Covenant as opposed to a law covenant.

Jesus came to set up His abode in the heart of His followers and lead and guide them by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus did not establish a new set of rules for us to follow; He came to make it possible for us to be in close fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:16  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

The key to a vibrant, alive, healthy, and productive spiritual walk is realized by fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit.  By close fellowship with the Holy Spirit, you will be led according to the plan and purpose Jesus has for you.  The key to overcoming the flesh is not a greater resolve to do better.  It is by valuing and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit.  He will make everything about Christ plain and show you where and how to walk. Even more than that, He will empower you to walk out what He is showing you.

We need the fellowship of the Holy Spirit always.  I encourage you to ask Him to fill you daily and actively fellowship with Him.  He is, after all, the Comforter Jesus promised to give to you.

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He’s Available

John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.  21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

These are the guys who were Jesus’ disciples, and this event took place after Jesus had been crucified, was dead, had been buried, and had risen again.  Is this the moment these men were truly born again?  That moment when Jesus breathed on them, and they received the Holy Spirit?

Now this precedes Pentecost.  Jesus has yet to ascend to heaven.  But Jesus can breathe on them and command that they receive the Holy Spirit.  This is well before the Day of Pentecost.

Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The same ones who had been breathed on are now being told to wait for the promise from the Father, which is the Holy Spirit.  This time Jesus isn’t telling them to receive the Holy Spirit; He is telling them they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Some might say that a believer gets all the Holy Spirit they will ever need when they are born again, but here we see men and women who were born again and received the Holy Spirit being told there was more to come.

Someone might say to this reasoning that it was because the Holy Spirit had not yet been fully released from heaven to do His part once Jesus ascended.  But once the Holy Spirit was released, people got all of Him they would ever need when they were born again.  But what does the Scripture show us about this?

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men, and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.  14   Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

When this occurred in Samaria, the Holy Spirit had been at work for quite a long time past the day of Pentecost. We know these people were born again by the testimony declaring they believed Phillip’s preaching and were water baptized in the name of Jesus.  Yet they needed to be baptized in the Holy Spirit as a separate, distinct, and considered necessary experience by the apostles.

Anyone born again is granted the right to believe and experience being baptized with the Holy Spirit as a totally separate experience from being born again.  If you’ve never had such an experience, I encourage you to ask the Lord Jesus for it.  Consider what John the Baptist said,

Mark 1:8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

We belong to a risen, glorious Savior who baptizes His followers with the Holy Spirit and fire!  Anointing is available to those who belong to Jesus, but it must be desired and believed. Just as Jesus was a real person and must be believed to be received, the Holy Spirit is a real person and must be believed to be given full access to our lives.  I encourage you today to ask to be filled to overflowing measure by the Holy Spirit.

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Presence Bearers

Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Even after four decades of knowing Jesus, I have nothing I can boast about because He has kept me by His grace.  My boast in being righteous is a boast in the work of Jesus!  Any endurance or faithfulness attributed to my life is a testimony of God's endurance and faithfulness, who has held me fast in the grip of His love and grace.  There truly is nothing like having a real relationship with God through knowing Jesus.

God isn’t caught up in my accomplishments for Him.  He looks forward to showing off the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ!  God is looking to show off Jesus!

God is showing off His kindness towards us in Christ!  He’s not doing this because we were worthy of being saved.  He’s doing it based on Christ alone, and it has nothing to do with our efforts.

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.

It is God’s light, presence, and glory that are 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!

If I put fifty pounds of gold in a box, you might desire to get your hands on that box.  But it’s not the box you want as though it’s of great worth. You want to get your hands on that box because of what is in it.  It’s the gold inside that is attractive.

The presence of God revealed through the preaching of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit is attractive.  This happened with Peter and John in Acts after they healed the lame man at the temple.

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

When we are the presence bearers we’re meant to be, the Holy Spirit takes care of the rest.  Here’s what is so encouraging.  You can be young or old and be a presence bearer.  You can be rich or poor, male or female, black or white, educated or uneducated, and still be a presence bearer.  Anyone who is genuinely born again becomes a presence bearer.

I encourage you to yield to the presence of God today and always.  Let Jesus manifest His life through you, and watch how the excellence of the power will be of God and not yourself.

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The Return Of The King

Palm Sunday was just observed, commemorating the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  It fulfilled what Zechariah had spoken about the Messiah coming to Jerusalem on a donkey in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you;  He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.

But even though Jesus came as Zechariah prophesied He would, many did not recognize Him as such, nor did they understand the timing of His visitation or its purpose.

It is believed historically that the Pharisees had a saying, “if Israel were deemed worthy, the Messiah would arrive on a white horse, but if they were deemed unworthy, He would arrive on a donkey.”

Mt 21, Mk 11, Lk 19, and Jn 12 all say something about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey.  Each account presents a similar but slightly different perspective.

Jesus had been preparing His disciples for the time of His suffering and told them He must go to Jerusalem, where He would be handed over to the Gentiles, scourged, spat on, mocked, and then put to death.  But He also told them He would rise from the dead after three days.  Jesus was heading into Jerusalem as a man on a mission.  After the praises from the donkey ride, Jesus went straight to the temple, where He turned over the money changers' tables and drove the merchants out of the temple area with a whip He made.  Then the blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things He did and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said, “have you never read, ‘out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise’?” Jesus as a man on a mission, stirs things up in Jerusalem, and the religious leaders hate Him for it.  He did it intentionally too!

I imagine that when Jesus got on that donkey, He might have said, “Let’s ride!”  Kinda like Todd Beamer saying, “Let’s roll,” when they took out the terrorists on a flight during the 2001-9-11 attacks.    Jesus was on a mission to manifest God’s presence and become the sacrifice to make it available to all who believe in Him.

The Prophet Ezekiel had a vision in 562BC where he saw the temple from the Mount of Olives, and the glory of God departed from the temple and came down on the Mount of Olives.  That vision was true because the glory of God was still not in that temple in Jesus’ day; it was riding on a donkey into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives! The Glory of God is His manifest presence!  As a man on a mission, Jesus put the presence of God on full display.

Jesus will be coming again as a King on a mission! He will ride as King of kings and Lord of lords on a white horse.  The Pharisees may have gotten something right after all because when Jesus comes again on a white horse, it is to claim the Israel of God He made worthy!

When I was young, my mom and dad sometimes would put my four brothers and me to bed and then drive down to the local PDQ for some ice cream.  We’d all get out of bed and start playing hide and seek when they left.  One of us would be the watchman keeping an eye out for headlights.  If we saw headlights at the corner of our street, we’d all get back in bed.  We knew they would be back, but we were misbehaving during their absence and only being watchful for when their return was near so we could pretend we had been doing what they expected and avoid any embarrassment or punishment.

Are you ready for His return?  Do you recognize Him as your Savior and Lord?  Are you looking for His soon return?  Are you abiding in Him?

1John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

When Jesus comes on His white horse, those born again get to join Him on that ride!  I want to be ready to hear Him say once more, “Let’s ride!” I want to be watchful, anticipating joining Him instead of watching to avoid embarrassment.  Jesus is still on a mission, He’s still upsetting people with His mission, and He is coming again soon!  Hosanna!  Come, Lord Jesus!

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Real Righteousness

Philippians 3:7  But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

In this instance, Paul speaks of how he abandoned his passionate, devoted pursuit of righteousness as a Pharisee.  A righteousness pursued through the Law is a work of the flesh and is not of faith.

Sometimes one’s sense of being good is often their worst enemy because it interferes with the specific kind of faith God desires.

Romans 3:21   But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

God cares about how we approach Him.  He is not moved by our own self-imposed righteousness that we feel is enough based on our own effort to be good enough for God to look our way and open His heart to us.

God desires the righteousness Jesus imputes to those who put their faith in Him and stand on His completed work.  God will not accept any other version of righteousness.

The righteousness Jesus offers freely to those who have faith in Him is superior to any other brand of righteousness.  It cannot be improved or superseded in any way.  So to attempt to approach God with any brand of righteousness is offensive to God.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

No matter what might be happening in your life right now, your invitation to the throne of grace is based on the obedience and sacrifice of Christ, and that means you can go before God on that basis and get the mercy you need to help you.

I encourage you to take advantage of the righteousness you did not earn and go boldly before the throne of grace as often as you wish or need.  God will not turn away anyone who comes to Him in faith in Christ.

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Unshakeable Faith

How you relate to God reveals the difference between knowing Him as your Father or only as the Supreme Deity.  A Supreme Deity perspective can lead to reluctance to go to Him with anything other than that which is way too big for you.  A perspective of Father leads you to realize you can go to Him with anything you need to know His wisdom for.  Once you come to Jesus, God becomes your Father, and He cares for you and is not reluctant to offer you His wisdom on things.  God will make known His will for you.

I have found He is willing to offer me wisdom on things like car repairs, financial decisions, who I should spend my life with, whether or not I should take a trip, to wait on a purchase, and to know how to answer a question or avoid it.  He will be as involved in my life as I allow Him to be as my Father.

James reveals that you can seek God for wisdom without expecting to get a rebuke for it.  God is not poised to rebuke you due to a mistake you made before needing His wisdom or for why you need His wisdom. Your Father is gracious and willing to give you insight into His will for your life. Your Father is all about relationships.  His only requirement is that you go to Him in true faith about it.

God is not asking you to go through life assuming things about Him and making your best guess at what His will might be.   He is very willing to share His heart for you with you, and He is also willing to let you know what your next step is because He can see what is ahead that you cannot see.

Double-mindedness means there’s a hint of faith present but also unbelief at work.  It is an inner tug of war.  It is being stuck between two opinions.  You can agree that God is good and yet question His motives.  Or you can think you know Him well but with a skewed perspective, and as a result, you struggle to trust Him and are reluctant to go to Him because you think you know what His answer might be.

It’s like the parable of the talents that Jesus told in Matthew 25.  The Master gave His three servants each a set amount of money to steward while he went away.  He gave one five talents (bags of silver), the second servant got two, and the last servant got one.  The one with five bags and the one with two bags both invested what they had and doubled it.  The servant with just one bag dug a hole and hid it.

When the Master returned, He praised the servants with ten and two bags and declared let’s celebrate together.  They enjoyed rich fellowship!  They were also promised more responsibilities due to their faithfulness.  But what the Master said to the servant with one bag surprises most people.

Matthew 25:24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The servant with one bag had a skewed perspective due to pretending to have a relationship with the Master, and his real issue was not fear but laziness. He wasn’t as invested in knowing and pleasing as he claimed.

Proverbs 22:13 The lazy man says there’s a lion outside. I will be slain in the street if I go out.

He claims to be afraid when the truth is that he is lazy.  It’s an excuse for his unbelief.  The Master is not all about the money; He is about the trust that enables stepping out in relationship-based faith.  The one-bag guy lacked trust and faith due to having no real relationship. Thus the sentence of outer darkness.  A growing relationship convinced of God’s will produces unshakeable faith.   Unshakeable faith presses on despite the odds in the confidence only a close relationship can produce.

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Relationship 101

I am very thankful and fortunate to be married to the love of my life. We married way back in 1986.  I’ll let you do the math.

Something is interesting about being totally committed to one person in the bond of marriage.  It brings an end to playing the field and thinking only of oneself.

I realize that my way of thinking could seem strange to a more modern generation, but many still find it true. Our relationship would not be what it is today if we had felt it would be proper to see others or live only for ourselves.  We would not be together if that were the case.

I am wholly and devotedly still with my wife Sheila, enjoying our empty nest and doing life together because I love her, and she loves me.  Neither of us feels trapped; we want to be together and are grateful we have each other.  We’re in our happy place!

That is not to say we have never argued or faced extremely difficult situations together.  Jesus said, “in this world, you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”  We have found that to be true, and the tribulations are multifaceted.

Every relationship has its own set of challenges.  This is true of a person’s relationship with Christ.  Just as I gave up a style of life as a single person when I met and married Sheila, anyone who is a believer leaves behind their old way of living to do life with Jesus.

Just as Sheila left her father and mother to be with me and start a family, a person who comes to Jesus is willing to part with anything that might interfere with their relationship with Jesus.

This is really what Romans six is getting at when it offers us sound instruction on living in the freedom we’ve received in Christ.

Romans 6:12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. 15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. 19  Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.  20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is not about being righteous to earn a relationship with God.  A believer in Jesus already has a relationship with God through faith in Christ.  This is about how that relationship produces good fruit contrary to what a person was and how they thought before they came to know Jesus.  I’ve been joined to Christ, and that has produced a completely different way of life for me than what I had before I came to know Him.  This change is not the result of a have to or else mindset in me.  It is not something I regret now after forty years of journey.  I am most grateful for the change Jesus brought into my life, and I am most joyful and happy when I know I am living in submission to the will of the Spirit as a devoted disciple of Jesus.  I encourage you to embrace the deep abiding joy that is yours when surrendered to the Spirit and living in sync with whom you have indeed become in Christ.  In Christ, you’ve been set free!  Enjoy that freedom the way it is meant to be enjoyed.

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It Is Finished

John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

The final act of Jesus was based on what had been written in the Scripture concerning Him.

Psalms 69:21 They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Even though He was God’s Son, Jesus functioned as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit.  He lived His life according to the Holy Spirit and in step with the word the prophets had spoken concerning Him.

Jesus was a man of the word and of the Spirit.  Jesus was so committed to what the Scriptures spoke concerning Him that His final act was to fulfill a prophetic word in the Psalms.  Jesus lived His life based on what had been written about Him, and the Holy Spirit empowered Him to do so.

Why should this be so important to you and me?

It’s important because it demonstrates that we can also live according to what the word says about us as New Creation New Covenant believers in Jesus when we allow the Holy Spirit to govern our lives and empower us to do the will of God.

In saying this, I am not promoting the idea of anyone living a life of sinless perfection.  Yes, we will still miss the mark and sometimes do something to please ourselves and violate the two great commandments: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as we love ourselves.  I will be the first to testify honestly that I know I have not perfectly loved as I should every second of every day of my life since I was born again. There have been times when I knew what the good thing God wanted me to do was, and I refused to do it and did my own thing instead.

But according to His grace and the work of the Holy Spirit, I have been enabled to see when I have missed it, adjust to His will again, and move forward in Him, knowing I am still loved as much as I ever was by Him.  His grace is enough for me, and His blood has cleansed and continues to cleanse me of all my sin.  It does the same for all His children, and that is why we can live according to His word by the power of the Holy Spirit, even after making big mistakes in our journey.

Jesus lived a sinless life to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins, past, present, and future.  It is why He was able to take on our sin at the cross and, in exchange, give us His righteousness.  We are made righteous. We do not earn it.  Now we get to live out the righteousness we received.  It might make it simpler to say we were born into a relationship with God through Christ, and we maintain that relationship with God through Christ.  To live out the righteousness received is to live in a way that manifests our relationship with God.

The apostle Paul also was a man of the word and the Spirit, and he spoke about finishing well.

2Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Paul is not boasting that he lived a sinless life and is ready to go to God and receive His crown of righteousness based on his meriting it.  He testifies that he kept the faith!  “The faith” is believing the gospel concerning Jesus and being rooted and grounded in faith in Him.  Jesus finished the work to make this our reality today.  I encourage you to enjoy your relationship with God and immerse yourself in the word He has spoken in the Scriptures concerning Christ and His finished work.

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Learning To Trust

Learning To Trust

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

You need wisdom, especially when undergoing a trial of life. Being told to count it all joy when you fall into various trials can seem odd.  The end goal is the test your faith which will produce the fruit of patience.

If you are in a trial of faith, whatever you believe is God’s will for you may not have fully manifested yet, and a battle is underway.  That battle will always be along the lines of whether or not you heard God or if the thing you are holding out for truly is His will for you. We are told in,

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

God’s will for you requires you to stand in faith and not be moved regardless of the circumstances, the inability to see anything in the natural, or others ridiculing you.  When you stand your ground patiently, you find the Holy Spirit is the One coming to your aid and comforting you.  In your trial, He strengthens your relationship with God and your reliance on the completed work of Christ.  He strengthens your faith in what Jesus has done and gives you peace.  A trial of faith is a trial of your relationship with God.  When you stand firm, patiently waiting for God to be and to do according to who He is and what he has spoken, you find that despite what you can see with your eyes or feel with your emotions, God is even more real. With your ability to be aware of how involved and invested He is, you find you lack nothing.

The Apostle Paul was on a boat at sea on his way to Rome. A strong storm was destroying the ship, and men were plotting to abandon the ship. Paul had a word from the Lord about how all could be saved. Paul spoke based on what he knew to be the will of God for the situation.  Paul prayed for wisdom and was given the next step.  He knew it was God’s will that he go to Jerusalem.  You need the next step in both small and great situations.  You need the wisdom of His will for you more than you might think you do.

Ephesians 5:15 Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 For this reason, do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is.

If you trust your own experience more than His wisdom, you will find yourself constantly referring to your own experience and making most of your decisions based on that.  But even your own experiences, as weighty as they may seem, cannot match His ability to see all and lead you according to His will.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.  7  Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.  Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.  8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

James reveals that you can seek God for wisdom without expecting to get a rebuke for it.  God is not poised to rebuke you due to a mistake you made before needing His wisdom or for why you need His wisdom. Your Father is gracious and willing to give you insight into His will for your life. Your Father is all about relationships.  His only requirement is that you go to Him in true faith about it.   I encourage you to seek Him for His wisdom today. Ask Him to reveal His will for you today.   He will not get angry with you or be impatient with you.  Approach Him in faith, and you will find He is ready to interact with you and help you.

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A Believer’s Authority

Growing up and having four brothers, three older and one younger, makes for an exciting childhood.

Being raised by a single mother and struggling financially also provides you with many memories.

I remember coming home from school, being hungry, and getting something out of the pantry to eat, only to be told I was not allowed by an older brother.  So I would grab the phone, call my mom at work, and ask her if eating what I had chosen was okay.  It would make my older brother mad that I had done it because my mom would say she wanted me to have it.

Once she made known her will for me to have it, my older brother could do nothing to keep me from having it, even though it upset him.  My mom’s will was more powerful than his, resulting in my hunger being satisfied.

I share this to emphasize the importance of knowing God’s will for your life.  You see when we know what His will is, we also know what is not in line with it and can resist it, and we also know there’s no greater authority than His, and therefore what He decreed is for us cannot be denied us.

A believer in Jesus cannot make a proper authoritative stand without knowing the will of God.  If they are unsure of it being His will, they become double-minded about whatever they need to be resolute about. It becomes impossible for them to obtain what He desires them to get.

You see, the kingdom operates according to faith.  Faith works according to His will being made known so that once it is believed it came from Him, there’s authority to stand on.

When a believer isn’t clear about the will of the Lord, they cannot be bold in what they say or in making the choice they need to make.

Knowing the will of another person is not always a fixed reality.  It requires a relationship.  To understand what another person thinks and desires, you need to know that person; otherwise, you are making assumptions, and our conscience knows assumptions are not always reliable.

To walk in the authority you’ve been given as a believer, you need to walk in a relationship with Jesus to the degree you are familiar with His will.

If you believe everything that happens is His will, you will go through life putting up with many things you do not have to.  For instance:  I would never inject a syringe filled with cancer into a person; I already know I am nowhere near as good as God, so I do not believe that God ever gives a person cancer.  I also reject any idea that He permitted it to teach someone a lesson.

When my kids were learning to ride bicycles, I did not get someone to tempt them to ride out in front of a car so they could be hit, injured, and hospitalized so that I could ensure they got the lesson.  What kind of father would you consider me to be if I did such a thing?

This is why it is so important to know and be familiar with the will of God.  Having it settled equips us. It lets us know where we have authority as a believer in Jesus and how we can use that authority to take a stand in faith where it counts.  I encourage you today to take advantage of the relationship Jesus died for you to have and ask to know His will for you. Let the Holy Spirit show you what you need to know about this, and I am sure you will not regret it.

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Abounding

2Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

I would not be in error if I said that a primary fruit of Christianity is generosity instead of holding back out of fear of loss or limitation.

As believers in Christ, we have more than enough grace to do whatever He might ask of us.  God will see to it that we have whatever we need to participate in His good work in any situation.

When the Holy Spirit stirs us to get involved, it is not based on what we have in the natural at our disposal at that moment.  It is always based on the generosity of His grace at work in us and His willingness to meet us in the thing He has stirred us to participate in.

Where others or even ourselves may see lack, He sees abundance.

When it comes to the will of God, it is never subject to our natural abilities and circumstances.  It is subject to His supply, resource, and ability to enable, empower and provide.

The question is not, can I but rather, can He?

We should never subject His will for us to our understanding of our abilities and resources as that will interfere with our walking in faith based on Him as opposed to ourselves.

When the Holy Spirit reveals the will of God for our moment, we should not ask what we have to bring to it; we should have faith and trust Him to provide what we need to bring to it.

Where He guides, He will also provide.

Our God is really good at raising up unlikely candidates to do great things and accomplish His purposes.  You and I are not exceptions to this.  He is no respecter of persons. He is simply looking for who is available to Him and open to knowing His will with a desire to see it accomplished.

Those who seek to do God’s will are attracted to those who do His will and have discernment regarding the teaching different ones claiming to be for God has to offer.

John 7:16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.

The teaching of Jesus was distinguishable based on how in step with the will of God it was.  It was not a teaching that deviated from God’s will but clarified it.  That is why anyone desiring to do God’s will was drawn to His teaching and knew it was of God.

If you’ve been born again and baptized with the Holy Spirit, you have been given the desire to know and do God’s will.  You have received heavenly equipping to be and to do according to what He says concerning you.  I encourage you not to look at yourself in the mirror according to what you see naturally.  Instead, see yourself as being capable in the way God is declaring you to be based on His will being revealed to you.  he is making all grace abound towards you!  You have what you need and what it takes because Christ is in you, and the Holy Spirit is filling you with His power.  Go and abound in Him!

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Wisdom

Ephesians 5:15 Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 For this reason, do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit,

In these modern times in which we live, millions have learned to run to YouTube when they need to know how to do something.

Need to know how to garden? There’s a YouTube video for that.

Need to know how to fix a faucet?  There’s a YouTube video for that.

Need to know how to fix something on a car?  There’s a YouTube video for that.

Need to discover a new diet to lose weight?  There’s a YouTube video for that.

For a believer in Christ, the clearest definition of being unwise is being ignorant of what the will of the Lord is.

Just as no one has to be ignorant of how to fix something because they can see a video instructing them on how to do it, what tools to use, and even where to buy the things they will need to make the repair, no believer in Jesus has to be ignorant of what His will for them is.

The advice Paul as an apostle, gives to the church at Ephesus is still wise for us today. We should consider how we live and ensure we are wise about it.

But how can we know we are wise about how we live?

Simple, make sure we are living according to the will of the Lord.  This advice given by Paul makes sure we understand the difference between wise and foolish by saying don’t be foolish but be wise.  How?  By understanding what the Lord’s will is.

In other words, if I am doing life without being confident of the will of the Lord, I am living foolishly.  Paul also says, do not get drunk but be filled with the Spirit.

In other words, if I am wise, I will ask to be filled with the Spirit daily.

What is being advised in Ephesians is an active daily relationship with the Lord involving interaction to the degree that we come away with a solid sense of what He desires for us.

To know someone I claim to love hates something, and then I do that very thing regularly is foolish.  It is like going out of my way to bring tension and conflict into the relationship.

Loving my wife makes me aware of her in ways that let me know what she likes and appreciates and empowers me to do even the most minor thing to demonstrate my love for her.  Love for her empowers me to know and do something I am confident she will appreciate and be blessed by.  But these things are made clear only when the relationship is alive and active.

No believer ever has to live foolishly.  Every believer in Jesus has the opportunity to make the most of every opportunity and live in the wisdom of knowing His will and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

I encourage you today to make that your goal.  To prioritize the relationship in a way that makes His will abundantly clear to you and moves you to rely on the Holy Spirit for empowerment to take advantage of the opportunity to do it.  I encourage you to walk in wisdom today and always!

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To God Be The Glory

If someone had told me forty years ago, in early 1983, that I would be celebrating forty years of following Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit and serving as the pastor of a church I planted thirty years ago this coming September, and that my youngest son would turn thirty, I would have said they were full of something.

I was supernaturally swept into the kingdom of God in October of 1983, and what a glorious journey it has been.

I was not in search of anything better way back in early 1983.  I thought I was living well and enjoying myself.  I knew that much of what I was doing wasn’t exactly what I should be doing, but it was fun and how I had chosen to live my life.  I was not thinking of the future or on the right path for anything promising.

I had nothing to offer God that would have impressed Him. Thankfully He wasn’t looking for what a dead in sin man could offer Him.  He wanted to provide me with life in Christ Jesus.  The Bible sums it up better than I can.

Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Even after four decades of knowing Jesus, I have nothing I can boast about because He has kept me by His grace.  My boast in being righteous is a boast in the work of Jesus!  Any endurance or faithfulness attributed to my life is a testimony of God's endurance and faithfulness, who has held me fast in the grip of His love and grace.

There truly is nothing like having a real relationship with God through knowing Jesus.

When I consider the passage we just read in Ephesians, one of the things that stands out to me is how it shows that God isn’t caught up in my accomplishments for Him.  He looks forward to showing off the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ!

God is up to something!  God is showing off His kindness towards us in Christ!  His doing this is not based on how wonderfully we can prove we were worth being saved.  It is based on Christ alone and has nothing to do with our efforts.  God is looking forward to boasting about Jesus and the incredible plan the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit put together in eternity past.  That means He is committed to our growth and transformation, energized by the Holy Spirit.

I love how verse ten speaks of how we are His workmanship.  My Maton acoustic guitar was handcrafted in Australia using only the best Australian wood, and they only have so many highly skilled guys who work there.  That makes each guitar unique.  They aren’t mass-produced on a factory assembly line.  You weren’t mass-produced.  A Master Craftsman has crafted you in Christ Jesus, and you are unique.  He designed you to be unique so that He can display His handiwork made possible through Jesus.  There’s only one you in all the world, and Jesus living in you and through you will produce a unique expression of grace. We were created for good works in Christ, works God prepared beforehand for us to walk in.  The Holy Spirit empowers us for this, so today, you have the privilege of engaging in the very thing you were created for and enjoying knowing it’s the will of God for you.

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