The Spirit

1 Cor. 2:14

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Thankfully, the message of the gospel does not depend on man's wisdom. If it did, I would not be able to share anything. But since it is Spirit driven and the Spirit is a gift to each believer, a gift who indwells and constantly teaches and leads, I can share. 

The Spirit reveals to believers the things of God because who but a person's spirit knows the innermost workings and thoughts. It is the same with God. The Spirit knows the depths of God. Believers have not received the spirit of the world, but instead the Spirit that is from God so that we might understand the things freely given us by God. What a monumental gift! Truly indescribable! Truly amazing! Amazing grace! The Spirit Himself interprets spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. If I have the Spirit, then I am spiritual. I am privy to all that the Spirit can teach! I have this glorious gift, but what do I do with it? How do I communicate with the Spirit?

Someone without Christ doesn't accept spiritual things because they are foolishness to him. For instance, the Beatitudes. To the world someone who is meek is a doormat, but to the spiritual meekness is evidence of the Spirit in the life. The same goes for the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ!

Father,

I am in awe of the gift of the Spirit. Teach me more each day how to listen and hear all He is saying to me. I ask that You transform my mind conforming it to the mind of Christ.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Only...

Josh. 1;6-9

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua's only was no simple matter. He was filling the shoes of Moses, but the one advantage he had was the Lord, No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. What a promise! Certainly these words answer the question, Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?

Joshua's instruction was to be strong and courageous. Two qualities that any man would need before begining a military campaign. But he was also told to be careful to obey all the law of Moses without turning to the right or the left. If he could do this, he would be successful wherever he went. 

But what did it mean specifically to be careful? The law could not depart from his mouth. The words of the law would become the words of his conversations and his communications. He was to meditate on the law day and night. It would fill every recess of his mind controlling all his thoughts. And then once more his command said, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. After this second time, Joshua is promised prosperity. Prosperity and Success all at the price of obedience! With this in mind, the Lord tells him not to fear and promises He will be with him wherever he goes, in battle or out of the battle. 

Father,

I want this heart, a heart who knows Your words so much that the control every thought or action. Teach me and guide me into the path that You desire for me. Take away my fear of man. Replace it with a fear of You, a fear that leads to obedience and love.

In Jesus name,

Amen

To the Next Generation

Ps.1:17-18

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

This is my mission and what should be constantly in my thoughts. How can I proclaim your wondrous deeds to the next generation? Certainly through my words but also through my actions. Together they should form a complete picture of Jesus Christ and His saving grace. As I read on, I see David has written about ways that he used and that I might use as well to accomplish my mission. 

Praise is an important way to share the wondrous deeds of God. David praised God with the harp and with his voice. In fact, he was so exuberant that he was shouting for joy when praising God. This kind of enthusiasm is contagious! [Especially to the next generation] Practically this can be seen in the way I handle illness. Even though I have a debilitating illness, I still praise God! I can trust what is true about God and rest in the fact that all He sends my way is for my good. Praising Him through the pain. Praising Him when the days are dark.

I can remember what God has done in years past and share the stories of how God has worked in my life. Not just victories but the failures and what I learned from them. My tongue will talk of Your righteous help all the day long. This not only speaks of content but also of duration, all day long. What God is doing and has done in my life should fill up much of my conversation. When I see one of the grandchildren going through something hard, I can come alongside and listen. Perhaps even share something that I endured as well. Most of all share how God can work through any circumstance. 

Earlier in the psalm David says, But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more...Such hope as this should be obvious in  my life. Constantly looking forward and upward should keep me from looking downward and becoming steeped in the pain of this life. Keeping my focus on Him can make whatever is happening in this life better. 

Prayer must be an integral part of my life. Prayer keeps me in touch with God. It is where I can ask Him to help me understand life through His eyes, not just for my life but for all those God brings my way. 

Father,

Help me to proclaim Your might to another generation. Let me life and my words honor You. Keep my focus ever upward, constantly seeking Your face.

In Jesus name,

Amen 

The Appeal

Rom. 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

First and foremost any appeal that Paul makes must be by the mercies of God. It is only through His mercy and grace that I am even saved. Without mercy and grace I would have no ground to stand before God. I would have no power to obey the commands in the word, and specifically, the commands in the rest of this chapter. Paul asks me to present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is my spiritual worship. Is this a one shot deal? No, every day when I get up, I need to present myself to God living but without a will of my own  just as a sacrifice would be, bound and unable to free itself waiting for the will of its captor. Jesus is my captor, and I desire most of all to have His will in my life. 

 The only way that I can be holy and acceptable is by having the holiness and acceptability of Christ imputed to me. I must be in Christ, through Christ, and have Christ overall. Then I can grow through the power of the Holy Spirit and present myself as a sacrifice through His grace and mercy. This is my spiritual worship. The presenting of myself as a sacrifice [a sacrifice without a will of its own] is complete submission. Spiritual worship is submission!

How does this presenting look in reality? Non-conformity to the world, When I am submitted to Christ, the world will lose its appeal. It will be revealed for what it really is: nothingness, futility, and absence of satisfaction. But by contrast submission brings the transforming of my mind. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus. His mind is infinitely better than any earthly mind could ever hope to be. Move over, Einstein! But now the part that causes me to pause: that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Testing...discerning the will of God comes through testing. If all were good, would I need help? No, likewise, testing causes me to rely on Christ even more. And in that relying, I understand His will, a will that is always good, acceptable, and perfect. It enables my mind to discern how God views this trial. It enables me to see His sovereign hand at work in my life. And all this by being that living sacrifice, the sacrifice without a will of its own totally at the hand of its captor. And in my case, my captor is Jesus Christ.  

Father,

Thank You for these rich verses this morning. What a joy to awaken each day with the brain and voice to offer myself as a living sacrifice to You. Thank You for the outworking of Your sovereign plan in my life.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Grafted

Rom. 11:19-21

Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";

Some pretty strong warnings in this passage! First warning: do not be arrogant toward the branches. Paul explained that some branches [Israel] were taken off so that Gentiles, who were wild olive shoots, could be grafted in and share in the nourishing root of the olive tree. His warning meant that Gentiles have nothing to blow their horns about. It is not the Gentiles who support the root but the converse is true. 

Second warning: They [natural branches] were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. For in a similar way, the Gentiles could be broken off for their unbelief. We must stand fast in our faith. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm you calling and election. Diligence is necessary. Just because the Gentiles were saved by faith and not by works, does not mean we can be free and easy with our salvation. In fact the converse is true. We can not stand in the power of our own works but only in Jesus, His blood, His grace, and His power perfected in human weakness. 

Third warning: Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.  And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. It's pretty clear that the believer needs to live in the kindness of the Lord, for if he changes that, He will be cut off. 

Fourth warning: Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Don't be wise in our own eyes! Don't think we control our destiny and can do whatever with our faith. Not so!!

Arrogant, proud, ignoring the kindness of God , wise in our own eyes...This describes most of the world today, as well it should describe someone who doesn't know the Lord. But for the person who knows Jesus and has had his heart transformed, it should never be. Peter says, Therefore brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election. We should not waste the time that has been granted to us. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us to His own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us His precious and very great promises so that we may become partakers of the divine nature...
We must look into the mirror of the Word and not turn away forgetting what we have seen, but instead, we must see ourselves truthfully, falling on our knees in confession, and asking for grace and mercy in time of need.

Father,
Thank You for grafting me into the root, Jesus Christ. I so want to live for You.Give me Your strength and grace each day so that I may stand fast in my faith.
In Jesus name,
Amen

Thoughts on Psalm 63

Ps 63

So beautifully written ane yet so full of meaning!  David certainly knew the Lord and cherished his time with Him. 

• O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ----Without God there is no life! It is merely a thirsting for something that can never be found and a fainting, a falling hard without ever being helped. With such a great lack, it only makes sense that men would search for what they were missing. Sadly, they often look in the wrong places seeking for more and more to fill the emptiness inside. Searching for God is the only search that truly satisfies!  
• So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. ----God's sanctuary is not necessarily a building, but it is the place where He can be found. When He is found, then His power and glory surround you. He has invited me to be His child, to experience His best for me, and to bask in His glory and power. 
• Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.----God's attributes are ever evident in my relationship with Him. His steadfast love is better than this physical, earthly love. Because of who He is, I will praise Him. My lips must praise! What else can I do? He is the One who has saved, redeemed, sanctified, justified, and will one day glorify me!
• So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.----My mission is to bless Him as long as He gives me breath. Not only with my lips but also with my hands! I bless Him because of who He is. I trust that what He has placed in my life is for my good. 
• My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,----He satisfies me 100%. Such satisfaction exudes praise from joyful lips. 
• when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.----Even in the nighttime when day is done, when the problems lay heavy on my heart, I will meditate on HIm. Why? He has always helped me before and will continue to do so. I have been in the shadow of His wings. I know the joy that is there. He becomes my song in the night!
• My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.----I cling to Him. His right hand supports me. His outstretched arm is my dread warrior. 

Father,

Thank You for this beautiful psalm. I cling to Your words and the shadow of Your wings. You have blessed me beyond all measure. I bless You!

In the name of Jesus my Savior,

Amen

All of God

Rom. 9:32-33

Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

Chapter 9 teaches the relationship between the law and faith, between the Israelites and the Gentiles.

With either group of people there is no failure in the word of God. What God has said stands true. He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have mercy and compassion. It is His choice so that no human exertion is involved. It depends only on God and His express will. Can the lump of clay cry out to its molder about its existence? No, the potter has the express right of making the vessel exactly how he wants it whether vessels for honor or dishonor. 

For the children of the promise:

• Isaac was the one through whom the offspring would be named. He was the child of the promise.
• Before Isaac was even born, the promised peoples were a reality. It was through Isaac that God's purpose of election might continue not of works but because of Him who called.
• The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it because it is a righteousness by faith. 

For Israel:

• Israel pursued a law and failed miserably because it was not of faith.
• They stumbled over the stumbling stone, Jesus. 

As it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."  It all comes down to Jesus.  Did you accept or reject? Did you choose human exertion or faith in Jesus? Did you want to earn your salvation or have the gift of Jesus through faith? Why are people so bent on works? Perhaps it feeds the ego. They can bluster about all they have accomplished. But for me, I want to tell of all God has done for me!

Father,

Thank You for the gift of faith and salvation. I love Jesus and want to live for Him. Strengthen me in Your grace and power.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen

Rom. 8 [Part 2]

Rom. 8: 37-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This glorious chapter continues pouring blessing upon blessing. What a wondrous God we serve! While we are eagerly awaiting the return of Christ, the Spirit Himself is our ready companion.

• The Spirit helps us in our weakness, when we don't know how to pray by interceding for us with groanings too deep for words. But still there's more! We can rest in the fact that whatever the Spirit prays is according to the will of God. 
• For those who love God and are called according to His purpose all things will work together for good, God's good, the best good there is!
• Those whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son so that Jesus might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Those He predestined, He called, those He called, He justified, and those He justified, he glorified. 
•  If God is for us, who can be against us? God did not spare His own Son for our behalf, will He change that now? No. 
• Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword. Nothing, Nothing, Nothing! What a wonderful Savior! It takes an entirely new shift in thinking to realize that the cessation of breath is not the cessation of life. 
• No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  What does it mean to be more than a conqueror? Does it mean to rise above temporal things? Definitely it means to view life as Jesus views it. Could it mean to be free from the grips of physical life and of Satan, well beyond his venue. Not only am I safe with the Savior, but I am safe for eternity. 

For me, being more than a conqueror means keeping heart. 

•  2 Cor. 4:16-17--So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. This life is all preparation for what is to come. It is to shift our eyes from the world to the things of God.

For me, being more than a conqueror means valuing above all else the treasure I have within my jar of clay. 

• 2 Cor. 4:7-10-- But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

For me, being more than a conqueror means His grace is my sufficiency and His power is perfected in my weaknesses. \

• Cor. 12:9-10--But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Father, 

You have blessed my life in so many ways. Thank You for Jesus, for my new life, and for making me more than a conqueror. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

Rom. 8 [Part 1]

[Back from another stint in the hospital, hopefully, the last for quite awhile.]

Rom. 8:15-17

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

What a glorious chapter is Rom. 8! God has done so much for us.

• No condemnation-because of Jesus Christ
• The law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ from the law of sin and death. 
• God has done what the law [weak and fleshly] couldn't do.
•  God sent Jesus to condemn sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us allowing us to walk by the Spirit. 

What more could we want? We are free in Christ. He took our place and met the requirements of the law concerning out sins. As a result of all Jesus has made possible, what should we do? What should be our desire our response?

• To live for the flesh is to set our minds on the flesh, but to live for the Spirit is to set our minds on the Spirit. What a straightforward thought! Where is our mind set? What pops into our minds immediately when we wake up?
• Part of this mind-set is remembering that a mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. Why would we choose to be hostile to God after all Jesus has made possible for us? Those who are in the flesh cannot please God! How strong is that! That includes any admixture of flesh and spirit that we concoct.
• We are born anew in Christ. We have the Spirit of the resurrected Christ dwelling in us!
• If we have the Spirit of Christ [and I do] then, and even though are body is dead because of sin, the Spirit dwells within us because of His righteousness. If it were our own righteousness, we would crash and burn. Nothing good dwells in us apart from Jesus Christ and His Spirit. 
• If the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He who resurrected Christ will also resurrect us. Wow! He will give eternal life to our mortal bodies.

So then what is the conclusion to this heavy teaching? 

• We are not debtors to the flesh. If we live to the flesh, we will die.
• If by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of our body, then we will live.
• Those who are led by the Spirit are the Sons of God.
• We have been freed from the spirit of slavery and have embraced the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba Father. We have been transformed from the choke-hold of our flesh to become sons with a close and intimate relationship with the Father.
• The Spirit bears witness with us that all this is true. We are sons, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ.
• Provided we suffer with Him in order that we may be glorified with Him.  This little clause at the end of the verse always grabs our attention, What is our attitude toward suffering? Do we embrace it as part and parcel of being a son.

Father,

So much teaching here. Help my mind to embrace it all, to live as You would have me live, and to embrace suffering as a good gift from You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Living in Grace

[Side note: Just home from 8 days in the hospital. It felt so good to write again this morning.]

Rom. 6: 14

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Do believers need to sin so that grace may abound? NO. How can we who are dead to sin still live in it? Don't we know the truths about our baptism? Just in case, Paul has developed certain facts that are true for all believers. He asks believers to consider that are true. They are:

• When Jesus was raised from the dead to the glory of the Father, so too we will walk in newness of life.
• If we have been baptized into Jesus' death, we will be united with Him in resurrection.
• Our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin might be brought to nothing.
• We are no longer enslaved to sin.
• If we have died with Christ, we are set free from sin.
• Christ will never die again since He was raised from the dead.
• Death has no dominion over Christ.
• He died once for all to this death, but now lives His life to God.

So you also consider Yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Paul has developed the fact base, a base which should affect every believer monumentally. But what is our response to all these facts? What does it mean to consider?  For me it means to make all these truths a reality in my life. I must live them out or they are worth nothing. They become an empty,vain religion. Every believer would say emphatically that our relationship with Christ is not a religion but a relationship. Yet somehow we reduce these great truths for living life to an empty set of rules. Without any power or grace, we keep on plowing through the muck of the world finding ourselves deeply mired. So the question is again, what is my response? How do I consider? Without a doubt, Paul has given us our response. 

• Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. When sin reigns, the Spirit does not. When sin reigns, our communication is cut off from God. When sin reigns, we take ourselves from the grace and mercy to help in time of need. We do it! It is not done to us!
• Do not present yourselves as instruments for unrighteousness,We would all say we do not want this, but does our lack of action make this happen? Do we keep ourselves in the position where we enjoy a little of the world and a little of grace? 
•  but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. Sometimes quitting a sinful behavior without putting a godly one in its place results in a no-man's land where the person is easily caught by sin once again. If this happens repeatedly, the person feels hopeless. They just accept that this sin will always be there. So sad! No sin has to be there! No personality flaw has to control the life. Walk in the Spirit! Walk in newness of life! Walk in the resurrection power of Jesus. 
• For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. If our thought processes are right, and we consider resulting in action, then sin will not control us!! We are not longer under the law, that is even a self-imposed one. We must not reduce our Christianity to a set of rules without the warmth of a relationship with Christ. 

Through the Spirit this life is a possibility. Even more than that, it is a reality!

Father,

What a word this morning! My heart lifts up when I think about all that You have given us in the person of Jesus Christ. Give me Your grace and mercy to help in time of need [the need: temptation to sin]. Thank You for cancelling the debt of my sin and giving me resurrection life. Reveal to me when I have slipped and draw me quickly to Yourself.

In Jesus name,

Amen