Responding to God's Spirit

 

I am the world's worse person in regards to overreacting emotionally. I cry easily (whether happy, sad or overcome by God's goodness), laugh quickly, feel sad deeply and respond angrily when one of my triggers is pulled.

I am melancholy and emotional; but thankfully, God's Spirit is transforming my negative traits over the years. I am learning to be spirit-controlled, so that His fruit replaces my carnal tendencies (Galatians 5:22-23).

Yet, I am still not perfect. The biggest gift God gave to me is the ability to process my feelings before I express them. This often results in me staring blankly at someone and causing an uncomfortable void in the conversation.

They expect a reaction and I'm sitting numb before them. However, this is healthier than blasting them with anger or a fit of tears and confusing them with my fleshly responses.

Hunger, sleep deprivation, stress and emotional depletion will make us more vulnerable to overreacting with negative emotions. Removing those hindrances is of paramount importance.

I also learned to say, "I will talk to my husband about that and we will pray about it together. Then I will let you know." Some impatient people want an instant reply, but that is never wise to give to anyone about anything.

Journaling my feelings and my responses to their comment or request helps me to sort through my initial reactions. The Holy Spirit may even reveal unresolved conflicts in my subconscious mind that triggered the immediate negative response in me.

God's Spirit is teaching me to abide in my spirit instead of in my flesh and soul - thoughts, choices and emotions. I filter life through my spirit and then take stock of my emotional and physical responses. This is called setting a boundary, and it gives us space and time to hear God's wisdom.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to respond to life and to people with the same care, compassion and love which Jesus exhibited during His lifetime. He did speak harshly to some people, like the Pharisees, but He had the authority to do this and we do not. Fill us with Your compassion and give us Your heart toward people, especially toward the household of Your Saints - the church.

Help us to mix Your wisdom with our emotional responses and to take the time to allow this to occur, even if it means that we do not say anything at all when someone says or does or requests something from us. It may be awkward for the moment, but it will prevent embarrassing and needless confrontation or apologies, and increase our effectiveness for Your Kingdom in this world. 

Thought for the Day:

Once the past, the current and the fearful future issues of our life are dealt with in our mind, then we can hear God's will about the matters at hand and walk in His Spirit while we pray without ceasing and obey His direction. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Abiding in Christ

The Apostle John, so in love with our Lord Jesus, experienced abiding with Christ in person and passed this experience along to us in His letters. He spent hours of unbroken fellowship with the Lord. He considered himself one of Jesus' best friends, beloved by Him.

We too can enjoy this same intimate relationship with Jesus, because He lives IN us by His Spirit. To abide in Christ literally means to dwell in Him, not to wander off, and to stand as if rooted to the spot.

Jesus said He was equal with God (John 10:38). The Pharisees were offended by this declaration, because they did not understand that they too could enjoy unbroken fellowship with God through Christ and His Spirit.

God dwelt in Jesus in the same way that He dwells in us (John 14:11). His character and nature are evident in our life as we mature spiritually and continually die to our old carnal nature (John 14:10).

Although Jesus literally and physically returned to His home in Heaven, He did not abandon us alone on this earth. He gave us His Spirit as our comforter and guide.

Jesus will return for us in time for our wedding feast as His Bride (John 14:18-20); but until then, His Holy Spirit sanctifies us more each day as we believe in Christ and remain in this vital union with Jesus and our Father.

We live and function in the same manner that Jesus walked with our Father during His lifetime (1 John 2:6-27, 3:6). If we desire to live in His will, He provides us with what we need each moment of the day.

We can do greater works simply because we, as His Body, are greater in number and He abides within all of us. All He needs is our availability and obedience to His Spirit on a continual basis as we walk in His will (John 14:3-15).

We eat His flesh and drink His blood, ingesting Him into our spirit, soul and body and drawing our nourishment from Him (John 6:56). We are united with Him and He is our whole life (Colossians 3:4).

Prayer:

Father God, You cleanse us with the blood of Jesus, our perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29). Thank You for choosing to give us His righteousness in place of our old, carnal nature and making us a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We covet our time with You as You provide us with holy fellowship with You throughout the day.

Help us to continue in Your Word, for Your Word is life to our spirit and soul (John 8:31; 1 John 2:19-24). Remind us to keep Your commandments for they lead us on the path of holiness and help us to avoid the destruction reaped from a life of sin and degradation (John 15:9-10).

Thought for the Day:

Christ's life flows through us, just as the nutrients of the Vine empower the branches to bear fruit; but if we break fellowship with Him and grieve His Spirit through sin, pride or rebellion, we lose this perfect union until we repent. 

- John 15:4; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19

God's Dynamite Power within Us

The word “dunimis”, pronounced “doo’-na-mis”, is the root for the word “dynamite”. It means to have mighty power residing within, by virtue of its nature.

This is the same word used to describe the power by which Jesus raised Himself from the dead. Jesus claimed that no one could take His life from Him and only He had the “dunimis” power to raise it up again (John 10:18).

Once we come to Christ through salvation, all of this “dunimis” power is also resident within us. It is equal to a zillion fireworks going off inside of us at one time.

The electric light does not come from the light bulb, but from the electricity flowing to the bulb. The power in us does not come from us, but from God’s “dunimis” power working in us and lighting up our world through us.

Christ’s light shines in our hearts. We radiate Christ to the world in the same way that a light bulb radiates light in a dark room. We are connected to the power of God's Spirit flowing through us on a continual basis.

We just follow the leading of God's Spirit moment by moment and we live in fullness of joy, even in negative circumstances (Psalm 16:11). We accomplish great works for the Lord, not by our righteousness, but by His righteousness within us (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Bible is full of illustrations of God calling men and women - imperfect, weak and unprepared people - who slayed great Giants and routed mighty armies in the name of the Lord.

There is nothing God calls us to do that He will not also provide us with everything we need to sustain us and to guarantee His success through us in the endeavor.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to realize the amazing power, which You provide within us in order for us to walk in Your will for our life. Remind us to continually walk in the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of our flesh.

Call us to the ministry You have prepared for us and then empower us to walk by the guidance and sustenance of Your Spirit through the entire endeavor. This way, we will further Your Kingdom on the earth and we will reap the rewards You prepared for us before You created the earth.

Thought for the Day:

As we walk in the Spirit, continually connected to Him, we do the works God created us to perform by His dynamite power within us, and our Father God is always well pleased with us. - Matthew 3:17