Living without God's Spirit and Word

 

Imagine living in Old Testament times. No Bible, except the Pentateuch at the Temple, and no Holy Spirit abiding within our Spirit. No intimate connection through Christ with the presence of God within.

Sure, there was an occasional Christophany when Jesus appeared to an individual; but how many times did that happen? Once in a while the Holy Spirit embodied a person, such as a prophet, but the normal rank and file person had no connection with Him.

If I had no Bible and no Holy Spirit, I would be in an asylum. Emotional, mental and spiritual meltdowns would be the natural order of my day. My emotions and melancholic thoughts would dominate my life.

Bereft of God's Spirit and Word, I would drift with the tide of life and get deeper and deeper into undertows and whitewater designed by Satan to snuff out my natural life.

I barely survived like this for the first 18 years of my life; but in God's mercy, He saved me and gave me the fullest measure of His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16-19).

I weep uncontrollably at the thought of not living as the temple of the Spirit of God (Psalm 51:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The presence of God's Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance with Christ, and it assures us that we are truly Born Again (Ephesians 1:14).

How could we survive one moment of life disconnected from the life-giving flow of God's Word and the security and direction of His Spirit's presence in our life?

Thankfully, God's Spirit does guide each moment of our day with precision and comfort (Proverbs 3:5-6), leading us with His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13). We can approach God's throne with complete confidence (Hebrews 4:16). He is all we ever need.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your Spirit and Your Word. I do not know how people survive without Your intimate presence in their life. I do not go one moment of the day without consulting You, casting my cares on You and praying for Your blessings and a more intimate union with You.

I feel so blessed to be living in this day and time with the internet access and the speed at which we can connect to Your Word day and night. Your Word is truth and we devour it ravenously; it is sweeter than honey and the honey comb (Psalm 119:103). We can never have enough hours in the day to show our appreciation to You for all You do for us.

Thought for the Day:

Having no intimate union with the Trinity, enjoying no assurances from the promises of God's Word, abandoned and alone without the unconditional love daily showered on us by our Heavenly Father would leave us rudderless in a sea of deprivation, confusion and illusion.

A Faithful Life

At times, we make poor choices and allow them to define who we are, causing us to live in a downward spiral with one destructive choice after another.

God calls us to gain our self-image and fulfillment from His presence in our life and to follow His will for our career, relationships and all of our decisions (Ephesians 2:10; Romans 12:2).

We often worry about what others will think of us, especially those significant others in our life; however, God's opinion of us is all that really matters.

There is no need to covet what this world has to offer, because this will cause us to stray from the truth and bring us many trials and sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).

Clinging to Christ allows us to hold fast to our faith in His faithfulness with a clear conscience (1 Timothy 1:19, 3:9, 4:1). We obtain eternal life both now and in eternity by entering an intimate relationship now with God and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3; 1 Timothy 6:12).

As a good example of an authentic Believer, we traverse the issues of life with love, patience, meekness, holiness, purpose and moderation in all things (1 Timothy 2:15, 4:12, 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22, 3:10).

We teach God's Word to our children and live a Godly example before them (2 Timothy 3:15). Showing our humanity as well as our growing maturity in our faith; so they will know it is possible for them to walk in the Lord all the days of their life as well.

Prayer:

Father God, give us Your love and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ and toward all of Your Saints (Philemon 1:5). We acknowledge that our faith is effective, because every good thing we are and possess come from You (Philemon 1:6). We want to inherit Your Kingdom through the faith and promises You teach us during our lifetime (Hebrews 6:12; 2 Peter 1:4).

We draw ever closer to You with a true heart full of the assurance of faith, which You give us when You cleanse our conscience and desires with the pure water of Your Word (Hebrews 10:22-23; Ephesians 5:26). Help us to live by the faith and the example of the great cloud of witnesses who went on before us (Hebrews 11:1-39, 12:1-3).

Thought for the Day:

Our goal in life is to utter these words with our final breath: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my race and I have kept my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." - 2 Timothy 4:7

The Perfect Balance

Have you ever wondered if this world is the only stage on which our life plays out? Our body is a temporary dwelling place, such as a tent (2 Corinthians 5:1). We live in it only during our time on this earth.

Within our body is our soul and spirit. Until we surrender to Christ, our spirit is dead in Adam’s sin. Once we walk away from our sinful lifestyle and dedicate our life to Christ, our spirit finally comes to life (Ephesians 2:1, 5).

Our body’s health is affected by our emotional, mental and physical decisions. Our spiritual decision or indecision in this life determines our eternal destination (John 3:18; Luke 6:45).

When we die physically, our body goes to the grave and turns to dust. Yet, our spirit and soul go on to eternity in either heaven or hell, depending on our belief or unbelief in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10).

Our moral decisions in this life are based on whether we allow our soul - our thoughts, decisions and emotions - or our spirit to direct our paths.

We can choose to walk according to the dictates of the world, the devil and the desires of our flesh, or we can walk in the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:15-25).

Through sanctification, our soul is transformed and we have the mind of Christ and the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:16).

As the redeemed of the Lord (Psalm 107:2-8), we talk about the incidents of God’s blessings in our life with anyone who is interested in listening.

Some of these people may decide they want this same blessed life and ask us how to get it. We simply share the gospel with them: “Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Mark 1:15).

Prayer:

Father God, Your Word, the Bible, tells us that when we see Jesus, we shall be changed, because we shall be like him (1 John 2:2-3). Jesus is in an immortal body, which never ages or gets sick. Your Saints shall have an immortal body for eternity too (1 Corinthians 15:53).

Remind us that, while we dwell on earth, You have a specific purpose for our life. We should not clutter our days with endless activity, but we do not sit passively either, as life passes us by. Instead, we walk in the Spirit and fulfill Your will for our life (Ephesians 2:10).

Thought for the Day:

Satan will try to tempt us to walk in immorality or to detrimentally occupy all of our time with busywork, rather than walking in obedient devotion to God.