Spiritual Pursuits

Old Testament Saints were given seasons of the presence of God's Spirit within them; but in this new dispensation of time, we enjoy the presence of God dwelling within His temple within us every moment of our life (Romans 10:9).

God's Spirit brings to our cognizant thoughts an increasing awareness of His wisdom, direction, presence and truth (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20). This consciousness affects our thoughts, words, attitude, behavior and feelings.

We often drain the resources of our body and soul by over-extending our time and commitments beyond what God's Spirit leads us to do. This weariness causes us to neglect our times of prayer, Bible study and worship with other Saints.

We are so caught up in the affairs of this world that we forget to communicate with God until we fall exhausted into bed. We take God for granted, trusting that He is always there and will bail us out of any negative issues.

Yet, He often allows us to boil in the stew of our own making. The fountains of Living Water within our spirit dry up and we ignore our thirsty soul, getting more parched with each passing moment (John 4:14). We stubbornly continue to pursue worldly gain and advantage.

Thankfully, God loves us enough to discipline us, in order to teach us lessons and to cause us to walk only in His Spirit and not to rely on our human reasoning (Proverbs 3:5-6).

It is important for us to understand that the most vital aspect of our life is spiritual advancement. Our spirit longs for a deeper relationship with God. Prayer, Bible study and Christian fellowship are the key vehicles for our spiritual maturity.

No amount of worldly gain can satisfy us as much as immersing our self in spiritual pursuits will fulfill us. God created us as spiritual beings and our entire body, soul and spirit long to return to this intimate relationship.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for wooing us back to Your presence when we wander from Your chosen path for our life (Ephesians 2:10). Help us to remain focused on the pursuit of Your Kingdom rather than building our own kingdom on this earth. We thank You for Your love, kindness, supply, presence and spiritual leading as we progress through each moment of time.

We want nothing more than to know You more deeply and to understand Your ways. We draw all of our strength from Your Spirit within us and we delight to do only Your will with the life You provide for us both now and throughout eternity. We enjoy the intimate fellowship with You, which You provide for us all day long.

Thought for the Day:

Mankind is so convinced of the laws of science that they believe these laws can exist without the Creator of it all; yet, God holds His entire creation of the cosmos together in the span of one of His hands. - Isaiah 40:12

Liberating Truth

 

Jesus is more than just the Vine on which we flourish. He is also our Son Light and Life (John 1:4). The fruit of His Spirit springs forth from the branch of our life, because His life flows through us. Think about this for a moment. Do not read over it and then forget what you saw. We are nothing without the Vine. Christ works in and through us. His life flows through us and feeds the world with His fruit in our life. It is our privilege to be so united with our risen Lord.

This union allows us to shrug off the anxious thought, the carnal impulse and the dread of the future. His love reveals to us the lies, which Satan convinced us to believe. God’s Spirit takes us back to the experience in our life where Satan planted the falsehood. His Spirit then reveals His truth and sets us free from living from the premise of these lies. Our life changes radically when God shows us that we are more than conquerors because He loves us (Romans 8:31-39).

God’s peace reigns in our soul, if we just allow it entrance. It takes a change in our focus from believing Satan’s lies to believing God’s Truth. Once we recognize our union with Christ, we can go to the ends of the earth at God’s command. We live in contentment and joy regardless of our circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). His goodness and mercy envelop us each and every day of our life (Psalm 23:6). His joy in us gives us His strength to meet any trial life has to offer.

When we change our focus from the negative aspects of our life to the joys of His life in us, then we face any obstacle with His confidence and hope. When we focus on the reality that our humanity is crucified with Christ, we also realize that we no longer live, but we are raised with Christ who lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20). We live by the faith, which comes from the Son of God, and we relish His love and sacrifice for us. This allows us to live in total surrender to His will.

We live in service to our King at home, at work, at church and in our community. We listen to His Spirit’s direction and we walk according to God’s Spirit, not according to our flesh or our human desires and goals. We live in the consciousness of His presence and we abide in His love and life throughout the day and night. We look for opportunities to allow His life to flow through us and to touch the lives around us. An encouraging word, compassion and grace, a kind smile, and the shared truth of His Gospel will set lives free.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You dearly love us and desire an eternity of intimate fellowship with each one of us. What an awesome privilege You give to us! You are our God of great comfort, and You sustain us and prepare us for the spiritual battles we experience. In this corrupt and unjust world, You give us wisdom and comfort. You prepare us to fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12). We trust You now more than ever. You equip us for the work that you called us to do (Ephesians 2:10). We love and worship You all the days of our life.

Thought for the Day:

Every person sins and we all miss the mark; however, we are all justified by His grace because of the redemption provided for us by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. – Romans 3:23-24

 

Abiding Peace and Joy

Read: Luke 6: 27-31

“Bear with each other (and yourself) and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another (or yourself). Forgive everyone (and yourself) as the Lord forgave you.” - Colossians 3:13  

Bitterness rises from woundedness deep within our soul, and can be rooted years back into our past. Pride is one lie that guards the secrets of our past. We do not want to admit to ourselves, nor to anyone else, the things that others did to us. We block these memories from our conscious mind, and we build a wall of pride and sometimes anger all around them. We falsely believe that these strong, negative emotions will protect us from any past, present and future hurt.

 

What these negative emotions actually do, however, is to block our soul from receiving the fullness of the love that God has for us now. Until we forgive ourselves and others, Satan gains the advantage over us. If we refuse to forgive, we give Satan permission to control that part of our soul, and to inflict his demons on our body and spirit as well. He holds us captive and the fruit of the Holy Spirit cannot manifest in that area of our soul. (2 Corinthians 2: 10-11; Hebrews 12: 16)

We do not need anger and pride to protect us when we have the King of kings as our mighty stronghold and fortress. As we put our trust in Christ, we live in abiding peace and joy ~ not only in our spirit, but deep within our soul as well. If you do not have this peace, then ask God for it. Do not allow Satan to deceive you with his lies. (Isaiah 26:3; Isaiah 30:15)

When we have the King of kings hovering over us and sheltering us under His wings, we can forgive past hurts, and put future hurts into proper perspective. We can look for the seed of a miracle in every negative circumstance, because God promises to work all things, even the bad things, out for our good. (Romans 8: 28)

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us to forgive ourselves and others and to release them to you. We have no need to extract vengence on our own. Vengence is Yours, and You promise to repay each one according to his own works.

Thought for the Day:

The Bible never commands us to like someone. God only requires that we allow HIM to love the person through us.

The Reason for the Season

There is an unusual point to this message; but first, bear with me as I build a foundation.

Did you ever notice that Jesus did not tell us to celebrate His birth? In fact, for most of the church’s history, Christmas was a minor holiday, if celebrated at all. Maybe this is because Jesus told us to commemorate His death, burial and resurrection. This is why we have communion services in our churches. I believe He did this because He wants the focus of our Christian message to center around salvation through faith in Christ’s blood atonement, rather than on his nativity.

I am not proposing that we stop celebrating Christmas or that we should do away with the nativity set. I collect unusual nativity sets. Some I even keep out all year around in order to praise God for sending Jesus to save us from the penalty of our own choices and for giving us His resurrected life. In fact, I love the festivity and anticipation in the air at this time of the year. People smile more often, have a song on their lips, and act more generously toward one another. St. Nicholas was a kind and giving man and I love that people always focus on sharing with one another, especially with those less fortunate.

For most people, however, Jesus is no longer the reason for the season - if He ever was. Christmas is more about getting than receiving. It emphasizes a secular Santa, rather than Jesus, our Christ and Savior. Even some Christians put more emphasis on Santa and presents than on Christ.

Let’s face it, in reality most of the aspects of the season are pre-Christian. In order to make Christ more relavant to their world system, the Catholic church used the December 25th Roman holiday of Natalis Invicti, which is the festival of the birth of the invincible sun, as well as Saturnalia. The German mid-winter festival celebrations actually used evergreen trees and holly as symbols of eternal life. This is where we get that famous song, “O Tannenbaum.” 

The most central and recognizable symbol of Christmas today is the Christmas tree —and it has nothing to do with Christianity or Jesus. It is purely a symbol taken from the ancient German mid-winter festivals. Some people even claim that the practice of cutting down trees and taking them home to decorate them is actually condemned by God in Jeremiah 10:1-10.

When we insist on putting Jesus back as the reason for the season, today’s society thinks that we are seeking to assert our cultural superiority over everyone else. They resent us for hijacking their ancient celebrations and for pushing our views on an America that has moved toward religious pluralism. They even mock us, because we insist that Christmas is Christ’s birthday, when everyone knows that December 25^th was probably not the exact date.

Every year Jesus recedes further into the background of human consciousness. At best, in their thinking He was a good man, a prophet or historical teacher. So, this is what I want to suggest. Let us make Jesus the reason for EVERY season. Make Him the focus of every day in which we live. Share, without apology or fear, what He did for us with His life, death, burial and resurrection.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we often make causes out of issues that You do not even care about. Teach us to live our lives in such a way that everyone will see our faith in and love for You. Move in their hearts so that they will join us in glorifying You with their lives.

Thought for the Day:

Make Jesus the center of your focus every day of the year.