Walking in the Spirit

There is a fine line between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit. Our human soul - our mind, emotions and will - has definite opinions about everything, and wants to be heard in the midst of our day.

Of course, this is a very important exercise. We often neglect our body and soul. We push our body to the limit, ignoring warning signs. We discount the cautions of our soul.

We grab a protein bar instead of eating a balanced meal. We fail to exercise, because we have one more item to accomplish for work. We do not realize that we are full of destructive negative emotions.

Yet, our body, soul and spirit work much better when they are all in sync with God's Spirit. We care for our body, pay attention to the way in which life is affecting our soul, and we stay in tune to God in our spirit.

God used the game of Scrabble to give me an object lesson on listening to the Spirit rather than obeying the thoughts in my mind. God will use something in your life to teach you too.

Rather than to look for a word I already know, I listen to the Spirit and place the letters He tells me to use. I learn new words, earn more points and learn to discern between the voice of God and the voice of my own human reasoning.

When we walk in the Spirit, we stop making our own plans and trust in the Lord's plans for our day instead. We stop considering our human reasoning and seek only God's will for everything that we do and say as we follow His desires (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Walking in the Spirit allows us to more easily discern His prompting throughout the day. The voice of our soul eventually dims, and it is easier to hear the direction of God's Spirit for each moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us an example of Your love and deliverance by freeing Israel from Egyptian control. In our similar dire circumstances, You always give us Your comfort, which increases our joy (Psalm 94:19). When we are overwhelmed by life's sorrows and fears, You are right there within us.

You care about Your children who honor and obey You (Psalm 15:19). Our only true joy is in You, because You give us triumph over life's hurdles as we feast even now on our inheritance as Your children (Isaiah 58:14).

Thought for the Day:

When we walk in the Spirit, we listen for His peace, which surpasses human understanding; therefore, we have less anxiety, because we pray about each moment of our day. 

- Philippians 4:6

We Love God by Obeying Him

Lately, God has been fine tuning my obedience in walking in His Spirit, and weaning me from relying on my own humanistic thinking. The other day, we were doing our quarterly shopping at Walmart, and I felt led to go to the shoe section to look for a pair of pool shoes on sale. 

I immediately thought about my very comfortable pool shoes at home, made by Speedo of the highest quality of materials. Instead of shopping for pool shoes, I spent the rest of the shopping time praising God for my wonderful, comfortable, sturdy pool shoes. 

I felt such gratitude in my heart for God’s provision of those shoes for me. This flowed into praise for His generous provision in every area of my life.

The next day...the very next day...my Speedo pool shoes were stolen at the pool while I exercised!!! This resulted in a week without pool shoes. Reduced to wearing my shower shoes instead, I rubbed bruises in the bones of my toes as I walked in these flip-flops. 

God's Spirit knew about the coming theft, and He wanted to provide for me, but I disobeyed His leading.My disobedience cost me more than a lack of pool shoes; it also cost me intimacy with our Daddy God, and an opportunity to see His abundant provision in action before I ever knew I needed it. 

Obedience proves our love for God (John 14:15); and in this instance, I grieved the Holy Spirit, because of my disobedience (Ephesians 4:30). I am sure God appreciated my praise, but He was attempting to supply my unforeseen need according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). 

I was able to purchase a cheap pair of new pool shoes online and they work great...but I have bruised toe bones to remind me of the consequences of leaning on my own understanding, rather than obeying the direction of God's Holy Spirit (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, many people would believe that this illustration of obedience is straining at a gnat, and that You have more important things for us to focus on than pool shoes. However, the issue in this case was my obedience in walking in Your Spirit, and the shoes were simply a tool You used to teach me this lesson. 

Thank You for providing such a simple object lesson, to prepare me in the future to act more vigilantly in my obedience in every area of my life. As I am in-tune with Your peace and Your Word in every moment of my day, You will lead me by Your Spirit and You will prepare me for every future contingency that I will ever face as I walk in Your will for me.

Thought for the Day:

Obedience is better than sacrifice; or in this case, obedience is better than praising. – Acts 17:11

God Haters - Why Serve a God Who Kills

Some people ask, "How can you worship a God who started wars, commanded that women and children and animals be killed, and who causes trials for His own people?" This is an interesting question in light of the fact that humans have killed many more people through murder, human sacrifice and abortion than God ever "killed".

To answer the question: God is the God of justice, as well as mercy and grace (Job 37:23). He wounds, but He also heals (Job 5:18; Hebrews 12:10). When whole nations turn against God, after He gives them many opportunities to come to Him, He sends warnings of judgment for years (Ezekiel 3:17-18). Some nations turn from wickedness, like Nineveh when Jonah preached to them.

However, when nations refuse to repent and come to God, He uses other nations to judge them, or He uses nature, like with Noah's great flood (Psalm 119:71). It is interesting that Noah's great-grandfather, Enoch, knew there would be a flood. God warned people for hundreds of years that a flood was coming.

Then, Noah himself warned the people for 120 years that God wanted them to repent and to turn to Him. God even used the ark as an object lesson that a flood was actually coming. Yet, people mocked Noah and ended up perishing.

God is love and He cares about every one of us (1 John 4:8; John 3:16). God loves us so much that He became one of us to pay the penalty of our sins (John 3:16; John 1:1). He made His laws for our benefit, not His. He does not want us to hurt one another, and He wants us to honor Him for who He is, what He does for us and for our very life. He is waiting for you to come to Him.

Prayer:

Father God, You amaze me with the abundance of love, which You showed over and over again on the nations You had Your prophets warn. You warn modern humanity too by your prophets' Biblical history and through the preachers of your Word. The problem with the human race is our pride and self-reliance. Our penchant for giving Satan control of our life allows him to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). This grieves Your heart (Lamentations 3:33). Thank you for always turning around every negative aspect of life for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

What Satan means for evil, God always uses for our good. - Genesis 50:20