The Measure of God's Spirit within Us

God gives us the measure of His Holy Spirit within us to profit everyone in our sphere of influence (1 Corinthians 12:7). We have the choice of chaining Him to our unholy, carnal desires, or setting Him free by our desire to live a holy life (2 Timothy 3:12), in order for Him to work in and through us for the glory of God.

God is always close at hand, and is not far away in some heavenly kingdom (Jeremiah 23:23; Acts 17:24-28). We are examples of His goodness, provision, protection, and power in an individual life, and we cling to His mercy, love, peace and joy (John 1:7-9; Ephesians 3:17).

We tell everyone who will listen that by His grace, Jesus' salvation is free for all (Romans 3:23, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Titus 2:11). People see how He works in and through our life as the temple of His Spirit (Romans 1:19), and they realize the extent of the riches of His glory within us, His Saints, through Christ in us (Colossians 1:2 7).

The Pharisees, proficient in their knowledge of the Old Testament truth, rejected Jesus, because they did not hear or see God in Him. They were too wrapped up in their private interpretation of God's Word, and missed the truth of it in their midst (John 5:37-40).

Unlike them, authentic Believers are God's people, and He walks with us and abides in us (2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 4:6). He never gives up on us. We can grieve Him by our thoughts, words and deeds; however, we can never cause Him to leave or to forsake us (Hebrews 13:5; Galatians 4:19).

At salvation, we receive His anointing, which abides within us. It teaches us what we need to know about living the Christian life. It is true and righteous, and it enables us to dwell in Christ (1 John 2:27). We bear much fruit for Him, which honors our Heavenly Father and glorifies His name, as it proves that we are His true followers (John 15:5-6, 8).

Prayer:

Father God, show us how to test our self to be sure that Christ abides in us by Your Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:5). Allow the words of Jesus to richly dwell in our spirit with all of His wisdom, teachings, exhortation and inspiration. We want to worship You in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24), and to sing continual melodies in our heart to You (Colossians 3:16).

Help us not to walk in the flesh, but by Your Holy Spirit's guidance and control. We are spiritually alive, and we prosper by the righteousness of Christ within us (Romans 8:9-10). We rightly call You "our Father," because the Spirit of Christ is in our heart (Galatians 4:6). The suffering that we endure on this earth is minimal compared to the glory, which You will reveal in us and to us throughout eternity (Romans 8:18).

Thought for the Day:

If we seek the Lord, we shall surely find Him; if we knock, He will open the door wide for us; and if we ask, He will give us everything that we need in life in order to successfully accomplish His will for us.

- Matthew 7:7-8

Go Ahead and Enjoy Sweets

I saw a commercial today that advertised a product that eliminates our desire to eat sweets. What a wonder-less world we would live in without sweet, salty and sour. God gave us this diverse tasting system to bless our soul, as well as our taste buds.

There are healthy alternatives to white cane sugar, which is the real addictive product that is so harmful to our health. Dates, bananas, applesauce, coconut sugar, local honey, Erythritol, and Stevia are among the best alternatives. They sweeten everything from marshmallows to ice cream, with cakes, cookies and pies in between.

God gives us wholesome alternatives to a life filled with an unholy addiction to sin too. The sweet allure of our desires demands satisfaction, and we often fall into its temptation. Yet, there is a whole other world that satisfies our soul, and causes sin to lose its attraction over us.

Some of these stress busters include sports, fishing, gardening, the arts of music and pottery and painting and crafts, exercise from biking to boating to hiking to dancing and the gym, restoring old cars, hobbies like board or word games, and others such as Tiddley Winks to chess tournaments and video gaming, as well as sewing, and needlework from knitting to embroidery to cross stitching.

These are just a few examples of ways to fill our time with wholesome hobbies. Another pursuit is to feed our spirit with personal Bible reading, and meditation on verses that speak to us each day; worship attendance, Christian fellowship, and various ministries to our community; sharing Christ with the lost, etc.

God has a perfect plan for each individual life (Ephesians 2:10), and walking in His will each day guarantees both our success and His continual blessings in our life. Daily obedience to the Holy Spirit's guidance, wisdom, power, and unity with the Trinity within us will lead us to a deeper union with God.

Prayer:

Father God, every good and perfect gift that we receive on this earth is from You. Even our paycheck, bonuses, overtime, etc. come from You. You provide us with all of our needs, as well as extra blessings that fill our soul with joy. Help us to find holy alternatives to carnal pursuits, so that we do not grieve You and ruin our fellowship with You. Your love is sustaining, Your power is creative, Your peace is invasive, and Your plans are eternal.

Remind us that there is nothing to fear on this earth, because nothing can separate us from Your love: not the trials of life, spiritual powers, the past or the future, no mountain top or deep valley of circumstances, no created thing and not even death (Jeremiah 42:11; Romans 8:38-39). Thank You for continually hiding us in the depth of Your love (Acts 17:11).

Thought for the Day:

Our carnality decreases as our reliance on Christ in us increases; His Holy Spirit sanctifies us from one stage of glory to the next, until our light shines out into the darkness of this world; a city set on a hill cannot be hidden, and we will not fade away either, as the light of Christ in us shines ever brighter every day.

Maturing in Our Faith

The Holy Spirit of God works in our life in order to present us to Father God as one who is complete in Christ. He is the author and finisher of our faith, and He matures us in our spiritual walk. He also perfects us through His ministry of sanctification (1 Corinthians 14:20; Ephesians 4:13).

God's Spirit allows us access to the Godhead within us. As authentic Believers, we can aid one another in entering a deeper walk in Christ. Not everyone is interested, because their time is filled by pursuing the things of this finite life; but there are those who hunger and thirst after the fullness of Christ's presence in us (Matthew 5:6).

Our spiritual birth initiates this hunger in our spirit, and the longing grows day by day. This proves that God's Spirit abides in us, and that we are truly His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Christ gradually becomes our whole life (Colossians 3:3-4). Our love relationship and intimacy with Christ increases more each day, until we are complete, content, inspired and challenged (Colossians 1:22).

This challenge encourages us to take the Gospel of Christ to our family, church, community and the world. We intimately know God. He, not His favors and offerings, is the desire of our heart. We crave more intimacy with Him though each passing day, and we want to share this union with anyone who will catch the vision.

We may have all of this world's goods, and still feel deprived, until we come to the saving knowledge of our need for Jesus in our life. Until we come to Christ, we are merely grasping at straws, and never truly fulfilled and satisfied. When Jesus is our center, we feel complete in Him, because He is our eternal destiny (Colossians 2:10).

As our Lord and Savior, Jesus is the only one we can always count on to be both in us and with us now and for eternity. If we consult the Lord each moment of our day, He oversees every aspect of our life and arranges and governs all of our steps. His Word is a light for our path and a lamp for our steps (Psalm 119:105).

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus is Your power and wisdom in our life (1 Corinthians 1:22-25). We find great spiritual riches in our relationship with You and Your Word. Christ is our Emmanuel (Colossians 1:15), and in Him Your fullness dwells (Colossians 1:19, 2:9). As our intimacy with Him increases, we discover more and more of Your wisdom and knowledge, which improves our life (Colossians 2:3).

As our invisible, immortal God, You chose that Your nature and divinity was manifested in Jesus' mortality and human form. Jesus said that when we see Him, we also see You, our Father (John 14:9). Jesus is the revelation of You to the world. Help us to worship You as You deserve, to rely on You for all of our needs, and to trust our very life and death to You. We worship and adore You with every breath of air that we breathe.

Thought for the Day:

In this world, we encourage, instruct, and exhort one another to follow God's perfect plans for our life, which will lead us all to the fulfillment of our goal: to mature in our faith and in our obedience to Him and His Word.

- 1 John 3:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:25-35

The Rocky Road to Peace

Today I was listening to my nature music with sounds of a gurgling brook in the background. As I absently dusted the living room, I visualized myself sitting next to that gurgling stream, with the slight breeze tickling my arm with wildflowers, and butterflies swirling overhead.

As I moved into the bedrooms with my Swiffer duster, I changed scenes in my mind and pictured myself in a raft, lazily drifting with the current along the scenic view of that same waterway. I felt so much peace and tranquility fill my soul.

I started to sing praises to God along with the instrumental music, and I thanked Him for giving us nature to enjoy. After putting the duster away, I snuggled into my recliner with the music still playing gently in the background.

I sat quietly, listening for the Lord. God reminded me that most streams have rocks and even boulders in them that the water must traverse around; yet, the water continues to flow, unhindered by these obstacles.

He also reminded me that our life usually has obstacles in it too; and if we allow them to, they will impede our progress. However, as we rest in Jesus, who is our eternal Living Water, we will drift smoothly around every hindrance in life.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that we will not only experience Your peace and joy ourselves, but we will also share our tranquility with everyone You lead into our life. We all enter Your rest by resisting the urge to attempt to control life, and by completely trusting in You and Your will for us instead.

In this world, we get mighty thirsty for truth, wisdom, and power. Jesus told us that we can come to Him to quench this thirst, and then out of our heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38). We ask for a fresh filling of Your Holy Spirit with each new day, so that we can accomplish Your will for us in it (Genesis 41:38).

Thought for the Day:

"Knowing God" does not involve religious activity or pious attitudes, it is simply abiding in Him; therefore, we can make a commitment to change the world around us, one life at a time; and with joy, we will draw water from the well of our salvation.

- Isaiah 12:3; John 17:3

The Hats We Wear

A recent commercial illustrated the fact that different hats can be an identifying clue about the country of which they have become a symbol. For instance, a sombrero is for Mexico; the fur hat for Russia; the beret for France, etc.

We all wear different "hats" in our daily life. One at home, another at work, a different one at church and with our community. Some of us wear several different "hats" in one or more of these places, which signify the jobs and ministries and roles, which we agreed to take on.

Each "hat" requires that we use different talents, abilities, discernment, and skills to meet the demands, obligations and requirements of the tasks that we willingly agreed to fulfill. At times, we even change our personality or identity, in order to successfully navigate unchartered waters that we encounter.

Sometimes, we change the appearance of the "hats" we are wearing. We add "rhinestones", or "turn up the edges", or pin "fake flowers to the brim", or even "get it a little bit dirty" so that it will appear well-worn and part of a long history with us.

As mother, father, neighbor, friend, teacher's assistant, grandparent, mechanic, pastor, professor, childcare worker, nursing home attendant, etc. there are many requirements on our schedule, energy, and creativity, as well as a financial, mental and emotional investment in each role that we assume.

There are many inner motives in our soul for taking on so many roles at one time. One is notoriety and praise. Another is a calling to serve others. Regardless of our intentions, wearing so many hats often requires us to stop caring for our self, because we run out of time and energy.

We end up "burning out", since we lit the candle of our life from both ends. The only sane way to resolve this issue is to consult the Lord prior to agreeing to accept any and all responsibilities (Proverbs 3:5-6). This prevents us from burning out.

Then, once we follow His leading, we pray without ceasing all through each day, in order to gain His moment-by-moment game plan that is guaranteed to succeed. We even have time to care for our own needs. After all, we are a person too, and we can minister to our self, as well as to others.

Prayer:

Father God, You have perfect designs for our life, and we only truly succeed when we follow Your will for us (Ephesians 2:10). As fallen, finite human beings, we are limited in our human resources, wisdom, abilities and strength. However, Your Word assures us that we can do everything that You call us to accomplish with Your strength and wisdom, which abides within us through Christ in us (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20).

Thank You for sending Jesus to trade His righteousness for the penalty of our sins. He regenerates, renews and redeems us by His life and death. This occurs through His name and by His blood. We live for Your purpose for us now and throughout eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Remind us that we can never produce the lasting results through our own efforts, which we could accomplish by relying on Christ in us. We glorify You with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Matthew 22:37).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus gave up His royal crown to wear a crown of thorns for each and every one of us; so that He can offer, as co-heir with us of the Kingdom of God, to share with us all that God gave Him in return. 

A Good Marriage - Keep Love Flowing

Irritations, hurt feelings, disrespect and being taken for granted, etc. are normal feelings in any marriage. Two human beings bonded together in a covenant relationship, or just as roommates, best friends, workmates, or church family will always have rough patches that get on our nerves or hurt us.

It is part of being human. None of us is perfect; we are all flawed people with our own hang-ups and idiosyncrasies. Attempting to change one another is futile. The best of us will try - very hard - to change, but we usually revert back to our old irritating self. These are die-hard habits that are almost impossible to change.

We grow distant from each other, because we feel too vulnerable to share our true feelings; or we sweep unresolved issues under the "rug," trying to ignore them; or we put emotional, and sometimes even physical distance between us and our spouse to protect our feelings, etc. Marriage takes patience and diligence.

We keep the channels of communication open between us by loving our spouse in his/her "love language". Resolving issues pays huge dividends in our relationship. Sometimes, we get too busy and take each other for granted. This neglect is like a malignant cancer that spreads throughout our relationship.

When we pay attention to our mate, we water the seeds of life between us and keep our relationship fresh and growing. We find out how special our mate truly is, and we support them in their endeavors to walk in the Spirit and to accomplish God's will for their life.

Rewarding our mate's attempts to love us with our own "love language" by praising them and showing gratitude, rather than in complaints and rejection, encourages them to continue to meet our needs in ways that truly bless us and increase the flow of love between us.

- Take this free quiz: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/

Prayer:

Father God, teach us how to make a continual search for ways to bless our spouse on a daily basis. Help us not to ever take them for granted, but to thank them for everything they do for us personally or for our common good - both great and small. Remind us to participate in their interests, and to thank them for taking an interest in what we enjoy.

Help us to see the good in one another, rather than to focus on what we dislike. Help us also to accept what we dislike as part of their personality and not to attempt to change them. Remind us to ferret out potential problems that may be causing stress in our relationship, and to resolve them together; because living with pride, unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment are not healthy ways to live in harmony. We trust You to give us a new love for one another with each sunrise.

Thought for the Day:

When we listen to intolerance about our spouse from extended family and friends, or from the devil's temptation to disrupt our unity, we hurt our self as well as our spouse by increasing our discontentment with our union; however, when we look at one another through God's eyes, we start to appreciate His character and divine nature in each other.

Developing Contentment

If we look to the world to bring us contentment, we are sadly disappointed. If we look to our accomplishments, talents and successes, they fade over the years. If we look to Jesus, we learn to be content in His presence within us, His provision for us, and His works through us (Lamentations 3:24)

As we savor the blessings of the Lord that He supplies all throughout the day, we rejoice and find praises to Him filling our soul and spirit. Our longing is no longer for things of this life, but for our deeper immersion in Christ, who abides within us.

Gratitude in the good times and the bad will bring contentment quicker than any other virtue. We learn to allow patience to have her perfecting work in us (James 1:4). We go with the flow of God's will for us, rather than resisting and fighting every trial or circumstance.

The Great Physician covers us with the blood of Jesus and delivers us through the name of Jesus. We connect with the wisdom and strength and shelter from above, and we have the courage to face whatever life throws at us.

Our prayers inventory our requests to God, and He always hears each entreaty (Philippians 4:6). Even if we suffer physically through some illness or accident, we find contentment in the presence of God's Spirit within us. He helps us to focus on the positive (Philippians 4:8), and to look for the seed for a miracle that He plants in every trial.

Loving God with our whole heart, soul, mind and body (Matthew 22:37) changes our perspective about life's circumstances. We no long fret, regret, or stress over the issues in our life, because we trust the Lord with our whole heart (Proverbs 3:5-6). He is our soul's portion each moment of the day (Lamentations 3:24).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to worship You in spirit and in truth regardless of our circumstances (Psalm 73:17). You are our Almighty and Sovereign Lord, and You have a solution for all of our problems as we faithfully wait on You (Psalm 73:26). We see Your provision, even when we wait for days, weeks, months or even years for its arrival.

Remind us that we can enter Your rest, and stop stressing and straining to solve our issues (Matthew 6:30-34). You care for the lilies, the sparrows, and all of creation, but You care for us all, infinitely more than any of these. You always provide for our every need in Your own timing and way. Help us to see that we can "lean into" our trials, rather than wasting time resisting them. Thank You for traversing them with us and in us.

Thought for the Day:

Pursuing God, rather than the things of this life, brings us contentment and fulfillment that nothing in this world can offer to us; complete surrender to His will for us gives us joy and peace, because He abides within us and carries us through the unstable aspects of each day in which we live in this sin-filled world.