The Same Holy Spirit

Romans 8: 11

But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who indwells you.

The Spirit that came to indwell the disciples on the day of Pentecost has been indwelling the members of God's church ever since. This is the same Holy Spirit that has been working in God's people ever since Creation. 

There is one Holy Spririt. So the same Spirit Who helped with Creation, Who guided and protected and defended God's heroes in times past, Who raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him His Resurrection body, is the same Spirit that indwells you and me today.

O my Father, You are so great and glorious! Your power, wisdom, and control are perfect! You have created everything, and Your purposes for everything are being carried out and fulfilled according to Your grand Plan of the Ages!

Mere Man can do nothing to deter Your purposes, no matter what we think we can do! 

And Your Spirit, Who indwells Your chosen ones, will preserve and give life to our mortal bodies, overcoming our mortality with immortality; changing our very bodies into Resurrection bodies, like Jesus'. 

And we will live and reign with Christ Jesus our Sovereign King for the thousand years of this Earth's Golden Age! 

Your Program that You plotted out before You even created us is being carried out and accomplished before our very eyes, just as You told us beforehand it would! 

Hallelujah!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

God's Search Light

Psalm 139: 23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. 

Proverbs 20: 27

The spirit of Man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being.

This was my prayer several years ago, and it is still my prayer today. 

Have you ever asked God to shine His searchlight into your most secret and private parts of your life and thinking? It's a scary prayer, to be sure. But I consider it necessary, to be the child of God He wants me to be. 

I know that my Father loves me more than I can imagine, and His ways for me surpass anything I can choose for myself. 

So I want to think His thoughts, have His attitudes toward me, and do all the things that will fulfill His pleasure for me according to His Plan of the Ages. 

My prayer:

O my Father, I pray that You would shine Your lamp into my innermost parts to show me my anxious thoughts and whatever hurtful way I still harbor within me; that I may confess and forsake every way in me that does not conform to Your pleasure in me! 

Then I will be prepared to share with others Your gracious and patient and gentle care for each of us, and You in me will draw others to Yourself, and sinners to repentance.

And God will receive all the credit--all the glory and honor and praise--for everything He has done; to complete every project, to finish every plan, to achieve all His goals in everything He has made in all Creation. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Repent!

Revelation 2: 5, 16, 21, 22; 3: 3, 19

... Repent ... repent ... repent ... repented ... repent ... repent ... repent ...

The Revelation of Jesus Christ as given to John records in chapters 2 and 3 messages to seven churches in that day. And seven times God says to repent. 

The word "repent" literally means "to turn around." It is used to describe what our thinking is doing when we change our minds to turn away from one thing to embrace something else. 

God wants us to turn our focus around to not be obsessed with Worldly things, but to consider God's spiritual things the most important: to think His thoughts and have His attitudes. 

Thoughts are not material things, but spiritual. And our attitudes are produced from our thoughts. 

And all the things we do come from our attitudes and thoughts. So when we're doing things that are hurtful or harmful or damaging in any way, that means that our thinking patterns are faulty. 

Then we are to confess these wrongs, and agree with God about how they have woefully missed the mark--"sin" means to miss the bulls eye with your arrow. 

God wants us to forsake all the wrong attitudes that draw us away from the good things He wants to give us. He made this Earth for us to build our World upon it, and He put in it everything we need to get along with one another and prosper. 

He gave us His Manufacturer's Instructions to teach us how to cooperate with how He designed things here to work, and it's all based on our loving God back and loving one another. When we think God's thoughts for us (Philippians 4:8-9), how He loves us and wants all that is good for us; then we will also love our neighbors, wanting only what would be good for them. 

And we will be obeying all the Law. 

O my Father, I pray for the leaders of Your church today, that they would open their eyes to understand the crucial importance of repentance in preaching the Gospel! 

I pray that they would refuse to modify their teachings to barely mention repentance, and return to the fire and passion of the necessity of repentance in facing their own (the listeners, readers) sinfulness and allowing Jesus to take their place on the Cross because their own culpability deserves the death penalty He paid on their behalf. 

And, Father, I pray for my own family members who have not yet turned to You. Please open their eyes to see Who You are, and what Christ has done on their behalf; and grant them that repentance and faith to draw them into Your glorious Kingdom and Family.

And, my Father, whatever else I am still lacking, please supply, open my eyes to see what You have already provided, and appropriate it to my use that I may serve You in spreading Your Gospel in whatever way You have planned for me to do so, according to Your pleasure.

And You will receive all the glory, honor, and praise for You have done all things and brought all Your Plans to completion. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

A Brother Offended

Proverbs 18: 19

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.

The ones who are closest to us, like in our own family, are the ones we wound most, and they us. 

We don't expect much of a stranger, we are not vulnerable to them. But those in our own close circles we are the most vulnerable with, and the hurts we inflict upon one another cut deeply. 

To heal those wounds and mend our relationships is a very difficult thing. It takes God's own wisdom and patience and compassion, and humility on our part. 

And it could take a lot more time than we would expect. And consistency in our resolve to come to a resolution. 

And it may not smooth out in this life; we have but a few days to live our lives before we face eternity, and it takes a miracle of God to mend these deeply cut wounds.

O my Father, please show me what I must do or refrain from doing to make amends to those I have wounded. Please work in their hearts and thoughts and spirits to draw them to Yourself, and reveal Your Truth to their understanding. 

I know that I have often presented myself as the "expert" when I know that there is much I can learn from them. Teach me how to humble myself before them, to stay out of Your way in working on and in them. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus

A Stronghold Or Ruin

Proverbs 10: 29

The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright, but ruin to the workers of iniquity. 

A stronghold is a well-fortified place, a fortress. 

When someone lives their everyday life according to the way of the Lord that He has shown us in His Word, then it is like we are surrounded by strong walls of protection. 

God has told us in Isaiah that no weapon that is formed to harm us will succeed. Every time someone falsely accuses us, we will refute their allegations and it will turn around to be against them:

Isaiah 54:17: No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me, declares the Lord. 

God will see to it that His servant who has done no wrong will be able to refute any accusation without having to defend himself. 

It's called "poetic justice," and you can see one way it worked out in the book of Esther, to Haman. 

So the Way of the Lord that is a stronghold to the upright will be the ruin of those who are trying to harm God's people. The Lord will turn it around, and it is a wondrus thing to behold how God uses our "free" choices to further His purposes. 

O my Father, You really are amazing! Your ways are astounding! Your intimate knowledge and Your intricate power to do the fine, meticulous things, as well as the huge, monumental things, just blows my mind! 

You weave together all the individual strands of our lives into the great pattern of history. When we open our eyes we can see how all the world happenings up to today accurately describe what You told Your prophets to write down so long ago. 

And Your Son Jesus, Your Christ for us, told us what to look for at the end of this Age, and we have seen these signs in the Earth and the World since He ascended. Now we see all the signs, all the events, all the geological and political and spiritual signs that are extant today: Jesus is returning soon. 

Father, I fully expect You to continue to do everything You said You would do. So I am watching to see Your servants vindicated and the workers of iniquity suffer the consequences they wished upon Your people. I'm watching to see all that You told us work out on this Earth, in our World, in the Nations, and in the events of our lives. 

Thank You, Father, for being our stronghold in this time of trouble and peril. You are so good to me, and to the others who belong in Your Family. 

My Lord God Almighty, I pray for all those who will turn to You in the perilous times that are coming and are even now upon us in some ways and in some places. Continue to vindicate the righteous; and pound on the workers of iniquity, that they may learn and confess the error of their ways. 

Continue to send out Your workers into the fields already so white to harvest. Continue to call out and draw to Yourself those who You have chosen, who have desired to know the Truth, that they will turn to You Who are Truth. Let them come to You into Your stronghold. 

And every eye will see, every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus of Nazareth is Lord God Almighty, King over all kings and Lord over all lords. 

And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, all the honor for everything You are and do and accomplish and complete. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Our Priorities

I Timothy 4: 15 (KJV, NASB, ASV)

Meditate on these things;
Take pains with these things;
Be diligent in these things;

Give thyself wholly to them;
Be absorbed in them;
Give your whole self to them;

That thy profiting may appear to all.
That your progress may be evident to all.
That your progress may be manifest unto all.

Paul wrote to his young protege to really concentrate on his Bible studies. As a pastor, Timothy needed to understand well what God was saying to him so he could faithfully teach his congregation how to live their lives to please the Lord. His studies were to mold him into a spiritual leader who would show them by example. 

We are all not pastors and teachers. We are all to study God's Word regularly and deeply. But if the only reason we do that is to be seen by others, then that would be our only reward. But we shouldn't hide our spirituality from others, because we are all His witnesses, and we need to be examples of how following God's rules benefits us.

He told Micah: He has told you, O Man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (6:8). 

And Jesus told us: You shall be My witnesses ... (Acts 1:8). 

So there is a balance here: we are to diligently study the Bible to get to know God better, to love Him more, and serve Him better; then our lives will show others how good He is, and encourage them to seek Him, too. That is the proper order. That is what God wants of us.

So our priorities are to be:

1) Our personal relationship and fellowship with God, resulting in our attitudes and daily lives being according to His righteousness in everything; 

2) Our life partner (husband/wife); 

3) Our family (and Our business, to support the family); then 

4) Our ministry.

Sometimes a full-time Christian minister, like a pastor or a missionary, will put their ministry in first place, and end up losing their family, and then their ministry, too. 

Those of us Christians who do not work full-time in ministry and need to support our families with a paycheck still need to find the time to do part-time ministry, starting with our example of a high moral standard and kindness at work. 

O my Father, I want to study and learn and live each day according to Your Word; not that my progress may be evident to all--to be seen of men! But to be found by You a worker who does not need to be ashamed. 

And if my progress is evident to others, then let it encourage them to also seek You! 

Please let me not glory in any accolaides of mere men, but seek only Your approval, Father. 

But let me not hide my good deeds, either! Teach me that balance, that I may not be lifted up in pride, nor deprive others of the inspiration to seek and follow You through my drawing closer to You. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Christmas Morning

Luke 2: 1-20

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the World should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, each to his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the City of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David); to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and placed Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. 

And the Angel said unto them, Fear not! for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 

And this shall be a sign unto you: you shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 

And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward Men.

And it came to pass as the Angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all who heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 

This is the most-repeated Christmas story, in full. It gives the most detailed account of the Birth, probably from His mother's point of view, written by Doctor Luke, who researched everything thoroughly (1:1-4). 

Luke presents the story of Jesus as the Perfect Man (as compared with Matthew who presents Him as the King, Mark who gives us the Servant, and John, writing last, shows Jesus to be our Lord God Himself in human form). 

So Luke gives us Jesus' genealogy through His mother Mary, who descended from King David through Solomon's brother Nathan, and all the way back to the first human, Adam. 

This compares with Matthew's record of His genealogy through His legal father, Joseph, who is in the direct Regal line of David through Solomon and the other Kings of Judah. Joseph was not eligible to take the throne because the last sitting king of Judah, Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, and his father were so evil and rebellious that they were cursed in that none of his "seed" would ever again be able to claim the throne (Jeremiah 22:30). 

But, as His legal but not biological father, Joseph does give Jesus the right to claim the throne of David. 

As Lord God Jesus is the eternal Person Who can pay our eternal debt in time, that would take us forever to pay. And as genuine Man He qualifies to die a human death in the place of each one of us. That's why He is the only One Who can be our Savior. 

Each one of us is born to live. Jesus was born to die. He loves you and me that much! 

Merry Christmas!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!