Keeping in step with God’s abiding Spirit

Here is the reality for a believer in Jesus Christ.

If you have come to faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then God Almighty has indeed saved you. If you have confessed your sins and repented of your former way of living according the ways of the world, then God has forgiven you and cleansed you and imparted to you His Holy Spirit. This is the gospel. This is true.

Furthermore, if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, then His Spirit is within you. This is a promise from God’s word, and this is a reality.

But why then do we find ourselves in times and seasons of life where we are not fully obedient to all that God has spoken or why do believers find themselves exhibiting characteristics, traits and behaviors that are not of the Holy Spirit who abides within?

The question, indeed the challenge every day is whether or not we will obey every word that has been spoken to us by God Himself and is fulfilled by His indwelling Spirit. Will we remember that He is not a God who is far off, but rather one who is near. And not only is He near but He is within the very hearts of His children. Will we believe and obey God’s words?

If we are impatient or unkind, lacking grace or mercy, or in any other way living like the world, the enemy or the carnal self, the reality is that we are not living according the power and the promise of the indwelling Spirit.

Does this mean that God’s promises have not come true? Does this mean that God’s assurances that He is making us new and that He is putting His love and law in our heart and lives coming to naught? NO! Rather it is we who are out of step with the Holy Spirit. The power is present, but we are not tapping into it. The promise is true but we are not acting on it. We must repent. We must confess. We must give God everything so that we can begin to live in the fullness of the Spirit of God. When we totally consecrate ourselves everyday, then God is able to do what we formerly thought impossible: change us!

So this week, today, this moment, if you are feeling weak, selfish or wordly: don’t live there. Stop. Pray. Confess. Turn away from these things. And then ask the Lord for help by His indwelling Spirit and live as if He is working: HE IS! He is answering your cries for help. He is providing the kindness you have asked for. He is supplying the gentleness and patience that you need. God Himself is pouring out His faith, mercy, joy, peace and love that you know you need. Even if you haven’t asked, God is still reaching out to you with hands full of every supply you need. That is His prevenient grace (the grace that goes before our asking). If you have asked, His hands are not only extended with the blessings that you need but His hands are literally pouring forth the supply you are so desperately in need of. Will you receive it? Will you accept His free, gracious and bountiful gifts to you?

How do you receive these gifts? How do you accept them? Simple: just walk, talk, act, react as if your prayers are already answered. Treat your neighbor with the patience you have asked for. Treat your enemy with the kindness you have asked for. Speak to people with the kindness you have asked God for. And trust me, in the middle of you living as if you have already received God’s bountiful supply, you will realize that indeed He has and is perpetually pouring out all that His children need for life and godliness.

Believer. Beloved. Child of God. Please receive the help and keep in step with the Spirit of God that is at work in your very heart.

 

How should we live and where should our responses come from?

Most often in life we live and respond based on weak, faulty and incorrect impetus. Without the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives and without keeping in step with the Holy Spirit most people live and choose their responses from/by emotions, circumstances, selfish desires, comparison to other people, approval from other people and other such temporal/worldly motivations.

We must receive from the Lord His perfect revelation, power and Spirit to live this life based on the eternal things of His Word and His character that will never pass away.

If I choose my responses based upon how I feel about something at the moment I will choose things based upon insufficient, incomplete and incorrect starting points. My emotions are based upon two things: what I am looking at and what my physical body and senses are going through. If my physical body is tired, worn down, sick, fatigued, stressed, etc then my emotions most often are going to be similar. I don’t know all of the physiological reasons for this but I do know that it is because God created us and intended us to have holistic health and there is a definite and distinct tie between the wholeness of my body and the wholeness of my emotion. Furthermore my emotions go to different places based on where I am looking and I believe this is a gift from God to let us know when our eyes have been in the wrong place. If my eyes are on Him and my entire being (mind, body and spirit) are resting in Him my emotional state will be once of peace, happiness and contentment. However if my eyes are on Jesus, but my body or mind are fatigued from simply living in this fallen world, my emotions may run low. Regardless of where my emotions are, my choices should be made because of the Word and revelation of God. Only God is unchanging and unchangeable. Therefore what He speaks and reveals will be perfect each and every time because it flows from His eternal nature of love and holiness.

To consider this a bit further we must recognize how many times responses are made out of a place of comparison to other people or seeking approval from other people. It makes much sense that this happens, but that does not make such a motivation and impetus correct. It is so easy to see the people around us. We are fascinated by one another. We are drawn to people. We want to love and be loved by people. This is by the gift and design of God: He created us in community/relationship and He desires that we live in loving relationships with Him and others. However if the love we are looking for is only attainable through us living a certain way, that love is faulty, temporal and ungodly. God’s love for us is not dependent upon how we act or look. He loves us with all that He is simply because of who He is and who we are. To live and respond out of seeking approval from others or because we are comparing and contrasting ourselves to others is a surefire way to live a life of ups and downs, rejection and disappointment.

This is my message to you: listen to the voice of God. Read the Word of God. Pray to the Almighty, perfect, holy  and loving God of the universe. He will not lead you astray. His directions to you will be perfect every time. His instructions will always be for your good and His glory. Furthermore when we live and respond according to His ways, we will not face guilt, shame, fear, disappointment and disillusionment. Rather we will have peace and contentment and can rest assured that with God directing our responses we will actually live a life of love and significance to others and to His kingdom. Please stop reacting out of how you feel or how you perceive others or how you think people are thinking about you, instead. choose to react and respond based on the simple, powerful, true, right, good and holy Word of God. He will never lead you astray and His perfect words, ways and blessings will never end!!

We are kept by grace through faith

How many times in your life have you faced situations that you were pretty sure you fumbled? How many circumstance where you felt that you failed, came up short, missed the mark, didn’t try hard enough, weren’t smart enough or some other failing?

And so often what is our response to these situations? Many times our reactions are riddled with guilt, shame and personal efforts seeking to undo our mistakes. But the accusations keep coming: “You really messed that up”, “If you had just…”

I want to share some hope with you today. Continue reading “We are kept by grace through faith”

The dilemma and the promise of faith

What is it that we have faith in?

What exactly are we believing for?

Are we believing for things to turn out our way, or the way that is seemingly most favorable to us? Are we believing for events and even other people’s choices, words and behaviors to be positively in our favor?

Or is our faith deeper?  Is our faith for something more?

Continue reading “The dilemma and the promise of faith”

Releasing

The question is not what I can produce for the kingdom. Rather the question is what will I release and allow to flow into and through me for the kingdom.

Most days we try and figure out what we can do for God. But Jesus reminds us that “by myself I can do nothing”.

Nothing I do will last.

What will last forever is that which God does.

Continue reading “Releasing”

Communicating love

leadmetojesus - EditedYour actions communicate a message. What message do they speak to the people who “hear” your life? Do they speak a message of impatience? Do your actions speak a message of busyness or perhaps of being harried and hurried? Do your actions communicate a message of superiority and/or of condescension? I want to examine briefly the reality that our lives speak constantly to the people around us and the fact that perhaps the message we are speaking with our lives far outweighs the message we are speaking with our lips and our words.Continue reading “Communicating love”

How do you treat people?

Here is the measure of my life: how do I treat people?

I always know because of my conscience and especially because of the conviction of the Holy Spirit if I have treated people poorly.

Furthermore I find myself evaluating my religion and yes even considering the nature of other people’s religion based on how we treat people. If someone says “I am a Christian” or “We had such a great worship service” or “God is real to me and important in my life” but then treats their neighbor with impatience, anger and retributive words and actions I begin to wonder how “real” their religion is.Continue reading “How do you treat people?”

Essential Teamwork – We need each other

We need each other. We are better together

Six essentials of teamwork

  • We are incomplete, insufficient and ineffective alone – “I can’t do it alone”
  • There is synergy in coming together – “I need your help. We need each other”
  • Lack of unity often represents differences in personality, preference and philosophy – “I disagree, here’s why. What do you think? How can we make this work?”
  • To be unified we must align ourselves with a single mission – “What is our mission? How does __________ fit with our mission?”
  • To be unified we must let go of non-essentials, compromise and collaborate – “What will bring the greatest good to our team and our organization?”
  • How we interact with and treat each other will either build or destroy trust, encourage or discourage each other and either advance or hinder both our unity and our mission – “Thank you for being a part of this team. How can I serve you?”

Also one extra: Forgiveness and grace have to be our modus operandi in light of the many mistakes and miscommunications that most assuredly will take place when many different people are involved.

A life of trust

Each and every day of our lives we face opportunities in which we can either affirm our faith in God to freely give us all things that are needed or to choose doubt, worry and fear.

It begins as soon as we wake up. If you are anything like me, once that alarm sounds, it is a very few moments (seconds even?) before I think to myself “What am I doing today? What is on my calendar for today?” And right after I pose this question to myself and the flood of planned events enters into my mind I am immediately presented with the opportunity to trust or doubt. Will I grab hold of faith in God that He will supply all of my strength, wisdom, patience and perseverance to accomplish the tasks? Or will I grab hold of the seeds of doubt that say: “There isn’t enough time”, “It’s just too hard” or “I just don’t have what it takes”?

And then through the course of the day, so goes the inner conversation. Can I do it? Is God able? Is it possible? Every situation, every conversation, every event of the day carries with it the same opportunity. This opportunity is for God’s character to shine through us, or for our own self to take over. If God’s character shines through us, our choices will be to honor Him, trust Him, point to Him, cling to His promises and rest in His embrace. Furthermore if we choose to trust we will walk through life with peace, inner contentment and an assurance of His love and provision. If on the other hand, we allow our own finite and insufficient self to shine through, the result will be constant fear, anger, doubt, falling short, and otherwise making a mess of life. If we only look at the past or the present difficulties without clinging to faith in Jesus Christ, we will be overcome by hopelessness, frustration, stress and despair.

So today, this week, will you choose to trust Him? Or will you live according to your own limitations? Will you choose to walk according to His promises and His Holy Spirit? Or will you just “wing it” and “make the best of it”? The way that you and I can truly live a life of trust is to commit everything to the Lord, to pray each day and all day, and to read His word carefully, diligently and with faith, believing.

My prayer is that you live a life of trust, asking for and receiving the fullness of the blessing of the Holy Spirit, who provides everything we need for life and godliness. When you do, the impossible will happen, miracles will come to pass, and you will be full of a peace, joy and love that words cannot explain!