Spirit

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God

Led by the Spirit of God.

Who among us doesn't long for such leading?  Our vivid imaginations, coupled with today's special effects on movies and such can have us easily longing for a manifestation of the Spirit of God, and His actual leading of us. I say that and yet I feel instantly chastised. Why? Because imagination and special effects cause what I'm saying to become fictional rather than non-fictional and the Spirit of God is definitely NOT fiction!  We cannot see the Spirit of God, we have no way of detecting the presence of the Spirit of God in any tangible manner. Yet we MUST believe He exists and believe that He can LEAD us, that we can RECEIVE Him, and KNOW that the Spirit of God is witness with OUR spirit that we ARE God's children!  This is TRUTH!  We are adopted by God the Father through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit bears witness to this TRUTH. 

We are sons and daughters of God! Truly sons and daughters! He is our HEAVENLY FATHER.

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Our infirmities.  Boy do we have infirmities!

Strong's meaning of Infirmity - From 'G772; feebleness (of body or mind); by implication malady; moral frailty: - disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.'

The Spirit HELPS our infirmities!  The infirmities of our flesh, of our mental faculties, keep us from being ABLE to pray as we should. We our powerless to even realize what we ought to be praying for. We might think we should pray one way, but that way in our infirmity ridden selves isn't truly what we need to be praying for.  The SPIRIT that is in us, the same SPIRIT that facilitated OUR adoption, will go yet another step and make INTERCESSION for us.

We NEED the SPIRIT of GOD!

Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

PRAISE GOD!

Jud 1:20  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

We MUST pray in the Spirit!  We must be led by the Spirit! We have to have the Spirit in our lives in a VERY REAL way, not in some fictitious manner.  He is a REALITY. He was promised to us. He will intercede for us in our prayers! He will lead us if we let Him.

We have to ascent to the Lord's leading. We have to ask for the Lord to lead us. We have to be willing to walk as He directs us. We can't afford to ignore the leading of the Spirit. Will He draw us a map, make us a detailed itinerary? No and no. What we are given is God's Holy Word and we are expected to study daily, studying to show ourselves approved unto God. 2Ti_2:15 We are expected to pray daily. Dan_6:10, Matt_6:11.

We must have the Spirit!

John 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Born of the Spirit!

Adopted by God through the Spirit!

Praying, the Spirit interceding!

TRUTH!

Please, Father, we would be born of the Spirit, we would have the Spirit lead us! We would have the Spirit intercede for us with You in ways that are impossible for us to do. All by the mercy and grace, the love of Your only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior.

Amen.

We must live in the Spirit

Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

A habitation of God- through the Spirit- this is US.

Unless we are a living with the Spirit, we cannot be inhabited by God. The Spirit has to be REAL in us. A REAL entity in us. We must belong to GOD. We must CHOOSE God to live in us. Without the Holy Spirit being in us we have Satan's spirit in us. 

Please, Lord, let us have the Holy Spirit in us so You may dwell in us and we may be Yours.

Zec 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

The Spirit of grace and of supplications.  We need this Spirit, we NEED the Holy Spirit. We need GRACE and we need the supplication of the Spirit.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

We must LIVE in the Spirit- and the Spirit in us will lead us in the way everlasting.  We cannot mortify the deeds of the body alone, we MUST have the Spirit because it is THROUGH the Spirit we can mortify the flesh deeds.

A conscious real desire for the SPIRIT.  This is a necessity. The Spirit is a REALITY and as a REALITY we have believe beyond doubt.

More tomorrow by the will, the grace, the mercy, the love of my God, my Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

AMEN.

Praying in the Spirit- no other way.

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

Praying always with all prayer? What?

How else do you pray if not with prayer?

I think the key here is the fact we MUST pray our prayers IN THE SPIRIT.

You CAN pray without the Spirit, yes?

If all prayer was automatically prayed in the Spirit we wouldn't need to be told to pray in the Spirit.

So how do we pray in the Spirit?

Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Zec 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Jud 1:20  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

If we are God's we will have the Spirit and if we have the Spirit we will pray in the Spirit.

The Spirit should be IN us always, as we are to pray always, is this truth? YES, very much so.

More on this tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

IN HIS LOVE ALWAYS.

Amen!

For this is the will of God

Give thanks.

1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

We need more than a single day to give thanks, don't we? It's not easy to always give thanks though, is it? 

Imagine these words being heard by a follower of Christ in the early days after it was newly written. That follower of Christ on the very next day after hearing those words is captured and thrown in a prison, beaten, and sentenced to die.  Do you imagine them recalling those words and giving thanks in their circumstances? In agony of mind, body and possibly spirit this follower of Christ could give thanks.  Why? Because they believe what has happened to them is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning them.

I say the words, 'God's will be done', often.  I say them and yes, I mean them.  Do I truly think it's God's will when things happen in my life that bring me heartache and pain? I do. And by that I mean, that some how, some way this will be true--

Rom_8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

I have to believe this is truth. If this is truth then it is God's will that the pain and the heartache, the agony that I might endure is all for a purpose beyond my comprehension. I do NOT have to understand anything at all in order for me to believe. So many people try to use their lack of understanding to blame God for so much. They cry out they don't understand and the doubt their belief in God's word, God's truth, the love of God. They stop believing that the horrors of their lives could possibly some how work for good. The good, the only true good is the goodness of Christ in eternity. All other goodness that we think we should be experiencing, earthly good things, is a lie fed to us by Satan. Satan would have us believe we are entitled to good here and now, but we are not.  Ask any person who has been born into the third world countries, a slave, a victim abused from the youngest of age and grown up in daily suffering beyond anything we can begin to imagine.  Ask that person who has known nothing of earthly goodness if they believe they are entitled to good here and now.  We are promised eternal good in CHRIST, no more.

Can we give thanks? Yes, we can. Should we give thanks? Yes, we should. Even when it seems like we have nothing at all to be thankful for, nothing.

By the grace of God, I have much to be thankful for.  I have a lot of good things in my life here and now, I've been incredibly blessed in so many, many ways. I can't praise and thank God enough for all He has done for me.  It is my prayer that the future holds eternity in Christ, the only TRUE goodness in every possible way, for me. That all things- good and bad- in my life work together for good in Jesus Christ my Savior, my God. Please, Father, help me to give thanks in all things, in all ways, for all time.  All by YOUR LOVE, YOUR MERCY, YOUR GRACE, YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Amen.

The closer I would be the further away I seem

Evil for evil.

This is something we do all the time, isn't it? You hurt me, I hurt you. Or, you hurt me and I wanna hurt you.  Evil for evil. And the evil only multiplies, it is fed and continuously growing. Evil is an invisible creature with it's invisible tentacles wrapped tightly around each one of us. We pray to be kept from evil, but that doesn't mean evil won't stop trying to kill us spiritually every second of our lives.  God alone can keep us from evil, and it's to Him we need to constantly turn. Evil for evil.

We are NOT to combat evil with evil. In fact we are told the following-

1Th 5:15  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

A Christ follower is to NEVER render evil for evil unto anyone!

A Christ follower is to EVER follow that which is GOOD among ALL.

That 'all men' includes EVERYONE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.  And if all men includes everyone then that means all men includes the evildoers.  We are to render GOOD, we are to FOLLOW  good to even the evildoers.  NOT render evil for evil.

The next time someone irritates you about anything how are you going to react, with our gut which is being squeeze by the invisible evil forces urging us to render evil for evil? That instant gut reaction is to do just that, get irritated back.

Right now, unfortunately, I'm struggling, I'm in the fires of spiritual affliction. I'm KNOWING to do good and not doing it, I'm rendering evil for evil all the time and it's driving me crazy! I don't want to be this way, I hate this evil in me. I need prayers, many prayers..

Please, Father, please keep me from evil! Bless me, help me, I am so incredibly helpless without You. Forgive me! Cleanse me! Fix me! Make me YOURS.

In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior!

Unfairness

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

Mat 20:2  And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Mat 20:3  And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

Mat 20:4  And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

Mat 20:5  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

Mat 20:6  And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

Mat 20:7  They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

Mat 20:8  So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

Mat 20:9  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

Mat 20:10  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Unfairness.

How often in life do we lament the unfairness of many situations?  Seriously, how often?  We judge situations and often we find a sympathetic ear to agree with our assessment.  Once we find that sympathetic ear we reinforce our idea of being treated unfairly.  Then again there are universal ideas of what if fair and what isn't.  We realize that LIFE isn't fair. All too often things happen that make this clear.  In the above parable the householder hired several people at different times and then paid them all the same, the one who worked eight hours and the one who worked a half an hour, same paid.  Clearly the ones who worked all day valued their hard work, their time, and felt  cheated.  Wouldn't we ALL feel the same way? Seriously, wouldn't we? Yet our idea of fairness and God's are not the same, that cannot be, He is everything.  A person who spends their entire life in Him, fighting the spiritual warfare all the time, failing, repenting, over and over again- and the person who accepts Christ at the end of their life after living a life of blatant sin, are given the same reward of eternal life in Christ.  Do we resent ANY who come to Christ and gain eternal life? We shouldn't.  And by God's grace we won't. 

In our lives we have to comprehend that what is unfair to us could in fact be a special blessing by God molding us, refining us.  It's not going to feel good, it's not going to be pleasant. The molding and refining all of it, the chastising is unpleasant and will make us feel anything but fairness is going on in our life's walk.

We have to holdfast to the promises, not the present, the future hope, not the hard here and now.  The future.  We have to get through the long journey, the very long arduous journey we call life- all by HIS GRACE, HIS LOVE, HIS MERCY, HIS KINDNESS!

In the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our all in all.

Conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory, subdue

Overcoming.

Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Overcoming.

G3528

νικάω

nikaō

nik-ah'-o

From G3529; to subdue (literally or figuratively): - conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory.

Rev 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Rev 3:2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Living but dead.   Without Christ we truly are living but dead.  We have a WORK to do, a DUTY to perform, an ACTION to take. Being a Christian is not a deadness, it is not a living sleep.  To be a Christian is to be CHRIST-LIKE and if a person believes they can ignore all of God's word and make their own plan up and live according to their own wishes and still be a Christian, they are going to be shocked when they realize they were among the living dead.  We are TOLD how to be Christ-like. We are TOLD who we turn to for all things in a REAL LIVING way, not in some metaphorical mystical sense.  We are to be CHRIST-LIKE in our REAL every day life! And once we do all we can do to be Christ-like and fall far short, only then do we have to believe that our Savior covers us with HIS righteousness making up for our lack of true righteousness.  We don't wallow in our filth and revel in it then expect our God to cover us. We have to repent of the filth, we have to WATCH and we have to STRENGTHEN the things that remain, things that are on the verge of dying, we must strengthen not abandon.  We must REMEMBER how we received and heard of our Savior, we must HOLD FAST and REPENT.

If we do NOT hold fast and repent we are told what will happen- our Savior will come on as a thief in the night, and we will NOT know when the coming of Christ is near at hand. This is truth.

Rev 3:4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

There are FEW who do not defile their garments, the righteousness that our Savior clothes us in.  FEW that are worthy in Christ.  WE MUST OVERCOME, and what we are overcoming is our inability to trust fully in Christ for all things. Our inability to live for Christ in favor of living for ourselves. 

We are told HE THAT OVERCOMETH, and to think that there is NOTHING to overcome and read these words, then we are lost! We must OVERCOME in Christ! Not accept sin in our lives. Not accept our bad self as if it's something not even God can alter, but believe that Christ can and will change what we cannot change! We MUST believe this and desire this! Because this is believing and desiring our SAVIOR, the Author of our Salvation!

Please, Father, please let us overcome in Christ! Let us never accept what is unacceptable to You, not ever! Teach us! Live in US! Let Your Spirit, let the HOLY SPIRIT live in us, let CHRIST live in us!

All in the name of our SAVIOR, Jesus Christ our LORD!

Amen.