2020-11-13
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The truth is that our God loves each of us with a special love that is greater in its scope and intensity than any human can. It’s the reason that when we sin, He feels so disappointed. It is also the reason that everything good that we need is made available to us with our obedient faithfulness. It’s essential that the difference between wants and needs should be taken into account, that with truth comes with blessing, and that God’s trust has been placed in us to care for the earth and the living things on it. Sadly, not all of us have taken that responsibility seriously. JAS 1: 17-18, “Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, Who does not change or cause darkness by turning. By His own will, He brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we might have first place among His creatures.” Naysayers might say that God’s power is so great that He surely must do wrong some time. However, these people don’t understand the gifts that God gives us through the Holy Spirit, because either their faith is non existent or so weak that they can’t see the truth we learn in 1 JN 1: 5, “Now the message that we have heard from His Son and announce is this God is light, and there is no darkness in Him.” Furthermore, those who deny God can’t understand what we know from HE 4: 12-13. “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through to where the soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before His eyes. And it is to Him that we must all give an account of ourselves.” When we are obediently faithful, we have nothing to fear; it is a great comfort to the righteous that this is so. Only those who are actively sinning who can’t find comfort in this truth.
One truth is that the Lord takes great pleasure when we accurately remember the goodness He has brought to our lives. As early on as DT 7: 6, we could see God’s displeasure at Baal worship, that idolatrous belief system with its disgusting practices that was practiced by Gentile neighbors of the Jews. God told the Jews to eschew such idolatry and to embrace Him as the One and only God. His reason for this is that God considered the Jews His very own favored people. Later when the Jewish rejectors were “pruned from the cultured olive tree,” believing Gentiles were “grafted in their place” [RO 11: 17]. God extended all His richest blessings to these believing Gentiles, as well. As all believers in God, who study His word and choose to live as He teaches, we mature in the faith. God loves that, because He knows we are going to watch Him at work in our lives and recognize all the blessings He sends us from heaven. Does this mean our lives are going to be easy? Certainly not, for the time we have here is a time of challenge and testing. God created us to be able to pass our tests and strengthen in our faith, because He wants as many of us as possible to gain eternal life [1 COR 10: 13]. We are His covenant partners, and He wants us to succeed. It is with the help of the Holy Spirit that we can.
At the very beginning of this series of messages, I said that it would be about the gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in GA 5: 22-23, and it will be. But first, we must get better acquainted with who the Holy Spirit is. I use the present here, because like all the personalities of God, He is self-existent. He has been God’s personality since the very beginning and will live forever. Sadly, He is the least well understood of God’s three personalities, particularly by those who don’t believe in our Lord. The Holy Spirit can’t be seen, but He has a calling to inhabit the souls of each person who believes in God and to greatly influence that believer’s choices and general thoughts and behavior. He not only helps us with making righteous decisions, but He transmits and explains God’s will to us. Long ago, Isaiah asked, in IS 40: 13, “Can anyone tell the Lord what to do? Can anyone teach Him or give Him advice?” To rejectors, the answer is “Sure, I’ll tell Him what I would do!” However in truth, believers would reply as in 1 COR 2: 12, “We have not received this world’s spirit, instead, we have received the Spirit sent by God, so that we may know all that God has given us.” And what God has given us is nothing short of amazing. It will likely involve making tough choices, because the Lord has told us, in MT 7: 13-14, that “the road to hell is wide and the way is easy, while the gate to eternal life is narrow and the way is rocky for those who find it.” One might ask what do God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have in common. The answer is all but their individual callings. God doesn’t hold back from the Holy Spirit any more than He does from the Son. It is through the Holy Spirit that God shares with us what He wants us to know. We can trust in God, because He is wholly righteous.
PRAYER: O Lord, we approach You with freedom and confidence, knowing that Your plans for us are filled with goodness. You never do anything evil or without a good reason. JER 29: 11-13, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to bring disaster, plans to give you the future for which you hope. Then, you will call to Me and come to Me, pray to Me and I will answer you. I will come to you and you will find Me, because You will pray to Me with all your heart.” At this time, our country is suffering from the Covid 19 pandemic. Even our president and first lady have the virus! This is why I believe everything You have given me in this morning’s devotion and on behalf of all believers in North America, I ask that You hear my prayer and answer it, as You have promised. You are a God Who keeps the promises He has made. I know personally, as do all believers, of Your love for us, and I ask You to hear this prayer asking for physical, moral, and spiritual healing for us and for those who lead our country. We love You, Dearest Father, and we pledge our desire to be faithful and obedient to Your Son, Jesus Christ, and Your Spirit. Help those who need Your help in ways that will reach them. Alert those sitting on the fence of their need to become familiar with Your word, Your teaching, and their own need for Your Spirit to inhabit their souls. We thank and praise You for all the wonderful blessings You have given us in the past. We pledge our desire to take that rocky path through the narrow gate that leads to eternal life. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, Amen.
NEXT WEEK: It is my belief that Jesus Christ did the work of Creation, while the Father made all the decisions, and the Holy Spirit participated long before humans and other living creatures populated the earth. Throughout the span of time, God’s three personalities were actively involved, still are, and always will be. God loves us and placed His trust in us when we were given responsibility for the earth and living this upon it. His magnificent power can be seen in the natural scenery in places untouched by human hands. Next week, after a short discussion of God’s mystery unveiled, we’ll look at God’s word and the actions of the Holy Spirit.
It’s my hope that by reading these weekly messages, my readers will be spurred on to study God’s word more closely, and that they will want to feel uplifted sufficiently to make changes toward righteousness (in God’s eyes) in their lives. Each week, the Holy Spirit commands me to do those very things in my own life. I am so eager for all of us to experience how much improved our lives can be while we obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit. To me, it has become the difference between simply existing and living a deeply meaningful and satisfying life. The only bragging we can do is about God’s amazing personalities and His accomplishments. Our loving God can truly use His considerable power to bring those He has chosen closer to Him. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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