2021-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m commended to continue to discuss the interaction between the personalities of the Trinity as unity is encouraged among the faithful. 1 COR 12: 12-13, “Our Deity is one body made up of different personalities, as the body of Christ is one body made up of different parts. Each part functions for the good of the whole. In the same way all of us, whether Jew or Gentile, whether slave or free, have been baptized into one body by the same Spirit, and we have been all given the one Spirit to drink.” This explains how God has been able to unify the thinking of all the faithful in Jesus Christ. One might ask about the different Jewish and Christian denominations at this point. Most of their differences have to do with polity. The mainstream of Christian believers in Jesus Christ are unified in accordance with the theological teaching of the Bible.
1 COR 6: 19-20, “Avoid immorality. Any other sin a man commits doesn’t affect his body, but the man who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Don’t you know that the body is the temple of the Spirit, Who lives in you and was given to you by God? He bought you for a price. So, use your bodies for God’s glory.” That price was the physical life of Jesus Christ, Who suffered and died on the cross, so that we could have the opportunity of salvation, eternal forgiveness, and justification [being deemed acceptable by the Father]. Consider the fact that children born out of wedlock are often unwanted. Over 80% of uncommitted relationships don’t involve the work that needs to be done to keep a family intact. Some of those children will live in blended families, which while not ideal is a better circumstance than no marriage at all. Those children born into uncommitted relationships suffer the parting of their parents and never know the security that committed relationships provide. They themselves never learn the feeling of security being in a committed relationship brings. They become adults without knowing how to be in a committed relationship. Yes, there are sometimes divorces, but the ideal is willingness on the part of marital partners to work out their differences.
EPH 4: 30-31a, “And do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad: for the Spirit is God’s mark of ownership on you, a Guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger…” We are being taught to be loving, resist hateful feelings, like holding grudges, for example. We no longer shout at others or insult them. Persecution melts away and the love of Christ is shown. This is what is meant in RO 12: 2 by being “transformed inwardly by a complete renewal of the mind.” Compassion and empathy are borne out of these changes. Something should be said about what it means when God sets you free. By unifying the body of Christ in this way, bad behavior and attitudes are replaced by those which please God. We seek to understand why such behavior happened with the wrongdoer, rather than to usurp the Lord’s right to judge him. Our former impatience is replaced by a sincere effort to look for why bad behavior happened and what should be done to make the situation better. The includes whether nothing is the right choice. Making that kind of assessment is something we, who believe in Christ, can do with the help of the Holy Spirit. Let me give an example of what I mean. A pastor was taking a trip abord a ship around the Greek islands. He met a woman while on one of these islands who told him that nothing she prayed to God for was ever answered. Her frustration was palpable. She mentioned that she and her mother were not on speaking terms while she told her story. The pastor wanted time to think about this situation. He knew his ship would stop at this same island again in three week’s time, and it was getting close to when he must reboard the ship. He told her to be patient, and they agreed to meet again when he returned. Meanwhile, she was to pray about her problem. When the ship returned to this same island three week’s later, they met. The pastor told her she must work out her differences with her mother, the advice he had received from the Holy Spirit in answer to his own prayers. She did this and suddenly the other things she was praying for began to happen. There is nothing about this that surprises me because I know from first-hand experience this is the way the Holy Spirit works. May He always be praised!
PRAYER: O Lord, there are many ways Your Spirit works, but all of them are to bring us closer to You and give us a better quality of life than we can find on our own. Every one of us is a sinner and is far from Your glory [RO 3: 23]. That is why our need for each of Your remarkable personalities is so great. Christ in us, that long-held mystery now opened to us, opens us to the bounty of Your wisdom. It is because of our proclamation that He is our Lord and personal Savior and our continuing obedient faith in Him, that we know He sent Your Spirit to dwell in our souls and bring about Your peace in our lives. We no longer feel the need to be at war with others around us or to engage in bad attitudes and behavior. Our perspective on our lives is wholly changed, as is our ideation. This can only be through Your power to do good and willingness to bring that good to our lives. We are dependent on You, Christ’s teaching, and the Holy Spirit. The example Christ set for us allows us to know what Your love really is and how to demonstrate it in our lives. We are truly blessed and grateful for Your presence in our lives, the wisdom of Your decisions, the Paradigm Christ set for us, and the actions of the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us. We offer You praise and thanks forever, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’ve been commanded by the Holy Spirit to discuss the ways He works in all who believe in Jesus Christ begun today, in next week’s devotion. There is unity of purpose in each personality of God, using different methods. The way the personalities of God work may be different, but they are all designed to bring glory to God and bring His goodness to our lives. The Father created us with the desire for us to come to faith in Christ and to bring ourselves ever-closer to Him. He wants as many people as possible to do this, so that we might gain eternal life. While all of us must endure physical death, we do not have to die spiritually. That choice is one each person makes while on earth, as God looks on. The human must decide if eternal life matters enough to him to walk through the door marked “Faith in Christ.” If a person serially rejects God, He will suffer the consequences and walk through the door marked “Spiritual death-Hell.” This explanation may be simplistic, but it does get the point across. I pray that very few will walk through that second door! Praise and thanks be to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives