2021-02-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
You may wonder why all this introductory material must come before discussing the actual gifts of the Holy Spirit, but I assure you that it’s necessary to place a foundation securely before building the walls and roof of this house. So, please do bear with me. GA 5: 25-26, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envious of each other.” Our Lord has made it necessary for us to consider this advice, so that we can avoid violence and lawlessness in our thoughts and deeds. No doubt, you are reading this message long after I’ve written it. Nevertheless, what happened yesterday [Jan. 6, 2021] and last evening for the first time since 1814 has prompted me to mention just how easy such things arise. I turned on the news to see a nightmare of mine—lawless crowds breeching the US Capitol’s security and pouring into the building, where our legislative branch was getting ready to finalize the acceptance of the results of the lawful election of a new president and other federal officials. Things were out of control. Uninvited intruders were shooting, forcing rightfully elected officials to move quickly to emergency escape routes, damaging doors, breaking glass inserts, and tampering with personal mail left on the desks. As one person put it, “This is the kind of incident that one finds in a banana republic, not a peaceful transfer of power!” The political reasons for this incident don’t matter. What does matter is that our country hasn’t been so divided for a very long time. We are supposed to be setting an example for the rest of the world and put simply—We weren’t! This situation was the result of the opposite of the Lord’s advice above.
Thankfully, the police in full riot gear were successful in ridding the building of these intruders, and the legislators were able to complete their business in a meeting that lasted till 3 AM. Nothing that I’m writing here has anything to do with me taking sides politically; it has everything to do with the value of the faithful in Christ exhibiting self-control. Leaving offices tossed and the legislative chamber a mess is hardly godly behavior-no matter what the reason for an individual’s political position might be. While citizens of our country have the right to demonstrate quietly and respectfully, they don’t have the right to engage in yesterday’s behavior. Neither our laws, or the Lord Himself, condone what happened. My understanding is that one woman was shot dead; her family will have to mourn her loss. We and our country’s institutions are left vulnerable.
JN 16: 13-15 [Christ speaking], “I have much more to tell you, but now it would be overwhelming for you to bear. When the Spirit comes, Who reveals God’s truth, He will lead you to that truth. He won’t speak on His own authority, He will speak on what He hears [from God] and will tell you of things to come. He will give Me glory because He will pass on what I say to you. All that My Father has is Mine. That’s why I said the Spirit will transmit what I said to you.” This is one way the Holy Spirit manifests Himself to us.
GA 5: 18 must be understood correctly: “If you are Spirit-led, you are not subject to the law.” The Covenant of Grace replaces lockstep, legalistic approach to the 613 ancient laws, human-crafted by first to fourth century rabbis in true lawyer fashion from the original 10 Commandments. Legalism is not the Spirit’s way! In no way does this verse suggest that we should become civilly lawless as happened yesterday in the US Capitol. RO 7: 6, “Now, however, we are free from the law, because we have died to that which once held us prisoners. No longer do we serve in the old way of the written law, but in the new way of the Spirit.” RO 8: 14, “Those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children.” It is the Holy Spirit, Who gives us His gifts, so that we can lead godly lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are grateful that You have let us know unequivocally what pleases You and what doesn’t. This gives us a clear set of ethics that guide the decisions we make and actions we take. You look down upon Your human creation, knowing well that we can and often do disappoint You. And yet, You have told us that “nothing can separate us from the love of God” [RO 8: 38-39]. This means that while You love us, You will draw the line at so much evil done if necessary [RO 3: 25-26]. You are wise enough to know that mankind will wallow in disbelief, if you don’t limit the sinning You will endure from them. Our country is indeed vulnerable, if behavior like yesterday’s crowd intrusion of the capitol building is allowed. We pray that every individual involved will give this matter some prayerful thought. None of us want to account for ourselves before the Lord Jesus, while thinking and believing that violence is the way to settle our differences. It is Christ’s task to judge us on Your one and only standard for all. No one else has this right. We also pray that each person involved will find a way to make himself right with the Lord. We thank and praise You for always listening to our prayers and Him [Christ] for being our advocate. You are a gracious and kind Lord. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’ve been commanded to write on our security in the family of God next week. In the meanwhile, we must each decide on if we lead a Spirit-led or a human-led way of life. The Lord makes clear His will for us; it is necessary for real happiness and inner peace to choose the Lord’s way. Human-crafted lives are filled with greed, materialism, lack of good ethics, violence, mean-spiritedness, destructive anger and its consequences, and other kinds of misery. We can find a much better way to live when Spirit-led. We are each, a valuable asset to God, when we profess genuinely that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior. He gave up so much, suffered so greatly, and sacrificed his physical life, so that we might gain eternal life with the Father in heaven. All the individual ramifications of this sacrifice in our lives matter. He loves us and deserves our faithful obedience. He is eager to shower His blessings upon us. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives