2021-05-07
Good Morning Dear Ones,
For the last few devotions, I’ve been discussing sin, the Law, and grace, as instructed by the Holy Spirit. We are born with a sinful nature, but also the power (given to us by our Creator) to break through that sin, overcoming temptations. Believe me, it isn’t easy to do, but we can do it! This power to overcome sinning is given by God’s grace. All the Law can do is to tell what pleases God and what doesn’t. But even the Law given to us so long ago on those stone tablets is given to us by God’s grace [2 PET 1: 3-4]. Some definitions are in order: Grace is unmerited favor. The Law is the 10 Commandments [EX 20: 1-17], and sin is departing from what is right with God. Yielding our will to God’s and leading a Spirit-filled life pleases God. That’s because He knows it will help us avoid a lot of trouble, pain, and suffering. These gifts given to us by God enable us to escape the world’s lust and to share in God’s glory. One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is COL 3: 2-4, “Keep your minds fixed on the things of heaven, rather than those of earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden in with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.” When something God says is important, He repeats it to be sure we understand and accept it.
Hindsight is always better than foresight with human beings. So, as an older person, I will write from my own experience, looking back over my long life. 2 COR 9: 8-10, “And God is able to give you more than you need. So that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause. As the Scripture [PS 112: 9] says, ‘He gives generously to the needy; His kindness lasts forever.’ And God, Who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity [IS 55: 10].” Having said all of this, I will wait until the third section of this devotion to share how this principle as worked in my own life. Needless to say, that all God says is truth, and His lifestyle is always-righteous, just as He is.
It’s my belief that worldly wisdom is gradually losing its juice, and Godly wisdom is gradually gaining strength. Yes, I’m optimistic that God tells the truth when He says that one day there will be a cessation of evil [DN 9: 24-27]. Even before the world was made, God chose who would come to faith in His Son and would live according to His goodness. His secret wisdom is given to the elect and is hidden from those who are worldly. Had those not chosen possessed this wisdom, they would have never crucified our Lord of glory. IS 64: 4, “What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love Him.” But God’s secret has been given to us through the Holy Spirit. Our own spirit knows everything about us; God’s Spirit knows everything about Him. We have received the Holy Spirit, not the world’s spirit, so that we might know all about God and His will for us. Whoever doesn’t have the Holy Spirit does not recognize His gifts or His wisdom about God. IS 40: 13, “Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give Him advice? We, however, have the mind of Christ.” It is God’s will that we feed on spirit meat (as the spiritually mature) and not just spiritual milk (as if babies in the faith) [1 COR 2: 6-3: 3].
From Jesus Christ Himself we gain the wisdom given to us in JN 15: 13-17. “The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them. And you are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends because I have told you everything I heard from the Father. You did not choose Me; I chose you and appointed you, so that you would go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so, the Father will give you whatever you ask for in My name. This, then, is what I command you: love one another.” These parameters hardly describe a distant relationship! We can think of ourselves as His “servants” because the tasks He assigns us do serve Him and His causes, but we who believe genuinely are also His friends. He died on the cross for us, and the presence of the Holy Spirit (sent to us by Him) blesses our lives daily. Part of our servanthood is to learn to count those blessings and to see how they impact our lives. The friendships He forges in our lives enrich them amazingly. No time spent in doing tasks for the Lord is wasted. The morals and ethics He teaches us help us to set a good example for others and to avoid terrible troubles. While we are given Christ’s mindset, He is far and away wiser than we can ever be.
PRAYER: Good and gracious Father, Your generosity to us is unparalleled anywhere in the universe. While we don’t deserve them, You share your kindness, goodness, peace, and wisdom with us every day of our lives. Long before we were born, You selected us for the privileges that come with true faith in Your Son. He died on the cross for us, was resurrected, returned to earth so that over 800 people could see Him as a glorified Being, and some watched Him ascend back into heaven. You knew that we would need a direct and active connection between You and ourselves, so You instructed Christ to send us Your Holy Spirit. Ever since that time, we have been given the power against evil by the depth of Your wisdom. The Holy Spirit transmits that wisdom to us when we ask for it in prayer. You patiently listen to every prayer we offer, and You never abandon us. We thank and praise You forever for all these blessings and more yet unnamed. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As this discussion of sin, the Law, and grace continues, I am commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about how sin affects us. We are to remember God’s Ten Commandments, using them as a guide for our lives.
I promised above a brief discussion of how God’s power has impacted my own life. The last 77 years have been a learning process, complete with some back peddling and some forward progress toward our Lord. His power was given to me when I heard His still, small voice telling me to move with my son away from the house we had been living in with my first husband. That marriage was ill-conceived at a time when I was too young to realize we weren’t suited to each other, and it lasted almost 15 years. There hadn’t been a divorce in my immediate family for many years, so mine was the first. The marriage had damaged me emotionally and spiritually. I wanted nothing to do with dating or meeting another man. I figured I would be a single mom for the rest of my life. God had another idea, and that was when I met my present husband, almost 45 years ago. God sent this angel into my life at exactly the right time, and we have been happily married for 44 years. He has been a wonderful father as well. God knew I needed a husband who allowed me to feel secure, live an ethical life, and answer the call to the ministry that my Lord had waiting for me. We share our faith, many interests and also, have enough differences to keep our lives interesting. Often over my lifetime, God shared His power with me and allowed me to discover strengths I never knew I had. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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