I don’t know why it is comforting to know that the trials we face were expected, but Jesus knew that His disciples would get put in some pretty uncomfortable spots…yet in the midst of all of that, He reminds them (and us) that the Spirit will guide AND the hard moments will be a testimony to the watching world. Lord, thank You for Your presence and guidance even through trial.
What an amazing description of how we knowingly submit ourselves to temptation when we are not walking by the Spirit. If we are thinking of how we may flirt with the desires of our flesh, our fall is inevitable and fully rests on our shoulders.
Lord help me to flee from getting close to the line and run into your arms!
I love that unity is the first step in the process of transforming the heart from stone to flesh. A signal that it was not just one heart that was solidly frozen to thawed…but actually completely replaces from one that is worthless to one that functions as it should. Lord, I need my heart of flesh, keep me soft, pliable and sensitive to your impulses.
Galatians 5 reminds us that if we walk by the Spirit we will automatically produce the fruit of the Spirit. In the same way the Spirit of God fills us (the new temple) and pushed out all pride and selfishness leaving room for nothing impure. Lord, fill me with your Spirit so that nothing unholy exists!
God is so patient with us…He is looking for us to turn to Him, reject our own selfishness and listen. It seems so simple, yet actually doing it takes being surrendered. That of course is the last thing we ever want to do, because surrender requires a continual putting to death our own desires empowered by the Spirit of God. It is literally impossible without the Spirit…Lord strengthen me to follow You rather than my own desires…
“and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.”
2 Chronicles 5:13-14 ESV
These passages are a great reminder of who God is. I am especially impacted by the last few verses that talk about the glory of the Lord filling the temple so that even the priests couldn’t continue to minister. This reminds me of Galatians 5:16 that says, “walk by the spirit and you will not sin”…as the temple of the Spirit of God, I want to be so full of the Spirit that it is no longer possible for me to do anything other than Gods will!
“Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this! ” “Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.”
2 Samuel 11:11-13 CSB
Our ability to “problem solve” aka hide our sin, is very refined. David was doing everything he could think of to cover his tracks. What a scoundrel…
It stands out to me that even drunk Uriah had more self control than David. Lord, strengthen my self-control (a fruit of the Spirit) so that I can resist temptation or the urge to hide my sin.
“The congregation sent twelve thousand brave warriors there and commanded them, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword, including women and dependents.”
Judges 21:10 CSB
The far reaching effects of sin are obvious in this detestable section of scripture…every chain reaction to the first sin is devastating. Lord, thank You for sending Your Spirit to indwell Your people so that we don’t dig ourselves into such a horrendous situation. Give me wisdom to see when I am slightly getting off track so that my sin does as little damage to others as possible!
“See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-16 CSB
There is still blessing in obedience, but thankfully we are indwelled by the Spirit of God. We have the added strength and direction of God living in us! How impossible would obedience have been in their time?
“But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”
That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.”
Exodus 14:13-14, 30-31 CSB
What a powerful forebear to the Gospel. That God would fight for us against the penalty and power of our own sin. It would be God who concurs it while we are on the sideline and trust Him.
Lord, thank You for saving me. Thank You for fighting for me. Thank You for knowing that I am too weak, frail and foolish to follow You without the power of Your Spirit.
“For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps. There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide. But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he watches over both individuals and nations,”
Job 34:21-22, 29 CSB
God does watch over all of us, and there is nowhere to hide. Even when we feel like God is far from us or that He isn’t paying attention, He is still there. And as believers, His Spirit is in us…that really is comforting, yet frustrating! If He is always with my, why does He feel far away at times?
I have heard a pastor say, His felt absence is evidence of previous closeness, and amplifies His coming nearness…
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. ”
John 21:25 CSB
John was selective about what he wrote because he was telling a story about the greatest man to ever live…a story that would be compelling and force the reader to deal with the truth about God. The undeniable truth is that Jesus was a real person, He performed miracles that are not possible even today, He loved people as if they were His family even when they were against Him, and He spoke with authority, clarity and conviction like nobody in history. Then, He died, punished as a criminal for you and me, and miraculously came back to life.
All of these things were undeniable. The people who witnessed them could have torn down these as lies when they were written if that was the case…but they didn’t because it is all true.
So, the question is: will you believe? Or will you reject Jesus love for you? That is the only question that matters…
“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent, Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”
John 17:3-4 CSB
Lord, what an amazing truth that we can actually know You! That You want me to know You. That You allow us to know You. And through knowing You we can, today, begin to experience eternal life.
Eternal life does not start when we die, but rather when we come near to You, to really know You! Lord, help me to seek You, help me to see You, help me to experience Your presence.
Finally Lord, strengthen me to do the work You created me to accomplish so that You would receive Glory! It may not be significant or impressive, but it is Your work specially set aside for me to do, by the power of Your Spirit! Allow me to follow You well and shine the light on Your glory!
“So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.”
John 16:22 CSB
Perfect joy comes with the presence of God. Lord help me to experience your presence!
“Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.”
John 16:7 CSB
From my perspective today, this is a hard passage to believe. These men had God in person, Jesus…they could talk to Him, ask Him questions. First hand observe miracles and reach out and touch Him. This statement seems impossible, that the Spirit inside of us is better…just sounds crazy.
But, my only experience is that the Spirit is permanently residing in me. There is never a moment where God is not at hand…yet I don’t always listen to Him, ask Him questions or even talk to him. That is the sad reality.
Lord, help me to live as if You were inside of me every moment of every day. Help me to converse with you and observe your works in my life. Allow me to recognize You in me.
“When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father — the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father — he will testify about me.”
John 15:26 CSB
It is shocking to me that Jesus is explicitly telling us as believers that all three persons in the Trinity care about us personally.
- Jesus is sending the Spirit to be our Counselor
- the Spirit comes to reside with us permanently
- The Father sent Jesus to pay the penalty of my sin
It seems like it would have been easier to split the work of caring for individuals. Delegating to one person the responsibility to help each of us, but They don’t, They all care about us in unique ways…
Thank you Lord for loving me, even when I don’t love You well in return. Give me faith to trust You and eyes to see the glimpses of Your work in my life!
Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him… the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”
John 14:23, 26 CSB
Placing our faith in Jesus gives us the literal presence of God in our life. The Holy Spirit is with us continually, which is awesome, but He also does the work of a counselor…reminding us of truth and showing us how scripture can apply to our lives.
Lord, help us to remember what a true blessing it is that You are literally with us at every moment of every day. That should motivate us to obedience and thankfulness! When I am feeling weak, low or frustrated, help me to turn to you and find joy and peace in Your presence!!!
“Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
“If you love me, you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth.”
John 14:12, 15-17 CSB
The Spirit is the one who enables us to be obedient…I think obedience is the “greater works”.
“The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
“I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”
John 10:24-28 CSB
Lord, thank You for choosing me, help me to listen to Your voice and do what You tell me! I know that on my own, every step of this is IMPOSSIBLE!
Hearing.
Listening.
Following.
Thank You for empowering me to know You!
“Who are you?” they questioned. “Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them.
So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own. But just as the Father taught me, I say these things. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”
John 8:25, 28-29 CSB
While Jesus was on earth doing His ministry, everyone wanted to know who He was. He rarely said outright that He was the messiah, but He alluded to it in many ways and constantly talked about God as His Father. I love how Jesus reminds the that God is always with Him…just like He is with us today!
Lord, help me to live like God was living inside me, because He is!!!!
