Romans 8:5-7,10-11, 13-15 Walking in the Spirit or the Flesh (10.30.12)

...If you live your life animated by the flesh - namely your fallen corrupt nature - then our mind is focused on the matters of the flesh.  But if you live your life animated by the Spirit - namely God's indwelling presence - then your focus is on the work of the Spirit. A mind focused on the flesh is doomed to death, but a mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace.  You see, a mind focused on the flesh is declaring war against God; it defies the authority of God's law and is incapable of following God's path.

.. The Spirit is infusing you with life now that you are right with God. If the Spirit of the One who resurrected Jesus from the dead lives inside you, then you can be sure that He who raised Him will cast the light of life into your mortal bodies through the life-giving power of the Spirit residing in you.

...For if your life is just about satisfying the impulses of your sinful nature, then prepare to die.  But if you have invited the Spirit to destroy these selfish desires, you will experience life. If the Spirit of God is leading you, the take comfort in knowing that you are His children.  You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear.  The Spirit you have received adopt's you and welcomes you to God's family.

Observation:

Flesh

Your thoughts are selfish, vain, greedy, bitter, negative, intolerant, mean, and harsh. 

Leads to death

Declares war against God

Spirit

Your thoughts are focused on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Leads to full life and complete peace

You are in right-standing with God

You are infused with life-giving power

You are God's children and welcomed into God's family

** You must invite the Holy Spirit to destroy the selfish desires of the flesh **

Application

In order to have the promises of the Spirit, I have to invite the Spirit to destroy my selfish desires. The more I welcome transformation, no matter how painful, the more I am infused with the Spirit's life-giving power. I choose to daily ask the Holy Spirit to destroy the desires of the flesh and lean me into full life and complete peace.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, I invite You to destroy my selfish desires that war against God. Infuse me with Your life-giving power and lead me into full-life and  complete peace.

Genesis 2:2-3 (voice) The Sabbath (10.26.12)

On the seventh day-with the canvas of the cosmos completed - God paused from His labor and rested.  This God blessed day seven and made it special-an open time for pause and restoration, a sacred zone of Sabbath-keeping, because God rested from all the work He had done in creation that day.

Observation

Pastor John Lindell

When work becomes an idol our worship ceases to exist.  We lose our sense of joy.  We lose our perspective.  We lose our health. If we don't take our sabbath, eventually we will be forced to. Our tendency towards the sabbath is that we feel so busy that we neglect the  sabbath therefore are neglecting something that God has given us. 

Give your work to Him, just as you would your finances. Honor God through the sabbath  just as you would anything else and He will honor you. God wants you to give a day so He can recreate you to do His work the rest of the week.  The sabbath was designed to:   Protect the body from wearing out, protect the spirit from tuning out, and protect the soul from burning out.

God created the sabbath so that we could unplug from the urgent and plug into the important.

Application

I have been in ministry now for five years and have been a Christian for 12, but I have heard and been taught very little about the sabbath.  It has seemed like an unspoken rule that those in ministry don't or shouldn't get a sabbath, because they always need to be "on-call" for the sheep. Somehow the fact that ministers need rest too get's lost in translation.

As an introvert I especially feel the desire to quiet myself and just plug into God.  I long to hear the steady hum of His Spirit pouring into me and re-creating me for the week. But I can't do that if I am still plugged into the urgent.  I've got to resist the temptation to react and instead receive the important so that i can be re-created to do what He has purposed for me to do.

Prayer

My prayer is simple this morning Lord.  I want You!

Psalm 103:9-10 God's Discipline

He will not constantly criticize, nor will He hold a grudge forever.  Thankfully, god does not punish us for our sins and depravity as we deserve.  In His mercy, He tempers justice with peace.

Observation

Children are usually scared of discipline.  They will lie, manipulate, and do anything to get out of it.  They see nothing good from discipline, only pain.  You can tell them that :this is for their good" and that "this hurts you more than it hurts them" but they don't believe it for one minute.  As a children of God we tend to react the same way to God's discipline, we will do anything to avoid it.  We lie to ourselves and tell ourselves that our sins are benign, at least more benign then someone else's. Or we find escapes in the world and avoid our time with God in the illusion that He won't search our soul if we don't spend time with Him.

Yet, God, in His mercy and justice disciplines us anyway.  Hebrews 12:11 has been an anchor verse for me for the last year and a half.  It say's all discipline for the moment may not be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.  God includes an incredible promise with His discipline that no one else can provide, it is peace. Ah blessed peace.  There is a peace that you receive when the Father has refined you and made you right.  When He disciplines it is to make you more like Christ, and when you become more like Christ you reap the rewards of being like Him; one of which is peace. Can you imagine not being tossed about by worries and fear?  Can you imagine resisting temptation confidently?  There is only one way to peace and it is found in the discipline of the Father.

Application

 Because I am both a parent and a child I can see this verse from two perspectives, therefore I have two responses.  As a child of God I should not be afraid of discipline but embrace it, more than that, I need to seek it.  I can put myself in God's body shop.  He taught me that a year and half ago and it has blessed my walk with Him tremendously. I need to continually seek His discipline when it comes to the area's in my life where peace evades me. As a parent, I need to ensure that I'm following God's example of discipline.  That my children do not think that I constantly criticize or am holding their sins against them.  I need to mix mercy with justice.

Prayer

Father, thank You for not punishing me as my sins deserve.  You are both good and great and there is no one who can enact discipline in a life giving way like You can.  I place myself in Your body shop and ask that You continue to refine me.  Make me more life You.  You are the Vinedresser (John 15:1); You know what is dead in me, You know the things that are choking out Your word, do what You will my King.  Father, I also ask that You help me parent the way that You parent.  Help me to slow down and not react to my children's sins with fleshly punishment, but instead with godly discipline. So that they learn to embrace discipline the way that You have taught me.

Psalm 103:6-8 God's Justice (10.22.12)

Scripture

When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered, the Eternal is just; He makes the wrongs right.  He showed Moses His ways; He allowed His people Israel to see His wonders and acts of power.  The Eternal is compassionate and merciful.  When we cross the lines, He is patient with us.  When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us - changing, convicting, and prodding.

Observation

God's justice is not like our justice.  His justice is not distorted by corrupt human perception, He see's the whole picture and the hearts involved. God's nature is to exact justice that restores and repairs.  When we go into a human court of law, consequences are given and maybe even money is paid out, but true restoration is never received.  But God uses consequences to cleanse us from unrighteousness and make us more like Him.  Both sides of the case are restored; both the crushed and the crusher are healed, transformed, and made new when God's restorative justice is involved. 

Application

I cannot boast of knowing how to exact justice in a way that restores.  Nevertheless, as a leader I am called to make judgements and give consequences to behavior so that Christ followers can continue to grow.  These verses only prove how impossible the task is without God. He is the only One who can pull out the "win-win".

This passage also helps me be patient when I am the recipient of injustice.  As much as my flesh rejects the idea that the one who hurt me should be restored, I know I am grateful for God's mercy and patience when He has dealt with me. 

Prayer

Father, You alone are just. Help me to always cling to You in making decisions as a leader.  Help me to continually humble myself before You, relying on Your justice.  Help me to be patient as Your Spirit gently changes, convicts, and prods those who are distant from You. I seek Your justice in my life.

Turning From Self-Righteousness

Proverbs 3:7-8  (10.17.12)

Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.

Observation

This scripture goes along with Philippians 3:9-10, when Paul say's "not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law". There is incredible humility in this verse.  We are not wise, any wisdom we have come's from the Father of Lights and He both gives and takes away. Instead of dwelling on your own works or righteousness, or even others works or righteousness, instead Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 

When I think of Fearing the LORD, I associate being thankful.  Understanding His sovereignty and power to turn me to dust, but because of HIs love and compassion He doesn't. Everyday that I wake up and I am breathing I should be thankful, every person I talk to, I should be thankful. Everything I suffer, I should be thankful. Not because I'm scared what will happen if I'm not (however, there is something to be said about respect), but because His loving hands always hold me. He wants what is best for me.  This passage is proof of that.  He wants us to turn away from evil.  He wants us to dispel pride from our lives, and in doing so we will have healing for our bodies and refreshment for our bones.

Pride is the worst of sins to me, because it as the root of so many other sins and it is terribly sneaky.  You don't even know you are sick with it because it is a slow fade.  But when it is removed, you realize that you had been slowly rotting away from pride. 

Application

I have experienced pride in my own life, and still struggle with it.  I absolutely hate that sin. I remember being physically sick so long and I know that it was pride that was causing it.  My bones truly ached, it is remarkable how close this passage hits home for me.  I will continue to struggle with pride though if I don't make a concise effort to seek the LORD throughout each day; praising Him and thanking Him for what He has done and is doing.  Also, praising Him for who He is.  He owes me nothing, I am entitled to nothing.  He gives because He is generous, not because I deserve it.  He loves because He is love, not because I perform better than others. 

Prayer

Father thank You for being who You are.  You are so gracious and so merciful.  You are truth.  You are Love.  You are Light.  You are Good.  You are the ONE!  Thank You for pursuing me and for instructing me.  Help me to always turn from evil and seek Your face and Your will.  Help me Father, to live a life of praise unto You.  May my life be a song of Your beauty and majesty.  Father give me wisdom this day and every day to see evil and flee from it.  I specifically ask that You instruct me heart of the sin of pride.  Please make the trap clear to me and help me not walk into the temptation to make it all about me, but instead choose to bring glory and honor to You.  Do not let me look at my motives as benign, but allow You to always examine my heart and reveal to me the evil that is there, so that Your good Spirit can lead me in paths of righteousness.  I love You Daddy.

Turning Your Heart To Paise

Psalm 103:1-5 (The Voice)  (10.20.12)

O my soul, come praise the Eternal with all that is in me - body, emotions, mind and will - every part of who I am - praise His holy name. O my soul, come praise the Eternal; sing a song from a grateful heart; sing and never forget all the good He has done.  Despite all our many offenses, He forgives and releases you.  More than any doctor, He heals your diseases. He reaches deep into the pit to deliver you from death.  He crowns you with unfailing love and compassion like a kin.  When your soul is famished and withering He fills you with good and beautiful things, satisfying you as long as you live.  He makes you strong like an eagle, restoring your youth.

Observation

Every living thing has a soul.  The soul is the self, the "I" that inhabits the body and acts through it. Without the soul, the body is like a light bulb without electricity, a computer without the software, a space suit with no astronaut inside. With the introduction of the soul, the body acquires life, sight and hearing, thought and speech, intelligence and emotions, will and desire, personality and identity (chadab.com).  David writes this song, he is calling all of himself to praise God.  

This is interesting to me because we very rarely give all of ourselves over to praise. We will limit praise to God by sending specific thoughts His way, or specific words. To actually call a meeting with yourself and say, "Self,   I command that each part of You praise the God. That you remember what He has done for you, that everything you do is out of thankfulness to Him."  

Application

I need to have continued meetings with myself.  I meet with people each week whether in team or congregation and encourage the body of Christ to praise the Lord, to sing from a grateful heart.  But I need to have those meetings with myself throughout each day. This discipline will help me to never forget the good He has done.  Moreover, the side affects of praise are peace, protection, and wisdom.

Prayer

Father, You have done incredible things for me.  You have held on to me when I have turned from You.  I cannot count the number of times that I have drifted from You, but I call out Your name and You have rescued me.  You continuously sit me in wide open spaces, where my heart is nourished.  You have given me a protector and provider in my husband and You allow me to be apart of Your greater plan. My my soul always bless Your name.