Tag: Bible

Living in the Much More

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God not only gives us Enough? He gives us Much More. I chose three words in the Greek that convey this.

posos – much; how great, how many. mallon – more; to a greater degree. perisseuo – more than enough, to remain over and above.

Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. Matthew 21:21

If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! 2 Corinthians 3:9-11

Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:14

To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. Matthew 13:12 (Luke 8:18  & Mark 4:24-25)

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Luke 6:38

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. Philippians 1:9

Today, I will let the Word speak for me and not my own thoughts but his to convey the Much More. Meditate on these verses and realize our cups are OverFlowing!

Do the Next Thing…

(God says) “Find out what I’m doing and then do it. Find out what God is up to and move in my faith and do it. Well, I learned that actually this human being is made to contain God, He isn’t something flying about. Christ is In me. He made me wonderful, but to contain a wonderful God. When I know that, life is simply ‘do the next thing.’ What I’m saying is God is operating in me and I’m Native to His operation. I move as a real person with a real God inside me.” — Norman Grubb

Norman Grubb

Norman Grubb was a missionary to Africa and a friend of my mother’s. They corresponded by letter often. My mother was an author who wrote material for Christian media. There were a few occasions that Dr. Grubb (as I called him) would visit our house. He and my mother would have lengthy discussions about the Bible and how God was working in each of their lives. I remember him as a spiritual grandfather to me. He was a positive man with a genuine love for Jesus. I remember his encouragement to me as a young child to grow in the knowledge of God and allow Him to work through me.

Recently, a friend posted a video with Dr. Grubb in it which brought tears to my eyes. They were not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy, remembering a life well lived. It was fun to hear his rapid English accent, a sound that brought a feeling of comfort. There are times you just know when you have been in the presence of someone who truly sought God. I remembered his gentle personality and the love of God he expressed as I watched the video.

I love the prayer Dr. Grubb used daily asking God to direct him. My own day is much more productive and worthwhile when I allow God to guide me from the start of the day. In Dr. Grubb’s prayer, he says that God made us wonderful human beings to contain a wonderful God. When he says contain, he is speaking of embodying the Spirit of Christ. I know that he doesn’t mean that we could ever actually ‘contain’ God in the sense of keeping him in a box. God cannot be contained and His presence is always with us, in us, and around us. He is real, Yes! God is real. We must know the tangibility of God, know that He is forever with us, know that He is in us.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? I Corinthians 6:19 NLT

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8:9-11 NLT

Nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21 NKJV

Prayer: Father, I thank you for being in me. I thank you that you have chosen me. Help me to understand what I am to do to fulfill your will. Let me speak with your voice, hear with your ears, see with your eyes, and Love with your Love, so that others may see that you are real. Help me to ‘do the next thing.’ Amen 

Life-giving Dew

Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like DEW. Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants. Deut 32:2 (NLT) – (my emphasis on dew)

Jewish scholars relate that dew is essential in the resurrection of life. Just as a seed must die before it can bring forth life, it needs the dew to water it when it is grown in the semi-arid regions of the Mediterranean. The region where the stories of the Bible were written are dry for about half of the year. In most parts of the world, plants do most of their growing in the middle part of the day when the sun is abundant.  But in the Eastern portion of the Mediterranean, morning dew is essential. Plants grow mostly in the early morning when the dew is available. There is scientific evidence that in these regions, native plants shut down during the heat of the day to keep water loss at a minimum.  Plant life depends on the morning dew to thrive.

But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead! Isaiah 26:19

Dew is pure. It is able to permeate a plant. Dew, like pure water, transfers through the harder surfaces of the plant to give nourishment. If you remember Osmosis in school, because of the purity of dew, it is a hypotonic* substance. If water has too many impurities, it will not permeate the plant. If plants are given a hypertonic* solution (such as impure water or arid conditions) they will shrink because whatever moisture is in the plant will release out, causing the plants to shrink and eventually die. But since the pure dew is hypotonic*, it refreshes and renews. What a picture! Dew and Living water, (the Holy Spirit) nourishes and refreshes! Dew leads to all truth, the words of God. The truth is that there is life in us and the Holy Spirit nourishes that life and renews it.

And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8:2,6,10-11 (my emphases on Spirit, life & death)

Dew is known as tal in Hebrew. Just as God covers us, the word ‘tal’ in the Hebrew is translated specifically as “a covering for vegetation.” We are the vegetation, which means to be alive and growing. God’s protection covers us like the dew covers plants.

I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. Hosea 14:5

Prayer: Father, let me be refreshed with your dew, your speech, which covers me. May I become saturated with your Word. Help me to blossom, so that others may see your beauty through me.

If you are trying to remember the terms hypotonic & hypertonic, here is an explanation: *hypotonic has a lower concentration of solutes, which is able to push through a higher solution, such as water passing through the cells of a plant; hypertonic has a greater degree of solute, for example a plant in an arid environment has more moisture inside of it than the environment around it and it will release its moisture into the air, causing it to shrivel. (In other words, plants which are less succulent require more water.) To see more explanation on hypotonic solutions, here is a link: Hypotonic Solutions