Tag: Holy Spirit

The Greater Blessing

As I weed my garden, I often think of scriptures and their meaning. I find peace in the garden amongst the beauty of nature. Yesterday morning my thoughts went to a phrase spoken by Jesus. When Jesus said “Your sins are forgiven” to the lame man to be healed… which was the greater blessing? Was it that he was physically healed or that he was given Eternal life? While it is wonderful to be healed, especially of a debilitating illness or emotionally healed of the problems we deal with, isn’t it better to be given life everlasting?  The lame man was given both physical healing and spiritual cleansing. We are given both through faith and redemption.  The woman with the issue of blood, who had been bleeding for twelve years, knew that if she only touched Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. She had faith in his ability to heal. Shouldn’t we have faith in his power?

Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” Luke 8:48

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” John 4:13-15

Faith is all it takes for miracles to happen. The woman at the well believed and brought many more to believe by telling them of Jesus’ words. She had faith enough to gather others. She and Mary Magdalene knew their sins were many and saw the great blessing in what Jesus offered. Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus’ feet w/costly perfume and her tears… those who have been forgiven of much, show more gratefulness & love! She recognized the blessings he could give her were far better than anything she could achieve on her own. Faith and belief are synonymous here. We cannot be saved by how we live, but with the Spirit of God it is Possible to receive eternal life!

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. John 3:5-6

Prayer: Thank you Father for sending Jesus to bless us with salvation and giving your Holy Spirit so we can live a life full of blessings!

The Knowledge of Good and Evil

Jesus kept the good out of ‘good & evil’ and nailed the evil to the cross! Then why do we try to pull it back off? We are to walk in the New Covenant in our new nature. Hebrews 8 and 2 Corinthians 5:15

Every time we walk away from God and his plan for us, we walk away from the new covenant and our true redemption. We walk away from the truth. What is that truth? Look at: Ephesians 4:21-24

God created man for communication with Him. Our omniscient (all-knowing) Father knew both good and evil and tried to protect us from the responsibility of that knowledge. Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16-17  It was okay to eat any fruit from any tree, but not of that certain tree. Why do we usually want to do what is forbidden instead of what God’s plan is for us? Because we walk in our sinful nature and not the nature of the new man. 2 Corinthians 5:16 God’s original purpose was not for us to obtain knowledge of good and evil. We were not to partake! But don’t blame Adam and Eve, because many are still resisting what God wants in our lives today. Hebrews 3:12-14 When we follow evil, we are taking it off the cross where it was defeated. We are pulling back down the evil that Jesus died to rid the world of. Evil is the force that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin. Sin is going beyond the limits that were set. Therefore, evil is Anything that opposes God. We are not in the new covenant which reaffirms our relationship with God when we don’t fully Trust God and follow Jesus. Galatians 2:20

Through the new covenant God has put his laws in our minds and written them on our hearts! The old covenant is obsolete. We are not to live for ourselves but for Christ who died for us. Our new nature is to be put on and renewed by reading the word and allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our thoughts and attitudes. We use God’s vision which he has given us and we evaluate the world with new eyes when we follow Him. We are to be faithfully trusting God to the end. We are to carry the zeal that we were given when we first believed.  Our old self was crucified on the cross with Jesus Christ. He lives In us! God has brought us Back into relationship with Him. Now let us bring others Back to God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-25

Prayer: Father, Thank you for sending your son to give me a new covenant with you. Keep me from pulling my old nature off the cross and wearing it again. Help me to trust in your perfect plan for my life and help me bring others back to you! I love you! Amen.

Banished for Our Good…

God banished Eve from the garden of Eden so that she would learn to Trust Him again and be obedient. She tried to learn things in her own time and in her own way when she followed the serpent. She decided God did not know what was best for her when she listened to the serpent. She Allowed the serpent to convince her that God was withholding something from her. How often do we think we know better than God? How often do we seek out the advice of others before we seek out God’s advice? God instructs us through His Word to ask him for wisdom in James 1:5-8.

Anything we put before God, we risk losing. For some it is their career, their family, or something they value more than their time with God. Whatever we devote more time to and give our heart to is our treasure. Matthew 6:21

All He asks for is our Trust in Him and our obedience, it still comes down to that after All these years: Obedience to His word and Trust in God.

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: Isaiah 1:19 (KJV)

This verse in Isaiah is simple. In the Hebrew, the word willing means to rest content, the word obedient means to hear attentively. We (as Christians) make it so difficult. When we rest in His will for our lives, when we Trust Him and are obedient to His Word, we are blessed (eat the good of the land)! When we Trust with our Whole Heart (spirit, soul, and body) He provides for us Anything we Need.

Even when we fall away, He promises to be there for us, when we seek him with All our heart and soul:

“But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.” Deuteronomy 4:29 (NLT)

But that is no excuse to fall away, it is not a safety net to fall back on. We are called to live by His Spirit which makes us holy and not return to our former ways.

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace… So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:2, 14-16 

But let’s not think that solely through our obedience we will be blessed by God. Following God is not through rote. (definitions of rote: routine; a fixed, habitual, or mechanical procedure; without thought of the meaning, done in a mechanical way.) We must have Faith (which is Trust) in God!

“Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.” Romans 4:13-14 

Prayer: Father, help me to Trust in your ways and be obedient to your will for my life. Thank you for loving me. Help me to know when I don’t hear your answer that I have not asked correctly or I’ve allowed my own thoughts to take precedence. I know you have my best interest in mind, help me to walk in your timing and not my own. In Jesus’ Precious name, Amen.