25 Days of Christmas - Day 23
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25 Days of Christmas - Day 23 December 23, 2018 07:21PM |
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25 Days of Christmas - Day 23
"I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with a behavior that is a credit to the summons to God's service, living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind [humility] and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing one another and making allowances because you love one another. Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of [and produced by] the Spirit in the binding power of peace. [There is] one body and one Spirit - just as there is also one hope [that belongs] to the calling you received - [there is] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of [us] all, Who is above all [Sovereign over all], pervading all and [living] in [us] all. Yet grace [God's unmerited favor] was given to each of us individually [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ's [rich and bounteous] gift." Ephesians 4:1-7
Dear Saints, on Day 1 of this journey we started with this verse of Scripture as our spring board, our goal to reach, our lessons to learn. It has been our desire to present "a good report" of our progress before the Lord as thanks to our God and as a way of celebrating the "25th" of December, the day set apart to honor the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
"Exam" time is upon us and so we are going to use these two days for review, to refresh and, prayerfully, to activate in our lives that which the Holy Spirit has taught us over these past days of December. Hmm, just two days ago began the official "first day of winter". In the north wintertime is a time for plants to rest and from the outside appearance it looks like they have died - until spring comes and life springs forth from then again, life producing more life. Hallelujah! The Holy Spirit is impressing upon me that we are in a time of rest as well, that we are to rest in the works of our Lord. Just as the ground contains the life of the plant so are we contained in the finished works of our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot accomplish our own spiritual salvation - it has been done by the death and resurrection of our Savior. We are in a season where we are to be fed and nourished by and through Him Who saved us just as we see the ground provides for the plant during the wintertime. Spring is the next season to come, a time when pruning is done and how well the plant bears up to the pruning depends on how deeply rooted it is in the ground, having been planted in good soil and how it bears up to the pruning - does it kill the stem or does the stem withstand it and from it bring forth more life?
What the Holy Spirit is showing is that these verses in Ephesians can be accomplished as we rest in the knowledge of what God has given us through His Son - His Spirit abiding in us enabling us to fulfill the calling to which we have been called! "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). This was spoken to Zechariah by an angel of God in a vision after the angel has told him about the stone that was laid down before Joshua and the servant of God who would be the BRANCH and God removing the inequity of the land in one day (Zechariah 3:8-10). It is a foretelling of Jesus Christ and of the Spirit of God - the Word of God made flesh and God's Spirit abiding in us, God in Christ in us. Hallelujah! Zechariah 3:10 says that in the day the Lord removes the inequity of the land in one day (through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins through His shed blood) "in that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree". There will be a recognition of who we are in Christ! But it will not come by our might, our strength bringing it into being, nor by our power, by our being able to fulfill it. It come and has come by God's Spirit. God sending His Son to die for the remission of our sins and our becoming one with Christ and through Him one with the Father. The Spirit of God abiding in us, the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us to all truth.
What the Lord wants us to know is what is available through His Son, the abilities and powers that have been given us through Him - not of our own strength but by accessing Him Who lives in us! God wants us to know that it is available for us to walk in the calling that has been given us by drawing from His Spirit that lives in us. As we look at the things Paul is appealing the people to do, walking in humility, meekness, etc., we will notice that these are the very things that are the description of love - God's love, the love we are commanded to walk in - to love God in this manner and to love our neighbor the same. If God's love abides in us, then do we not have it available to us to flow through us? But there are things that hinder us from accessing the love of God that abides in our hearts through His Spirit.
I liken the gifts given to us by God as being like money in the bank. Let us use for examples sake that these gifts are like dollars placed in our bank account. We have been given a millions of dollars and it is ours. What can hinder us from it's access? Well, one is the simple fact of not knowing it is there! If we do not know the money has been placed in our accounts for our use the lack of knowledge of it's existence will leave us feeling just as we did before it was placed in our accounts - even though in truth we are millionaires! How many of God's people live like paupers while He Who owns the earth and all that is in it has blessed us with great abundance through His Son? Have you every given a gift to someone that brought you great joy in purchasing. Did your heart not fill up with excitement as you wrapped the gift and thought of the person opening it? What if they never opened it? How do you think you would feel? How do you think our heavenly Father feels when He looks upon the children of the world who do not know this gift has been given them?
What other things might hinder us from accessing these millions of dollars in our bank account? What about fear - fear to use that which we've been given because "what if we spent it all and had nothing left when we really needed it! I think of the servant who was given one talent by his master but buried it in the ground out of fear that he would have nothing to show his master when he returned (Matthew 25). When we walk in fear we are walking outside of God's love. How do we know this to be so? God's Word tells us in 1 John 4:18 that "perfect love casteth out fear" - God's perfect love towards us releases us from fearing things of this world, from the fear of His punishment because we know His great love towards us aware that He desires to bless us and not harm us. If we walk in fear it is because we do not know God's perfect and abiding love towards His children and in not knowing God's love torment is given room in our lives. We cannot even really love God until we know God's love towards us because it is God's love that leads us to love Him ("We love Him, because He first loved us", 1 John 4:19)! Oh, how essential is love.
There are even more things which keep us from utilizing the millions in our bank account. Biggest amongst them are unforgiveness and bitterness. When we hold these things in our hearts towards other it is like placing a lien on the Spirit of God that lives within us, a freezing of the account, so to speak, until other debts are paid "(forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others", "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:" (Matthew 6: 12-13). In order for us to be forgiven our trespasses on a daily basis, we need to forgive others! Holding bitterness towards others because of things they have done to us opens the door to temptation, weakens our walk with the Lord. The Lord desires to deliver us from evil but we need to forgive others and not allow room for bitterness to grow. Forgive and forget to the best of capabilities and as we do so the Lord will do the rest! Thank You Lord!
One more thing hinders us from walking in the fullness of the treasures of God's gift and love towards us and that is our lack of healing. When we have been wounded by others, by life itself, deep scars can abide in our hearts. While we might have gone through the process of forgiving them, still there seems to be something that keeps us from walking in the richness of God's goodness towards us and in His power. Unbeknownst to most of us, that old scar tissue still abides in our hearts and causes an obstruction to His Spirit within, much like were someone to freeze our bank account. We would know what wealth is in our accounts but could not access it because it was frozen. Still yet, liken it to arteries that are closed off to the blood flowing in and out of the heart. These scars that live in our hearts are the same as this blocked arteries. Most people don't know that their arteries are blocked until often times it is too late. This is not something that can be seen by the naked eye and it takes an expert to reveal what it there. That is why we have the Holy Spirit. He can reveal the hidden things from us to us so that we can become whole and healthy. And it is the Great Physician that can perform the surgery needed to repair the unhealthy heart but we need to trust Him and place ourselves under His care. Jesus stripes not only made available healing of our bodies but of our souls and our spirits. It is Him to Whom we need to turn in times such as this that He might give us a new heart, whole and pulsating with His Spirit.
It is when we have full access to the gifts God has given us, when we understand His Spirit living within us that we come to know what we have available to us and that, through Him, we can accomplish all things. Through Him we can fulfill the calling on our lives and not of ourselves, but by His Spirit.
Dear Ones, combine that which the Spirit has revealed today along with what has been shown during this month. Take that which the Spirit of God has planted in your hearts before and rest in that which has been given you through Christ Jesus. Know that all you need has been given you by our heavenly Father and that it is His Spirit that will help you to accomplish it. If you try to do it by your own strength you will grow weary and it will not glorify God for it will be done by human hands. "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6) and He wants you to have faith in Him and what He has given you through His Son. This month we have been given a greater understanding of the greatest commandments given to us to follow and the importance of walking in God's love - that which will never fail us even when all else ceases being. God's love will always be and He desires that it not only live in us but be manifested through us. God's love is essential for us to walk in the calling upon our lives. God's love is an intricate part of that calling, an intricate part of who we are to be in Christ Jesus.
I pray we pass the test that we will be (and are) taking knowing that it is faith in trusting in God and His Son, believing in His Written and Living Word, in His love that equips and sustains us. That is the grace of God, His unmerited favor, that has placed us where we are today, as His sons and daughters and it is that self-same love that will help us fulfill what He has called us to. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts." It is only by His Spirit that we will pass the test.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2018 10:20AM by Joan.
"I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with a behavior that is a credit to the summons to God's service, living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind [humility] and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing one another and making allowances because you love one another. Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of [and produced by] the Spirit in the binding power of peace. [There is] one body and one Spirit - just as there is also one hope [that belongs] to the calling you received - [there is] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of [us] all, Who is above all [Sovereign over all], pervading all and [living] in [us] all. Yet grace [God's unmerited favor] was given to each of us individually [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ's [rich and bounteous] gift." Ephesians 4:1-7
Dear Saints, on Day 1 of this journey we started with this verse of Scripture as our spring board, our goal to reach, our lessons to learn. It has been our desire to present "a good report" of our progress before the Lord as thanks to our God and as a way of celebrating the "25th" of December, the day set apart to honor the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
"Exam" time is upon us and so we are going to use these two days for review, to refresh and, prayerfully, to activate in our lives that which the Holy Spirit has taught us over these past days of December. Hmm, just two days ago began the official "first day of winter". In the north wintertime is a time for plants to rest and from the outside appearance it looks like they have died - until spring comes and life springs forth from then again, life producing more life. Hallelujah! The Holy Spirit is impressing upon me that we are in a time of rest as well, that we are to rest in the works of our Lord. Just as the ground contains the life of the plant so are we contained in the finished works of our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot accomplish our own spiritual salvation - it has been done by the death and resurrection of our Savior. We are in a season where we are to be fed and nourished by and through Him Who saved us just as we see the ground provides for the plant during the wintertime. Spring is the next season to come, a time when pruning is done and how well the plant bears up to the pruning depends on how deeply rooted it is in the ground, having been planted in good soil and how it bears up to the pruning - does it kill the stem or does the stem withstand it and from it bring forth more life?
What the Holy Spirit is showing is that these verses in Ephesians can be accomplished as we rest in the knowledge of what God has given us through His Son - His Spirit abiding in us enabling us to fulfill the calling to which we have been called! "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). This was spoken to Zechariah by an angel of God in a vision after the angel has told him about the stone that was laid down before Joshua and the servant of God who would be the BRANCH and God removing the inequity of the land in one day (Zechariah 3:8-10). It is a foretelling of Jesus Christ and of the Spirit of God - the Word of God made flesh and God's Spirit abiding in us, God in Christ in us. Hallelujah! Zechariah 3:10 says that in the day the Lord removes the inequity of the land in one day (through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins through His shed blood) "in that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree". There will be a recognition of who we are in Christ! But it will not come by our might, our strength bringing it into being, nor by our power, by our being able to fulfill it. It come and has come by God's Spirit. God sending His Son to die for the remission of our sins and our becoming one with Christ and through Him one with the Father. The Spirit of God abiding in us, the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us to all truth.
What the Lord wants us to know is what is available through His Son, the abilities and powers that have been given us through Him - not of our own strength but by accessing Him Who lives in us! God wants us to know that it is available for us to walk in the calling that has been given us by drawing from His Spirit that lives in us. As we look at the things Paul is appealing the people to do, walking in humility, meekness, etc., we will notice that these are the very things that are the description of love - God's love, the love we are commanded to walk in - to love God in this manner and to love our neighbor the same. If God's love abides in us, then do we not have it available to us to flow through us? But there are things that hinder us from accessing the love of God that abides in our hearts through His Spirit.
I liken the gifts given to us by God as being like money in the bank. Let us use for examples sake that these gifts are like dollars placed in our bank account. We have been given a millions of dollars and it is ours. What can hinder us from it's access? Well, one is the simple fact of not knowing it is there! If we do not know the money has been placed in our accounts for our use the lack of knowledge of it's existence will leave us feeling just as we did before it was placed in our accounts - even though in truth we are millionaires! How many of God's people live like paupers while He Who owns the earth and all that is in it has blessed us with great abundance through His Son? Have you every given a gift to someone that brought you great joy in purchasing. Did your heart not fill up with excitement as you wrapped the gift and thought of the person opening it? What if they never opened it? How do you think you would feel? How do you think our heavenly Father feels when He looks upon the children of the world who do not know this gift has been given them?
What other things might hinder us from accessing these millions of dollars in our bank account? What about fear - fear to use that which we've been given because "what if we spent it all and had nothing left when we really needed it! I think of the servant who was given one talent by his master but buried it in the ground out of fear that he would have nothing to show his master when he returned (Matthew 25). When we walk in fear we are walking outside of God's love. How do we know this to be so? God's Word tells us in 1 John 4:18 that "perfect love casteth out fear" - God's perfect love towards us releases us from fearing things of this world, from the fear of His punishment because we know His great love towards us aware that He desires to bless us and not harm us. If we walk in fear it is because we do not know God's perfect and abiding love towards His children and in not knowing God's love torment is given room in our lives. We cannot even really love God until we know God's love towards us because it is God's love that leads us to love Him ("We love Him, because He first loved us", 1 John 4:19)! Oh, how essential is love.
There are even more things which keep us from utilizing the millions in our bank account. Biggest amongst them are unforgiveness and bitterness. When we hold these things in our hearts towards other it is like placing a lien on the Spirit of God that lives within us, a freezing of the account, so to speak, until other debts are paid "(forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others", "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:" (Matthew 6: 12-13). In order for us to be forgiven our trespasses on a daily basis, we need to forgive others! Holding bitterness towards others because of things they have done to us opens the door to temptation, weakens our walk with the Lord. The Lord desires to deliver us from evil but we need to forgive others and not allow room for bitterness to grow. Forgive and forget to the best of capabilities and as we do so the Lord will do the rest! Thank You Lord!
One more thing hinders us from walking in the fullness of the treasures of God's gift and love towards us and that is our lack of healing. When we have been wounded by others, by life itself, deep scars can abide in our hearts. While we might have gone through the process of forgiving them, still there seems to be something that keeps us from walking in the richness of God's goodness towards us and in His power. Unbeknownst to most of us, that old scar tissue still abides in our hearts and causes an obstruction to His Spirit within, much like were someone to freeze our bank account. We would know what wealth is in our accounts but could not access it because it was frozen. Still yet, liken it to arteries that are closed off to the blood flowing in and out of the heart. These scars that live in our hearts are the same as this blocked arteries. Most people don't know that their arteries are blocked until often times it is too late. This is not something that can be seen by the naked eye and it takes an expert to reveal what it there. That is why we have the Holy Spirit. He can reveal the hidden things from us to us so that we can become whole and healthy. And it is the Great Physician that can perform the surgery needed to repair the unhealthy heart but we need to trust Him and place ourselves under His care. Jesus stripes not only made available healing of our bodies but of our souls and our spirits. It is Him to Whom we need to turn in times such as this that He might give us a new heart, whole and pulsating with His Spirit.
It is when we have full access to the gifts God has given us, when we understand His Spirit living within us that we come to know what we have available to us and that, through Him, we can accomplish all things. Through Him we can fulfill the calling on our lives and not of ourselves, but by His Spirit.
Dear Ones, combine that which the Spirit has revealed today along with what has been shown during this month. Take that which the Spirit of God has planted in your hearts before and rest in that which has been given you through Christ Jesus. Know that all you need has been given you by our heavenly Father and that it is His Spirit that will help you to accomplish it. If you try to do it by your own strength you will grow weary and it will not glorify God for it will be done by human hands. "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6) and He wants you to have faith in Him and what He has given you through His Son. This month we have been given a greater understanding of the greatest commandments given to us to follow and the importance of walking in God's love - that which will never fail us even when all else ceases being. God's love will always be and He desires that it not only live in us but be manifested through us. God's love is essential for us to walk in the calling upon our lives. God's love is an intricate part of that calling, an intricate part of who we are to be in Christ Jesus.
I pray we pass the test that we will be (and are) taking knowing that it is faith in trusting in God and His Son, believing in His Written and Living Word, in His love that equips and sustains us. That is the grace of God, His unmerited favor, that has placed us where we are today, as His sons and daughters and it is that self-same love that will help us fulfill what He has called us to. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts." It is only by His Spirit that we will pass the test.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2018 10:20AM by Joan.
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