February 12, 2023                                             THE  HOLY  SPIRIT
John 14:16-17,26-16:13a  ““I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.”    “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”    “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth,”
1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”
Romans 8:26, 15:13, 8:9 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”     “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”    
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,”
Galatians 5:2-23a “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
Romans 5:5 “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Ephesians 1:13 “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”
What a blessing that God has chosen to send His Holy Spirit to live in each believer. Having the Holy Spirt in us lifts us above living according to our own understanding; the Holy Spirt empowers us and guides us according to the ways of God. It is no casual or small thing for us to be temples of the Holy Spirit; without the Holy Spirit living in us, we could never live the Christian life as depicted in the scriptures. Because we have the Holy Spirit, we can be conscience of the presence of God in us; we have access to the wisdom of God; we have discernment; we know truth; we have the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:2-23; we know God’s will for us; we have the super-natural power of God at work in us; we have hope and joy that are not dependent on circumstances; we can understand the word of God--and the list goes on. Also, the Holy Spirit reveals to us our true identity as sons and daughters of God-and that is so important. So, let us not take for granted the presence of the Holy Spirit in us; let us learn to discern His voice and His leading; let us walk in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. The Holy Spirit always leads us to life.
Romans 6:10-11 “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 the same Spirit living within you.”
Blessings, Buddy

 
February 10, 2023                                       ROOTED  AND  GROUNDED
Ephesians 3:16-20 “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”
You could never accurately summarize the word of God; however, this passage does present to a great degree the over-all desire that God has for His people. What God desires for us and has made available to us is absolutely amazing; but Paul prays that we “may be able to comprehend” what God has for His people. What we must understand is that the things that God has for us to experience do not happen automatically. Our part of the process is to have a heart that seeks to know Him, to learn of His ways, to learn of our new identity as sons and daughters of God and because we love Him, keep His commandments. Even though we have a part to play, it is only by His grace that we know what He has for us and it is only by His grace that we can do our part. Once we understand and embrace what God desires for us, we are able to live life from a new perspective; we see that real life, abundant life, life that satisfies, comes only from God-not from our own doing. His life is not dependent on circumstances; His life always flows within us, ‘springing up as a well.” (John 4:13-14) God will strengthen us in our inner man, and because Christ dwells in us, we will be rooted and grounded in love. And it gets better-we can “be filled up with all the fullness of God.” I’m not sure what it looks like to be filled up with all the fullness of God, but that is what Christ desires for us and it the very thing that we can experience. Let us know that God loves us and He wants our lives to overflow with His presence-all the time; He wants us to know His ways and to walk in His ways. All that God has for His people is beyond our comprehension, yet, because of His great mercy and grace, we can experience all that He has for us. Do not believe the lie that says that we are merely human beings who must do the best we can; rather, believe and embrace all that God has said about the life He has for us to experience in the here and now.
1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.”
Colossians 1:26-27 “that is, the mystery that has been hidden from the past ages and generation; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God has willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
February 8, 2023                                        A  FRAGRANCE  OF  CHRIST
2 Corinthians 2:14-16a “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God to those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to life, to the other an aroma from life to life.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
Our life matters, not only to us, but to others. Life is so much more than us trying to find what makes us happy. As great as it is to know that we will go to heaven when we die because we know God as our Savior is just the beginning point of a journey that we are on as followers of Christ. God has specific plans for His people during their time on earth. One of His highest purposes for us is that the life we live day in and day out will be a reflection of the character of God. What a privilege it is for us to be able to be conduits of who God is not only to those who are lost, but also to those who know Him. How amazing that God desires to “manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” Let us embrace the reality that we can be a fragrance of God-in every place. We can be a message of salvation to those who do not know Him, and we can be a message of life and encouragement to those who do know Him. What we read in Ephesians above may sound unrealistic to us, but we, through the Holy Spirit working in us, can be, and should be imitators of God as beloved children. Because God is our Father, we can be like Him; our life can be a demonstration of His love and of His character. 
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
1 John 2:6 “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”
PS: Sin does not have power over us, but if we find that we have sinned in some way, let us confess it to the Lord, turn from it, and continue our walk with the Lord.
Blessings,
Buddy

 
February 6, 2023                                                     PUT  ON
Colossians 3:10, 12-14 “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-“    “And so, those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
I really like a shirt I was given at Christmas; would it make any sense just to hang it in my closet and not put it on and wear it? Certainly not. God has given us something far greater than any gift we could receive from someone at Christmas or at any other time, and it’s a gift we must put on if we are to make use of the gift. God has made us a new person-that’s the gift. However, this gift is designed to be put on. We must first unwrap the gift; we unwrap the gift by discovering our true identity in His word and through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (That is an analogy-at least to some degree.) I once knew someone who said they wanted to get off of a certain medication that they had been on for many years; they tried to stop the medication but with no success. They finally came to the conclusion that they had rather stay with what they were use too-so they gave up on the idea of stopping the medication. We like our routines even though we know our routines may be the best for us. The idea of putting on a new self implies change-and change can be uncomfortable and even frightening. Furthermore, when we discover just how awesome the new self is, we may conclude it is too good to be true. The nature of man is to think that he knows what is best for him, so that is what he pursues. At salvation, God did not refurbish us, but made us NEW creations. Also, God did not make us robots; we must make the choice of putting on this NEW self; and this new self is drastically different from the old self. The old self may have been a pretty good guy-or gal and it may have lived a fairly moral life; however, it is as ‘filthy rags’ compared to the new self. (Isaiah 64:6.) Above we read the awesome truth about the new self: it was created in the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness!  The above passage in Colossians 3 list some of the characteristics of the new self-compassion, humility, kindness, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, and forgiveness. (As you read the New Testament, you will find more characteristics of the new self.) You may be asking how one puts on the new self. There is no three-step process. It does involve learning through study or through hearing what the word says about being made new; truly believing what the word says; accepting by faith that God has made you new; and most importantly, begin acting out of your newness-actually choose to express the nature of your new self! Of course, before putting on the new self, you must lay aside the old self. As we walk in our new identity, we will experience life as never before and will see good fruit. It does not mean that we will not experience difficulties, but it is does mean that we will demonstrate the very nature of God no matter the circumstances.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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February 4, 2023                                    FOR  GOD’S  OWN  POSSESSION
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness in to His marvelous light; for you were once not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Titus 2:14 “…who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Once we as believes come to understand our true identity as sons and daughters of God, we will not suffer from a poor self-esteem. It is a major spiritual breakthrough for us when we embrace the fact that we are God’s possession; we are not our own-we have been bought with a price. We were in darkness, but we have been called into His marvelous light. We may have trouble seeing past this life, but the truth is that this life is temporary and it is a time of preparation for the life to come. God is up to something; He has plans that are beyond our comprehension-and His plans include you and I. We did not one day decide to ‘find God;’ God chose us; we are a chosen race. (Not chosen based on our own merits but by the grace of God.) And don’t’ miss this-we are a royal priesthood who offer service and worship to God. We are a holy nation; God broke the power of sin over us and He has forgiven us of our sins and has made us righteous and He has made us new creations. As the people of God, we can live holy lives-lives that are pleasing to Him. Our overall purpose in this life is that we “may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us.” Life is not all about us; life is to be about fulfilling the call of God and living according to the ways of Him who called us and made us His own possession. Let us daily acknowledge that we belong to God and purpose to live as one who has been joined to Him.
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance, but be like the holy one who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
1 Corinthians 19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
2 Timothy 1:9 “who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
January 31, 2022                                               GIVE  PREFERENCE
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others.”
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;”
Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
These verses, and other similar passages, are a sure receipt for unity and harmonious relationships. The unredeemed nature of man is to look out for himself-number one. When we are born again, when we are reconciled to God, we get a new nature AND it’s a nature that is in the image of God. Ephesians 4:24. We have been set free from who we use to be. Living in and expressing this new nature does not happen automatically; we must choose to walk in our new self; the verse in Ephesians 4:24 instructs us to “put on the new self.” Sad to say, all too often there is division and strife among those who profess to be followers of Christ. Some sure signs that one is not walking in their new self is that they become self-centered, argumentative, not sensitive to the needs of others, insistent on their way, and in general, not preferring others above themselves. The good news for us is that we can live in a way that reflects the very nature of God; we can walk in brotherly love, preferring and honoring others. We can dethrone self! More good news is that living according to the ways of God fulfills our deepest longings; God has designed us in such a way that we find more joy in giving of ourselves than we do insisting on our ways. May we take God at His word; let us adopt the mind set of preferring others as more important than ourselves; let us look out not for our interest alone, but for the interest of others as well; let us honor others; let us be given to brotherly love; and let us “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit.”  We can live in such a way ONLY because God has redeemed us and made us new creations and has given us the Holy Spirit to equip us and empower us to live in a way that pleases Him-----and it will bless others as well!
1 Peter 3:8-9 “To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ Jesus also has forgiven you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
January 29, 2023                                      AN  ANCHOR  FOR  THE SOUL
Hebrews 6:17-19 “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,”
James 1:17 “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is not variation, or shifting shadows.”
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.”
If we ever needed an anchor for the soul, it is the day in which we live. The world as a whole is in continual chaos; and in our personal lives, we must continually deal with changing circumstances which are so often difficult and challenging. In addition to our outward circumstances, we also face inward challenges; in particular, our thought life. Because we live in a fallen world that has lost its way, we are blessed beyond measure to have a God ‘in whom there is no variation.’ No matter how severe the storm may be, if our anchor is in God, our anchor holds in the most violent storms. Our hope must not be in the things of the world but in the promises and the purposes of God. We find ‘strong encouragement’ in what God has promised for His people, even though we may be experiencing temporary difficulties. No matter what happens in the world, or what happens in our personal lives, and no matter that whatever-God never changes and He always invites us to take refuge in Him. There is a hope set before us-and we must lay hold of that hope; embracing the hope that is set before us brings stability and peace no matter our circumstances. Let us rejoice in the fact that our God is ruling and reigning and He has called us to Himself and He has plans and purposes for His people that will be completed just as He desires, in His own time. We can find strong encouragement and a sure hope in what God is doing now, and what He has in store for those who love Him.
1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He Has called us to be born again to a living hope though the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
January 27, 2023                                         LET  THE  PEACE  OF  CHRIST  RULE
Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be make known to God. And the peace of God which passes all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.”
The scriptures are miraculous-they are of God; and they are both profound, stretching the mind; and yet they are simple, easily understood, and the message of the scripture immediately penetrates the heart. And amazingly, many times a particular verse speaks directly to us about a particular issue or circumstance we are confronted with. Such is the case with Colossians 3:15. Is it possible to simply let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts? Yes, it is possible. Some may say that if we knew the conflicts and trials they were facing, we would understand why they are not at peace. The core issue of letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts is that of trusting God. No one likes trials and conflicts, and we are not to deny the pain of trials; but, if our trust is in God, we can rest in the fact that God is at work in the midst of the trial, that He will not forsake us, that He will give us strength to endure, and that He will in some way use it for good. To have that posture in the midst of the trial is possible only by having an unshakeable trust in God our Father. In our culture, many may not be in a great trial, but nonetheless, they are anxious and are not at peace, and thus, they try to find peace and fulfillment in places and in things other than in God. This trust in God that is essential in this life is more than mental; true trust in God is rooted in our spirit-in the core of our being. Our having a genuine trust in God is a work of the Holy Spirt revealing to us the faithfulness of God and His absolute power to work all things for good for those who love Him. We have many opportunities to become anxious and there are many things that could rob us of the peace of Christ. It is refreshing to know that we can simply let go and let His peace rule in our hearts. God is pleased when we have a child like faith in Him even when life is difficult and we don’t understand the how or why. So, let us let go of all that would defeat us and discourage us, and simply let His peace rule in our hearts and minds-He is in control-and He loves us.
John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Philippians 4:9 “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from Me, or seen in Me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
January 25, 2023                                                   IN  HIM
From Ephesians 1       “blessed with every spiritual blessing”     “He chose us in Him”    “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us”     “He made known to us the mystery of His will”   “predestined according to His purpose”     “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise”      “that God---may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Several times in the first chapter of Ephesians, you find the words ‘in Him.’ Everything hinges on whether or not one is ‘in Him;’ the blessings, and the promises of God are reserved for those who are in Christ; one can spend a life time discovering just what those promises and blessing are. Paul begins this letter by saying that believers have been “Blessed with every spiritual blessing;” whatever spiritual blessing there are, we have them! As we think about spiritual blessings, we may be guilty of seeing the spiritual as somewhat mystical, or untouchable, or something that is not practical, or even reserved for heaven. However, the scriptures tell us that what is unseen, the spiritual, is eternal, while what we see with our eyes is temporal. 2 Corinthians 4:18. The blessings that come as a result of being in Him impacts every aspect of our lives; we must not compartmentalize our lives into spiritual and secular; all we do is to flow from the life of Christ in us. As we read and meditate on the above scriptures and the blessing that come to those who are in Him, we may find ourselves asking if it all is too good to be true and if the blessings are for us personally. Only because we are ‘in Him,’ we have been redeemed and forgiven of all of our trespasses, we now understand the mysteries of God that He has revealed to us, He has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, we are sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, and God gives us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him! We cannot in our own wisdom and knowledge come to understand or experience the blessings that come by being in Him; that is why Paul prayed for you and I, that the eyes of our heart would be enlightened-that we might come to know the abundant riches we have in Him. May we turn our hearts fully to Him and seek to know Him, depending on the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the blessings of being in Christ.
Ephesians 1:19-21 “and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him form the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
January 22, 2023                                            MIND  SET
Romans 8:5-8,12-13 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh id death, but the life set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the Law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”        “So then, brethren, we are under obligation not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
 One clear truth that we find in Romans chapters seven and eight, as well as in many other scriptures, is that a believer can choose to live according to the flesh; but it is also clear that if they make that choice, it is just that-their choice, since the power of sin over us has been broken and we have been made new. It is a fact that the flesh battles against the Spirit, but the flesh is always defeated when we live according to the Spirit. Our mind-set is critical; our mind can be set on the flesh, or on the Spirit. If you are employed, it’s likely your mind set is to go to work and do a good job. If your goal is to be a professional athlete, then your mind is set on practicing your chosen sport. Like so, if we are followers of Christ, then our mind should be set on growing in the faith, learning of Him, following His commands and teachings, and listening to and obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If our mind is set on acquiring riches and material gain, popularity, looks, or whatever, then our mind is set on the flesh. The key is, where is our heart and what is our main pursuit in life. There is nothing wrong with having material possessions or being in good physical condition and good health, etc; it’s a problem when things other than knowing God and walking in His ways become our priorities in life. These verses call for a self-evaluation; let us look within and determine if our mind set is on the Spirit of God who is working in us, or if our mind set is on doing what pleases self-the flesh. If we find that our mind is set on the flesh, then we are called to die to self if we are to experience God. The good news is that the mind set on the Spirit, and we are saying no to the flesh, then we will live!
Colossians 3:1-3 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
Blessings,
Buddy