Romans 8:5,6
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Who's ruling your mind today? If you are not sure, the answer is found in what you follow. The desires of the flesh are in direct contradiction to the Word of God. They don't line up, and they never will. But the Spirit desires what the Lord desires, and since we were made in His image and for His glory, then when we are living in the Spirit, we are living the life of peace He intended. Peace not only within ourselves but, more importantly, peace with God!
So how do we live in accordance with the Spirit? By reading and obeying the Word of God. We don't have to be accredited theologians to walk in the Spirit but rather just be humble, open, and diligent students of the Word. God gave us the Bible for a reason, and I think as a whole, we have forgotten the power that is in those pages. If He didn't want us to have it, then He wouldn't have given it, compiled it, translated it, and supplied it for centuries!
Imagine, if you will, that you are a football coach and you somehow get the other team's playbook. Now you have both yours and theirs. You can both prepare for the plays you want to run and prepare against the plays they are going to run. The Bible is both of these playbooks given by God to His children. To prepare us for the fight and against the attacks. It's called the "sword of the Spirit" for a reason. A sword can be used for both offense and defense. Have you handled yours today?
Ephesians 6:17- Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
God bless! I love you all, but His love is forever on those who know Him as their Lord and Savior! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God our General, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit who teaches those who are willing to listen!
Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
How grateful I am that even when I can’t formulate the words, He knows just what to say! Sometimes prayer is hard, and there are things that effect and influence it. There are a wide variety of things that can do this: spiritual attacks, unrepentant sin, distractions from the seen or unseen world, and even the Lord’s correction in our life, just to name a few. All these have bearing on our prayer lives and can take us to a place where we don’t know exactly what to say. Our emotions are strong, and yet we are unable to formulate the right words to express what is going on inside. This morning started out just like that.
There has been a heaviness around me since Sunday. I have different ideas as to what it might be but can’t say for certain, but I do know that it’s been heavy, and I have felt off since then. Yet today in prayer, though I couldn’t come up with the words to say, I could know with confidence that the Holy Spirit was speaking for me! That He was taking my heart and my needs to the Lord, and what a joy and hope that brings. To know that even when I can’t say the words physically, He hears them spiritually!
The Holy Spirit is such an amazing gift given to us by our Heavenly Father; He is the Spirit of wisdom, truth and strength. He is the One who leads us in this life to the glory of God and the One who fills our cup. So today, if you find yourself in a place where you just can’t seem to speak, rest in the fact that the One who lives inside you and knows you best is speaking on your behalf in Heaven!
John 16:7- But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
God bless! I love you all, but His love makes a way even when we can’t! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
This is a story about how God used the tooth formerly known as my back molar to bring healing and encouragement! For about two weeks, I have had an infected tooth. I put it off and was praying for God to heal it. The problem was I wanted Him to heal it my way. Quick, painless, and right now! But God had other plans!
Mom finally got me to call around to dentists yesterday, and none could get me in anytime soon. Then, God led me to a 1-800 number that puts you in contact with local dentists that can see you the same day. So, God took me to Hopewell Dental, and it was one blessing after another. As I was talking to the receptionist on the phone, she proceeded to tell me that she saw me at church Sunday and that her boyfriend’s brother is a resident at the Jeremiah Tree, where I work! I was like, “Okay, God, this is getting interesting” - LOL!
I was an addict for 20 years, so my teeth need a lot of work. Emily, the lady from church proceeded to get me in that same day to get that infected tooth pulled and find me discount after discount. Not only did I get the tooth pulled for about half-price, but the cost to keep, clean, and fix the others was about cut in half too! And the cherry on top was I was able to send an encouraging message through her to the resident’s mom and family about how well He is doing!
I say all this to encourage you that sometimes, the path to healing doesn’t look the way we want it to, but it’s exactly the path He wants us on! God used one tooth to heal a whole mouth, plus some! See, not only did God fix problems I didn’t know about, but He brought areas to light that I didn’t know about. He showed me that even when I don’t feel good or feel like He is close, He is right there beside me. He taught me more about compassion and forgiveness as well. I don’t have room to tell of all the goodness of God in my life through this tooth, but what I can say is that God used an infected tooth to disinfect my heart!!!
Be compassionate, Be trusting, Be as shrewd as a snake yet as innocent as a dove, and today rest in the out stretched arms of the Savior and let Him work in you!!!
I love you all, God bless, and Glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Yesterday, I went outside to do some pushups, and it immediately started to rain – LOL! I was like, “Really, God? Maybe He doesn’t want me to work out!”
But I persevered because I’m stubborn, and about three-quarters of the way in, the rain stopped and the sun came back out.
But I was immediately missing the rain as there were about a million flies out there, and they like to bite! God was like, “See, son, I sent the rain to help you, not to hurt you!”
This is just a small example of how little I know and how much God does!! A pastor friend of mine once told me that our lives are like a parade, where we are watching it at street-level, one float at a time. God is in the Goodyear blimp watching the whole thing at once! I have to trust that no matter what, He has my best interest in mind and that He will work all things out for those who love Him!!
It’s easy to get discouraged or say, “Why me?” But in those times, I have to remember that the One running this show is the same One who gave His son for my sins!! I may not always like the route by which I get there, but I always love the destination when I arrive!!! I have to remember not to get discouraged by the problems but rather trust in the true Problem Solver!!
I love you all, God bless, and Glory to God!!
Romans 8:35, 37-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This morning, I was reading In Romans 8 about how nothing can separate us from the love of God because of Jesus!! As I was praying, I was thinking about Jesus and how He acted after the resurrection versus how I would have acted. I probably would have been arrogant, vengeful, and very much “I told you so “attitude!! But He did not!! He said, “Go and tell them the good news!! Tell them I did it and that I did it for them!!”
We are them!!! Thank You, Jesus!! Where my face would have been resentful and angry, His face had nothing but love, compassion, victory, and forgiveness on it! Where I would have wanted people to feel bad for what they did to me, He wanted them to feel the forgiveness He bought for them!!
We serve a mighty God, and yes, He will judge one day, but trust me, He wants as many of His children to come home as possible!! I can hear and see Jesus after He rose that Sunday – face shining, grinning from ear to ear, barely able to contain His excitement, and saying, “I did it for you, and you, and especially YOU reading this!!!”
I have been loved by some amazing people, but I promise you that nothing compares to the love of our Savior!!!!!
I love you all, God bless, and glory to God, the Holy Spirit, and our Risen King!!!!!
Romans 8:37-39
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Today while working out God brought these verses to my mind, and then later, when reading my devotional, it was there again! I love when God speaks right to our spirit like that.
These verses tell us God’s love is bigger than any virus, any trouble, anything this world or the next can throw at us! It was that love that led Jesus up a hill to die a criminal’s death for our freedom! That love is still alive and well in each and every one of us who confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior!!!
God bless you all, and let’s continue to give God all the
glory honor and praise for ever and ever amen!!!
Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Luke 1:37 – “For no word from God will ever fail.”
These are a couple of short verses, but there is so much power in these promises from the Lord!!! I always read the one in Romans wrong. I always looked at it like I had to conquer sins, situations, and stuff for Christ. But that’s not what it says. It says I can conquer them THROUGH Him and His love. The strength comes from His love, not from me. What a relief!!!
Which means the only way to overcome anything I’m facing is to have faith and trust Him and His love to get me through it. For so long, I thought I had to be tough for Christ, or fight battles for Him but not with Him!!! I was setting myself up for failure because the only one who can conquer this world and all it throws at us is the one who created it and died for it and then rose with our freedom in hand!!! Thank You, Jesus!
A conqueror isn’t just someone who barely makes it by but rather someone who dominates and thrives!!! So, this tells me if I keep Christ at the center, there isn’t a thing in this world that I can’t overcome or dominate! What a promise from the Lord!
We all know these verses, but do we believe them? Are we walking in reluctancy or expectancy? Do I expect to experience God’s goodness or do I only hope to? Do I expect to experience God’s love or merely hope to? Do I expect God to carry me through any valley or just hope He shows up? Not one word, promise, or prophecy from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 will ever fail, change, or fall away!! In a world of shifting shadows, focus on the Son!!!
Be encouraged, Be a warrior, Be loving, Be bold, and most importantly, be more like Christ!!!
I love
you all, God bless, and Glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!!
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