Category: SpiritFilledLiving

Positive Purpose

Others are enriched while we ourselves find peace and joy and the purposes of our lives.

Meditation Thought: “ but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

We who acknowledge God the Father as the top authority over us must act to please Him first, others afterward.

As we are faithful and fruitful in a little, so God entrusts us with more. To the extent we are constantly moving toward successful completion of our tasks for Him, to that extent are we pleased and rewarded by “positive feedback” from our Father. This in turn spurs us on to greater efforts, and all benefit – God’s will is done and His love and Word expanded in the world, and others are enriched, while we ourselves find peace and joy and the purposes of our lives.

Wise and Gracious: a Guide

Through my penetrating Spirit you shall bring delight, joy, hope, strength, determination of purpose.

Meditation Thought: “ Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5-6)

Conduct yourself according to My Word and you shall conduct yourself wisely. Speak My Word and you shall speak graciously. You cannot use My Word as your guide if you do not know My Word so thoroughly that you are able to understand it and to use it.

Saturate your mind and your heart with My Word, for as the Word penetrates into your very being, it transforms you through the power of the indwelling Spirit.

The truth of My Spirit – the power of My Spirit – the grace of My Spirit – the forgiving nature of My Spirit: the Love of My Spirit – shall be as the most delicate, enhancing flavoring to be savored by both you and those who know you.

Through my penetrating Spirit you shall bring delight, joy, hope, strength, determination of purpose.

Today’s Value

The world will not last; the Kingdom will. Your body will not last; your Spirit will.

Meditation Thought: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23)

Serve the Lord with joy! For in joy did the Lord create you – and serves you: through teaching you the precepts of life in the Spirit.

Each moment has meaning, has value, has influence on every other moment of your life. For each moment serves to move you into greater, more willing service to the Kingdom, or into more estrangement from it and greater conformity to the world. The world will not last; the Kingdom will. Your body will not last; your Spirit will.

Take heed that this moment, which is always now – present, not past, not future – is dedicated to the service of your Lord, for in serving your Lord, you serve yourself – you serve all of humankind.

Do not fear to be bold in the expression of your faith: if you will cling with all of your might to the wisdom of the Word and the truth of the Spirit, you shall serve your Lord and serve man as the natural consequences of serving your Lord: thus is the gospel spread and the Kingdom expanded and joy increased.

A Magnified Gift

Why wouldn’t it be logical for God to want to give more gifts to those who are using them to their maximum instead of just storing them away?

Meditation Thought: “I tell you to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not even what he has will be taken away.” Luke 19:26

God gives us precious gifts but not for the purpose of hiding them, hoarding them for our own selfish pleasure, to be sneaked out in secret and gloated over. He gives us gifts to enjoy by sharing them with others – which magnifies them as their value is spread to more people.

Why wouldn’t it be logical for God to want to give more gifts to those who are using them to their maximum instead of just storing them away? When we give a gift to someone, don’t we receive pleasure when the person uses it, shares the benefit from it – and aren’t we disappointed if the gift is put away and ignored? God’s gifts are too precious to be accepted and put on a shelf never to be used. They should be used constantly to His pleasure and glory, as well as our pleasure.

What was Impossible Becomes Possible

You must see yourself as part of a great Body, able to accomplish miracles which would not happen if you think of yourself as an isolated cell.

A sense of response to meditation on several verses and a devotional:

“My strength shall pour into your limbs, into your heart, as a transfusion. What was difficult before shall become easy, what was impossible shall become possible. The ‘greater works’ shall be done through you and through the other members of my Body as my strength surges through that Body.

You must see yourself as part of a great Body, able to accomplish miracles which would not happen if you think of yourself as an isolated cell. Seek that interconnection with the other parts of the Body and coordinate with the rest to cause the whole to function as it was created to function. The Head wants the Body to function, it does not want it paralyzed! Respond to the impulses from the Head so that the Body will be active – not only active, but vibrantly active.”

Choose the harvest by choosing the Seed

Once we know the Truth – our relationship with our Creator, our dependency on Him, and the glories of being totally His child, then we know what seed to sow to reap the best of harvests: peace, joy, love and communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Meditation Thought: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)

As the parables are the echoes of the principles, so are the material laws echoes of the spiritual laws. The elements of everyday living are really a school we are attending – once we recognize that we are attending a school in which to learn, we change our actions accordingly. We have purpose, we seek knowledge, we become alive and aware in a new way.

As our Teacher inspires us as we learn in one area, we begin to see an interrelation of which we were ignorant, we find knowledge of fields which were completely unknown to us before. But every field has one thing in common: the results are based on the action, or in other words, the harvest depends upon the seed sown. Once we know the Truth – our relationship with our Creator, our dependency on Him, and the glories of being totally His child, then we know what seed to sow to reap the best of harvests: peace, joy, love and communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

Run to Win

Run. Do not dawdle, be distracted or wander off the course.

Meditation Thought: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1)

“Run, run to the goal – to complete communion with Me – do not dawdle, be distracted, or wander off the course. Set in mind clearly that you are running to win – not in the sense of beating others, but in the sense of reaching your goal as quickly as you can. You know the ways of running faster: Time spent with Me; in My Word, in your mind searching for my plans for you and how to accomplish them in expressing my love to others by service to them.”

Perceive the Valley from the Mountain

Our role is to share our experiences, to share our knowledge, and to share our love which has been quickened.

Meditation Thought: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

To be baptized is an act of being set apart for special service – the observing of the commandments is the nature of the service – the presence of Jesus is the moving power of the service. The baptizing, or setting apart, is the reason that those who believe cannot behave as the crowd behaves.

It is as if Christ takes us to the top of the mountain, where we can come to new perspective and knowledge of the valley, and then we can go back to the valley to share our new knowledge and wisdom to help others, and to urge them to go for themselves to find the new view of the valley.

Living in the valley after the trip up to the mountain is not the same as before the trip – it is more intense in every way, for awareness is sharpened, and new knowledge changes perception. Some will resent the ‘differences’, others will see it as being desirable and wish to take the trip too; our role is to share our experiences, to share our knowledge, and to share our love which has been quickened. Thus we provide the opportunity for our neighbors to respond to our sharing, and through their response, Jesus moves. And so the process becomes a ‘making disciples of all nations’.

(When we look at the world with our human eyes only, it is as if we look at a map in a book. When we look at it with spiritual eyes, we see it as a globe with topographical markings added – we can perceive so much more of the true qualities when we have a more complete perspective.)

Wholeness

It is imperative, therefore, that any change in us be a change toward God’s will.

Meditation Thought: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:26)

If one part is missing, the “whole” has disappeared – it is now something different. It may even be considered a whole, but the original “whole” has disappeared, it no longer exists. When a part is altered, no matter how slightly, the whole is altered too. It may take a while for parts of the whole to be affected by other parts – but it will happen, for all are interconnected.

Therefore, we must take care that we, as a part of the Body of Christ, are a healthy part, a part that is in good working order, bringing joy not only to ourselves, but to all the many other parts, and to the whole. We must remember that no matter ow slight an event might appear, that creation all is structured so that one tiny cell changing in the slightest manner, can have an effect that becomes magnified – a chain reaction in fact, a geometric multiplication.

It is imperative, therefore, that any change in us be a change toward God’s will, toward the furthering of the health and purpose of the Body, for our own good, and for the good of the whole.

Turning From, Turning Towards

Your task is to learn of My methods, of My attitudes, of My will in general and My will in particular – and then in prayer, in yielding to the Spirit, speak and act. 

Meditation Thought: “For it is God’s will that by doing right, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” (1 Peter 2:15)

“Take your cue from Me – I only invite, suggest, touch lightly, lovingly. The response is left to the one touched. But it is when you are behaving in imitation of My ways that the response is likely to be positive – a response which will turn one from selfishness, from foolishness, from sin – toward love, consideration, wisdom, respect, righteousness.

Your task is to learn of My methods, of My attitudes, of My will in general and My will in particular – and then in prayer, in yielding to the Spirit, speak and act.

When you are in this state, you are doing My work, and when you are doing My works, it will not be in vain.”