ONE Resolution

If we are living now by the Holy Spirit’s power, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:25  TLB

At this time of the year, most people make a list of New Year's resolutions. If their goal is to lose weight, they enjoy a final dessert. If their goal is to stop buying on credit, they make one final purchase using their plastic. And if their goal is to begin having a morning devotional time, they sleep in one last day.

But research shows that most New Year's resolutions are not kept in spite of our best intentions. I speak from personal experience. May I suggest a better way approach the New Year would be to have ONE goal: to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 The construction of the original text means to continue being filled not just a one-time act. A Spirit-filled life is one that is to be lived out daily. That means you daily listen for His guidance and approach life in His strength every day,   Luke 4:1 Galatians 5:25.

After a year of walking in the Spirit; much more will change than made a human resolution. Begin the New Year with the objective to live a Spirit-filled life and see what you will accomplish in and through your life in the coming year.

The Next Step

 Your word is a lamp before my feet and a light for my journey. Psalm 109:105

If you ever go into a home improvement store, you will find a whole section of the store devoted to flashlights. Some lights advertise they have 1 – 20 million candle power and can light up objects a quarter of a mile away. It is a far cry from the “one candle” power of handheld lamps of biblical times; lighting up objects five feet away!

The writer of Psalms wrote that God's Word was a lamp to his feet. Psalms 119:105 In the mind of the Israelites, God's Word was something to be obeyed. As I obey God's Word where I now stand today, His Word gives me direction for my next step. There is no need to see a quarter of a mile down life's road if I am not going to obey and take the next step God has clearly shown me.

If you are trying to find direction in your life from God, obey what God has shown you today! Do that one day at a time and you will be able to look back and see your entire way has been illuminated,

Obedience is not a matter of seeing the whole path, only seeing the next step. Obedience increasing seeing.

What Do We Do?

I’m sure we’ve all had a power outage at one time or another. It goes like this… you’re watching the game on TV and boom, everything goes dark. You look around the room and see darkness all around you. You grab your flashlight and walk over to the window to see if it’s you or the whole neighborhood. You may even step outside and look for other people having the same issue. 

You go back inside and look around for candles, and once you settle into the loss of power, it’s like… "so what do we do now”? Therein lies the real question. What do we do when the power goes out? 

Let’s look at the apostles and what they were doing when the power came ON.

Acts 2:1 tells us, “they were all together in one place.” They were gathered together discussing the events of the day; the events being that Jesus had just ascended to the Father. Their source of "power" had been removed. They were probably thinking, “so what do we do now?" 

Verse two says, “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wide, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” Sounds like the power just came on.

The difference of this power source compared to the ones we rely on is this power source is controlled by God and does not go out. 

So if we have a power source that does not go out, I think the real question is how do we tap into that power source? Do we only think about it when things get dark? Do we take it for granted or do we tap into it on a daily basis? The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was given to us to provide us with access to the one source of power that can meet all of our needs. We merely need to ask ourselves, “so what do we do now”?

Whose In Control?

 But the fruit of the Spirit is... self-control Galatians 5:22-23

Self-control is not a popular virtue in our culture. We are an instant-gratification, act-on-impulse, if it feels good do it society. If you shop at Walmart you will observe that parents have failed to teach their children self-control. Self-control is a base value. Other virtues cannot exist without it. God values self-control of extreme importance, for it is listed in His Word as a fruit of the Spirit.

A child cannot, by himself, understand the need to be self-controlled unless parents teach the virtue. Children refuse to bring their desires under control because it is part of their fallen nature. Children are not self-controlled but self-centered. They cannot help it. When you hear a child in the store screaming for a certain toy, or candy, they are demanding that self be satisfied. It is the parent's responsibility to bring their children under submission so that when they come of age, it will be easier to yield to the Holy Spirit's control.

A person has only two choices: Be controlled by his flesh or be controlled by the Holy Spirit. If you refuse to accept Christ as your Savior, you will by default be controlled by your lower nature (the flesh). Once the spirit of a person has been raised to life by the Spirit of God, the old desires of the flesh do not immediately disappear.

There is a battle that rages on. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want." Galatians 5:16-17 (Emphasis added)

You will find that every day you will have to choose: The flesh? The Holy Spirit? Remember you are not helpless against the desires of the flesh. walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

  

Grabbing Some Solitude

 

...He would withdraw to a desolate places and pray - Luke 5:16



Why are we (men especially) so bad at solitude? Our King did it well. Jesus knew His limitations. He understood His need to connect to His Father - to His guidance and power. He knew how good that that connection was. He wants us to know it too.

If it's so good, why do we struggle? Well, it's a little because we're busy. Solitude is hard when you're working / married / have kids. And, it's a little because we're not well practice. And it's because, deep down, we know solitude means confrontation. Solitude removes distractions and leaves us, for a few minutes, along with God the Holy Spirit. Solitude sometimes defined as being alone, but we're not. The the spirit dwells within us 1st Corinthians 3:16. God's right there. And we know what might happens when we're alone with God. He might ask us to stop something we don't want to stop or start something we don't want to start. He might.

But if we avoid His confrontation, we'll miss His companionship, council, comfort, restoration, and rescue. So, we must take courage. We must not worry that we don't do it well. And we must make solitude a priority, just as Jesus did.

The above blog was taken from WIRE - Justin Camp

How's Your Heart

 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139.23

During a regular physical checkup, my doctor said she wanted me to have an EKG. After reading the results, she made an appointment with a cardiologist and they did discover a heart condition. To better understand my heart's condition, I had to wear a Holter monitor for 14 days. Every time I had an "episode", I would push a button and the device would record what was going to in my heart.

Without my doctor and medical technology, I would not have been aware that I had a problem with my heart! When King David prayed "Search me, 'O God, and know my heart!',

he was not asking God to discover something that God was totally unaware of because God knows all our hearts.

David was asking God to reveal to him the true condition of his own heart. No one can truly understand their own heart. "The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable— who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 The Bible uses the word "heart" over 1,000 times, so apparently, God thinks it is important.

This is a dangerous prayer and should not be prayed unless you are prepared to receive what God has found!

Above all else, guard [monitor] your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

God's Autopilot

An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without constant manual control by a human operator being required. Autopilots do not replace human operators, but instead they assist them in controlling the vehicle. This allows them to focus on broader aspects of operations such as monitoring the trajectory, weather and systems. --- Wikipedia

The autopilot is a great invention that constantly makes changes to the aircraft's course, speed, altitude, etc. I have read that the autopilot is off course the majority of the time  but it makes adjustments in the plane's course to take it to its  desired destination.

When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, they change the direction/course of their lives. Before coming to Christ, we were all headed in the wrong direction. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way... Isaiah 53: 6,  Romans 3:23 Sin is walking away from God. Repentance literally means turning around and walking toward God. 1 Thessalonians 1:9 says, " for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." Notice that they TURNED TO God, FROM Idols. 

As Christ-followers, we have changed the course of our lives but occasionally we deviate from our course. Sometimes we are not even aware that we are 'off course.' That is one of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit. He brings our lives back on course. "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth... John 16:13  This does not mean we lose our free will. Being led by the Spirit does not mean we become non-human, robots. It means as we submit to His leadership, He will give us direction and wisdom in making choices. 

Life is a constant battle of staying on course. Matthew 26:4  Galatians 5:17 If you walk with God; you will reach your destination.