Being Led By The Spirit Of God

Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
 
In the times we are living in, it is increasingly important to learn how to be led by the Spirit of God. Every decision, every path we walk on, every choice we make needs to be guided by God.  As believers we have the Spirit of God on the inside of us. In John 3 one of the scholars of the day came to Jesus at night. Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. Verses 4-7 4Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb again and be born?   5Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.  6What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not [do not be surprised, astonished] at My telling you, You must all be born anew (from above). When we are born again God places His spirit on the inside of us. Look at Ezekiel 36:24-28 24For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land.  25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness; and from all your idols will I cleanse you.  26A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them.  28And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your God. Verses 26 and 27 tell us that God gives us a new heart and a new spirit, His spirit that allows us to live the life that He has for us.
 
When I read this I think about Genesis 1:26-27 when God created man. 26God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. 27So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. He made us to resemble Him, to be a direct reflection of who He was. In the natural we were created to look like Him, talk like Him and act like Him. He formed man form the dust of the gorund, then breathed His life into him.  Through creation He breathed life into our mortal bodies, but through salvation He breathed life into our spirit man. So, each one of us has the capacity to be led by His Spirit on the inside of us. Over the next several days we are going to talk about this topic, but today I encourage you to develop this awareness in your lives. We have God’s ability and strength, and discernment, and knowledge in us already.  We just have to train ourselves to listen to His voice when He speaks and to obey what He tells us to do.

Are You Ready?

Mark 13:28-33 28Now learn a lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and it puts forth its leaves, you recognize and know that summer is near.29So also, when you see these things happening, you may recognize and know that He is near, at [the very] door.  30Surely I say to you, this generation (the whole multitude of people living at that one time) positively will not perish or pass away before all these things take place.  31Heaven and earth will perish and pass away, but My words will not perish or pass away.   32But of that day or that hour not a [single] person knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.    33Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.  
I woke up this morning with this scripture in my spirit, and I want to talk about it for a few days. We may not know the day or the hour of the Lord’s return, but are we living our lives as though it was today? What if it were? Would you be ready? Would you truly be ready to stand before God and account for your life? I think back to a conversation my husband had with a dear friend of ours. Chris had been witnessing to him, sharing Christ at every opportunity, and one day just sat down and asked him if he wanted to make a decision to live his life for God. Our friend said, “I don’t know that I really believe what you’re telling me. It works for you, but my life is good.” My husband answered, “but what if, just what if, I happen to be right?” Our friend stopped for a moment and said, “I would be in a whole lot of trouble, but I’m just going to take my chances.” I think of this conversation often. The reply, “I would be in a whole lot of trouble” replays in my mind, and pricks my heart everytime. How many people do we encounter everyday that are just taking their chances, but will one day be in a whole lot of trouble? Last year around Easter we had a special gust speaker at our church. Bill Weise has a best-selling book 23 Minutes in Hell and his testimony is powerful. I encourage you to read his book. While he was speaking he played a video. Several clips in the film had interiews with renowned atheists, at least they were until they had near death experiences. Every one of them said, I didn’t believe in God until I thought I was going to die, but something about being confronted with eternity made me realize that If I was wrong, and there was a God, I wanted to make sure I accepted Him.
How about you? Have you ever made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Or have you walked away from what you used to believe? I’ve been there before too. You need to know-There is a God. He loves you more than you could ever fathom, and He desires to have a relationship with you. There is nothing that you have done, or that you could ever do that could disqualify you from receiving His love. So, what if I am right? I want to give you the opportunity today to receive Jesus. It’s not hard. Just repeat this simple prayer- Jesus, I receive you now, as my Lord and Savior. I  ask that you forgive my sins. Thank you for loving me and taking me into your family. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. If you just prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of God. Send me an email, and I will send you a Bible and information about a great church in your local area. If you are already saved, I encourage you today to share the hope of the Gospel with those you come into contact with.

Healing and Salvation

Matthew 9:1-7 1AND JESUS, getting into a boat, crossed to the other side and came to His own town [Capernaum]. 2And behold, they brought to Him a man paralyzed and prostrated by illness, lying on a sleeping pad; and when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven and the penalty remitted.  3And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, This man blasphemes [He claims the rights and prerogatives of God]!   4But Jesus, knowing (seeing) their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil and harbor malice in your hearts? 5For which is easier: to say, Your sins are forgiven and the penalty remitted, or to say, Get up and walk?   6But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins and remit the penalty, He then said to the paralyzed man, Get up! Pick up your sleeping pad and go to your own house.   7And he got up and went away to his own house.

In this passage we see that a paralyzed, sick man was brought to Jesus. Obviously the people who brought him knew that Jesus was healer, right? So what does Jesus do when He sees the man? He says “Your sins are forgiven”. I wonder if the man’s friends were a little disappointed that Jesus did not immediately heal his body. I wonder if they realized that Jesus did a far greater miracle by cleansing him on the inside. The religious leaders of the day were very upset when they heard Jesus forgive the man’s sins. Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked them if it was easier to say your sins are forgiven or rise up and walk.

This seems to be the opposite of what religious people in our day think. Why is it so easy to believe in salvation, that our sins can be forgiven, that we can be given new life in Christ, yet when it comes to healing so many have a problem understanding or believing that it is for them? Didn’t Jesus say that healing and salvation were equally as easy for Him to grant? Matthew 9:35 says 35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. And again in Acts 10:38 38How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him. Not only did Jesus spend a great deal of time healing sick people, He also sent His disciples out to do the same. Matthew 10:7-8 7And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand!  8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give. Then in Mark 16:17-18 He gives all believers that same power 17And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;  18They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well. The same faith that allowed us to believe in Jesus and have our sins forgiven, is the same faith that will enable us to be made whole. If you are sick in body thank God for His healing power at work in you!