Spirit or Flesh

 

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

—Romans 7:18-20

 

 

We all know the predicament Paul declares in these verses. This is the frustration of knowing the right thing to do, but due to the weakness of our flesh and the weakness of our mental determination, we discover ourselves doing the very thing we didn’t want to do. 

 

In the next few verses, Paul speaks of the “law of his mind” (his flesh) warring against the “law in his members” (his body).  No wonder Paul cried out, “O wretched man that I am!”When the flesh and body are our only two choices to overcome, we will certainly do what we don’t want to do. We can "will" ourselves to do all the good we want, but our will won’t sustain the good we long to do.

 

Look at these verses again in Romans 7:18-20.  Paul declares that his will to do the right thing ends in self-condemnation. When we try to do the right thing fortified with just our willpower, we will fail.  The mind may be at war with the flesh but is also a part of it. Flesh cannot defeat flesh. And our fleshly efforts profit us nothing. The frustrations of frequent weaknesses and failures only end in self-condemnation

.

How do we overcome this? Who will deliver us from this body of flesh? Paul is ready to give us the answer. It follows quickly in Romans 8:1.

 

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

 

Paul declares that there is no condemnation to those who walk according to the Spirit. When walking according to the Spirit, we are walking in the Spirit. If we walk in the flesh, we will experience self-condemnation and guilt. But if we walk in the Spirit, we are equipped with God’s power, which is far more powerful than our willpower and mental determination. The Spirit of God allows us to live in the length, height, depth, and breadth of the grace of God, where we don’t struggle to conquer sin on our own, but, instead, rely on God’s provision to live in the Spirit. 

 

 

We give power to sin in our lives when we choose to come against it with our own willpower. When we learn to live from the Spirit of God instead of our flesh, sin is overcome. And what is the outcome? There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus when we walk according to the Spirit. We aren’t consumed with guilt and shame for our sins. Jesus shed His blood for our forgiveness. And when we believe there is no condemnation in Him, we know we are forgiven by the blood of Jesus.  

 

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The Treasure of His Grace

 

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

—Matthew 18:2-4 (NLT)

 

 

We, adults, make loving Jesus so difficult. A child comes with innocent wonder and readily believes. In these verses, Jesus tells the disciples that unless they become as little children, they will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Someone who believes with humble childlike faith—someone without an adult’s need to reason and to analyze and question—shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

 

The disciples did not understand that Calvary waited, where Jesus, the sinless Son of God, would perfectly fulfill the requirements of the Law. Calvary waited where His Grace would change everything. Sin would no longer have the power to condemn. In Jesus, sin would be entirely washed away so God’s children could enter His presence. In Jesus, the kingdom of heaven would come to live in each believer. 

 

At Calvary, everything did change! 

 

"Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God,” penned the writer to the Hebrews. “For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins” (Hebrews 9:14, NLT). 

 

Your conscience was purified from condemnation for your sins by the blood of your Savior. When God sees you, He sees His Son—holy and without blemish.  But when you have a sin consciousness, you are always dwelling on sins that Jesus washed away instead of His Grace that saved you. You live in a prison of shame and guilt. You live in fear instead of living in the peace you have with God. When your mind does not dwell on the sins Jesus has forgiven, you live in the liberty of God’s grace free from shame and guilt. You live in His perfect peace.

 

Through Jesus, God, who had been unapproachable, becomes completely accessible. When we believe in Jesus, sin no longer has the power to master us. Jesus is our Master. We can run to God as little children with clean consciences. We can come to Him without fear of punishment. We can come to Him without the baggage of guilt and shame. 

 

“Sin is no longer your master,” Paul wrote, “for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:14, NLT).

 

At Calvary, the fear of punishment the law imposed was erased! 

 

“You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves,” Paul wrote. “Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father'" (Romans 8:15, NLT). 

 

We need no longer remain slaves to fear, dwelling on all our failures. Jesus has slung open the door to God's presence. We are God's adopted children, a coheir with His beloved Son. We, too, are His beloved and can come to Him as little children. Just as a little child with no preconceptions or hesitation, we can cast our cares on Him and receive the revelation of His Grace with fresh wonder.

 

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field,” Jesus told the disciples. “In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field” (Matthew 13:44, NLT). 

 

The Holy Spirit wishes to reveal the treasure of new life Jesus has invested in you. Will you lay down all your baggage Jesus took to the Cross so you can come fresh as a little child? Will you guard His treasure in your heart? Will you sell all for His treasure of Grace? 

 

Believe as He believed in you. Sin, which gives power to the Law, has been defeated by His Grace. The Kingdom of Heaven—the treasure of His Grace—is in you. It is Jesus who dwells in you. You are unshakeable because Christ in you is unshakeable. When you come as a little child, the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, you live in the freedom of His Grace.

 

© 2024 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/01/the-treasure-of-his-grace.html

 

 

The Word Alive in You

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
—James 1:22

 

The Word of God is alive and active. Is it alive and active in you?

There is a major reason many Christians lose interest and stop growing in their spiritual lives. When you receive knowledge of something the Holy Spirit has shown you and don’t act upon it, you will remain spiritually unfilled and eventually lose interest in your walk with the Lord. If all you do is listen to the Word without trying to apply it to your life, you will get to the place where you become spiritually numb. 

The problem is never with God’s Word! God sent His word to redeem us. It heals us and snatches us from the door of death! The Word creates faith in the one who hears it. It calls for our response. To have faith and not apply it to your life, means that you are not responding to the Word you have heard. If we are only hearers of the Word and never act upon what we hear, we deceive ourselves. We keep ourselves from receiving the full benefit of God’s truth in our lives, and we ultimately lose hunger for what God wishes to fulfill in us.

 

The Word becomes alive in you when you act upon it by faith. And what you do doesn’t come through your own efforts. What you do comes from hearing the Word of God in your heart. If you will simply act upon what the Holy Spirit reveals through the hearing of the Word, your hunger for His Word will quicken, and the Holy Spirit will quicken more of His Word in your heart. 

Look at James 1:22. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

 

Take note of the words “hearers only” in this verse. These words are taken from the Greek word “akroates.” This Greek word was traditionally used to describe those who audited a class rather than receiving credit for it. Those who audited a class only came to class to hear the lecture and be intellectually stimulated, but they never put into action anything they heard because they were “hearers only.” They had no intention of actually applying what they heard.

Are we living the Word we have heard in our hearts or are we “hearers only?” Are we serious about God’s Word making a difference in our lives or are we simply auditing His Word with no intention of doing it?  

Many Christians have read the Bible, have heard the Bible, and know a lot of the Bible. But they are doing nothing with what they have heard. That is why they eventually lose interest in what they have heard from God. They don’t draw on the truth they have received. They allow it to remain unused in their lives. They remain spiritually immature and grow numb to the Holy Spirit.

Please make the decision to be a “doer of the Word and not a hearer only.” Receive deep into your heart the truths you’ve heard taught over the years. Never let these truths be only those heard in the past. Keep them fresh. Hear them again and again. Reflect on them, and the Holy Spirit will quicken a response in you. If you respond by faith to the spiritual truth you hear in your heart and act upon that spiritual truth, you are a doer of the Word, and what you do is alive and filled with God’s abundant and powerful grace.

 ^“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:23-25).

Believe in God’s truth. Apply it to your life. You won’t “see” His truth is real until you do. You will be like a man who looks into a mirror, and then later forgets what he looks like. You will look away and forget what God’s truth promises. But when you look into Christ’s perfect liberty that He purchased on your behalf, that perfect grace has the power to change you. 

 

Don’t forget who you are in Christ! Let what you have heard motivate you to reach out in faith so what you have heard may be manifested in your life. You will be blessed in all you do. The Word will be alive in you—transforming you—moving you—using you—and doing a work in and through you that you never dared to imagine.  

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/01/the-word-alive-in-you.html

 

This is Not Your Wilderness Season

  

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1).

 

 

Some believers describe difficult times in their lives as “wilderness seasons.” During these times they say they experience loneliness, spiritual dryness, a lack of hearing from God, a lack of spiritual power, and a lack of faith. These times may also include giving into temptation.

 

No one has ever had a wilderness experience like Jesus had in the desert. It lasted forty days. Instead of defeating him, Jesus defeated three temptations of the devil. During this time, he was not spiritually dry. He heard from God and did not experience a lack of faith.

 

Why? Because He was sustained by His Father. He was nourished by the Father’s Words. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:10.) Jesus also declared in John 8:29, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father Has not left me alone.” He knew God was with Him, and He drew upon His strength.

 

Jesus did not give in to the temptations of the devil. He defeated them because He had been with the Father. His wilderness season was proof of the power of a sinless life over the hunger of the flesh and the temptations of the enemy.

 

When we study Jesus during this time, we can see His choice to draw upon God's strength. He did not lack sustenance, and we do not have to lack it. We, too, can live by every Word God speaks. We, too, can choose to only believe God’s Words. We can choose to believe God's truth—that He remains with us, empowering us through the hard times. 

 

When we talk about our hard times as “wilderness seasons” instead of times we live by the Word and times of God sustaining us, we fall into the trap of our emotions. We use our wilderness experience as a time to encourage our feelings instead of drawing upon the Lord. We cannot expect life to be easy. Paul said that the way we enter the Kingdom is through much tribulation (Acts 14:22). The writer of Hebrews said that we inherit the promises of God by faith and patience (Hebrews 6:12). 

 

We live in a fallen world. The opportunities to give up are always with us. If we want to call something a wilderness season, then we should be honest and recognize that what we receive from it is of our own making. We may not have chosen the circumstance but our response is definitely our own. Jesus never looked at his time of temptations by the devil to be his wilderness season. He saw his opportunity to draw upon the Father.

 

We should be rooted and grounded in Jesus. We should be growing stronger in the good and bad times of life. There should always be fruit in our lives. The tests of living in this world are never going away. What you experience is not a wilderness season. It is just life.  

 

Keep seeking God. Keep getting wisdom and knowledge. Learn to lean on God’s revelation of truth, not your own understanding. God is always with us, and His Word is always alive. We should always learn and be “nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6)

 

Never believe God has put you in a wilderness season, and that you are on your own. That kind of wrong thinking can take you in the wrong direction. God never leaves you or forsakes you. Stir up your faith and trust in Him. Believe He is in you—sustaining and empowering you through whatever season you are in.

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/01/this-is-not-your-wilderness-season.html

 

 

 

 

Protect Your Identity in Christ

 

 

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

—Colossians 2:8-10 (NKJV)

 

 

It is incredible the result tradition has on us. Tradition can give us a sense of security and keep us from having to learn something that is already known. But it can also hinder progress by making us unreceptive to new ideas. Many people do what they do just because it has always been done that way. When it comes to religion, tradition can become rote. Religion is not a relationship with God, and the tradition of what we have always done can keep us from being challenged by the truth of the Word of God. It can keep up from seeking an intimate relationship with God.

 

Paul gives a warning to the Colossians not to let any man’s tradition deceive them and rob them of their understanding of who they are in Christ. He states that man’s tradition comes through philosophy and empty deceit. A man’s tradition is logical to him. What is logical to a man’s natural mind is carnal and leads to spiritual death. What is logical to God—what is truth in His realm— is spirit and life (Romans 8:6, John 6:63).  

 

What is truth Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38?  In John 17:17, Jesus says that God’s Word is truth, and that God’s truth sanctifies us. In John 14:6, Jesus says that He is the truth. Jesus is the truth—the atonement—that sanctifies us and presents us without blemish to God (Colossians 1:22). You can know Jesus, who is the truth, the way, and the life (John 14:6).  Knowledge of Him frees you from the empty deceit of this world and the traditions of men that rob you (John 8:32).

 

But “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).  

 

Essentially, philosophy is a system of thought or logic. The logic of the world—the logic of your natural reasoning mind—can deceive and cheat you of what is yours in Christ. You cannot understand the truth of God’s Word with the logic of your natural mind. You have to understand with your spiritual mind—the mind of Christ you received when you were born again (1 Corinthians 2:16).

                                                                    

Look at Colossians 2:8 in the NKJV.

 

“Beware lest anyone cheat you, through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” 

 

Colossians 2:8 in the Phillips New Testament reads:

 

“Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense. Such stuff is at best founded on men’s ideas of the nature of the world and disregards Christ” (Colossians 2:8, PHILLIPS).

 

The Phillips New Testament translates the phrase “empty deceit” used in the NKJV as “high-sounding nonsense.” The Greek words from which “empty deceit” is taken means “empty delusion.” The philosophy or wisdom of the world is foolishness and “high-sounding nonsense” and deceives us of our true identity in Christ. To our natural mind and reasoning, the wisdom of God appears as a delusion, when in fact it is truth and life to us. 

You can never find security in the wisdom of the world. You can never find security in tradition found in religion. You may enjoy tradition, and that is fine if it does not rob you of spiritual wisdom. But when it robs you of the spiritual wisdom that is yours in Christ, you miss the truth and life Jesus has for you.

 

Tradition is not the cornerstone of our faith. Jesus Christ is. Colossians 2:9-10 says that in Christ the fullness of God physically resided. It also says that you are complete in Christ and His fullness is also in you. I John 4:17 says, “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”

 

You cannot overcome the flesh if you don’t believe the fullness of God’s resurrection power is alive in you. Yet many believers don’t understand the spiritual authority they have received in Christ. They don’t believe they have the resurrection power of the living God within them. It appears illogical to their natural mind. But with the spiritual mind of Christ, God’s wisdom comes alive.

 

Know what you have received in Christ and seek to understand with your spiritual mind the truth Jesus completes in your life. You don’t need to add anything to His truth. Don’t be deluded by the world or allow tradition to rob you of what you have received in Him. Jesus has taken your judgment. You are complete in Him.

 

 

© 2024 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/01/protect-your-identity-in-christ.html

 

 

 

 

Trained by the Holy Spirit

 

 

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. - Luke 1:80

John the Baptist was in the desert so that he could discern God's voice and receive training for the mission for which he had been chosen. And what a ministry that was!  He was given the most important undertaking ever bestowed on any human being. He was born to prepare the way for the long-awaited Savior, the Messiah (Luke 1:76)   How did the Lord train John the Baptist? Who could teach him all he needed to be able to prepare the way for Jesus? No schooling could ever train him to become the greatest prophet who ever lived (Matthew 11:11). Certainly, there was no human being who could prepare John for his great purpose. In the desert, where no material distraction existed—where no opinion of man was offered to John, he was trained by the Lord personally. The Lord Himself directly instructed John through the revelation of the Holy Spirit.   Only six months after the inception of John’s ministry, the entire nation of Israel was undergoing a revival and expecting the coming of Christ. The Lord’s anointing upon John’s life was very apparent. When Jesus was finally revealed as the Messiah and began to teach, the Jews questioned how he could know such things he had never been taught (John 7:15).   John the Baptist grew strong in spirit in the wilderness before his purpose was revealed. He received special knowledge from the Lord that no man could teach him. Jesus also received special knowledge from the Lord that no man could teach Him. The special knowledge or what Jesus referred to as the “mystery” is also available to us as believers (Mark 4:11, Ephesians 3:1-8). The Holy Spirit wishes to reveal to us the depths of the knowledge of Christ, so that we might, through His revelation, be partakers in God’s promises and divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).   The Gospel—the New Covenant Jesus enacted through the sacrifice of His blood—has prepared the only way to God for us. All believers are meant to know Him—from the least to the greatest (Hebrews 8:11). The Holy Spirit has been sent to be our teacher, but we must show up for class and expect to receive (John 14:26).    The Holy Spirit desires to enlighten your understanding so you may know the hope of your calling and know the riches of your inheritance in Christ (Ephesians 1:18). He will even show you things that are coming (John 16:13).    God desires you to grow strong in spirit and His truth. So the Holy Spirit trains you in the righteousness you have received in Christ. He gives you the depths of knowledge of His grace revealed in the Word that the world or your natural mind cannot discern (1 Corinthians 2:14). He does not leave you lacking in a wilderness. He desires you to know everything He is in your life. You cannot live to God's fullest or know His purpose for you without the revelation of what you have received in Jesus Christ. Remove the barriers—the other voices and opinions and love for this world's pleasures. And listen.   —Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.  — Romans 16:24-27   www.lynnlacher.com/2024/01/trained-by-holy-spirit.html

 

 

Live Worthy of the Holy Spirit

 

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

—Ephesians 4:30

 

 

This verse says not to grieve the Holy Spirit. This means not to cause Him pain, distress, or suffering. This is why it is so extremely important for us to know what the Word says about grieving Him.

Look at the word “grieve” in Ephesians 4:30. It is the Greek word “lupete.” It defines the pain of someone who is betrayed and wounded by someone they deeply love. Consider a husband or wife who discovers their spouse has been unfaithful. They feel very hurt and wounded. The Greek word “lupete” describes all the emotions that come with such a deep betrayal.

The meaning of the word “lupete” also describes exactly what we do to the indwelling Holy Spirit when we act like the person we were before Jesus gave us a new life. In using this Greek word, Paul made His intention explicitly clear. When we let other things take precedence and don’t make our relationship with the Holy Spirit our greatest priority, we hurt, betray, and deeply wound Him. Whenever we yield our lives to this world instead of yielding to the One who knows and loves us best, we end up causing Him pain.

The Holy Spirit lives inside of us. He leads and guides us. He comforts us in our pain. He teaches and reveals God's truth to us. He sanctifies us. He convicts us with His righteousness and brings forth His good work in us. He empowers and seals us for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit has been sent to give us the mind of Christ so we can know the will of God and have the victory Jesus won on our behalf. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS 100% HERE FOR US! We are the reason He was sent. So when we ignore Him or refuse to listen to Him or regularly disobey what He leads us to do, it grieves Him. 

In the verses preceding Ephesians 4:30 and the one following it, Paul was specific about the things these Ephesian Christians were doing that grieved the Holy Spirit. They were lying, holding on to resentment, giving power to the enemy, stealing, speaking evil about one another, allowing bitterness in their hearts, being angry, and acting with hatred toward each other. 

Because Paul used the word “grieve” (the Greek “lupete”), it reveals to us that the Holy Spirit was wounded by these believers. He felt like a spouse who was being betrayed by the love of His life. How could these Christians give in to their flesh after all the Holy Spirit had done within them? 

The Holy Spirit—who was sent to teach and guide us—doesn’t just exist in the cosmos. He lives inside us. Paul calls Him “the spirit of holiness” in Romans 1:4. He is called the Holy Spirit because He is holy. That is who the Holy Spirit is, and holiness is what He produces in our lives.

The temple of the Holy Spirit who is named “YOU” is more valuable to God than anything else in His creation. He created you for His good pleasure. He died so you might live, and He lives in each of us who believe in Him. But when we turn around and allow trash in our lives, drag Him into the mire with us, and never consider how it must grieve Him, we are deeply grieving the One who lives inside of us.

The sins Ephesians 4:25-31 reveal are the attitudes that are the most difficult to overcome—ones like resentment, bitterness, anger, and hatred. We should never hold a grudge or have bitterness or allow anger or hatred because we know that they wound the Holy Spirit. The next time you are tempted to hold resentment in your heart toward someone, remember it grieves the Holy Spirit. As you grow in your awareness of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, you will draw on His help and His power to change the way you think and react.

Always remember that the Holy Spirit actually lives inside of you. Whatever you do, you do to Him as well. Where you go, you take Him with you. When you choose to sin, you are dragging His holiness into the mud right along with you. You don’t really want to grieve Him! Don’t wound the One who has already been wounded for you—the One who was sent to empower your new life in Christ. He deserves your utmost respect. Honor the Spirit of holiness in you. Live worthy of what you have received.

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A New Dimension

How many times do we ask for advice from someone else instead of going to God? It is sad that so many Christians look to others for counsel and never expect to hear from God. The idea of them personally hearing God isn’t even considered. Many believers have no idea that they can hear God. 

 

The Holy Spirit always speaks to us. He will guide us into all truth. What He speaks to us is not from Himself. He speaks only what He hears from the Father. He will tell us of things to come (John 16:13).

 

If the Holy Spirit is speaking, why aren’t we hearing Him? 

 

Not hearing God comes from the fact that many Christians still live their lives much as they did before they were born again. They allow what they feel and their emotions to rule them. They look to others for acceptance. They seek the counsel and opinions of man instead of seeking God. They live by “bread alone.”

 

—But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

—Matthew: 4:4

 

As born-again believers, we are created to live by the words of God. When we disregard the words of the Holy Spirit, we are creating an environment in which we will look as lost and confused as unbelievers. We will never thrive in our new life in Christ by the words of our feelings or the opinions of others. We thrive by the Word of God alone. 

 

Yes, godly advice is helpful and necessary as we grow in wisdom, but godly wisdom doesn’t produce faith. Faith only comes by hearing God (Romans 10:17). “Is any among you afflicted?” James writes in James 5:13. “Let him pray.”  James makes it clear how we hear God. We hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us in prayer. 

 

An affliction is an illness, condition, disorder, infirmity, weakness, or difficulty. It is any deficit in your life that stands against the truth of God’s Word. God has the answer for it. Prayer is the answer to your affliction because prayer is the “environment” for hearing God. Prayer takes our vision off our needs and places it on God’s answer. Prayer doesn’t see what is lacking. It sees the unseen. Prayer tunes in to the voice of God. It expects to hear Him.

 

Anticipate hearing God and exercise your faith to believe. Make sure what you hear is based on God’s Word. The Holy Spirit guides you to the truth of His Word. Faith will come alive, and your life will enter a new dimension in God.

 

—That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

—Ephesians 3:17-19

 

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Remembering God's Faithfulness

 

Have you had times in your life that seemed completely hopeless, and then God unexpectedly intervened? When we encounter a new challenge, we often forget God’s faithfulness in the past. The challenge that we are presently facing distorts our vision. We forget the similar times we have faced hardship when God has faithfully supplied our needs or taken care of our problems. We fail to remember how we overcame once before with God’s help.

 

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy in Ephesus, this younger man was trying to encourage the Christians there to keep living for Christ even though Nero, who had become emperor of the Roman Empire, was persecuting them. Many were even being put to death. Timothy was tempted to fear for his own life. 

 

Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

 

Paul wanted to remind Timothy that the genuine faith in his grandmother and his mother was also in him. His grandmother and his mother had trusted God, and He had never failed them. If God had never failed his grandmother and his mother, he certainly was not going to fail him.

 

“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance,” Paul said in the very next verse, “that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6).

 

The phrase “I put thee in rememberance” is taken from the Greek word “anamimnesko” which is the combination of two words, “ana” and “mimnesko.” The word “ana” means again or to repeat something. The word “mimnesko” means to be reminded of something. Together these two words mean to remember or recollect memories. Paul wanted Timothy to know he should replay in his mind continuously the times God had been faithful.

 

There are good memories of God’s faithfulness that we should never forget!  We should also continually replay in our minds the times God has been faithful to us—the times He has delivered and healed and provided for us. 

 

Just as Paul reminded Timothy, He also reminds us to take our eyes off whatever is our present trouble and remember God’s saving power in the past. If we really considered our past, we would find that we have faced problems much worse than what we are facing right now. God never failed us. He rescued us and turned those situations around. 

 

Never forget what God has already done for you. Don’t forget He has healed you. He has delivered you. He has guided you. He has brought you through hard times. He has provided for you in times of financial need. He has protected you from the enemy. These memories of God’s faithfulness will encourage you to face your current predicament with faith. Just as God has always been faithful to you in the past, He will be faithful to you now. 

 

The next time the enemy says you are not going to get through what you are facing, draw close to the Lord. Quieten your mind. Let the Holy Spirit take captive your thoughts. Stir up the gift of faith God has given you. Replay in your mind those good memories of the times God made a way when there seemed to be no way. As you recall those memories over and over in your mind, your faith will grow stronger, and you will confidently face your challenge with trust in God to come through for you again.

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/01/remembering-gods-faithfulness.html

 

 

 

 

 

On Your Behalf

 

Everyone at some point in their life gets physically and mentally worn out. But some seem to have the determination and the will to keep going strong—even when others can hardly take another step. 

 

Have you met someone like this and wondered how they can keep going?

 

Most likely that person has learned how to draw on God’s supernatural power. His inexhaustible supply of power is available for you, too.

 

In Philippians 1:19 Paul talked about God’s kind of power.

 

“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” 

 

Notice the word “supply” in this verse. It is the Greek word “epichoregeo.” It is an ancient Greek word that translates as “on behalf of the choir.” This might seem strange for Paul to use in this passage. But when you reflect on the original usage of the Greek word “epichoregeo,” it makes what Paul said have great meaning.

 

In Greece thousands of years ago, a theatrical choral group practiced diligently for an important performance. They gave all the energy and effort they could to perfect their show. Just when they were ready to take their choral production on the road, they ran out of money. Suddenly, all the preparation and all the work they had done seemed wasted. They had given their lives to get ready. They had committed all their resources, and now they were through before they had even started. It looked as if their dream was at an end.

 

A wealthy man heard of their crisis and made a huge financial contribution “on behalf of the choir.”  This contribution “supplied” all they needed to get their show up and running. In fact, the man’s gift was so vast it was much more than they needed. His gift was an abundant and overflowing “supply.” 

 

This “supply” Paul spoke of in Philippians 1:19 describes the abundant and overflowing contribution the Holy Spirit wants to give each one of us.

 

When you run out of strength—when you have given your best effort and you feel you have nothing left to give—when it looks like your resources are drained, this is the exact moment that Jesus becomes your “benefactor.” Like the rich man who supplied the choral group in the story, Jesus steps into your life to donate a generous and overflowing contribution of the Spirit’s grace and power to more than supply your need.

 

The Holy Spirit has more strength and more power to give you than you’ll even be able to use.  If you are weak, He has exactly what you need to recharge you and get you up and going. If you open yourself to Him, Jesus will give you a brand-new contribution and a fresh anointing of the Spirit’s power. It will be more than enough to get you moving forward again. 

 

You can be confident that your situation will one day turn around and result in your deliverance. You can be sure of it because others are praying for you and the overflowing and empowering contribution that the Holy Spirit makes on your behalf abundantly fulfills your need (Philippians 1:19).

 

So when you are too tired to keep going and you’ve drained all of your resources, let Jesus reinforce you with a new “supply of the Spirit.” Just open your heart to the Holy Spirit’s help. Allow Him to fill you with a supply of power so huge that you can never use it all!

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/01/on-your-behalf.html