Tag: Holy Spirit

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… Satisfied!

FEBRUARY 9

MATTHEW 5:13_Ye are the salt of the earth but…

Another feature of incredible salt is it causes thirst. Why is that a good thing? Water promotes good health. If you quench thirst with water it’s a very good thing! Milk and fruit juices are also healthy drinks, but when you are truly thirsty, nothing satisfies like water! 

This teaching about salt is a spiritual lesson. Jesus says He is Living Water. His water totally quenches thirst. Once inside you, Jesus’ water is like a well continually springing up into everlasting life (John 4:10,14 KJV). 

The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit is living water. The Spirit teaches, guides, and directs your spirit to the truths of the Bible. Nothing satisfies a genuinely thirsty spirit like truth.

Perhaps you have friends who are thirsty – desperately thirsty. Maybe they have tried to quench their thirst with the world’s water. Perhaps that led them to make wrong choices, which only added more desperation to their thirst.

The world can never satisfy what only Jesus can supply. As a salty friend you can keep your friends thirsty and help them find the satisfaction of Living Water.  

  PRAYER

God of Truth, I want to be salt to the people You bring into my life. I want to help them find Your Living Water. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.               

Christ is Living Water—I want to lead others to Him!

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To Look Like Jesus

FEBRUARY 2

MATTHEW 5:11_and persecute you…

Christian persecution is certainly nothing new, and as long as there are disciples. persecution will continue. All lives, whether Christian or not, suffer hardships, heartbreak, emotional and physical pain. The difference in the Christian life is blessings.

The Christian has the promise of eternity in heaven.

The Christian has Jesus’ promise to be blessed when persecuted for His sake.

The Christian has overcoming power to withstand persecution … that makes rather than breaks. Psalm 46:1 (KJV), “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It is the Christian who experiences this promise.

The heart of the Christian learns to love unconditionally. This kind of heart does not boast of persecution in order to gain martyr status. The supernatural work of the Holy Spirit inside a human heart is incredible. The reason it is incredible is because when the Spirit entered this heart – it was desperately wicked!

A new heart is willing to forgive and learn to love its persecutor. A new heart begins to look like Jesus.

You can’t top that!

 PRAYER

Loving God, Please give me a heart like Jesus. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.               

Christ loved His persecutors—May I gain that heart!

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That Same Kingdom

JANUARY 31

MATTHEW 5:10_for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

If the kingdom of heaven is something a little more earthly, than heavenly, we can experience it before death. 

When Jesus walked on earth, the kingdom of heaven was all around Him. After His ascension to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Spirit leads us into that same kingdom. At His return, He will bring a new Kingdom with Him.

We should be excited about living in the kingdom of heaven. Never forget, it is a reward for the poor in spirit and the persecuted. Only Christians will find the path. They won’t find it by trying to be and do good. They will find it by allowing the Holy Spirit to teach them how to love – God first then each other.

Jesus told us in John 15:20 (KJV), “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

This kind of righteousness comes with a high price. It also comes with a high reward – walking in the kingdom of heaven, in a fallen and sinful world.

The apostle John said in I John 4:17 (KJV),” … because as he is, so are we in this world.”

 If Jesus did it, so can we!

 PRAYER

Dear Jesus, I believe I can be like You. Help me find the way! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                    

Christ is still alive—As He is so will I be!

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The Righteousness Train

JANUARY 30

MATTHEW 5:10_Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake:

One key element of persecution is to be sure you are persecuted for righteousness sake, not your own sake. The quality of discernment will help you know. You have already learned to discern if your peacemaking succumbs to political correctness. Political correctness is to agree with the world’s ways over God’s ways because it is the popular thing. Now you discern if you have strayed from the righteous path, and are suffering for it.

Everyone thinks they are righteous. To board the Righteousness Train requires a Bible ticket. Those trusting in and building lives upon the Bible have purchased a ticket. If you become too self-assured you have a seat on the Train, you can easily fall into the Pit of Pride. Hungering and thirsting leads you to the ticket office.

Righteousness is a byproduct of loving Jesus and His words. It comes naturally when you draw into a closer relationship with Jesus. You cannot make yourself become righteous. Only God can make you righteous. Only God holds the standard to what righteousness is. No one can live up to that standard. The Holy Spirit leads you there. Actually you won’t even know you’re there unless you begin to suffer for doing what is right. That is your clue. If you become too smug in the fact you made it – you can fall back to where you were.

You can only claim it in Jesus’ name, never your own.

 PRAYER

Dear God and Father of All, I want to be righteous in You, not in myself – lead me there. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                     

Christ is righteousness—He makes me righteous!

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The Fine Line

JANUARY 26

MATTHEW 5:9_Blessed are the peacemakers…

Perhaps there are people in the world who do not want peace. With all the violence we experience at such high levels, it certainly appears that way. What brings about conflict and violence?

By now you know what causes conflict between people – the heart. Either your heart is pure and set on righteousness or it is not. We have already discovered that you did not come into the world with a pure heart. To develop a pure heart requires decisions on your part. Decisions that involve the Bible, Jesus, and listening to the Holy Spirit. Without those three I don’t know a way to make good decisions.

Conflicts tend to come from self-centered, self-absorbed, my-way-or-no-way attitudes. If the conflicts are to be resolved, someone has to yield. Someone has to be willing to give consideration to the other’s point of view. Someone has to be willing to consider and perhaps try out the other’s suggestion. 

As with anything in life, there are lots of fine lines in peacemaking. When does peacemaking become caving in to political correctness or yielding to evil? When does peacemaking become caring more about what people think than what God thinks? 

Stay tuned!

PRAYER

Father of Peace, I know You want peace in the world. I know we live in a world that does not submit to You as ruler. Help me learn to be a peacemaker for You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                    

Christ is a peacemaker—He will help me become one!