Monday Morning Encouragement -- The Spirit of Truth

 

"even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor know Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:17

In the last decade there has been a rapid decline in the teaching of sound doctrine in some of our churches and seminaries. Not all, of course, but enough to begin the descent of true Christianity as taught in the Bible, and the ascension of blasphemous versions such as "Chrislam", which is a blending of elements of Christianity and Islam, with the supposed purpose of promoting religious unity. (For more information about Chrislam, read this excellent article on Biblehub. Here's the link:   https://biblehub.com/q/what_is_chrislam.htm)

It's clear to me that those who buy into such teachings have no relationship with the Holy Spirit. They have not received Him, nor do they know Him. They look at all matters of faith through the lens of worldly desires. Satan has blinded them to the truth, and he's able to do so because the Holy Spirit is not present to lead them to the truth. 

To those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior, and have placed their trust in Him for eternal salvation, Jesus promised He would ask the Father to give them another "Helper" to be with them forever, "even the Spirit of truth." The Holy Spirit -- the third person of the Trinity -- indwells true believers, and His role is to comfort, guide and empower us. As we yield our hearts and minds to Him, He opens up the scriptures to us, in order that we may understand what is written and apply it to our lives. He gives us discernment, so that we recognize false teaching, and power to proclaim the truth. 

Now more than ever we need to be grounded in our faith, convinced that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We cannot let down our guard for a moment, for "our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) We don't need to fret and worry about these things, but rather invite the Holy Spirit to comfort us with the words of truth from the Bible. Scripture is one of the most powerful tools we have in our arsenal of spiritual weapons. The devil will flee when we quote it, so we must allow the Holy Spirit to implant biblical truth into our minds.

Today's music video John 14:15-18 Song (NKJV) "The Spirit of Truth - I Will Not Leave You Orphans" (Esther Mui) is scripture put to music. May it encourage you in your walk with the Holy Spirit.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- The Delight Of Delighting in God

 

"but the Lord delights  in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." Psalm 147:11 (NIV)

If we ever wonder what delights God, we only have to look at scripture for the answer. In today's verse we find that the Lord's pleasure, His delight, is found in those who fear Him and hope in His steadfast love. According to StudyLight.org The Hebrew word translated as "fear" is yare, derived from the root word yirah, it signifies a sense of deep reverence, awe, and profound respect for God's majesty rather than sheer terror."

Is God some kind of egomaniac who needs constant yare from His people? No! That's not at all the truth. God doesn't need our reverence, and awe, and respect to feel important. He IS important because of the very fact that He is God. The Creator. The Sustainer of life. He is altogether lovely, pure and holy. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He is unique. There is no other being like our God.

What I find interesting and inspiring about delighting in God is that the more I delight in Him, the more delighted I become. The more I meditate on His blessings to me, and the relationship that we enjoy because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, the more joy I find in life. The more I look to Him for guidance and strength for the day, the more at peace I am when things don't always go as planned. And at the end of the day, when I look back on the hours that I spent under His watchful eye, I know that I am "living my best life." I am not rich in material wealth, yet I am rich beyond measure because I belong to Him. He knows me and loves me. Everything that comes into my life is sifted through His kind, merciful hands. Even though I may not see it immediately, I know that just as Romans 8:28 tells us: "all things work together for good to those who  love God and are called according to His purpose." 

God has called me for His purpose, and if you are a follower of Jesus Christ He has called you for His purpose, too. Knowing this should cause us to delight in Him, and as we do so we find that we receive the blessing of delight in return. There is an old saying that "we can never outgive God." It's often used to encourage generosity in tithing, however I believe it covers more than just giving of our money. I submit that we can never outgive God with our delight in Him. He will increase our delight, and our hearts will respond with an overflow of gratitude.

Today's music video I Will Delight (In the Law Of The Lord) with lyrics by Maranatha Music encourages us to follow "the way of the Lord." In this we will truly be blessed.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Everlasting Love

 

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." Jeremiah 31:3

Speaking of God's love, Charles Spurgeon had this to say:

"Whenever I attempt to speak about God’s love, I feel that I would rather hold my tongue, sit down to muse, and ask believers to be kind enough to join me in meditation, rather than wait upon my feeble expressions."

Monday Morning Encouragement -- God Will Do What He Has Promised

 

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"For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28:15b

In Genesis 18 we find the account of Jacob's dream of a staircase connecting heaven to earth, with angels ascending and descending. At the top of the staircase God stands and reiterates to Jacob the Abrahamic Covenant. Just before Jacob awakens from his dream, he hears God declare that He will not leave Jacob until He has accomplished what He promised. As we continue to study the life of Jacob, we see that God is faithful to His promise, even when Jacob's faith in God is less than perfect.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Quiet Trust

 

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;

    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

At the time of Isaiah's prophecy, the Assyrians were attacking Israel and Judah. Soon the northern kingdom of Israel would be conquered and the Israelites taken into captivity. The Assyrians would then turn their sites on the southern kingdom of Judah. Out of fear instead of trust in the Lord, the leaders of Judah looked for salvation from Egypt whom they believed had the power to protect them. But an alliance with Egypt was not in God's will, and Isaiah told Judah's leaders that the results would be disastrous (Isaiah 30:1-5). He was correct.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- No Greater Love Than This

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13 

After the Civil War, Americans began paying tribute to the over 600,000 who lost their lives in the war; 2% of the population. They decorated graves with flowers, said prayers, and paid their respects to the fallen. This day of remembrance came to be known as "Decoration Day'' and eventually would morph into "Memorial Day", which is now a federal holiday in the United States. Memorial Day is different from Veterans Day in that Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who have died in service to our country, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, both living and dead.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Rooted, Built Up and Established

 

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7

In his commentary on today's text, Alexander Maclaren tells the story of a "little child that said as to his father that 'he was a Christian, but he had not been working much at it lately.''' Maclaren goes on to say, "Do not laugh. It is a great deal too true of—I will not venture to say what percentage of—the professing Christians of this day." Maclaren spoke those words over 100 years ago, yet they could just as easily be spoken of "professing Christians" today.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- When Anxious Thoughts Multiply

 

If the LORD had not been my help, My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, "My foot has slipped," Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul. 

Psalm 94:17-19

(I'm feeling under the weather, so today's devotional is a reprint. Hope to be back next week!)

I recall reading these words and writing them in my journal many years ago: 

"There may come a time in the life of a Christian when his soul feels adrift. It's not that she has left God, nor has He left her (for the Lord has said He will never leave nor forsake us). But there's a dryness, a thinness of spirit, that takes hold and threatens to lay God's loved one low."

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Behind Enemy Lines

 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Ephesians 6:10

In 1995 during the Bosnian War Captain Scott O'Grady patrolled the skies over Bosnia to make sure no unauthorized aircraft were flying. Suddenly his F-16 fighter jet was hit by a missile, and although he safely ejected, O'Grady landed in Serbian-controlled territory. He was behind enemy lines.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Because He First Loved Us

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

The love of God is a wondrous thing. Before the very foundation of the earth He loved us. What's more wondrous is that His love is not predicated upon some good thing we have done, or ever will do. All our good works are like filthy rags before our holy God (Isaiah 64:6).

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Awake, O Sleeper!

"But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'” Ephesians 5:14

Yesterday after church I drove to our local movie theatre to see the film A Great Awakening. I rarely go to movies any more, but after watching a review from a Christian leader I respect, and the stories behind the making of the film, I decided to go. I'm so glad I did.