September 13-19, 2010

Monday September 13, 2010
The Way, The Truth, The Life
Read John 14:6

“As long as you believe in God and try to be a good person, it doesn’t matter what religion you belong to.” “There are different paths up the mountain, but they all lead to the summit.” How many times have you heard people say such things? It’s Politically Correct! Tolerant! and Reasonable! We live in a society that preaches this, but Jesus says it’s wrong! “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” Over the past few weeks we have been going through the “How To Hear God’s Voice” study. We must realize that man was the one who set up the roadblock with God by sinning. This has hampered our ability to Hear God when he speaks, He, however made a provision to tear down this roadblock and that provision was Jesus.

Jesus is the way. Indeed he is a two way street. In him, God comes to meet us, holding back, offering everything of who he is and what he has. Through Him and Him alone, we have access to God to such a degree that we can now call him Abba, Father.

Jesus is the truth. Not just some truth but the entire truth. He is God’s definitive and perfect Word expressing who God is, what He’s like, who we are, and what we need to do to be saved from misery and futility.

And Jesus is the life. He gives us not only commandments and noble ideals, but also the power to live them out, the power to become new people. That Power is the Lord and Giver of Life Himself, the Holy Spirit, who Jesus pours out on those who accept Him.

So there is only one Way, one Truth, one Life, and one Priest who offers a perfect sacrifice for sins. God, Our Father longs to share Himself with us in every possible way. Jesus wants to be our Way, Truth and our Life. He wants to show us the way to walk, He wants to be the vessel in which we hear and communicate with Our Heavenly Father.


Tuesday September 14, 2010
Light My Path
Read Psalms 119:105

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit represents a potent partnership. Partnerships are formed in the business world to enhance growth, productivity and profit. Partners strategize together and share in all successes and failures. When we consider the fellowship of the Holy Spirit He will always be the Senior Partner and we the junior partners because He brings so much more to the table than us. His resources are infinite, His knowledge Divine, His strategies perfect, His methods above reproach. He outranks everyone but always secures a place at the table for us! We will do well to allow Him to strategize, plan and plot directions and determine destinies. We should follow and listen and be prudent to execute His plans with precision and passion. The Holy Spirit wants to illuminate our path as we continue on this journey of life. As partners we will share in all His victories. He never fails. We will see our lives grow into all the Father intended. The Holy Spirit specializes to transform the written instructions of the word of God into practical applications and demonstrations of success. Partner with Him on every level. Get His input, advice and suggestions before making decisions. Remember the door to His “office” is always open to you. Not only do we share in the victories and successes the Holy Spirit generates in us as a result of our obedience to His instructions, He also shares in our failures and challenges we face in real life situations. (Romans 8:26 “So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness”) He is our Comforter. He brings joy in the place of sorrow and gives beauty for ashes. In this amazing fellowship with Him all things work together for good for those who love God.


Wednesday September 15, 2010
Fellowship With The Spirit
Read John 14:10, 16

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is not one-way traffic. It is a sharing of wills, feelings, and knowledge. You share what you have and know with Him and He shares what He has and knows with you! Remember what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit? “He will tell you whatever He hears from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him, and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come. He will honor and glorify Me because He will take of what is Mine and will reveal it to you.

Compared to our knowledge His is infinitely greater! He knows the secrets of Heaven. He has access to the heart of the Father. Whatever the Father speaks, He hears and will communicate it to you! That means that you can be up to date with whatever is current in the throne room of heaven. The Holy Spirit prepares your heart for what is to come. You’ll be able to anticipate and prepare your heart for future events. He is heaven’s Distributor! Through Him you are well equipped to face any challenge. You are resourced for whatever life throws at you! Not only that, but within the fellowship of the Holy Spirit you can communicate your needs, desires and heart with the Lord. His fellowship is not a dictatorship. It is not a monologue. We should welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives. We should appreciate Him, adore Him and recognize Him.


Thursday September 16, 2010
Destructive Speech
Read James 3:6, Acts 6:11

What is the most destructive force on the face of the earth? I cannot answer that question for sure but it seems to me that a force more destructive than famine, fire, drought or bombs is the evil force of the tongue. Bombs destroy and maim the physical body, but criticism, gossip and backbiting destroy or maim a person’s reputation, which affects body, soul, spirit, heart and mind. Millions of people are spiritually killed yearly by a vicious tongue.

The Bible has more to say about the tongue than about many of the major doctrines of the Christian Faith. There are Christians who would give up their lives in martyrdom for the basics of the Christian Faith, but they would never think of giving their tongues over to God. Often Christians do not have their tongues under control and this affects their Christian walk. If we ARE hearing God’s voice then we should be learning to bring our tongues under control. I do not want to be guilty of speaking what satan is currently speaking. I want to be speaking what Father God is speaking. We can only do that when we focus on His words, we can only dothat through our fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Take a moment and reflect! Whose words are you speaking?


Friday September 17, 2010
Whose Thoughts Are They?
Read 2 Corinthians 10:4,

This scripture is awesome. Within, I gather our weapons of battle are eternal in God and with them we can take captive even our thoughts that are not in line with Christ's will. There are lying and deceiving spirits out there. I don't believe even the most righteous have been immune to a wicked thought popping into their mind. I really think it's a matter of what we do with the thought that determines if it becomes our sin or not.

You might have heard it said, "if you tell it to yourself something enough, eventually you are going to believe it." I think there is a lot of truth to this. When a sinful thought comes to mind do you entertain it? Do you bat the thought around in your mind or do you bring it into captivity by rejecting it and moving your thinking to something more wholesome? I believe continuing to entertain sinful thoughts, will bring you down and weaken your faith.
The Bible tells us to be sober-minded; awake and alert in our minds. I found the more I have taken bad thoughts captive, the easier it has become to do so. If you're struggling with unwholesome thoughts, you might want to use those opportunities for seeking God in prayer. The act of prayer alone should help you become refocused and in a healthier frame of mind. God wants your mind and heart filled with Him and His word, not corruption and sin which will eventually destroy you.


The Weekender September 18-19, 2010
Christ Living In Us!
Read Galatians 2:20

We were made to be like Jesus—but how is that different than trying to be like Buddha or Confucius? How is Christianity different from other religions that tell people to imitate a highly respected role model? It is different in several ways. First, most religions teach some form of works as the path of salvation—saying the right prayers, doing the right things, hoping it will be enough. They imply that people can be good enough if they try hard enough.

But Christianity teaches that we all need grace because we cannot be good enough no matter how hard we try. The point of grace, and of Jesus’ sacrifice, is that no amount of good works or religious deeds can ever save anyone. If such a path could have been designed, then God would have done it. The Christian gospel teaches that no one can earn salvation, and yet it is available to all, because Jesus gives it to us. Second, most religions tell us to change our behavior, and they expect us to supply all the effort. Christianity says that God himself will supply the power we need to change our lives. We humans have gotten ourselves into this mess, and we can’t rescue ourselves. The power of salvation must come from God.

We are not trying to transform ourselves into the image of Christ—we want to let God do it in us. The Bible describes this as the Holy Spirit living in us, God living in us, or Jesus Christ living in us. The power to change our behavior comes from him, not from within ourselves. It is his work, not anything we can take credit for. Third, most religions motivate people through threats and desire for reward. Christianity motivates us through grace and love. We obey God not out of fear, but out of love and thankfulness for what he has done. And we are confident that he has given us the best instructions possible on how to live.

Christianity says that we were created for a purpose, and that purpose is eternal happiness living with a supremely loving God. Jesus is not just an example of how we ought to live—he is also an example of what salvation means. He lives in eternal glory, and says that we can join him in that glory, if we trust him.