Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. Hebrews 3:1-2
According to the commentary by Bibleref.com, “for the Jewish people, there was no greater example than Moses, but according to this section of Hebrews, Jesus is far greater. These verses make a connection between Jesus’ role as our ultimate example—the “founder of our salvation”—and His superiority to even Moses.” The author clearly wanted the people of God to know and understand that Jesus is the One they are to follow.
Some may see the term “apostle” here as confusing. This is a title often given to the men who preached the gospel immediately after the ascension of Jesus. The term itself literally means, “one who is sent.” In the context of this passage, that is a perfect description of Jesus. He is One sent from God to bring us good news. He is meant to be our example, and we are meant to do as He did (John 13:13–15; 20:21).1
“In the next verses, the author will point out that Moses was faithful, but was also a created servant of God. Jesus, on the other hand, is the Creator and the Son of God. What Moses predicted, Christ fulfilled.” In doing so, He made a way to the Father where there was no way. So that all who come to Him by faith “are met with the power of His grace and love. There is forgiveness of sins, yes! There is also a call to a higher way of living.”2
In Luke chapter 2, Jesus turned to the crowd and told all who were listening that anyone who wanted to follow Him would have to turn from their selfish/wicked ways and take up their cross daily in order to follow Him. In other words, He was telling them they would have to be faithful to Him above everything else. In Mark chapter 12, He explained that this faithfulness required loving God and others above self, and in John chapter 3, He made sure that they understood what that love was to look like, namely, it was to be a mirror of His love- loving God and others, just as He has loved us. Thankfully, we who believe have been given His Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live and love like He did.
“There is no shortcut or bypassing the mandate to love God and to love others. Love encompasses the whole of the Law (Galatians 5:14). Anything else falls short of our heavenly calling.3“
Friends, may this prayer, borrowed from 100 Meditations of the Names of Jesus, be our prayer – on repeat …
Apostle of our Confession, You showed me how to walk in the ways and the power of God. May I be wise and discerning, choosing Your love above fear and pressures to conform. ~ Amen
Reflection and Application
“Beware of those who claim to know what it is to walk in the name of Jesus and do not live out the ways of Jesus.”4
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Psalm 16:11
Elizabeth is a well-known woman of the Bible. She is a beautiful example of faith and of the fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord. We find her story in Luke, chapter 1, verses 5-80, where we learn that she was the wife of Zachariah, the prophet, and she was very old when she conceived. She was also the cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is this part of her story that we will focus on today.
Not long after Mary learned that she was pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God, she traveled to visit her cousin Elizabeth in Judea. Let’s stop and marvel for a minute at the contrast of the miracles God had worked in both women. Mary, a young, unmarried virgin, has just learned that she has become pregnant through immaculate conception, while Elizabeth, who was described as ‘barren and very old’ in Luke 1:7, is now six months pregnant. I can’t help but notice how their stories accentuate the beautiful truth that: “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.
Luke 1:35-36
While I love the entire story of Elizabeth and Mary, I particularly appreciate the beauty of Elizabeth and her baby when Mary arrived.
39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
Luke 1:39-45
Elizabeth was clearly overwhelmed at Mary’s arrival, but it was more than excitement to see Mary. Scripture says that it was because “at the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s baby leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” This was evident by Elizabeth’s “glad cry and exclamation to Mary,” that “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.” Elizabeth goes on to question why she is so honored to be visited by the “mother of her Lord.” What a moving and beautiful example of how the joy we find in the presence of the Lord our God affects those around us.
Experience and Application
Friends, I know that I share (or perhaps overshare) various stories of how God has worked in my life – so forgive me if you have heard this too many times. However, I cannot read this story without remembering my own experience with being unable to conceive for eight long and often torturous years. While I realize this in no way compares to the number of years that Elizabeth waited, it did offer me a similar experience as God restored a joy that had long been stifled by life’s sorrows and disappointments. For it was during my pregnancy and the birth of my first daughter that God sent several “Elizabeth’s” to me who poured out encouragement and joy by feeding my soul and mind with the Word that I had somewhat tuned out for years because of my disappointment in myself and in God. The pregnancy itself brought a sense of joy because I had hoped so long for it, but through the joy of godly friendships, He began doing the work of changing me from the Insideout and when that baby girl was born and they held her up to me – I knew my life would never be the same … not only because I had been blessed with a child but because I was filled with an awareness of His Presence in me.
“May we all seek to be an Elizabeth to someone else.”
While Sapphira is one of the lesser-known women of the Bible, she is most definitely one that we should acquaint ourselves with, so that we do not fall into the same trap of sin. But, exactly what was the sin?
Sapphira serves as an example of how dangerous it is for us to portray to be something we are not.
She, Volume 2/p78
Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 2 He kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land?4 Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart?You have not lied to people but to God!”
5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped all who heard about it. 6 So the young men came, wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you paid this amount for the land?” Sapphira said, “Yes, that much.” 9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 10 At once she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear gripped the whole church and all who heard about these things.
Acts 5:1-11
She and her husband deceived people by agreeing together to surrender a part as if they had surrendered all.
She, Volume 2/p66
Friends, to understand the outcome of this story, it is important to look at all the details. Here’s what we know from the immediate passage: Saphira and her husband owned property and were free to do with it as they pleased. Together, as a couple, they decided to sell a portion of their property, and then they gave some of the money to the church. It’s a nice gesture, but from Peter’s conversation with them, the problem seems to be that, somewhere along the way, they indicated they had given the church all the money. As Peter points out, the property was theirs to do with as they wanted, and the same was true of the money they made from selling it. So the problem (aka ~ the sin) is not that they kept some of the proceeds for themselves, the grievous sin was that they “lied to God”. The following details from Bibleref.com shed a little more clarity on the situation and outcome.
Ananias and Sapphira sold some land and, apparently, promised God they would donate all the proceeds to the church. Before they gave the money to the apostles, they either changed their minds and kept some, or never really intended to give all of it. Rather than being honest, the pair seems to have chosen to lie about their generosity. Ananias brought the money earlier in the day, but because of his dishonesty, God struck him dead. Sapphira has now appeared and knows nothing of Ananias’ death (Acts 5:1–6).
Peter uses a technique God has used throughout history, starting with Adam and Eve. When God came to the garden after Adam and Eve ate the fruit, He called out, “Where are you?” He didn’t ask this because He didn’t know where they were. He was giving them an opportunity to engage in conversation (Genesis 3:9). He wanted them to admit what they had done so He could restore some of their relationship. God also asks questions when He wants to direct the course of the conversation. He used this tactic with Moses (Exodus 4:2), and Jesus used it with the woman with an issue of blood (Mark 5:30).
God condemned Ananias with death for his lie. Sapphira still has a chance to tell the truth. Peter invites her to do so by directing the conversation. She doesn’t have to follow her husband into sin—Abigail didn’t (1 Samuel 25). Unfortunately, Sapphira is as deceitful as Ananias. She repeats the lie, and God judges her for it.
Bibleref.com
Some stories in the Bible are not easy to hear, and the lessons that come with them are often even more difficult. This is definitely not a feel-good story/lesson, but we would be wise to not brush it aside but rather to learn from what Peter says to them and the serious consequences that followed. Remember, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness…” We would also be wise to remember Paul’s warnings to not only submit ourselves to God but to resist the devil. If we do not, we will find ourselves entertaining the temptations of the great deceiver, leading us to make choices that will not only hurt us but also the Church and the people around us. This is best explained by gotquestions.org.
The case of Ananias and Sapphira illustrates the fact that even believers can be led into bold, flagrant sin. It was Satan that had filled their hearts to lie in this way (Acts 5:3) and “to test the Spirit of the Lord” (verse 9). Covetousness, hypocrisy, and a desire for the praise of men all played a part in their demise.
The sudden, dramatic deaths of Ananias and Sapphira served to purify and warn the church. “Great fear seized the whole church” (Acts 5:11). Right away, in the church’s infancy, God made it plain that hypocrisy and dissimulation were not going to be tolerated, and His judgment of Ananias and Sapphira helped guard the church against future pretense. God laid the bodies of Ananias and Sapphira in the path of every hypocrite who would seek to enter the church.
And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,
Ephesians 1:13
What a joy to know that because we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ we have been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. Being marked by the Holy Spirit is the assurance that we belong to God. He has identified us as His own and we are secure in Christ. No one and nothing can change it or take the promised inheritance away.
The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Ephesians 1:14
The added bonus is that we aren’t just marked by the Holy Spirit, instead He is sent to live within every believer. However, He isn’t a silent partner of the trinity, rather He works on God’s behalf to “convict, guide, renew, unite, and encourage us daily.” He produces in us evidence, like love, grace, mercy, and peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control – so that others know that we belong to Him. When this happens God receives glory, honor, and praise.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
1 John 4:11-12
Picking up where we left off in the previous post, we know that God loved us while we were still sinners, needing to be saved. He sent His Son into the world to save us, which is wonderful and undeniable evidence that He loved us first. Continuing his teaching, John teaches that since God loved us so much that He sent His Son to save us, surely we should – and can – love one another. He also makes it clear that we should be loving one another. Specifically, as Jesus taught, we are to not just love but we are to love as Christ has loved us, (Jn 13:34). In other words, we are not to love based on the merit of another person or how we feel about them personally, but rather on the demonstration of God’s love for us, through Christ. 🦋
As has been pointed out throughout this journey, loving others isn’t always as easy as it sounds. However, I love the hope that today’s LGG Journal entry offers:
“As Christians, we have been born again, and this new birth has created a connection between God’s love for us and love for each other. The new birth happens when the Holy Spirit connect our dead, selfish hearts with GOd’s loving and living and loving heart. His love can now become our love. If God – who is love, is our Father, we will share more and more in that nature of love.
When we find it impossible to really love those around us, we should remember the deep connection we have with the Vine. The heart of Jesus is full of love towards us and everyone we have to deal with. He is more than capable of filling our hearts with His love for others. As we abide in Christ, let’s ask Him for that love.”
Abiding in Jesus/Journal p157
Friends, let’s thank Jesus for His deep and perfect love. May He help us to abide in His love each day, allowing it to flow through us to others. –
A song of response
The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star And reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled And pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure— The saints’ and angels’ song.
Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
1 John 3:24
Read and SOAP: 1 John 3:24
I love this verse and have committed it to memory. Why? Because I love the reminder that we aren’t expected to obey God in our own strength, but through the Spirit He has given us. It is the Spirit who teaches us all things God wants us to know and reminds us of everything Jesus told His disciples, (Jn 14:26). Today’s journal entry reminds us: “When we start to wander away from Jesus, when the lure of the world gets strong and our love grows cold, the Holy Spirit will draw us back to His Word. When we stumble and fall, giving in to temptation, the Holy Spirit will convict us and lead us to repentance.” As surely as we are dependent on Jesus for salvation, we are dependent on the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us in the understanding and living out of God’s Word. And, as we discovered in the early part of this journey, it is through the Spirit that we are able to reflect the character of God through the fruit of the Spirit.1
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
Friends, without the Spirit … we cannot live and love like Jesus. Instead, we will live in the ways of the old nature, doing evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. Paul wrote that when we do this the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. This is a far different result from living in obedience to and fellowship with the Father and walking in step with the Spirit, which produces: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
Remember that God Himself lives in you. He has cleansed you, and given you a new life. He will complete the good work He has started in you. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us, we are enabled to keep God’s commandments.
p 127, Abiding in Jesus
Let’s give God thanks for giving us His Spirit, who helps us obey and abide. My our lives be reflections of your love and truth. Let’s ask God to help us remain close to Him and faithfully abide, so that our lives will be a reflection of His love and truth.
SCRIPTURE FOR THE JOURNEY: HEBREWS 11:1-7/ROMANS 10:9-10/ SOAP: HEBREWS 11:1 AND ROMANS 10:9-10
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
Romans 10:9-10
Observations of the Journey
As we have already seen in this week’s journey, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is essential to our faith. He not only helps us understand God’s Word, but He empowers us to obey (live out) God’s Word. John emphasizes this in 1 John 3:24, where he taught: “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.“
Day three of this week’s journey revealed a beautiful and powerful picture of God’s grace that was poured out at the cross so that we might be made right with God, be adopted as His own, made joint heirs with Christ, be empowered with His Spirit, and have a relationship with the Father by means of faith in the Son – it is a gift of God not by works. Nothing good we do can earn it, and nothing bad we do can render the gift invalid.
So, how do we live out a faith that requires no work?
Application: Living Out the Journey
Paul addresses the issue of living out our faith with the Philippians when he tells them to “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, [obeying God] with deep reverence and fear. For God (is working in you, giving you the desire and the power) to do what pleases him.1” That desire and power are from His Holy Spirit in us. Please note: Paul is not calling them to work for their salvation but rather to live it out, in other words, to put it into practice – or as James wrote.“being doers of the Word and not hearers only,”2In other words the result of our faith and subsequent relationship with God should lead us to want obey/please God. We should want others to know that we belong to Him.
For the record, if salvation were granted according to our goodness, there would be no salvation. 🦋
I used to think I could right my wrongs (sins) – somehow securing my salvation – by being better/doing better or praying more. Somehow, I had come to think if I were good ‘enough,’ God would love me and keep loving me. It’s a story for another day – but I will tell you this – I was very relieved and overcome with joy to hear the truth that God never loved me because I was good – there was no amount of goodness that would have earned His love, there was nothing I could do to keep His love – He simply – yet profoundly loved me because He is love and because He is good. – John made this clear in his declaration that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes (note: not behaves) will be saved. We’re forgiven and made right before God – not because we obey or behave according to His Word – but simply because we have placed our faith in His Son. Hallelujah! – For the record, if salvation were granted according to our goodness, there would be no salvation – for as Paul wrote: “There is no one good – not even one!”3
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Father, thank You for Your invitation for us to place our faith in Jesus. Help us to live out the call of Christ and make Him and His ways the most important priority of our lives. May we live and love like Him, and may we be found serving and honoring You by laying down our earthly desires for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You for revealing the truth and Your love for me. May my love for You be seen in my faith and obedience – Amen!
But either Christ is our most important priority, above even our lives, or we’re putting something above God in our hearts
Read: Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 5:8-9/SOAP: Gal 5:22-23;Eph 5:9
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Galatians 5:22-26
For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
Ephesians 5:8-9
Observations of the Journey
There are some Scriptures that are familiar to most believers – and I would venture to say that the passage about the fruit of the Spirit is familiar to most who are reading this post. If it isn’t, I will be so bold to say that it should be. Why? Because the truth represented in these verses can make a difference in how we are known. – Are we seen as Christ’s followers or as those who follow the ways of the world – or- perhaps, even worse selection – are we seen as a little of both?
Consider these words of Jesus to the church of Laodicea and decide which testimony would be the worst one. Jesus said, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”1 In today’s passage from Ephesians 5:8-9, Paul explains it like this to the believers in Ephesus: “You were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. So, live like children of light- for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.”
The contrast between dark and light goes all the way back to Genesis and is used to compare evil and good. Our journey today reveals that “the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.” When we are living by the Spirit, our lives will reflect the glory of God rather than the evil of the world and our old nature. Paul makes it very clear that when we choose the way of the world and give free rein to our old sinful nature, it doesn’t end well. –
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,220 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,321 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.4“ Galatians 5:19-21
None of these sins should describe the ongoing lifestyle of one who is free and forgiven in Christ and powered by the Holy Spirit.
Bibleref.com/Galatians 5:20
I shared a post on Sunday (on my Facebook page) that included a glance at the week ahead and a challenge concerning your/our testimonies. The jest of the post was the role our testimonies play, why they’re essential to our faith, and how it’s helpful to write them down. In the post, I shared a short and not-so-short example as well as prompts to help you with yours. If you haven’t seen the post – I encourage you to take a look at it later and find some time in the week ahead to jot down yours. .
Application: Living out the Journey
Today’s journey has reminded me that part of my testimony includes keeping one foot in the ‘church’ and one foot in the ‘world.’ – I became very good at it. I say this not with pride but as a reminder to everyone reading this post: It is up to us how we live. We can choose to walk faithfully in the light, or we can choose to tiptoe in the light and dabble in the darkness. However, I’m can tell you from experience that this is a very dangerous way to walk. It damages not only our testimony but likely will cause others to stumble or question the validity of our faith and/or the importance of our God and His ways. – “Worse still, the cause of Christ will be damaged as unbelievers scoff and sneer at us and blaspheme His name.”5
Friends, if we are living like children of the light, we will not be lukewarm. We will shine brightly with the “Light of Jesus,” we will be seen flowing with the “fruit of His Spirit,” who lives in us and empowers us to thrive in the ways of God, ways that reveal His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Don’t be fooled; without His power and direction and a commitment to live by the Spirit, we will readily yield to our old sinful nature and appear as though we are still in ‘darkness.’ When this happens, “the Christian life turns into a destructive and self-serving religious existence.” This is why we must learn how to ‘live by the Spirit.’ It is without question an essential part/requirement of a firm foundation.
Prayer of Response to the Journey
Father, thank You for saving me out of the darkness into glorious Light. Thank You for pursuing me in the wilderness and pulling me from the pit of destruction. Thank You for changing me from the inside out and teaching me to trust that You are working all things together (the past, present, and future) together for the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purpose! Thank You for the reminder not only of the importance of being a faithful follower of Christ – but, as Paul said, of keeping in step with the Spirit. Show us how to stay in step and help us practice it well – so that our lives do not turn into destructive and self-serving religious existences – but instead, may they flourish by Your Spirit’s power and be beautiful testimonies of Your Presence in us. This is my hope and plea in Jesus’ Name – Amen!
Worship Response to the Journey
I’m sure there are so many other songs that could be sung in response to today’s journey, but this is the one that kept flowing through my mind – though I really thought it was “testimony,” and not “sanctuary” – actually both work in connection to our passages from yesterday and today.
Read/SOAP: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and Romans 8:15-17
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Romans 8:15-17
The focus of this week’s journey is the Holy Spirit and our salvation. Today’s particular focus is the ‘indwelling of the Holy Spirit.’ So, the question begs to be asked: What is the significance of God’s Spirit in us? I believe one of the best answers/explanations comes from Paul in Romans 8:16, where he writes: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is our witness that we belong to God. Paul actually says that without the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ (Rom 8:9).
The Spirit’s presence in our life is not only an identifying mark that we belong to God, but He is also God’s divine power at work in us. It is the Spirit’s power that enables us to live a godly life, a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Without the Spirit, we would be caught up in the corruption of this world and given over to our human desires.1
Application: Living out the Word of God
We must remember that God bought us at a high price – that is, with the blood of the Spotless Lamb, the only begotten Son of God. Scripture clearly explains that this means we no longer belong to ourselves, to live as we please – for we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. He lives in us, so we are to live in a manner that honors and pleases God.
Christ died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:15-17
It is also helpful and necessary to remember that we were born with a sinful nature. However, praise God, as Paul explains in the passages of today’s journey – God, in love, gives His Holy Spirit to all who, through faith, believe in Christ. It is by His Spirit that we become God’s adopted children, not only placed in the family of Christ but also made joint heirs with Christ. In other words, for a believer, the Spirit changes everything – and He does so from the inside out.2
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
Ezekiel 36:26
But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Hebrews 8:10
Prayer of response to the Journey
Abba Father, my heart rejoices to know that I am Yours and You are mine. I praise You for Your Spirit in me – a Spirit not of fear but of power, love, and self-control.3 A Spirit who bears witness that I belong to You, who teaches me all things and reminds me of everything You have said4. According to Your Word, You have given me Your Spirit to fill my heart with Your love5; help me to love as You love. Thank You for teaching me to serve at Your pleasure, but oh, how sweet it is to know that You desired and made a way for our relationship to be one of Father and child and not simply Master and servant6. May the fruit of the Spirit be evident in my life. Help me to faithfully live by the Spirit, following His leading in every part of my life – that You might be glorified in me. – in the name of the Spirit and the Son, I come and pray – Amen!
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Gal 5:22-26 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4 ↩︎
2 Corinthians 5:15-17 … Christ died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!↩︎
2 Timothy 1:7 … For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.↩︎
John 14:26 … But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.↩︎
Romans 5:3-5 … 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. ↩︎
Hebrews 12:5-11 … And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,“ My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Proverbs 3:11-12 … My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. ↩︎
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Love is essential to Christian living because it is an essential part of God’s identity.
bibleref.com/1 Jn 4:8
Fresh off of yesterday’s journey exploring God’s call on our life to be holy as He is holy we are now met with the measure of His love and what it means if we do not love. I’m not sure which is harder to embrace: the act of being holy as God is holy or the act of loving others the way God loves us, and what it says about us if we don’t. Both callings are acts that God has called us to and equipped us for, but both can seem impossible to carry out. Actually, in and of ourselves, they are impossible. Holiness and love require the presence of God in us, and His presence is only received when we place our faith in Jesus – the second person of the Trinity – who Himself is holy and loved us enough to leave heaven’s splendor and die for our sins on a cross of shame. Now, this is love!
I don’t know about you but throughout the course of my life there have been some people that have been particularly hard for me to like, let alone love. So when I read our passages today, particularly 1 John 4:8 and the inference that if we do not love then then we do not love God – I knew I had to look a little deeper into the meaning behind it. I found the commentary from bibleref.com to be the most helpful:
To “know” God requires a person to have a relationship with Him … Love comes from God, so those who demonstrate love show they have fellowship with Him. The inverse is also true. The person who does not demonstrate love does not know (or is not walking in fellowship with)* God.
Bibleref.com/1 John 4:8
If we are walking close to God His love will naturally flow through us – even toward those who we don’t really care for. For this holiness and love to be seen and heard in us we must be in fellowship with God. To “know” God requires a person to have a relationship with Him, Love comes from God, so those who demonstrate love show they have fellowship with Him.
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 4:10
When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we are filled with His Holy Spirit, the third person of the Triune God, who teaches, guides, and empowers us to live as God called us to live.2 Paul teaches us that believers are not only sealed with the Spirit but we are filled with and controlled by the Spirit. He also teaches that when we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives, we will be known by His fruit – which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.3
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
Romans 8:9
And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Ephesians 1:13-14
The bottom line is this: if we want to live out God’s calling on our lives of holiness and love, we must first believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.4 Following our salvation, we must choose for ourselves which nature will control us – the old sinful nature or the new spiritual nature. 5One leads us away from God, and the other leads us to a life of holiness filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.
It seems fitting to close with these words of Joshua to the Israelites: “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”6
Prayer of Response to the Journey
Father, Your love is indeed powerful – it saves and actively, lovingly pursues. Yours is a relentless love, or as David described it, a “love that follows us all the days of our lives…” and for this, I am most grateful. I pray for everyone who is on this journey with me that they might be building their lives on the truths of Your Word. I pray that they might find their feet firm on the foundation of Your Word and live out Your calling on their lives. I pray that we will choose to live by Your Spirit and not by our old sinful nature. I pray for anyone on this journey who does not know you to believe in Jesus and be saved that they too might know and share in the power and promise of Your Love – In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray and praise You – Amen!
Me From the Inside Out 