Come Home

“Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17: 21-26

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2: 19-22

Jesus wants us to be with him. God’s plan was to bring us back to live with him. He lived with Israel in their temple. Now he wants to live in us, as our intimate father. We have constant connection to him. We can live with him, always.

Stay in Touch

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16: 7-15

The Spirit has some important things to say to us. We need to listen; our lives depend on it. “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” John 16: 8-11

We need to hear his message. Are we clinging to our sins? Do we really believe everything Jesus is telling us? Have we accepted Jesus’ righteousness, or are we depending on our own? Beware of the devil; he is condemned, but he is still able to deceive us. Make sure you hear the message of the Spirit and Jesus. Find your life in him.

Live

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15: 1-5

Stick to Jesus; take on his life; remain in him.

Secret Wisdom

“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:

‘What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived’—

the things God has prepared for those who love him—

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,’Who has known the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?’

But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2: 6-16

We can know the mind of God through his Spirit! God wants to share his plans, his wisdom, his ancient mysteries, and even himself through his Spirit.

What else does it mean to be spiritual?

Jesus said “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16: 13-15

Jesus will open the gate of wisdom and understanding to us. How does that work?

Setting your mind on what the Spirit desires

“Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—

whatever they do prospers.” Psalm 1: 1-3

How to Walk in the Spirit

How do we get to that point? Galatians 5:24 and 25 say –

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” The prerequisite is belonging to Christ Jesus. You have to turn yourself over to him in order to have the possibility of walking in the Spirit. The second thing is to keep in step with the Spirit. To do that we need a connection with the Spirit, following his lead, listening to his voice, seeking to please the Spirit of God.

Galatians 2: 20 talks about that –

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Also, Romans 6: 3-11 says:

“Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8: 3-13 describes how that works –

“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

The Spirit helps us to get rid of the works of the flesh.

Why?

“Why do the nations conspire 

and the peoples plot in vain?”

Ps 2: 1

Excellent question that. Why indeed? “The kings of the earth rise up

and the rulers band together

against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

‘Let us break their chains

and throw off their shackles.’”

Ps 2: 2

Many politicians just can’t stand to let God be in control. They can’t wait to “Throw off their shackles” and be free. For example, Jeremiah’s message to the king of Judah was, “Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.” This is too much to ask for some politicians. They certainly can’t abide James 3: 13-18 – ”Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

So, can we follow politicians who defy God and follow God too? “No one can serve two masters.” – Jesus

COVID and the Church

Recently, there has been a controversy about when churches should get out of the isolation orders for controlling the COVID 19 pandemic. Some are making the argument that we have a right to meet as we see fit and the government is oppressing us by not letting us meet together. Meanwhile, churches throughout the world have been identified as “superspreader” locations where people gather in close proximity and spread the disease to the congregation, the community, and pastors. Some pastors have died after touting their right to hold religious services.

What Matters?

Jesus fed his disciples breakfast and then started talking to Peter.  He said, “’Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”  Jesus was obviously making a point with Peter, but what was he getting at?

Spirit Life

For anyone who wants to live with God, there’s a fascinating verse in the Bible that holds the key. It’s Galatians 5: 16, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

So it is possible to live our lives in harmony with the Spirit of God. How do we do that?

First, we only have two options.

1. Walk by the Spirit.

2. Gratify the desires of the flesh.

It’s one or the other. We can’t do both. Walking in the Spirit doesn’t allow you to gratify the desires of the flesh, and gratifying the flesh doesn’t allow you to walk in the Spirit. This simplifies things. There are only two options.

This passage goes on to explain the characteristics of living by each choice, so we know which track we’re on.

Gratifying the flesh – “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” So, if your life is looking like any of those things, you’re on the wrong path. There’s another indicator in verse 17 – “so that you are not to do whatever you want.” If you just do whatever you want, you’re obeying the flesh, and doing the acts of the flesh.

So how do we know if we’re following the Spirit? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” – verses 22, 23. If this is your life, you’re on the right path.

Real Sin

People think that we will be judged for our sins, but really, we will only be judged by God for the main sin, rejecting him.  Rejecting God is rejecting Jesus, who came here to give us his life.  We can be judged for the everyday sins we commit like stealing, hurting people, selfishness, even hating people, but only if we stick to the main sin, the real sin – rejecting Jesus.  Jesus came to earth to provide forgiveness for all of the sins we commit, which keep us from living with and enjoying God.  He came to die on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins – death.  All of our sins can be forgiven if we let Jesus provide forgiveness for us by accepting his death as payment for our sins, or else we have to pay for them ourselves.   Then we can get the reward he offers which is living with him and enjoying the love and peace of being with him.  We do that by taking on the life of Jesus, and living with Jesus allows us to avoid sin.  Since Jesus rose from the dead, we can share his life.  We can identify with Jesus in his death on the cross for our sins in and his resurrection from the dead.  The Bible says “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Really, the only sin that can condemn us is the sin of rejecting Jesus.  He paid the price to forgive our sins.  We should really just accept his offer and exchange our lives, our sins, and our failings for his life with us.