Is there anything in your life that needs to be removed? Any impediment to the impressions of God’s Spirit? Scripture reminds us that we can grieve the Spirit with our angry words. We can even quench the Spirit by having no regard for God’s teachings. (Ephesians 4:29-30)
Here is something that helps me stay in step with the Spirit. We know from Galatians 5:22-23 that the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” God’s Spirit creates and distributes these characteristics. They are indicators on my spiritual dashboard. So whenever I sense them, I know I’m walking in the Spirit.
Don’t sense any nudging? Just be patient and wait. God instills seasons of silence in his plan. Time is needed for the development of a crop. Wait for him to nudge and direct you.
From God is With You Every Day
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
Instructions for Public Worship
2 I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you. 3 But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.[a] 4 A man dishonors his head[b] if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. 5 But a woman dishonors her head[c] if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. 6 Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.[d]
7 A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory. 8 For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. 9 And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. 10 For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.[e]
11 But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. 12 For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.
13 Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? 14 Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? 15 And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. 16 But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.
Footnotes:
11:3 Or to know: The source of every man is Christ, the source of woman is man, and the source of Christ is God. Or to know: Every man is responsible to Christ, a woman is responsible to her husband, and Christ is responsible to God.
11:4 Or dishonors Christ.
11:5 Or dishonors her husband.
11:6 Or should have long hair.
11:10 Greek should have an authority on her head.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 07, 2016
Paul’s Joy That Christ Is Preached
And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters,[a] that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard,[b] knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers[c] here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message[d] without fear.
15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
Paul’s Life for Christ
20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.
Footnotes:
1:12 Greek brothers.
1:13 Greek including all the Praetorium.
1:14a Greek brothers in the Lord.
1:14b Some manuscripts read speak the message.
Better By Far
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. Philippians 1:23
A siren wailed outside a little boy’s house. Unfamiliar with the sound, he asked his mother what it was. She explained that it was meant to alert people of a dangerous storm. She said that if people did not take cover, they might die as a result of the tornado. The boy replied, “Mommy, why is that a bad thing? If we die, don’t we meet Jesus?”
Little children don’t always understand what it means to die. But Paul, who had a lifetime of experience, wrote something similar: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Phil. 1:23). The apostle was under house arrest at the time, but his statement wasn’t fueled by despair. He was rejoicing because his suffering was causing the gospel to spread (vv. 12–14).
Belief in Jesus's death and resurrection brings the assurance of life with Him forever.
So why would Paul be torn between a desire for life and death? Because to go on living would mean “fruitful labor.” But if he died he knew he would enjoy a special kind of closeness with Christ. To be absent from our bodies is to be home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6–8).
People who believe in the saving power of Jesus’s death and resurrection will be with Him forever. It’s been said, “All’s well that ends in heaven.” Whether we live or die, we win. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
Dear Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on You, whether I face difficulty in life or death. Let me find security and peace in You.
Belief in Jesus's death and resurrection brings the assurance of life with Him forever.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 07, 2016
What’s Next To Do?
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. —John 13:17
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know…” (John 7:17).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. Shade of His Hand, 1226 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 07, 2016
Fighting For That Person You Love - #7673
Anne had ridden her mountain bike through a California wilderness park a lot of times before, but the ride this day would change her life. She was attacked by a mountain lion that hours earlier had killed another biker. As the cat literally held her in his jaws by the back of her neck, all she could do was pray. Humanly speaking, her friend Debbie was her only hope. Debbie jumped off her bike, grabbed Anne's leg, and screamed for help just kicking at the mountain lion. Thankfully, Debbie's screams finally brought the help of some men who had been biking with them. Debbie continued to hang on as the men pelted that lion with rocks. Suddenly the animal released his victim, and Anne's life was saved. Debbie just gave everything she had to keep the promise she had made to her friend in the middle of that struggle. She just screamed, "I'll never let go of you!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fighting for That Person You Love."
There are people you know whose lives depend on you being a friend like that - a friend who loves them enough to fight the lion for them - whatever it takes. In the Bible, God calls the devil "a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). The lion's ultimate goal is to take people you work with, people you go to school with, people in your personal world, to hell with him. If he can just keep them from ever putting their trust in the Savior who died to save them. If he can just keep them from ever really understanding what Jesus did for them. If he can just keep you from telling them. Humanly speaking, their only hope may be someone who will fight for their life, and since you know Jesus and you know them, that someone is probably you.
The command of Proverbs 24:11 is our very important word for today from the Word of God. "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it...Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?" The Bible makes it plain. It says, "He that does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). I'm sure you know some folks who probably don't have the Son of God in their heart. Which means no real life here and no eternal life when they die.
Don't just let the lion have them right before your very eyes. Fight for them! Jude 23 commands us, "Snatch others from the fire and save them." Put the name of someone you know in that verse, "Snatch (there's the name) from the fire and save that person." Someone you want to have in Heaven with you who probably isn't headed there right now.
How can you fight for their eternal soul? First, you show love to them in ways that will mean something to them, that displays God's love but in a way that communicates it in their language of love. Show them the difference Jesus makes by being like Jesus in ways that will stand out to them in contrast to the other people that they know in that same environment. The real fight for them, though, is in the Throne Room of Almighty God. Keep storming heaven, praying for their rescue every day. Pray for them by name. Don't let them go.
Ask God to open a door, a natural opportunity for you to explain your relationship with Jesus and the difference He makes. Pray that He will open their heart to Him and to you, and He'll open your mouth to tell them about Him. I call it the 3-open prayer. "Lord, open a door. Lord, open their heart. Lord, open my mouth."
Saving them is going to take a friend who will take the risks, pay the price, and make the changes necessary to rescue them, and to never, never let go. As long as there's breath, there is hope! And for your friend, this fight is life or death!
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