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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Saturday, May 11, 2024
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Heirs with Christ Bible Verse:Romans 8:12-17 (ESV) "So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. " Message:
Once we have received the Holy Spirit and accepted Christ into our hearts, how will we act? We will act differently. In what way? Paul tells us here that we will act, not like slaves who have no hope of freedom, but rather like heirs, who know that their servitude will come to an end when they receive their inheritance.
People who pander to their natural instincts are slaves to the flesh, with no hope of a better existence. They are marked by self-indulgence; it comes in many forms, but perhaps the worst is Pride, because it poisons them against learning.
We are born slaves to our pride; we are born slaves to anger; but today, Paul emphasizes that we are born slaves to fear. One great gift of the Spirit is hope; the more we accept the Spirit, the more our fearfulness is replaced by hope. As slaves of our mortal shell, we live in fear. But the spirit we have received is not the spirit of fear, it is the Spirit of hope, that is, faith that we will receive an inheritance of joy and eternal life.
Jesus is my savior
So we must realize that we are not slaves, but family members. We are no more like the ungodly than a slave is like one of the children of the master of a house. So why do we act and feel like slaves? We should not.
Paul admits that Christians will suffer in life. The Spirit is not here to return us to Eden; we are not going to un-eat the apple; the serpent hasn’t died or gone away. If Christ suffered so much, we should not expect to be free of it. The point is, we no longer need to be slaves of our fear. Christ was able to face his crucifixion, because he had faith that it was temporary. (The words “Abba! Father!” are a reference to Christ’s words on the cross.)
The pain we feel from suffering is very different depending on our attitude. Picture someone lost in the middle of the ocean, with nothing but water on every horizon; now compare that to someone who has been lost at sea, but who sees an island in the distance. Both may feel terrible pain from the cold water, the salt water in their mouth and nose, their cramping muscles, the blazing sun; but how much less pain they feel, when they know that they are drifting toward an island with water, shade, and food!
Just so, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the sufferings of life will not be so painful, because you know you are going to make it to God. When we know that there are better things ahead, we can handle whatever life throws at us.
Meditation : Prayer : The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, this day and evermore.....Amen |
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