May 7th
May 7th
Well now that we have spent a few days letting grace sink in, what is next? I think the passage in 2 Peter is such a good summary of how to proceed with the promises of God.
2 Peter 1:2-4 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
His divine power gives us everything we need for a godly life. So, He is not expecting us to be able to live a godly life on our own, we need His power to do it, but He has given us that through His Holy Spirit that is in us. We need to surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit and walk in His plan, letting go of our emotions, our own plans, and our own ideas.
Galatians 5:16-18 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be under the law, I would rather be led by the Spirit and be under grace!
Galatians 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Keep in step with the Spirit. In order to keep in step with the Spirit we must be watching His steps... or following His lead. It’s like in marching band in high school, in order to keep in step with your row you had to watch their steps so you could sync. You didn’t want to get ahead or lag behind. It is the same with the Holy Spirit. We must follow His lead. If we make our own plans and just go with them, not even concerned about what He may have planned, we will have difficulty keeping in step with Him. It’s probably impossible to do if we only focus on our own feet. But if we start our day asking Him what His plans are and asking Him to lead us then we can follow His lead and keep in step.
Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 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.
We have the Holy Spirit waiting to teach us and reveal to us the heart of God. He is waiting to guide us into all Truth and lead us on the right path. Are we ignoring Him? Are we seeking Him? Are we asking for His input and then not really considering it or are we actually surrendering to Him? Go back up to those verses in 2 Peter again. Through the Spirit we can escape the corruption of this world and participate in the divine nature, that is Christ in us.
Ephesians 3:16-17a I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
For a little review on the Holy Spirit’s work in us look back at the devotions from April 15th and 25th
Jesus, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to fill me so that I can be led and taught and have the power I need to be able to walk with you. Thank you for giving me everything I need to walk in your way. Help me to tap into the resources that you have for me through your Spirit instead of trying to do it on my own. Help me to surrender to you Holy Spirit and help me to follow your lead and keep in step with you.