Letting Go of Rule Keeping and Embracing the Kingdom of God

 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”  - Jesus in Matthew 13:44  NIV

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:12  NIV 

    Joy is normal for believers in Christ.  If joy is missing from our lives then we need to ask God to show us how His joy can be restored in us.

    The most common joy thief is reducing the Christian life to keeping a list of rules.  When  our focus is on keeping the rules, we are on a sure path to one of two joyless destinations.  If we are good at rule keeping, then we become prideful. Then, instead of finding joy in our relationships, we are often critical of others.  If we  are not so good at rule keeping, we become more and more frustrated with ourselves.  We will become discouraged or maybe even depressed.  Both of these paths lead to frustration and disappointment with the Christian life.  

    This does not mean that Christians don’t care about being good.  God is good and we want to be a reflection of Him.   What it does mean is that trying to be good by focusing on the rules does not work.

    So how do goodness and joy grow in our lives?  Both of them come from confidence in God.  We can have confidence that:

• We are fully accepted and loved by God.

• God’s ways are always the best ways.

• God will empower us to do his will and fill us with his goodness in this life.

• God will one day conquer all evil and restore everything with his goodness.

   This week, write down the above statements on an index card.  Read them several times a day.   Each time you read them, ask God to produce his goodness and joy in you and ask God to give you the daily bread you need to do his will.  After you ask, have confidence that God will give you your request.

A Little Help to Grow in Love

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.    Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love…This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  I John 4:7-8, 10-11

    Jesus commands us to love as He loved, to lay down our lives for one another, to show mercy, compassion, gentleness and grace to each other.  Unfortunately, we sometimes find this to be challenging, to say the least.  Even with those with whom it should be easiest; our family, friends, “loved ones”, we can struggle.  But, don’t be discouraged.

    Each day this week, take a moment to think about a person in your life and jot down a few things you love about that person.  Make sure you don’t just do the “easy” people, include some folks that require a little extra effort. Once you’ve reminded yourself of the things you love about these people, thank God for them, and find some way to let them know about it as well.  Send them a note, go give them an extra hug (if they’re nearby), make a phone call, bake them a treat, or do whatever you think might best affirm, encourage, and show them your love.

** This SPA written by one of my friends in Community Alliance Church, Nora Lasher  

Keeping in Step with the Holy Spirit

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.   Galatians 5:16, 22-23  NIV

   Growing in life means that sometimes we have to ask ourselves hard questions.  Galatians 5:16 challenges us to ask ourselves, “Do I really want the life of God that comes through the Holy Spirit? I may say I want life in the Spirit, but do I really want it?

  

   The word “flesh” in the New Testament (see the verse above) simply refers to natural human desire seeking to satisfy itself in the easiest way possible without any regard to the long term consequences or to how it effects others.  The flesh doesn’t care if its choices lead to addiction or if its choices hurt other people.  It doesn’t love, it lusts.  It doesn’t trust, it manipulates.  It doesn’t care about truth, it will lie to get what it wants.

   The Spirit, on the other hand, is focused on love.  When we walk by the Spirit, our desires our fulfilled, but not at the expense of others.  The Spirit makes it possible for us to enjoy all of God’s blessings while at the same time sharing his blessings with others.

   Paul tells us to walk by the Spirit, meaning that life in the Spirit is a humble partnership with the Spirit in every moment of life.  At first, this is extremely difficult.  Our flesh fights against the Spirit’s work in us.  But as we discover the good life the Spirit wants to share with us and learn to simply trust him, a habit of surrendering to the Spirit becomes a more and more consistent part of our lives.

   Do you want the good life of the Spirit?  Set aside some quiet time this week to honestly ask yourself this question and consider your answer.  If your answer is yes, then begin a habit of surrendering yourself to God and inviting the Holy Spirit to fill you with his life.  Start every day by letting the Holy Spirit know that you want to be completely filled with the kingdom life of God so that God's will can be done in your life just as it is done in heaven!  Continue to give yourself to Spirit throughout the day whenever it comes to your mind or when you are feeling tempted by your flesh to go against God's will.

Getting Spiritual Value Out of Driving Time

 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul   and with all your mind. ”This is the first and greatest   commandment.  And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself”.              Matthew. 22:37-39  NIV

   Many of us have daily commutes to work or other regular drives.  As we drive on highways and other roads, we see many signs that reveal our location, guide us to our destination, and provide for our safety.   One creative way to use our commutes or other drive times is to let the signs we see remind us that God is everywhere and always with us.  We can use signs like these to direct our thoughts to God. 

• A “Yield” sign can prompt us to give ourselves to God.

• A “Stop” sign can prompt us to confess our sin.

• A “Do Not Enter” sign could prompt us to ask for God’s grace to keep us  

   from temptation.

• A sign for our destination can remind us to focus on the joy of our ultimate

  destination in the new heaven and new earth. 

   

   The Bible provides the road map for life with God. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. “Where are you on this highway called life?  What do the signs say?  If you continue to travel down the current road, what will be your final destination? Are you going the wrong way?  If so, make a u-turn! Remember: we are as close to God as we choose to be. You know his ways are the best ways.  Choose to start each day by yielding to Jesus as your king. 

   This week, make sure you set aside time daily to read and think about God’s road map for living (the Bible).  Also, choose one day this week to be quiet as you drive and let the traffic signs you see to prompt you to live life with God. 

** This SPA created by a friend in my church, Ken Seeger.