The Holy One calls to me this morning. "Tis the season" as they say. And while we may repeat in our hearts, "Jesus is the reason for the season", we get into the frenzy of mall and even online shopping that indicates a basic conflict between our head and heart "reason for the season".
The birth of Jesus changed the world. God's gift to humanity came as a Babe in a manger, but traditions have been instituted that change the focus as the unsaved world participates in a strictly Christian celebration.
Forced acceptance of our beliefs corrupts the purity of our faith. We see this played out in the material, worldly take-over of a day we celebrate as the pivot point in our history when God sent His Son into the world to change hearts and minds and even our misunderstanding of the Creator Himself.
This morning, the Holy One speaks of anther gift from God that the Church alone can celebrate: The gift of the Holy Spirit Himself.
His gentle voice comes from out of the darkness of the night just before dawn. "Do not be afraid of the truth. The truth will set you free".
My thoughts scatter almost like roaches when a light is turned on in the darkness. Fears begin to rise up and out from my carnal thoughts especially when He said "Do not be afraid". It is interesting how the words "do not be afraid" inspire within us almost a compulsion to go there.
What is it about truth that creates a fear? I can tell our meeting this morning is about to get dicey for my flesh as the Holy Spirit leads me into all truth and truth is the subject of His lesson plan today.
He takes me to His word: John 14:16, (NKJV) "If you love Me keep My commands. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever--The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows Him; but you will know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."
Then in John 15: 26 (NKJV) , again the Lord speaks of our indwelling Counselor, "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
The great gift that Jesus promised and the One our Heavenly Father has sent to all who believe in the Name and person of His Son, Jesus, is the Holy Spirit of truth. When truth comes to dwell within the heart and life of a believer all the lies and deception that our carnal nature has accepted in the past must be (A) revealed and (B) rejected.
This is a process of purging and refinement and initiates a battle between our flesh man and the Spirit of Holiness within. The new governor of our lives aka The Holy Spirit, as promised, will lead us into all truth and teach us all things. It is a new education with a different purpose and perspective than we have been taught before.
Fears are a part of our carnal nature but there is also a demonic "spirit" of fear that is an outside force attempting to manipulate our thoughts and thereby our actions. Truth stands as a mighty internal force against both the flesh man and the devil. Fear creates a form of bondage that holds us in a grip and keeps us from truth.
As I ponder the "do not" of this morning's message, I must allow my Counselor to point out what He sees. A deeper consideration of what fears must be confessed and cast away reveals some of the toxic poison from the original temptation of Eve.
Fear of God's good Sovereignty is an issue Evil has portrayed our Loving Creator as anything but loving and ultimately good. We fear His wrath, we fear His rejection, We fear His control that would withhold what we need or desire, but more to the point we fear what His ruling authority means to our own agenda which is flesh motivated.
The enemy causes us through provoking thoughts to question God's intentions toward us and fears of the worst of intentions can create a wall of mistrust that has us running away from truth rather than toward it. Rather than ask God for truth we try to defend what we think even if it represents a delusion. False religion and even legalism is a deception. We become programmed to the familiar even if the familiar is not true.
I question the "why" of it and the Lord sheds His light to that dark confusion in my mind. " Truth requires action. A lie acknowledged demands a correction. That is why the truth is often avoided but in the end will set you free".
Once we come to know the truth, and God IS truth, there is a requirement to re-calibrate our thoughts and actions to embrace what may be and usually is foreign to our flesh. Beyond that, we then must repent for what we have been shown and is at odds with truth. Repentance opens the way for healing and deliverance from those evil habits and thoughts that grip our lives and hold us hostage.
Our first experience is to accept, in spite of all the evil we see, that God so loves the world that He gave His only Son so that all who come to believe in Jesus, (His life, His death and His resurrection) as Savior, will not perish but have everlasting life.
The truth is stranger than fiction and the lies that promote self-deliverance must be dismissed in the truth that God NOT us brought salvation for His Beloved creation: humanity.
The truth runs counter to all "religion" because all religion is reversed. God reaches out to us for relationship. But religion places the burden on us and says we must reach out to Him and provide a reason for His acceptance and thereby save ourselves. Knowing and accepting His offer through Jesus is different and in reverse of us initiating the relationship.
As the Holy Spirit leads us into truth there come refinements all the time where we must surrender and not defend our best flesh thoughts or action when they are revealed to be contrary to Holy assessment.
The fear that truth might be hard to accept becomes like a cloud of resistance and self-deception actually shackles us from being set free. Truth by its very nature reveals what stands in the way of our freedom. If we persevere in seeking truth, the way out of the deception and even correction will be as gentle as the Lord Himself, who told us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
I accept and confess that many of my thoughts and actions have betrayed my Lord. They are evidence of a faithless lack of trust in His good and all powerful Sovereignty, and Divine control. I confess fear that if I let go of my inept "control", things will spiral even more out of control.
Pressing in I see the breakthrough of the truth is like the light and dawn of this new day. I choose to release my fears and persevere in discovering the gracious bounty in my Father's benevolent gift of His Holy Spirit of truth. I come in humble appreciation for Him and petition for even more truth He has to bring, that truly does sets me free.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
The birth of Jesus changed the world. God's gift to humanity came as a Babe in a manger, but traditions have been instituted that change the focus as the unsaved world participates in a strictly Christian celebration.
Forced acceptance of our beliefs corrupts the purity of our faith. We see this played out in the material, worldly take-over of a day we celebrate as the pivot point in our history when God sent His Son into the world to change hearts and minds and even our misunderstanding of the Creator Himself.
This morning, the Holy One speaks of anther gift from God that the Church alone can celebrate: The gift of the Holy Spirit Himself.
His gentle voice comes from out of the darkness of the night just before dawn. "Do not be afraid of the truth. The truth will set you free".
My thoughts scatter almost like roaches when a light is turned on in the darkness. Fears begin to rise up and out from my carnal thoughts especially when He said "Do not be afraid". It is interesting how the words "do not be afraid" inspire within us almost a compulsion to go there.
What is it about truth that creates a fear? I can tell our meeting this morning is about to get dicey for my flesh as the Holy Spirit leads me into all truth and truth is the subject of His lesson plan today.
He takes me to His word: John 14:16, (NKJV) "If you love Me keep My commands. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever--The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows Him; but you will know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."
Then in John 15: 26 (NKJV) , again the Lord speaks of our indwelling Counselor, "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
The great gift that Jesus promised and the One our Heavenly Father has sent to all who believe in the Name and person of His Son, Jesus, is the Holy Spirit of truth. When truth comes to dwell within the heart and life of a believer all the lies and deception that our carnal nature has accepted in the past must be (A) revealed and (B) rejected.
This is a process of purging and refinement and initiates a battle between our flesh man and the Spirit of Holiness within. The new governor of our lives aka The Holy Spirit, as promised, will lead us into all truth and teach us all things. It is a new education with a different purpose and perspective than we have been taught before.
Fears are a part of our carnal nature but there is also a demonic "spirit" of fear that is an outside force attempting to manipulate our thoughts and thereby our actions. Truth stands as a mighty internal force against both the flesh man and the devil. Fear creates a form of bondage that holds us in a grip and keeps us from truth.
As I ponder the "do not" of this morning's message, I must allow my Counselor to point out what He sees. A deeper consideration of what fears must be confessed and cast away reveals some of the toxic poison from the original temptation of Eve.
Fear of God's good Sovereignty is an issue Evil has portrayed our Loving Creator as anything but loving and ultimately good. We fear His wrath, we fear His rejection, We fear His control that would withhold what we need or desire, but more to the point we fear what His ruling authority means to our own agenda which is flesh motivated.
The enemy causes us through provoking thoughts to question God's intentions toward us and fears of the worst of intentions can create a wall of mistrust that has us running away from truth rather than toward it. Rather than ask God for truth we try to defend what we think even if it represents a delusion. False religion and even legalism is a deception. We become programmed to the familiar even if the familiar is not true.
I question the "why" of it and the Lord sheds His light to that dark confusion in my mind. " Truth requires action. A lie acknowledged demands a correction. That is why the truth is often avoided but in the end will set you free".
Once we come to know the truth, and God IS truth, there is a requirement to re-calibrate our thoughts and actions to embrace what may be and usually is foreign to our flesh. Beyond that, we then must repent for what we have been shown and is at odds with truth. Repentance opens the way for healing and deliverance from those evil habits and thoughts that grip our lives and hold us hostage.
Our first experience is to accept, in spite of all the evil we see, that God so loves the world that He gave His only Son so that all who come to believe in Jesus, (His life, His death and His resurrection) as Savior, will not perish but have everlasting life.
The truth is stranger than fiction and the lies that promote self-deliverance must be dismissed in the truth that God NOT us brought salvation for His Beloved creation: humanity.
The truth runs counter to all "religion" because all religion is reversed. God reaches out to us for relationship. But religion places the burden on us and says we must reach out to Him and provide a reason for His acceptance and thereby save ourselves. Knowing and accepting His offer through Jesus is different and in reverse of us initiating the relationship.
As the Holy Spirit leads us into truth there come refinements all the time where we must surrender and not defend our best flesh thoughts or action when they are revealed to be contrary to Holy assessment.
The fear that truth might be hard to accept becomes like a cloud of resistance and self-deception actually shackles us from being set free. Truth by its very nature reveals what stands in the way of our freedom. If we persevere in seeking truth, the way out of the deception and even correction will be as gentle as the Lord Himself, who told us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
I accept and confess that many of my thoughts and actions have betrayed my Lord. They are evidence of a faithless lack of trust in His good and all powerful Sovereignty, and Divine control. I confess fear that if I let go of my inept "control", things will spiral even more out of control.
Pressing in I see the breakthrough of the truth is like the light and dawn of this new day. I choose to release my fears and persevere in discovering the gracious bounty in my Father's benevolent gift of His Holy Spirit of truth. I come in humble appreciation for Him and petition for even more truth He has to bring, that truly does sets me free.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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