Grace and Peace to God's children, co-heir's with Christ, or to the non-believer that stumbled accross my post by "accident",

This is another post that I had to copy.  This was really good information to have today as the Holy Spirit is working on me.  Pay particular attention to where the commentator calls attention to the fact that when we serve the Lord it is the Spirit that is working and not our own "natural capabilities".  also that ever task that we complete for the service of the Lord is "accomplished by His grace".  This ties to my last post because we do not do enough.  We have no excuse because the answers are there and now we see that all we really have to do is just move out of the Spirit's way and much can be accomplished through us by His power. 

Subject: Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace

Day By Day By Grace

Bob Hoekstra

March 12, 2012

Reflecting on the Holy Spirit and Grace

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of

Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication." (Zechariah 12:10)

Let's take a reflective look at our meditations on the Holy Spirit as a

reminder that we are still studying about the grace of God. In

considering how to live by the fullness of the Spirit, we have examined

how to live more fully by the grace of God.

In Zechariah 4:6, we observed the connection between living by the

Spirit and living by the grace of God: "Not by might nor by power, but

by My Spirit." Serving the Lord is accomplished by the work of the

Spirit in and through our lives, not by natural capabilities. The next

verse restates this truth in terms of God's grace. "And he shall bring

forth the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it'!" Every

completed task in the service of God is accomplished by His grace

(God's undeserved resources), not by our ingenuity or merit.

We also saw how the early church experienced this relationship between

the Spirit and grace. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and

they spoke the word of God with boldness...And with great power the

apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great

grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:31, 33). The boldness they experienced

through the Holy Spirit is described as a result of great grace at work

upon them.

Jesus came to establish a new covenant. "This cup is the new covenant

in My blood" (Luke 22:20). This covenant was characterized by grace, in

contrast to the old covenant that Moses set in place. "For the law was

given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"

(John 1:17). This new covenant of grace is also a covenant of the

Spirit. "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as

ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for

the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

When the Lord Jesus returns and Israel humbly bows to Him as their

Messiah, this wondrous response will be the result of "the Spirit of

grace" being poured out upon them. This glorious title, identifying

grace with the Holy Spirit, beautifully sums up the grand truth that

living by grace and walking in the Spirit are two perspectives on the

same precious reality.

O God of all Grace, I long to live by Your grace day by day. Lord, I

thank You that grace is not merely some principle that I must apply,

but rather a resource You must impart. Would You therefore pour out

upon me in fullness the Spirit of grace?

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You know what to do and you know where to find the answers.

Grace and Peace to you all,

I won't take credit for any of this.  Someone I work with sent it out via email and it came from a daily devotion.  I left the subject line to give as much credit as possible.  My comments will be below. 

Subject: FW: "Guaranteed Guidance" -- Harvest Daily Devotion for 3/12/2012

       MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

Guaranteed Guidance

       Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.      

     

—James 4:17 <http://bible.us/Jas4.17.NKJV>

Sometimes we cry out to God, "Lord, show me Your will—just speak to me right now," when all the while, we are holding the answer in our hands. God's will is revealed in the pages of Scripture.

It would be like waiting for a letter containing directions that tell you what you should do, and when the letter finally arrives, you hold it in your hand, never open it, and then wonder why you could not get the information you needed.

In the same way, God has revealed His plan and His purpose, but we must study the Scripture to know what it is.

David prayed, "Teach me to do Your will" (Psalm 143:10). Notice that he did not say, "Teach me to understand your will." Rather, he said, "Teach me to do Your will." This carries the assumption that it is not a matter of information, but obedience. Sometimes I think the problem is not that we don't know the will of God; it is that we don't like the will of God.

I have a granddaughter who engages in selective hearing. She hears me when I say something she likes, such as, "Let's watch a cartoon." But then when I tell her to do something that she doesn't want to do, all of the sudden it is as though I never said it.

We are that way with God sometimes. It is not that we don't know His will. It is that we don't like His will. But James 4:17 tells us, "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."

Do you know something to be the will of God for your life that you are not doing? Obedience to revealed truth guarantees guidance in matters unrevealed.

My Comments:  This hit me square in the heart like a sharp knife.  We can be such hypocrites because we scold our children for doing the same things to us, that we do to God.  We ask for answers but we have them in our Bibles.  We want to be closer to Christ but we fail to pray and seek that relationship. 

Today I have been under heavy conviction by the Holy Spirit for my actions, and the answer came to me on my run:  I am not doing enough.  When I sat back at my desk this was waiting in my inbox.  We are all without excuse.  God thought of everything well before he even created us and left us without excuse.  Whether it is the un-believer that is "doesn't believe" or it is the Christian that "doesn't know what to do" we cannot claim ignorance.  Creation testifies to it and scripture proclaims it. 

The only thing left to ask is, "What are you going to do about it?"

Just some thoughts I believe God is sharing with me today.

We live in a world that is ravaged by sin.  The level of depravity displayed by humans today is sinking rapidly by the minute and the world is going with it.  Christians preach how we have to "change the world".  I think this is the wrong stance to take, and the wrong battle to fight. 

I was thinking today that God isn't trying to change our world.    He allowed Satan to come in and currupt it through sin in us.  The world is a result of sin's presence and degredation of a once perfect creation.  Many cannot grasp how a perfect God created a perfect world and a perfect people only to allow a sinful force to corrupt it.  The answer is becoming more and more obvious that it was to show His power and glory.  I just cannot get on board the idea that He has any intent to change this world from its present course. 

What does this mean for Christians who desire to change the world?  If we are not to change the world then what are we to do?  One of the more well known passages in Scripture is Matthew 28:18-20.  Jesus approached and said to them "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  So go and make disciples of all nations.  Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.   An always remember that I am with you to the end of the age." (paraphrased).  What does this mean?  How does it fit into my theory above?  Nowhere in this commission does He say that we are to change the world.  We are to change the people and save them.  Now before you argue, I realize that there is nothing that a mere human can do to save anyone.  My larger point is that we are to be the tool that God uses to fix His people by going out and making disciples of the nations.  All nations.  We are not doing anything for the world, just the people.

God sent His son, Jesus Christ to save us from this world.  I read Matthew again in chapter none v17 and realize that this world is the old wineskins and believers are the new wine.  I don't want to over spiritualize this passage, but the comparison seems obvious.  Our true salvation comes at the end of our life on this world and we will be taken from it.  We won't be back until it is a new world.  He won't put new wine in an old wineskin.

Satan took over the world in the garden and has corrupted it.  While God could change it and make it fresh, this doesn't show His true power.  I think He always planned to just let it die and then let us live.  To truly make His power and glory known He must show that He has the power over Satan and death to destroy them and make it new.  He does this with our lives, and He will do this with the world.  What we see in the world today will pass away and die. 

This begs the question, then, are you planning to just stay in the world and die wth it?  Or will you open your heart to accept His grace and be saved from it.  The choice is simple.  Do you choose real life or real death.  Will you die with the world, or live free with Christ?