“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
--Mark 12:30
As I was sitting with a friend of mine at a coffee shop one day, we struck up a conversation with another man who was working there. One thing led to another, and we were soon deeply immersed in a conversation about Jesus Christ.
So finally, I asked him the question, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”
“Oh, yeah,” he answered. “I’ve heard that my entire life!”
How many people are just like that? They’ve heard time and time again about Jesus and what He did for them, and they just assume by hearing it and going to church, they’re in. But the truth is that faith in Jesus Christ isn’t just an ascent to an idea. It’s really trusting in Him for your eternity.
One good way to think about it is this: There’s a difference between knowing a chair exists and actually sitting in the chair and trusting it to hold you up. You can’t just believe Jesus died for you. You have to trust that you’re safe in His arms.
It’s been said countless times that many people miss heaven by 18 inches… the distance from their head to their heart. Don’t let that be you. Believe in Jesus with your mind, and trust in Him for eternal life with all your heart!
DON’T JUST BELIEVE IN JESUS WITH YOUR HEAD. TRUST HIM FOR YOUR ETERNITY WITH ALL YOUR HEART.
Friday, October 18, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:26–28
Every child of God receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. This is not something we have to go back and get later, or only receive after some additional spiritual experience. It is immediate. And while we do not always walk in the Spirit, He is always there with us. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
He is sent to encourage us and ensure our salvation, but He is also sent to guide us. This is not a mystical guidance that depends on the shape of clouds or the meaning of dreams, but instead a guidance based on the Word of God as the Holy Spirit who inspired the writers helps us understand and apply His truth to our lives.
Sometimes we forget how desperately we need His help. Paul tells us that when we don’t even know how or what we should pray for, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. Most of us have had the experience of looking back at something we wanted and prayed for, sometimes quite fervently, only to later realize that not getting it was a true blessing. Rather than insisting on our own way, we need to walk in the Holy Spirit and accept the help He provides.
Today's Growth Principle:
We must rely on the work of the Holy Spirit if we are to live as God commands.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment