Ballons

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Good morning, Lord

Verse of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Memory of the Month: John 10:27-28

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Today's reading: 2 SAMUEL 16-18 LUKE 17:20-37

Balloons

Take a balloon and blow it up. We have all done this at some point. Hold the inflated balloon up high and let it go. What happens-besides the rapid flapping noise that the air hole makes when the air comes rushing out, what happens? The balloon is propelled without direction-flying around pointlessly until all the hot, germ-infested air is gone.

Lips flap when placed together and one blows hard... kind of like the way the released ballon sounds... This is ordinary conversation of natural man-without God's seasoning and temperament. It is also the conversation of a child of God's when they are out of His will in sin.

Colossians 4:6 ►Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Unconscious of God's mind, we are full of venomous hot air and say things that should not come from our mouths.

When we walk this world unconscious of the Holy Spirit's leading, we have no direction.

2 Timothy 3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Before someone labels me a sexist for using this scripture, let us realize that 'gullibility' has no sexual preference. Men are just as gullible as women and both are apt to believe lies when not conscious of God's heart. We all 'learn' things that are not Godly.

Romans 14:23...For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 ►The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.

Why does the pressure fly out of a balloon? They tell us atmospheric pressure does it but the elasticity of the balloon also makes the walls seek their original shape. We all know what peer pressure is. The way we dress and how we groom ourselves come from the world. Pressure to perform and achieve comes from the world. But we also have an idea of what we want for ourselves. This is the natural man. Left unchecked by the heart of God in Christ, we can do great things as the world sees it.

Malachi 4: 1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.” 2“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.…

1 Corinthians 3: 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…

The question is, "What do you want filling you-Hot air or God's Holy Spirit"?

Do we want our lips to flap in the hot, sinful breeze? Or, do we want to speak righteousness and then only when God says speak?

1 Peter 4:11 ►If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen

Our prayer should be for ourselves to be in the middle of God's word daily-to be filled with His Spirit every minute-to speak when He gives us permission-to have His righteous direction.

Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

God has called us 'Heavenward' in Christ Jesus. He has given us His strength to win over the pressures of the world.

Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The next time you expel all your natural air and fall to the ground empty, as we all will, look at the truth of why it happened. Our own, worldy, natural decisions bring us down in sin.

God brings us back to righteous reality when we confess humbly.

1 John 1:9, NIV: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

Forgive me for being filled with the nonsense of the natural world. I ask that my desire for Your Righteousness and Holiness be strengthened.

Gracious and kind God and Father,

In the name of Jesus,

Amen