How Do You See It?

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Good morning, Lord

Verse of the Day: Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Memory verse: 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: JOB 32-33 ACTS 14

How Do You See It?

Read this passage very clearly and carefully and then say what is the biggest point made of these words:

John 14: 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

What do you see as the most important thing in that passage? As a Christian leader you might see the fact that the Holy Spirit inhabits all believers and is always with us. The scripture tells us that we can do all things:

Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

This is the great promise to all believers for all time-for every moment of our lives.

But-because of the Holy Spirit in us, the thing that should be the greatest pity to us is the fact that the 'world' neither sees or knows Him and cannot receive Him.

But , you say, "all things are possible with God", Matthew 19:26.

Yes, you are right. When we dig deeper and look we realize that the 'world' is the whole, lost, natural world.

For God so loved the 'world' that He gave His only son...

This is not an argument over words or anything else. This is a challenge to us to continue carrying the word of the Lord to a lost world. Why? The whole world cannot be saved. One heart at a time can be. Not everyone will be saved but we do not know the next until we tell them and that challenges us to never miss a chance.

I read these words:"...even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him," and it is hard to not feel pity for the ones who have not had the chance. We must find a balance in our thinking.

The lost must be told of Jesus and then the saved must be developed or grown or sanctified in Jesus. The Lord does His sanctifying work in us day by day as we study and pray and fall and get up and repent and accept His forgiveness. But growth will never happen the way it happens until we actually do the work of the evangelist.

But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:5

It is a great pity that 'the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him', but an equally great pity is that many of us are not seeing our ministry fulfilled because we are not active in evangelism.

These are not my words or my judgement-these words are right there in scripture-these words are my own indictment. The majority of us have not grown as God intends because of fear or laziness or whatever the reason.

So, we must repent and get busy. Yes, it is that simple to say. It is harder to make it happen but that is what the strength of the Lord is all about. Get in front of a mirror and practice the question: "Have you asked Jesus into your heart?" The next time you see someone on TV who is a radical leftist stop-before you judge-and pretend you are face to face with them. Then, honoring the part of them created in God's image, ask the question, "Have you asked Jesus into your heart?".

No one has an excuse. We all have fallen short but we all must know that God is about our starting over fresh everyday, and for some, many times a day. He never gives up on any of us. He is patient.

The 'world' is lost. This is our life and our ministry-our job-period.

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

I am afraid of what people will think of me and say about me. Give me the desire to overcome it all so I may speak for Jesus,

Patient and merciful God!

In the name of Jesus,

Amen