Be lead of the Spirit

I have been reading Romans 8 this week (this is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible).  One of the verses states that if we are led of the Spirit we are Sons of God.  I started to wonder why this verse didn't mention following the Spirit.  Is there a difference between being led of the Spirit and following the Spirit?  I am concluding that there is a subtle difference.  The disciples followed Jesus for about three years but their lives changed when they started being lead of the Spirit.  The difference is seen in that we are no longer just servants of God, we are actually his friends.  God doesn't want us to simply be mindless followers but rather colaborers.  I don't want to just follow the Spirit, I want to participate with the Spirit and be led of the Spirit.

How can I be led of the Spirit each day?  I have concluded that there at least five simple things I can do.  1.  I ask God in the morning to lead me by his Spirit. 2. I make a conscious decision to submit to God's leading throughout the day. 3.  I look for God's leading throughout the day.  4. I acknowledge his leading by writing down when and where I was lead in my journal.  5.  I spending time alone in His presence seeking and meditating on Him and His word.

I want to be led of the Spirit because I love God!  I want God to be everything to me...the utmost, the highest, the most important, the center.

Looking in the mirror

Benny addressed 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 in his sermon on Sunday.  In verse 18 it mentions that we behold or look at the glory of God "as in a mirror."  For some reason this caught my attention.  Why would we look at the glory of God as in a mirror?  Why not look directly at God's glory?

 

Here are some thoughts...In the time of Moses the Israelites saw the glory of God represented as a cloud, without definition, dark and formless.  But when we look in a mirror we see precise images, well-defined and in HD.  Secondly, as we draw close to God and as we look in the mirror we see less and less of our old self and more and more of His Son living in us.  Through Christ who lives in us we are transfigured and he shines out of us or through us in a greater degree of glory each day.  Finally, Christ is the image (or mirror) of God the Father (who is invisible).  To say we are looking at the "Lord's glory" is to say we are looking at Christ, the image of God Almighty.

Are disciples free?

I love John 8:31-32. Jesus said that if we held to his teachings we were his disciples. Then we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. Being a disciple means simply that we follow Christ's teachings in our daily lives. His teachings were typically about freedom. He told us to stop trying to always be first, don't think about tomorrow, let go of anger and resentment. These are all very freeing teachings. If we hold to these teachings we would then begin to understand the truth. The truth would become part of who we are. Let me tell you, when you really grasp the truth, your life really changes. As I see it, supernatural understanding is the absolute equivalent to complete freedom. When you understand that you are healed then you are healed. When you understand that you are conquerer, then you are free to be a real conquerer.

Live Christ's teachings and truth even when it's hard to understand, this will show you to be a disciple. Then you will start understanding the truth and be free.

What I am or Who I am?

What is more imporant??  What I am or who I am?  For so many years I have been overly concerned with what I am.  What is my title?  What are my responsilities?  What have I achieved? How quickly can I become something or someone?

 

BUT little by little I am beginning to realize that my true identity, the identity that God has for me far surpasses what I am.  No accomplish, no achievement, no title could ever take me any higher than the idenity I have in Christ.  The things that we as humans place such a high premium on, God finds destestable. 

 

I have begun to sense a true excitement (and even relief) as I have focused and meditated on who I am.  Joseph never lost his identity as he took on the responsibilities of prime minister of Egypt.  He never forgot who he was...son of the patriarch Jacob.

 

We must remember that who we are is not dictated by what we are.  Yes I'm a bean counter, yes I am a staff member of this church but that is only what I am...who am I?  I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, I am a joint heir with Christ, I am more than a conquerer through Christ Jesus.

Do our steps make us righteous??

"The steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord". I have always thought that God orders the steps of a righteous man...and He does. I was thinking about this verse this morning and I got a different twist on it. I believe that the fact that we allow God to direct and order our steps reflects that we are made righteous (right standing with God). I want to allow God to direct my steps each day and let His righteousness fill me. There is another verse in Ps. 37 that talks about God busying Himself with our every step. God cares about our minute by minute walk.