Mortal Bodies

Mortal Bodies infused with the Holy Spirit! Paul says exactly that, “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” – Rom. 8:10-11 (NIV) At times we ponder about what it means to be ourselves and then to think we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit can be confusing. Our physical bodies are mortal, finite, and temporary, but He is the embodiment of eternal perfection, just like Jesus. Why would He want to limit Himself to such boundaries? There is only one reason, He loves those people who will invite Him in as much as Jesus loved them. Paul speaks directly that all people sin and are separated from God. But when we became Christians, we were reborn by the work of the Holy Spirit. We were made holy, and the Spirit came to live inside of us. Although He lives within us, His ability to lead us is dependent on our agreement to follow His guidance. Although our bodies are in a state of increasing decay, we are also able to take part in the life-giving work through the Spirit. One day, this decaying body will be replaced, raised to live in a different realm. We will have immortal bodies that are beyond decay. While our physical bodies remind us of our mortality, the Holy Spirit is our reminder, our seal, our guarantee, of life forever with God.

Clarity

Wherever and whenever the good news of Jesus is preached, the power of the Holy Spirit becomes active and He makes the message powerful as individuals need. Sometimes the words chosen by the preacher may better connect with the background and thought processes of those listening. Perhaps the preacher was motivated to choose those words just for this reason. When a preacher sits down to prepare a sermon many thoughts may cross his mind, but one needs to be, “Spirit, what do you want communicated at this time?” Frequently, humans assign value or importance to a topic being presented relative to the perceived expertise and wisdom of the presenter. Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that the power of the words he spoke was not based on any human wisdom, but on God’s power. In this passage, "demonstration of the Spirit's power" probably refers to unexpected or incomprehensible actions linked to the Gospel presentation. However, in the context of this passage, Paul was primarily focused on a greater truth, the story about a crucified Savior doesn't appear to be wise and persuasive by human standards of wisdom (1 Cor. 1:18; 2:1-3), yet the Holy Spirit was active in helping people understand the amazing story of Jesus. The Spirit's work in the message of the cross gives it seemingly inexplicable power to reach into people's hearts and call them to Jesus. Nevertheless, for those of us who are familiar with the Holy Spirit's work, this power really is not mysterious; it is a reminder of God's grace to give us not only the gift of Jesus but also the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us understand the gift of Jesus!

Following God

Motivation for Bible study should be to help mold us into the person God wants us to become. Bible study is one way the indwelling Holy Spirit works on our hearts. While not the primary reason, an added result is that we gain personal encouragement. Yes, for the Christian we model Jesus and God is always first. Abraham had a similar attitude about following God. The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). God didn’t give Abram (later to be called Abraham) a detailed map or even show him the exact final destination. He basically said, “Abram, leave your comfort zone and go where I will show you.” The promise was that He would bless Abram and his descendants, if Abram obeyed him. Abram didn’t know the end destination or the pathway before him, but he knew and trusted God’s character, so he obeyed anyway. Abram’s pathway was revealed one step at a time. And with each step, Abram was directed a little more from God, and the pathway became more visible. As Christians we are expected to walk along our individual pathways learning more lessons as we walk through our individual journey. Like Abraham, God wants His servants to continually step out of any comfort zones and trust him with the unknowns. When we do that we leave room for God to guide us. But what does that guidance look like? If God were to specify the details of each step, we would be like automatons and God didn’t create us that way. Humans are free will individuals, who need to be molded because of information gained from good and bad choices. We are not molded by things for which we are not responsible. Abraham made poor choices and mistakes, but because he depended on God, a positive result was guaranteed. Abraham apparently struggled with some decisions, but God was his strength and power.
A second observation is possible. As we look at Abraham’s actions, we see a person who took one step at a time. On this pathway of unknowns, if we move too quickly, we might become overwhelmed and give up because the path ahead seems too hard. We might imagine the place we need to be, but don’t have even a clue about how to get there. When Abraham struggled with needing an heir, he didn’t know how best to overcome lack of a son. The solution he and Sarai chose had everlasting struggles. Then, resolution to the promised heir came after a very long wait. He needed to continue trusting God for many unproductive years. Finally, the promised heir was a reality and though the wait had been long and some struggles were encountered, the promise was finally fulfilled and another step was taken. Each step of his step-by-step attitude was made under the realization of the present moment. Like Abraham, all of us can take one step at a time.
Third, some steps become very confusing. In Abraham’s pathway, the next step was to defy all expectations and sacrifice the promised heir to the God he followed. Gone would be his joy and promise of a future lineage. During the time leading to the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham could gain strength from remembering the results of past times when he had followed God’s directions more carefully. He didn’t understand what the final outcome would be, how the promise of a family would unfold, how he could do what he was asked to do. This was a difficult step. In his mind, Abraham completed the needed action, but he was prevented from actually following through completely. God needed a sacrifice, but he supplied another subject at the very end. Once Abraham’s obedience had been demonstrated, a different conclusion was revealed. This was another step which didn’t end the way it apparently would. As we experience formidable obstacles along our spiritual journey, the end may be very different than we expected. I we overanalyze and plan all our actions, when the detailed events don’t unfold as we expect, we can become worried and our actions slowed or even paralyzed. Taking small steps along a parallel, supporting path can ease these worries because the act of doing something takes on a life of its own. If we concentrate on the parallel task at hand, not the results that will come later, our minds may be calmed. Taking actions regularly is a way of living in the moment and often deletes some of the fears of the future and regrets of the past.
Like Abraham, your spiritual and physical journeys probably has had and will have twists and turns, hills and valleys, detours and recoveries.
Abraham was able to trust God in the not knowing because he believed that God was with him. Christians also have this assurance because the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Jesus said, “…be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Ear to hear

The last letter in the Bible, Revelation has some teachings that are very confusing to many people due to differences in background. However difficult to comprehend, there are many messages provided to us by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Think carefully about this: "He who has an ear (metaphor for perception), let him hear (metaphor for understand) what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it." — Revelation 2:17 (ESV)

Companions

At this time in the USA, we are witnessing a clash of strong beliefs and also some personal pride. This is a great nation founded on Christian principles, but led by humans to the degree to which they will allow the Holy spirit to guide them. It is wise to remember Jesus’ words about discord for those who have the indwelling Holy Spirit, “ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” Jn. 17:23(ESV)
Many times we look around us at the struggles and become angry, disappointed, and perhaps disoriented. What seems to be an easy thing to overlook is quite important to another person; things which are very important to us may be of less value to others. This environment can cause great stress an leave us feeling vulnerable. But vulnerable to whom? If we view this opponent as other people, we may find ourselves becoming defensive begin battling one another, and forgetting we share the real enemy. Harsh words spoken, friendships broken; we choose sides and draw lines. Feelings get hurt. Betrayal runs deep. It gets harder to forgive and keep moving forward. And sometimes we get stuck in the murky challenge of life lived not dependent on Spirit guidance.

When we find ourselves in situations like this, we need to look to the Holy Spirit for guidance. He will defend us, that his comfort us, during these times if we will allow Him to do so. We must recognize the real enemy, Satan and ask for the Holy Spirit to help. Only with help from the indwelling Holy Spirit can we defeat Satan. When we are aligned with guidance from the Holy Spirit, Satan will not overpower us. His schemes are cunning and cruel. He’ll twist words and truth, trading them for lies, and stirring up fires. But, together, we are even more powerful. Satan knows that we’re stronger together as we encourage one another on. He’s aware that we’re courageous and brave when we’re covering one another in prayer. He understands that the unity of believers through the power of Jesus Christ, is a force that can’t be reckoned with. For it’s hard to tear apart a cord of three strands, which can’t be easily broken. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” — 2 Cor. 4:16 (NIV)