Safety

Most people, men, women, and children want to feel “safe.” The challenge for self or others can be understanding exactly from what we want safety. The answer may be a combination of physical, verbal, emotional, or spiritual dangers. When one feels safe, they usually describe this as security or comfort. Comfort can be described as having someone to walk with you through whatever struggles you encounter; the Holy Spirit does this for those who accept Jesus as Savior. “I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NLT) 

Son of Man

Stanton said, "that Christ by this phrase represented Himself as the head, the type, the ideal of the race." others have said, "on of man is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation." The meaning of the expression is controversial. Interpretation of the use of "the Son of man" in the New Testament has remained challenging and after 150 years of debate no consensus on the issue has emerged among scholars. The expression "the Son of man" occurs 81 times in the Greek text of the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus.The occurrences of Son of man in the Synoptic gospels are generally categorized into three groups: (i) those that refer to his "coming" (as an exaltation); (ii) those that refer to "suffering" and (iii) those that refer to "now at work" i.e. referring to the earthly life. What of the Son of Man when Jesus departed? He is described as 'at' or near' in Rom. 8:34; as 'appointed' or 'set' in Eph. 1:20; 'sitting' in Col. 3:1; 'sat down' in Heb. 1:3. But, in Acts 7:56 at Stephen's stoning, He was observed as 'standing,' intensely interested in the ongoing events. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are intensely interested when humans suffer for upholding their desires. As joint heirs, Christians are linked closely with Jesus and have an inheritance with Jesus. Christians should ask the Holy Spirit to guide them on their unique independent spiritual journey to this inheritance.

 

Following Jesus

 Many people are fiercely independent. They do not want others telling them what to do, or not do. Basically, they do not trust the directions they are given by some or many others. Such behavior can border on personal pride, but sometimes the person is trying to think ahead and use their experiences to avoid unwanted repercussions. In the end however, everyone follows a level of guidance from someone to achieve a desired goal. As one moves from the physical realm to the spiritual, the first objective to determine is the goal, then determine the pathway to reach that goal. The spiritual realm has many unknowns because much physical experience does not accurately apply to the spiritual realm. The goal seeker usually finds someone whom they believe has adequate information to lead them to the desired goal. For those who seek eternal life with Jehovah God, this goal is heaven or being in the presence of God eternally. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” – Jn. 14:6 (ESV). There is only one pathway to this desired goal and that is for the individual to accept Jesus’ sacrifice to remove their sins - the fault separating them from God. The solution for this separation is the gracious gift available to every person, for their choosing. Each person has different understandings and experiences as they begin a journey toward the heavenly goal. They begin to follow Jesus, or adopt and practice the attitudes and principles Jesus displayed while on earth. This journey can be described as unique to each individual since their talents and abilities to serve God and their personal choices may not mirror anyone else. In a context focused on Jesus’ poor treatment by others and what He would do to remove the sins of others, He stated a challenge to those who were listening. And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” - Lk. 9:23-25 (ESV). When a person accepts Jesus as their savior and guide, their sins are forgiven and the same entity that empowered Jesus resides within them. When Jesus left earth, the Holy Spirit continued His spiritual work with people on earth.  The Holy Spirit is another aspect of God and He will act only when the person requests His help; He does not force His desires on any person. In this instruction, “Cross” refers to the individual and personal struggles experienced by each person following Jesus. Those daily struggles need to be resolved by using the principles Jesus prescribed and are usually more easily resolved when the person practices, “deny ourself,” or place Jesus’ principle as more important than their own desires. This could certainly mean sacrificing or placing aside one’s own initial desires. This has the connotation of loving others as much as or more than one loves themselves. When the person asks, the Holy Spirit’s power will be unleashed to assist along the individual spiritual journey in ways that bring honor to God. We honor God when we love and care for others. Most of those who are cautious about following the guidance from other people find great solace when following Jesus’ principles as directed by the Holy Spirit.

Mind control

Sometimes it is difficult to control our minds. We are exposed to so many things that are not healthy for our spiritual lives. It is wise to stay away from areas which might increase the opportunity for evil observations to occur, but it is likely we cannot sanitize our whole life. Our goal should be to replace these observations with godly thoughts. Such practice pushes back in our recall unhealthy events and allows those godly thoughts to be easier to recall. When asked, the Holy Spirit will help us be more holy; in this way we can combat mind control by evil. "The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace." - Rom. 8:6 (NIV)

Pathway

During our physical lives, many people help train and guide us along the pathway. Mom and Dad are usually the first to do so. Later, we may have others who provide leadership or are mentors. Generally, someone is a large help for helping us become the person we are at this time. A similar pathway exists in the spiritual realm. Someone may introduce us to Christ or help us wade through those times of that trouble us. All the while, the Holy Spirit is prompting and prodding us to make a life changing decision. After the decision to follow Christ, the indwelling Spirit works to sanctify us, to make us into the person Christ wants us to be, to help us discover what life is really meant to be. "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." JOB 33:4  (NIV). 

Thoughts

Many times people would like to chose those things for which they are responsible. John Churtom Collins said, "We are no more responsible for the evil thoughts that pass through our minds than a scarecrow for the birds which fly over the seedplot he has to guard. The sole responsibility in each case is to prevent them from settling." Those thoughts and plans which settle are certainly our responsibility, as well as the actions that follow. However, we can also place ourselves in situations that promote questionable thoughts. When we gather new information with our senses, we remember it all, but the more recent information seems to be most readily accessed. The more we read scriptures, the more readily available is this information; this seems to push back information we should overlook. If we fill our minds with God's word, the Holy Spirit is better able to remind those who request His help of godly thoughts and mold our actions and future thoughts. "This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." Heb. 8:10 (NIV).

Clarity

The writings given to Moses were certainly timeless truth. However, only when a person puts aside preconceived conclusions and became completely focused on God could they gain some level of understanding. To those whom Paul addressed who had been raised following this Mosaic guidance, the pathway was unclear and might be described as a veil, clouding clear visibility and thus thorough understanding. Once Jesus was revealed and His sacrifice allowed the Holy Spirit to indwell people, God's ultimate intentions became clear for all believers. "Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. " - 2 Cor. 3:15-18 (NIV). If they ask, Christian can follow their unique independent spiritual journey led by the same power that energized Jesus. Clarity will become evident.

Mankind

Genesis tells us that God made man in His own image. There have been many opinions about what this really means. Some have offered other words such as "form," or "likeness." Certainly, Adam was a living being, much different from the other animals created because he had a spirit and soul. But how was Adam in Genesis an image of God? As believers in God, one must wait until the arrival of Jesus Christ for the complete answer. Jesus would say "I and the Father are one." (Jn. 10:30) or "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (Jn. 14:9). God has always been concerned about His creation and where their spirits will spend eternity. "The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit. - 1 Cor. 15:45 (NLT). All created humans have a spirit, those who have accepted Jesus' gift also have the Holy Spirit residing in them.

Foundation

 One of the things that humans crave is acceptance by others. People in a group will participate in actions they would never do without encouragement from peers. Both genders will adorn themselves seeking the approval of others. Physical attraction must be considered as second to spiritual foundation. Christians have been accepted by God and need to attempt to honor Him with their actions. "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." - 2 Cor. 1:21-22 (ASV).

Guarantee

Humans are constantly reminded of the value of our physical bodies. Men and women compete with one another for superior appearance, academics, and greater lists of accomplishments. At the end, this is an attempt to satisfy our own desires for physical prowess. Alongside this is the spiritual part of humans - the real superior part. The foremost accomplishment a human can make is beyond concerns for the dying physical body - to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and guaranteed an eternity with God. "For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee." - 2 Cor. 5:4-5 (NRSV)