Face to face with God

Certainly God is mysterious and beyond full human understanding. However, whenever God's chosen people turn to face God, as Moses did, God removes the veil and they are face to face! They can suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of ancient chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, as a living Spirit residing within a believer, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. "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, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  2 Cor. 3:16-18 (Berean Study Bible).

Friend or Foe

 On what basis do you consider a person to be a friend or foe? Many times the basis of this opinion is whether or not the person agrees with us about any number of opinions. Is it not better for a friend to be one who accepts us and our opinions and yet seeks our best interest? Foes tend to seek many ways to discourage, defeat or malign another. If one has a weak relationship with another, dismissing these encounters may be relatively easy. Most relationships do not lack a series of healthy disagreements, but they should be healthy disagreements. People are individuals and some have said there is a time to agree to disagree and move on. Healthy disagreements should not be competitions and one must not insult another or create data to best the other. As mistakes are an avenue for learning, disagreements are an avenue for one to determine the strength of their views or a need to change them, sometimes completely. Christians should not be afraid to express all their feelings to the Holy Spirit - He knows them intimately before they coalesce in our minds. However, we must accept that He is God and knows best. On our unique independent spiritual journey of sanctification, our challenge is to understand His directions and change our views to match His. [Jesus said,] "I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." - Jn. 15:11-14.

Guard

There is a major aspect of our lives on which we chose to carry insurance. This generally indicates an object or part of our lives we greatly desire not to lose. Usually the amount of insurance policy indicates the monetary value we place on this thing.  We should value our relationship with God higher than any earthly thing. "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." - 2 Tim. 1:13-14

Status Quo

 Jeremiah once spoke about a time in the future when the status quo would change. The practices adopted by the most dedicated servants of God would be upended. Personal actions, which were followed so closely for reward, would be replaced by a freely granted status. The actions of Jesus would lead to a firm covenant of acceptance and guidance. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” — Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NASB) Those of this new covenant be empowered and transformed by the Holy Spirit of the living God who will place His instructions on our hearts and make them a part of His covenant people. As important as the scriptures are, the Spirit who inspired them is also the One who is essential for us to understand and live the intent of them. The Holy Spirit will inform, transform, and conform God's people to be like Jesus. Paul says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." - 2 Co. 3:17-18 (ESV). Yes, the indwelling Holy Spirit is the Lord or supervisor for the unique individual spiritual journey of all those who follow Jesus. 

Anguish

 Jesus felt anguish! His caring acts for his disciples as He taught them to minister to others were carried out as he battled his own personal anguish. His teaching of truth and service was shared with the disciples who would cause a significant part of that anguish. Knowing what lay ahead, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for the human race. It is amazing that the infinite God would expose Himself to the pain that could be inflicted on Him by finite and mortal people He has made. Not only this, but He lives within cleansed individuals via the Holy Spirit. God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit feel anguish at our betrayals and failures of loyalty to him. However, Christians walk on a unique individual spiritual journey and despite our failures, Jesus' sacrifice continues to cleanse us, moment by moment as we move along this journey to Him. "But if we [continually] walk in the light, as he is in the light, we [continually] have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, [continually] purifies us from all sin. 1 Jn. 1:7 (NIV).

Envy

James said: "Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?" - Jas. 4:5 (Berean Study Bible) Imagine the emotions of a young man who discovers someone else has captured the heart of the one he loves. That’s the same feeling James was describing when he wrote, “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy.” Very succinctly, James states both that the Holy Spirit dwells in us and passionately yearns for us. This word “envy” comes from the Greek word phthonos, which was frequently used in literature from the New Testament period, thus enabling us to know precisely what it means. The word phthonos means jealousy — an emotion so strong that it tends toward taking vengeance upon someone. The young man, who lost the one he loved, feels jealous and has a deep desire for his former relationship to be restored. He also most likely bears some malice toward the romantic thief. He is envious of the relationship that has replaced the one he used to have with the one whom he loves, and desires to have again. This should make James 4:5 clear to us. The Holy Spirit loves us. He is preoccupied with us. He wants our total dedication. He passionately desires our affection to be set on Him. When we walk and talk like unbelievers and give our lives to natural pursuits, the Holy Spirit feels like a lover who has been robbed. He feels jealous for His relationship with us to be restored. He has divine malice for the worldliness that has usurped His role in our lives. And He is filled with a godly envy to see things put back the way they should be. When you put all three of these words expressing continual action together — dwells, lusts, and envy — this paints a vibrant picture. The Holy Spirit is not a passive partner. He aggressively and actively pursues us because He knows the choices are our own. When we give a piece of ourselves to something or someone else’s control, He wants to seize it and bring it back under His divine control. He even has godly malice toward our preoccupation with other things. As we live our lives in this world, we must work and function as human beings. Jesus didn’t pray that his disciples would be removed from the world, but that we would be kept from the world (Jn. 17:15) {perhaps being consumed worldly desires}. There is nothing wrong with going to work, buying a house, purchasing a new car, or enjoying beautiful clothes and grooming. Those things are part of living an abundant life on this earth. They are not wrong unless they consume and preoccupy our thoughts, allowing us to overlook the other humans we meet along the way. Many times, the first person to fade into the background is our partner, the indwelling Holy Spirit. The cares of this life sometimes pull us away from our indwelling companion. This hurts Him and causes godly envy.

It

We sometimes hear the following scripture used as encouraging words about many things, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." - Matt. 7:7-8 (NIV) But what really is "it"? "it" is not a serious or trivial physical desire. "it" is a close relationship with Jesus and entry into God's kingdom. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask Him" — Jn. 11:20-22 (Berean Study Bible) Did Martha really know the meaning of what she said? She probably didn't know the full meaning of what she said, but her absolute trust is undeniable. Martha should serve as a model for us to trust beyond our understanding. This kind of trust is fostered by the indwelling Holy Spirit, if we allow it. It is the kind of trust Christians need to display as we walk along our unique individual spiritual journeys.