Thirst

In our present culture, we usually understand the meaning of "thirst" as a desire for something. Perhaps the usual target is something to quench our thirst, but the desire can refer to other desires as well. Jesus hoped it indicated a desire for a closeness with God. "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." - Jn. 7:37-39 (NASB). As we thirst for closeness with God let us allow the Holy Spirit to guide us along our unique individual spiritual journey to the Father.

Enough

 One person said, "The most helpful guide about living a victorious life is this: Holiness is not the pathway to Christ--Christ is the only way to holiness." Sometimes we want to assume the burden of "enough" activity, “If I could pray enough, live purely enough, study my Bible enough, or liver my life holy enough, I would become holy enough for Jesus to come near. That would indicate to Him that I want to be close to Him." This approach is completely reversed. By ourselves, we cannot do enough to be close to Jesus. Jesus will carry the burden, if we let Him. He accepts the one who understands they cannot accomplish this objective themselves; they must only accept His sacrifice, and He will draw near. When accepted into the Kingdom, the indwelling Holy Spirit will guide a person along the pathway they so earnestly desire. Prayers will become more effective, guidance is provided for living a pure life, and Bible study becomes clearer. The Holy Spirit helps sanctify us and makes us holy. Yet, we must allow Him to guide us as Paul did. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” - Gal. 2:20. we should allow the Holy Spirit to guide us along our unique independent spiritual journey.

Blessings

Many times some end their communication with "Blessings." This is generally a wish for the recipient to receive good things. What is the reason to wish other Christians have blessings? First, let’s remember the Lord gave himself for us; what shall we give for him? All that we have is not our own but was provided to you by God. So far as we can, we should make the needs of others our own and help them, giving freely and cheerfully in order to accomplish the wished blessing. We should share what He has given us, and in the process, please and honor Him who has made us rich in heaven. Giving for God’s purposes are indeed sacrifices in some way, and this pleases Him. We cannot understand the extent of a blessing that we offer to another person, only the Holy Spirit can use what may seem trivial to be a wonderful encouragement to another person. In the end, is not important we recognize the effects of our gifts, but that the Holy Spirit used them to accomplish His goals. “Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God.” – Heb. 13:16. 

Responsibility

There is a song in which part of the lyrics read "if you're going through hell, keep on going, you might get out before the devil knows you are there." When you are going through a dark time—a hard time—it’s easy to project that darkness into the future. The longer you struggle with adverse circumstances, the darker the way before you appears — and the harder it is to imagine yourself walking along bright paths again. One temptation is to give up and let misery overcome you. It is crucial at such times to remember that the Holy Spirit is the Christian's constant Companion and Adversary. Because the Holy Spirit is a part of the Sovereign God, He is able to turn your darkness into Light. When you feel on the verge of sinking in despair, turn to Him for help. Cling to His hand, and walk by faith through the darkness. Do not focus on the circumstances that are weighing you down. Instead, through eyes of faith, look ahead to brighter times, and praise God for them. While darkness is all around, the Holy Spirit can enable you to see the first gleam of dawn on the path before you. Continue walking worshipfully with God—a walk of faith. As you persevere along this path, the dim light will gradually shine brighter and brighter till the full light of day. ". . . the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" - Matt. 4:16 (NIV).

Claims

 In my study of statistics, I discovered they are not a perfect science. They are an exercise of determining if a fact is or is not believable. The actual truth must be proven by other methods. The Pharisees struggled with whether or not to believe the things Jesus said. "You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid." Jesus replied, "These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don't know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me." - Jn. 8:13-16. Jesus proved His statements were true because of His resurrection.

Focus

 A.W. Tozer said, "We must shift our interest from the seen to the unseen. For the great unseen Reality is God." When we sit, stand, or walk, our balance is controlled by multiple avenues of input. Our inner ear provides one form of input to keep us steady. Muscle memory is also an input, but we rely a great deal on being able to gather input from our eyes. An ear infection or closing our eyes can make it difficult to be mobile. beyond balance, there are the actions in which we choose to be involved. Moving our limbs can be extremely complicated or difficult. Further, our life pathways can become quite complicated. We spend so much time trying to guide or steps by what our eyes see. Several scriptures note that in order to guide our steps appropriately, we need light, spiritual light. We do not see Him directly, but the indwelling Holy Spirit will provide this light if we will let Him. "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." Psa. 119:105.

Do not be afraid

When Angels revealed themselves their first words were usually, "Do not be afraid.” The world of Jesus’ day was filled with fear. The Romans feared rebellion, and their subjects feared Rome’s power. The Sadducees feared the Pharisees, and both were suspicious of the publicans. The hearts of people everywhere were filled with fear and distrust. Life was precarious, and above all, people feared death. The world lives with much fear even today. What is your fear? Do you fear the future? Do you fear life’s burdens that sometimes seem almost overwhelming? Do you fear death? Most of us fear everything except God—yet it is God whom we should fear most of all! This type of fear may be best understood as immense respect. "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear." - 1 Jn. 4:18 Jesus can put an end to fear for all who trust in Him. “Do not be afraid, little flock” is a phrase typical of His teaching and preaching (Lk. 12:32). He is the answer to any fear you have. After all, God’s power is greater than the powers of evil, and “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future…nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39). As you walk your unique individual spiritual journey, depend on the Holy Spirit to protect you spiritually.