Post by mommadee48 on Jun 7, 2023 15:29:17 GMT -5
WORD for the DAY:
Christ is our life. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence
in us, He brings with Him an inexhaustible source of life. The
practical outworking of this is twofold: (1) personal victory
over sin and (2) Spirit energized service.
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;
the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."
OUR DAILY BREAD: (GENES 39: 1-12).
OUR CHOICES MATTER.
A swimming instructor in New Jersey saw a car sinking into Newark Bay and heard the drive inside screaming "I can't swim" as his SUV quickly sank into the murky waters. As a crowd watched from shore, Anthony ran to the rocks along the edge, removed his prosthetic leg, and jumped in to rescue the sixty-eight-year-old man and help him safely to shore. Thanks to Anthony's decisive action, another man was saved.
Our choices matter. Consider the patriarch Jacob, the father of many sons, who openly favored his seventeen-year-old son Joseph. He foolishly made Joseph "an ornate robe" (GENSIS 37:3". The result? Joseph's brothers hated him (v.4); and when the opportunity arose, they sold him into slavery (v.28). Yet because Joseph ended up in Egypt, God used him to preserve Jacob's family and many others during a seven-year famine---despite Joseph's brother's intention was to harm him (see 50:20). The choice that set it all in motion was Jospeh's decision to be honorable and run from Potiphar's wife (39: 1-12). The result was prison (39:20) and an eventual meeting with Pharaoh (Ch. 41).
Anthony may have had the advantage of training, but he still had to make a choice. When we love God and seek to serve Him, He helps us make life-affirming and God-honoring choices. If we haven't already, we can begin by trusting Jesus.
INSIGHT:
WHEN DEALING WITH SEXAL TEMPTATION, Scripture calls for prompt, decisive action. Joseph "ran out of the house" (GENSIS39:12) when confronted by Potiphar's wife. In the New Testament, Paul says to "put to death...whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust" (COLOSSIANS 3:5). He also says to "flee from sexual immorality" (1CORNTHIANS 6:18). We're to renounce all sexual sins because they directly attack our own bodies which "are temples of the Holy Spirit" (v.19) and this violates the sacred sanctuary of God's holy presence (vv.19-20; SEE 1CORINTHIANS 3:16; 1THESSALONIANS 4:3-4).
BY CHARLES STANLEY; IN TOUCH: (ROMANS 12:9-13).
GOD SENDS OPPORTUNITIES EVERY DAY TO POSITIVELY IMPACT lives around you. Your "service" may simply be an encouraging word, a listening ear, or a kind act. But in other situations, helping someone may involve the sacrifice of long periods of time away from your regular routine or giving generously of your resources. Whether serving in large or small ways, when God's love flows through you, you'll be able to unselfishly adjust your schedule or budget and not count the cost.
No matter what you do, your service should always be done "in Jesus' name." This means it is motivated by love, done in harmony with God's revealed will and in submission to His authority. And as today's passage urges, we are to be "fervent in spirit" as we serve the Lord and "not lagging behind in diligence"(v.11). To live out your faith in this way requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit's power. Only by yielding to His control can your work produce real spiritual fruit.
As ambassadors of Christ, we must serve with humility so that God receives the glory He deserves. Whatever success we experience belongs to the Lord, whose Spirit is working through us. Pray for Him to make you alert to the service opportunities He places before you.
Christ is our life. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence
in us, He brings with Him an inexhaustible source of life. The
practical outworking of this is twofold: (1) personal victory
over sin and (2) Spirit energized service.
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;
the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."
OUR DAILY BREAD: (GENES 39: 1-12).
OUR CHOICES MATTER.
A swimming instructor in New Jersey saw a car sinking into Newark Bay and heard the drive inside screaming "I can't swim" as his SUV quickly sank into the murky waters. As a crowd watched from shore, Anthony ran to the rocks along the edge, removed his prosthetic leg, and jumped in to rescue the sixty-eight-year-old man and help him safely to shore. Thanks to Anthony's decisive action, another man was saved.
Our choices matter. Consider the patriarch Jacob, the father of many sons, who openly favored his seventeen-year-old son Joseph. He foolishly made Joseph "an ornate robe" (GENSIS 37:3". The result? Joseph's brothers hated him (v.4); and when the opportunity arose, they sold him into slavery (v.28). Yet because Joseph ended up in Egypt, God used him to preserve Jacob's family and many others during a seven-year famine---despite Joseph's brother's intention was to harm him
Anthony may have had the advantage of training, but he still had to make a choice. When we love God and seek to serve Him, He helps us make life-affirming and God-honoring choices. If we haven't already, we can begin by trusting Jesus.
INSIGHT:
WHEN DEALING WITH SEXAL TEMPTATION, Scripture calls for prompt, decisive action. Joseph "ran out of the house" (GENSIS39:12) when confronted by Potiphar's wife. In the New Testament, Paul says to "put to death...whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust" (COLOSSIANS 3:5). He also says to "flee from sexual immorality" (1CORNTHIANS 6:18). We're to renounce all sexual sins because they directly attack our own bodies which "are temples of the Holy Spirit" (v.19) and this violates the sacred sanctuary of God's holy presence (vv.19-20; SEE 1CORINTHIANS 3:16; 1THESSALONIANS 4:3-4).
BY CHARLES STANLEY; IN TOUCH: (ROMANS 12:9-13).
GOD SENDS OPPORTUNITIES EVERY DAY TO POSITIVELY IMPACT lives around you. Your "service" may simply be an encouraging word, a listening ear, or a kind act. But in other situations, helping someone may involve the sacrifice of long periods of time away from your regular routine or giving generously of your resources. Whether serving in large or small ways, when God's love flows through you, you'll be able to unselfishly adjust your schedule or budget and not count the cost.
No matter what you do, your service should always be done "in Jesus' name." This means it is motivated by love, done in harmony with God's revealed will and in submission to His authority. And as today's passage urges, we are to be "fervent in spirit" as we serve the Lord and "not lagging behind in diligence"(v.11). To live out your faith in this way requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit's power. Only by yielding to His control can your work produce real spiritual fruit.
As ambassadors of Christ, we must serve with humility so that God receives the glory He deserves. Whatever success we experience belongs to the Lord, whose Spirit is working through us. Pray for Him to make you alert to the service opportunities He places before you.