Today a remarkable step is being taken. Someone I’ve known a good deal of my life is coming for help. He has been someone who has helped me on my own journey. Today, I get to be a helper for him with a difficulty he recently told me about. When he was a messenger of Light for me at some very difficult times in my life, I now pray I can be a messenger of Light for him. God has a way of doing this and I feel honored to return a favor.
I know I keep bringing up The Holy Spirit in my daily writing of late. It is incredible to me how much I’ve missed throughout my life about this loving, powerful Gift Jesus Christ gave to me–to each of us as we have asked HIm into our heart and lives. Throughout the New Testament, The Holy Spirit is spoken about/referenced. I’ve always read these references as something nice, but very mysterious. Today, I finally find what has been so mysterious taking root in me. The fact that The Holy Spirit is mysterious is simply because I’m flesh with limited capacity for understanding Spirit. God Himself is mysterious. Jesus Christ today is mysterious, yet because God sent HIm to earth to live for us in flesh and die for us in flesh, do we better understand Him.
I feel as though a cloud has been lifted from me. Instead of confusion, I am finding a contentment of Trust replacing it. I am beginning to rejoice in what I don’t know and thanking Christ for what I am now finding. I don’t need to understand so much as I have needed to TRUST what I couldn’t understand. God is worthy to be Praised and I join the ones who have been Praising Him already!
What in the world would we do without Jesus? As I’ve listened to the worship music this morning while having my devotional time, I’ve needed to just stop and let the spirit of worship sink into the depth of my being. Jesus–there is just nothing like him except God Himself and The Holy Spirit. The one exception is that He came into our world just like you and me and He did it all just for you and me. There just isn’t any greater example of love than this!
Helping others find Jesus in the midst of their strife is a commitment I’ve made in stepping into this counseling world. However, I’m also finding that keeping Jesus in the center of my own self is a critical element. How can one help others if Jesus isn’t the center of oneself? Starting the day with worship music playing in the background of my devotional time has been a game changer for me. If you haven’t listened to “I Speak Jesus” then please dial it up on YouTube and let it minister to you. It speaks loudly the entire purpose of living out the life of a christian in the name of Jesus! “I just want to speak the name of Jesus!”
There is a huge reality I awoke to this morning. My “old person annual checkups” call me healthy, but that doesn’t mean my healthy flesh doesn’t get tired. As I got up this morning my body was saying to leave it in bed even though my mind was saying it is time to get up. As I began my devotions and started the worship music, my flesh was still saying–“turn it off”. However, when I told my flesh I was surrendering it to Jesus so my spirit this day would be devoted to The Holy Spirit, I surrendered.
Jesus told Peter that Satan wanted to “sift him like sand”. That wasn’t a one time statement meant only for Peter. I’ll bet all of us can say this has happened to us at different point in our lives. It is certainly true for me. I felt a dose of it this morning as I was battling temptations to surrender to flesh rather than to submit my flesh and spirit to Christ’s Holy Spirit. Satan isn’t going to back off just because we have Christ in our lives. His deception is quite masterful particularly when our flesh is tired. But, this AMAZING GOD we serve has all of this in hand when we don’t let our flesh rule–even for a little bit.
I am now ready for this day. The armor of God is in place and I’m surrendered. Yes, my flesh may be tired but I can give it a nap this afternoon if needed by then! How loving and generous our God is. Matthew 11:28 says: “Come unto me and I will give you rest…take My yoke upon thee and learn of Me…my burden is light….” Stepping into today with Christ’s yoke rather than the weight my flesh was carrying is SO different. Our God is truly our LOVING FATHER!
As I write today’s date I realize just how close Christmas is in it’s arrival. My kids and grandkids are arriving this weekend and the joy of family all being together will begin once again. What is equally on my heart is the reality of “Christmas arriving”. This babe we call Jesus came to us in the same way we came into this world of ours. The only difference was who had planted the seed of life for Him. I have a difficult time with this reality knowing what God and Jesus knew ahead of time and followed through with their plan for you and me. That was only a beginning of the plan too.
Jesus conquered sin for us so we can have our eternal life with God as was the original intent. In conquering sin He conquered the grip Satan wanted to have over mankind. As I write this I can hardly explain in words my gratitude for what Christ has done for you and me. The grip sin had on me for so, so long is broken. Not only is it broken, it is replaced with the gift of helping others find this truth for them.
Part of what Jesus did while on earth was heal the sick. What a privilege it is to get to participate with Him in continuing this healing work in a healing process we call counseling. We get to plant the seeds of new life which Christ gave to us and Satan wants to kill. I have always loved being a gardener. This is like spiritual gardening and the beauty of blossoms is like none other!
About 4-5 years ago I was working with a man who was struggling with his marriage. I had met his wife and had drawn my own conclusion about her. I had taken this couple’s concern to my prayer warrior. She asked me to talk to her about the two of them. In so doing I said that the wife was evil. When I said this I was immediately corrected firmly. She told me that my words were powerful and I needed to confess this sin and ask for forgiveness. My words would influence this wife and I needed to change my way of thinking about her. I did all of this and now these few years later I can understand much more clearly what she was saying.
My devotional message this morning was all about my prayer warrior’s message a few years ago. The author’s writing told how faithful David’s men were to him. Even though his warriors would do anything for him, David knew that he needed to transfer their faithfulness to God through his own words to them and not try to keep it for himself. David used his words to show his followers that their faithfulness to him was a step towards faithfulness to God. David was a conduit for them to God.
My words about this wife didn’t lead anyone anywhere except to cast stones joining me. Today as I write this I feel guilty all over again. I sure need to always remember how powerful our words are when we speak them. Even when someone does something wrong our words need to first be taken to Jesus asking Him to help us understand the story behind a person’s actions rather than to cast stones.
Earnie Lewis 