Through the Bible - Zechariah 13-14, Revelation 19
Good morning,
This past weekend I heard a pastor's final sermon. This morning in a devotional I read from 2 Timothy what were to be Paul's last recorded words, the benediction of his letter to Timothy and the church at Ephesus.
2 Tim 4:22 May the Lord be with your spirit. And may his grace be with all of you. NLT
As Christians, from the moment of conversion to our final breath, our final words, we are dependent upon the grace of God to guide us and enable us "to finish the race".
Matthew Henry writes in his commentary, "since grace is with us here to convert and change us, to make us holy, to keep us humble, and to enable us to persevere to the end, glory will crown us forever."
For today's verse we'll go to Romans chapter 8 which speak of being "controlled" or enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Rom 8:5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. NLT
Read the passage below about "life in the Spirit". If we are Christ followers, we will have a different "mind set". What we set our minds on will determine what paths we will follow. As we go through the final days of 2009 and make plans, set personal goals for 2010 let us do so with our minds set on the things of the Spirit and not sinful things which revolve around greed and lust. Let the Spirit contol your mind and lead you to life and peace in the coming year.
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. NKJV
As we close out the year and look to the new one, we will consider our mindset, our worldview, the lense through which we see the world.
Blessings,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Rom 8:1-12
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Rom 8:1-12
Life in the Spirit
8 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. 8 That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. NLT
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