How to be what I already am...

 

When my first child was born, I became a mother. I acted like a mother, never once thinking that I was the former person without a child. Even if that happened, this little hungry and helpless person reminded me of my new status.

When I became a Christian, God gave me a new nature. At that point, I had a new status, but unlike being a mother, I continually struggled to act like that new person. I constantly forgot what I now had in Christ. My only reminders came through reading the Bible and having edifying fellowship with other Christians. Without that and the work of the Holy Spirit, it was easy to drop back into thinking as I always had, and living out those old habits. This is why the NT says:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:16–17)

Walking in the Spirit requires only two things on my part: confessing known sin, and asking God to fill me with Himself. After that, all the attitudes and desires of my heart come from Him. He gave me the mind of Christ to think as He thinks, and the Spirit to work in me like a hand in a glove so doing His will becomes a way of life — not a continual sense of ‘I must do this…’ The Bible calls it “abiding in Christ” and this brings wonderful freedom. It cannot happen to those who determine to run their own life or even play a part in their salvation. This is the Lord’s doing, not mine.

There was a time after meeting Christ when I knew what I should be doing or thinking, but it was not happening. I could not choose the right way to live — and had to learn to yield to the Spirit. He supplied and secured the steadfast obedience I sought after; it was not my determination, only my confession of not being able. It was like I could not act like a mother unless I became a mother.

All that God wants is given to His children in the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. That old nature cannot do it, even choose it, apart from His grace. Today’s reading says our problem is lack of consecration or lack of trust, yet both of these are given to us in Christ in our redemption.

The reading also says that it is not the strength of our enemies or our own weakness that causes us to fall. Not sure what is meant by “our own weakness” but I do know my weakness is human pride that rises up to try and rule my life rather than letting the Lord take me where He wants me to go. I’m my own worst enemy in that my old life thinks I can do well without Him. It is total foolishness when compared with the wonder of Almighty God and what He can do in a person who has Him in their heart. Like a mom cannot ignore her new baby, He does not ignore His children.

PRAY: Jesus, You make the Christian life possible, just as You make becoming a mother possible. I need You to be saved and to walk in Your Spirit. I need You to expose the desires of the flesh, particularly because they often seem like noble desires. However, You say: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) This is so true — the more I delight in You, the more You pour into me the desires of Your heart, far better than my old desires, no matter how good they might seem. How amazing is Your grace!

Wanting what God wants . . .

 

 

Today we eat turkey and give thanks. The turkey part is okay once in a while, but the thankful part should be all the time. I am so grateful to the Lord for taking care of all our needs, for the peace and joy we experience and for blessing us in so many ways. He knows what we want and need and knows just how to give satisfaction and contentment to our souls.

God’s Word uses DESIRE many times, most of them about human wants and wishes that are either fulfilled in good or sinful ways, or that are not satisfied. This is first verse I found that speaks of God’s desires:

Job 23:13. “But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.”

Job knew that if God wants something to happen, it will happen. Nothing is too difficult for Him or beyond His reach to possess. For example:

Psalm 132:13–14. For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”

God also desires people to know Him, not merely go through the rituals, but know Him in such a personal way that our lives are changed. Hosea 6:6 speaks of His heart, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Jesus said that if we knew what that means, we would “not condemn the guiltless” by passing judgment on others who ‘break the rules’ that people invent to please God.

For this, Jesus came. He desired that we know God the Father through faith in the Son. This is the desire of God and He has the power to make it happen. In Mark 3:13, Jesus “went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.” He still calls people and they come, even today!

Yet in the days of His time here, Jesus expressed more of His desires. For example, He said in Luke 22:15, “ “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” and He prayed in John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” Jesus’ passion always concerns those that put their faith in Him.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. In 1 Timothy 2, God tells His people to pray for everyone because “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This motivates me to pray, even though my old nature desires to do anything but pray. The Bible speaks to that by reminding me that there is an evil spirit working in those who disobey, those “among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” I am no longer a slave to that evil desire.

Instead, I am to “put off that old self, which belongs to my former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires” and put on the new self that desires all people to be saved just as God desires, and I can now pray to that end. This is what the Bible means when it says God does not desire sacrifices and offerings — He wants to see my new life — in action. When I focus on what God desires, my choices and decisions become much simpler and my prayers are more about eternal matters rather than temporary issues. God cares about them too, but His greatest desire is for changed lives.

To all in Canada and everywhere, Happy Thanksgiving — and the joy of knowing the Source and Giver of all good things!