The Holy Spirit Is A Jealous Lover Living Within You

Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? (James 4:5).

The Holy Spirit is a jealous lover. He is jealous over what occupies our thoughts, our time, our ambitions, and our daily lives. His major job is to make Jesus real to us.

He works constantly to keep us on the path of righteousness, bringing conviction through the Word when we go astray. His goal is our Christ-likeness. We should be thankful for this jealous lover that the Father has placed within us.

 

The Holy Spirit wants us to hear the words well done good and faithful servant when we stand before the Father one day. He works incessantly to keep us out of trouble and close to Jesus and the Father.

We should be careful not to grieve Him through neglect of conscience, harboring unforgiveness towards others, by the wrong use of our words, or by uncontrolled anger. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:30-32  -NLT).

The Holy Spirit is chosen by Jesus and the Father to be our constant companion throughout life. Listening to Him will keep us out of trouble and will enable us to fulfill the will of the Father every day. The Holy Spirit is very sensitive to the Word. One of His major responsibilities is to open the Word to us, making it real and applicable to daily life. He feels neglected when we don’t spend time with the Father in the Word.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to pray for fellow believers that goes astray is to pray for this jealous yearning of the Holy Spirit to rise us within them. I pray that everywhere they are and everywhere they go the Holy Spirit will woo them and make them uncomfortable with wrong living. I’ve seen some wonderful answers to prayer by this method.

Honor the jealous lover in your life today. If you do, He will give you His joy and peace. Joy and peace only come through obedience to the Word and obedience to His incessant pull away from the world, drawing us to Jesus and the Father. Remember, you are never alone!

God Kicks Us Out Of Our Comfortable Nest So We Will Grow!

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself (Exodus 19:4). As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him, And there was no foreign god with him (Deut 32:11-12).

An eagle must lead his young to maturity or they will die. The baby eaglet is helpless at birth and must be fed and cared for by its mother. High in a nest on the crag of a mountain cliff, the baby eagle is protected from anything that would bring harm. The mother had lined the nest with her soft feathers prior to the eaglet’s birth, and the first part of the eaglet’s life is filled with comfort as mother brings it daily food.

 

But the baby eagle will soon become so large that the mother cannot carry it enough food, and the nest will become too small to support its weight. If the eaglet’s wings are not strengthened, it will one day die of starvation.

So one day the mother eagle comes to the nest after a time of hunting for food, and to the eaglet’s surprise, begins to tear the down feathers from the bottom of the nest, leaving sharp thorns and twigs exposed. Chaffed from the thorns, the baby eaglet jumps to the side of the nest, and to its shock, the mother hits it with her beak and pushes it off of the nest.

It plunges toward the ground below to what looks like a certain death. But just before it hits the ground, the mother swoops down and catches the eaglet on her back and flies safely to the nest, only to repeat this process over and over.

What the baby thinks is harshness is really the mother loving her child enough to train it to fly. Without the seeming harshness, the dependant eaglet would one day die of starvation.

The Father in a similar way deals with us as children of God. As we mature, the challenges of life come to us. Sometimes His Spirit leads us down a path filled with uncomfortable things that force us to exercise our faith, and to believe in what we cannot see. His gentle firm hand is leading us to walk by faith so that we are not choked by circumstances in our future. He teaches us to navigate life by faith. In doing so, in His wisdom, He allows the difficult to come our way.

 

Don’t forget that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Spirit of God actually led Jesus into a hard place. He may lead you there too. Without the hard places of life, you’ll not develop spiritual muscles that will lift you above life’s circumstances. I’m not talking here about God putting sickness or disease on us, or causing hurtful things like accidents or tragedy. I’m referring to God purposely leading you into a place that demands faith!

 

Some of the greatest growth places in my life have also been the hardest. God was kicking me out of the nest. He wanted me to develop my character and my faith.

When your way seems challenging, remember the little eaglet. The Father wants you to stretch your faith wings and learn to live by faith! Don’t despise the hard place. Allow it to help you grow!

Give Thanks!

Before an individual or a nation goes astray, they lose their thankful heart. Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:21).

  

The early settlers here in America were thankful for the provision God had provided after their arrival and the harsh winter that ensued. They held a feast together and gave thanks for the blessings of God.

  

In 1789 George Washington proclaimed a day of thanks for God’s blessing and favor on our nation. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln also signed a Thanksgiving proclamation. Then in 1941 the US Congress passed a law declaring the fourth Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

 

Let’s take some time today to give thanks to our Father for His provision of life and resources. It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves. Don’t take for granted the blessings of friends and family, of food and shelter, and of the freedom and liberty that you enjoy.

  

Remember today those who have had life changes; a divorce or a death in the family. Holidays bring stress to many. Ask the Father to help them and minister to them.

 I’ll leave you today with scripture concerning giving of thanks:

  

When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you (Deuteronomy 8:10). It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High (Psalm 92:1). Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name (Psalm 100:4). Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy (Psalm 107:1-2). Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20).

  

Susan and I pray that the Father will continue to reveal Himself to you, and to provide for your every need. Happy Thanksgiving!

Having The Right Attitude In The Hard Place Makes All The Difference!

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials (James 1:2).

If we have the right attitude, then every challenge and hardship that comes our way can be an opportunity to become a stronger believer. Satan often brings tests and challenges into our lives to defeat us. He has yet to learn that the very thing he uses to defeat us is the very thing that enables our spiritual muscles to become strong!

 

When we resist the pressure of difficult circumstance with the Word, we grow a bit spiritually. When we choose to keep our chin up when things “go south,” we’re choosing to allow our spirit to override our fleshly responses, and we’re gaining ground in the spirit.

 

If you’re going through a hard time and you feel stuck, as though there’s no way out, look up! Expect the Father to make a way for you! Instead of whining and complaining about how hard it is, look up to the Father and give thanks for His goodness and expect Him to deliver you.

Your attitude in a test shows where your focus is! Don’t look the things seen and felt, look at the Word and God’s promises to deliver and help! While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

He’s promised to never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5); to be with us in trouble (Psalm 91:15); to be our very present help (Psalm 46:1); that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37); and to deliver us from difficulty (Psalm 37: 39-40).

While on top of a mountain in Ethiopia years ago, in the midst of pelting rain, slogging uphill in mud, I thought about the importance of my attitude. I could not change the circumstance I was in. I had to go through it. So I just determined to use the experience as a spiritual stepping stone, and began to praise God for His goodness in my life, and for helping me get through this. It made the two and a half mile trek through the mud, rain, and cold much shorter!

Whatever your rainstorm is today, expect God to intervene, and expect His resources to make the difference. He will never abandon you. You are sheltered by His love, His grace, His ability, His all-knowing, His peace, and by His wisdom. Expect God’s best today. regardless of the storm.

 

Make sure your attitude points you to the Father and His Word during the challenges of today! If you do, tonight you’ll be stronger!

Focus On The Future, Not The Past!

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you (Proverbs 4:25 – Living).

To walk in the best that God has for you, it’s important to look ahead, not behind. Think about how many people live in the shadow of what they have done. If it’s negative, the past becomes a weight, or a strong chain, holding you back and keeping you from progressing. If you live only in the light of past accomplishments, you’ll feel depressed, thinking that nothing could get better than that.

But our best days are ahead of us. I heard Lester Sumrall say many times, Nothing that I have done, nothing that I am doing, is to be compared to what I’m going to do for Jesus!

 

Paul encourages us to focus on the future: Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14)

 

During an era of great personal hardship in my life, my mind wanted to focus on where I had been, what I had accomplished, and how God had used me. It made me feel as though my days of usefulness and adventure were over. The Lord graciously showed me the dead end street I was on, and urged me to look ahead and believe Him for greater things.

 

During this time, as I was working one day God used a song by Steve Green to adjust my focus from behind to ahead. I broke down in sobs of thanksgiving as he sang: He who began a good work in you, He who began a good work in you, He’ll be faithful to complete it, He’ll be faithful to complete it. He who started the work will be faithful to complete it in you.

Let you daily confession be that your best days are yet to come!  Think of all things that the Father has put in your heart, and make them the focus of your mental attention. If you want them badly enough, as you seek God, and pursue diligence, the Father and you will find a way to bring those desires to pass.

Remember that the path of the just is as a shining light, that shines more and more until that perfect day (Proverbs 4:18). Remember that He will perfect that which concerns me (Psalm 138:8). Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

In the end, we become what we really expect. Expect God’s best!

The Day Of The Lord Is The Period Of The Wrath Of God That Will Follow The Rapture Of The Church

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isaiah 9:6-9 –NKJV).

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (23) But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (24)

Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power (1 Corinthians 15:22-24-NKJV).

Today I am continuing my teaching about the sequence of events in the return of Christ. My goal is to bring clarity to what I see in scripture concerning what is to come as the world is prepared for Christ’s return and reign.

The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, is about Jesus Christ coming as rightful owner of the earth to defeat His enemies, to judge the unrepentant wickedness of men and nations, to judge Satan, and to reclaim the earth for the Kingdom of Heaven, cleanse it, and make it a beautiful place for God and man to have fellowship once again throughout eternity.

Jesus came almost 2000 years as a baby, in humility, taking upon Himself our suffering and sin, and providing a way for His Grace to purify us from our sin and restore our personal relationship and fellowship with God.

Notice John 1:17: For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Notice again that the law came through Moses. The Old Covenant, with its emphasis on the 10 commandments, showed us that we cannot please God with self-effort. The law revealed our sin. We call that era the dispensation of law.

During the last 2000 years we’ve been living in the church age, the dispensation of Grace. The long-suffering of God has been emphasized to show that He loves mankind, and wants all of us to have the opportunity to respond to His Grace.

Grace is God dealing lovingly and tenderly with us and with our sin. Grace is God opening up His love nature to willingly forgive and cleanse our disobedience, and to welcome us freely into relationship with Him through Christ.

But also notice that Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t come only to cleanse our sin, He also came to show us how to live a life that pleases God. That comes through truth. Jesus, within Himself and His sacrifice for us, wed Grace and Truth together.

To receive only Grace is to live a life of bondage to sin. But when you allow His Grace and Truth to flood your life, only then does true freedom manifests in you.

When Jesus returns in His Second Coming, He will be emphasizing Truth. He will come as a judge to His enemies, for they have spurned His Love, rejected His Grace, and have refused His Truth. The only thing left for those who refuse God’s dealings of Grace, Love, and Truth is Judgment. And that is what is coming next on the earth.

The Day of the Lord  is a period of time, not just a 24 hour day. The Day of the Lord starts after the Cosmic Disturbances I mentioned yesterday with the breaking of the 6th seal on the scroll in God’s right hand (see Revelation 6:12-17), and immediately after the rapture of the church to heaven (see Revelation 7:9-17).

The Day of the Lord is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, and is mentioned by Jesus, the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle Peter. The Day of the Lord begins after God withdraws His  earth ambassadors (the church!) to heaven. The Day of the Lord is God declaring war on His enemies. The Day of the Lord encompasses the period of time after the rapture of the church where the 7 trumpet judgments and 7 bowl judgments occur in Revelation 8 through Revelation 19.

The scroll in God’s right hand that we’ve discussed in previous days (Revelation 5:1) contains the events of the Day of the Lord. Once the 7 seals on the scroll are broken open, the scroll can be unrolled, and then the events on the scroll come to pass.

Notice Revelation 8:1: When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Heaven became silent when Jesus broke the last seal on the scroll in God’s right hand. For half an hour, heaven paused, realizing that the prayers of the saints for God’s kingdom to come, and for His will to be accomplished on earth, were about to be answered. Heaven became silent for that half hour, knowing that the awesome judgment of the Holy God of the universe was about to explode on this evil, corrupt planet. Finally, all wrongs, all lies, all rebellion, all deceit, and all evil would receive its just rewards. The trumpet judgments and bowl judgments were about to unleash the fierce wrath of God against all of His enemies.

The church of the Lord Jesus will not be here to experience this time of the wrath of God. Jesus sacrifice on the cross delivered us from the wrath to come (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). The first 3½ years of the 70th week of Daniel are the wrath ofman, the antiChrist. The time of great tribulation spoken of by Jesus, when the antiChrist breaks his 7 year covenant with Israel and martyrdom occurs with the breaking of the 65th seal on the scroll, is the wrath of man.

You and I as believer are immune from the wrath of God. We will not be here during this awful time when 1/3 of the vegetation will die, the fresh and salt waters become polluted, when over 2 billion people die from the effects of the intense wrath of God.

I close this article today with the scriptures that reveal this dark period of judgment coming to earth called The Day of the Lord. Praise God that Jesus has delivered us from the wrath to come…

Scriptures revealing The Day of the Lord…

The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), (13) for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, (14) for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, (15) for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, (16) for every trading ship   and every stately vessel. (17) The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (18) and the idols will totally disappear. (19) Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. (20) In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. (21) They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth (Isaiah 2:12-21 –NIV).

Hail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

(7) Therefore all hands will be limp, every man's heart will melt, (8) And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames. (9) Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. (10) For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. (11) "I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (12) I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. (13) Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger (Isaiah 13:6-13 –NKJV).

All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. (8) For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion (Isaiah 34:4,8 –NKJV).

Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty. (16) Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? (17) The seed shrivels under the clods, storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. (18) How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. (19) O Lord, to You I cry out; for fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field. (20) The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures (Joel 1:15-20 –NKJV).

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (11) The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it? (Joel 2:10-11 –NKJV).

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.  (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (32) And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls (Joel 2:30-32 – NKJV).

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (15) The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness.  (16) The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel (Joel 3:14-16 –NKJV).

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. (19) It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! (20) Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18-20 NKJV).

The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. (15) That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, (16) a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. (17) "I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse." (18) Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land. (2:1) Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, (2) Before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you! (3) Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger(Zephaniah 1:14-2:3 –NKJV).

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:10-13 –NKJV).

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord So comes as a thief in the night.  (3) For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 – NKJV).