If I…can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2.
He said to them, “This kind (of unclean spirit) can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:29.
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, will keep me safe. Psalm 4:8.
And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 161: He will send the Spirit of God. Proverbs 1:23: Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. And, John 16:7: “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
I loved this today in Hearing God by Dallas Willard: “Keep in mind that your aim in Bible reading is not to become a scholar or to impress others with your knowledge of the Bible – a dreadful trap for those aiming to be biblical. That aim will cultivate pride and lay a foundation for the petty, quarrelsome spirit so regrettably common in those outwardly identified as the most serious students of the Scriptures. It may help to remember these words of Thomas a Kempis in The Imitation of Christ: Of what use is it to discourse learnedly on the Trinity, if you lack humility and therefore displease the Trinity? Lofty words do not make a man just or holy; but a good life makes him dear to God. I would far rather feel contrition than be able to define it. If you knew the whole Bible by heart, and all the teachings of the philosophers, how would this help you without the grace and love of God?” And this from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers: “We must be able to “mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), but we must also know how to come down. The power of the saint lies in the coming down and in the living that is done in the valley. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and what he was referring to were mostly humiliating things. And yet it is in our power to refuse to be humiliated and to say, “No, thank you, I much prefer to be on the mountaintop with God.” Can I face things as they actually are in the light of the reality of Jesus Christ, or do things as they really are destroy my faith in Him, and put me into a panic?”
And there is that word again – humility. I’m not strong enough to face things as they actually are here in the valley of all the confusions of this world and that’s a humbling reality for me who has always loved control. But I can turn to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit for the gifts He gives including courage to follow Him in His love, His compassion, His wisdom that is His alone, His will and purpose for all of us. The good and patient work that He accomplishes within us is deeply personal and is given lovingly as provision by His Spirit as we trust Him. And that work, like every work of Creator God, is Good! Trusting Him lifts us out of the darkness of this world while we yet live in it, and helps us see by the light of His love as we walk and move and breathe and have our being changed forever here with Him. And our here with Him now is only the beginning. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29. The very incarnation of the Son, Creator God, into His creation, and His death for us – and – His resurrection to life is the power of God given for us. He leads the way now into our future in the Kingdom of our God who loves us now – and that is our true hope here in our world so in need of all the healing and renewing His Presence brings. All of creation including us healed and renewed! And it begins for us where it must, in our own hearts and minds turning to Him.
***A few songs with Him might change the way you sing. Forever. Max Lucado (1955 – ).***
