Human or Spirit Led?

 Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:13-26

Focus verse: "As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another." Galatians 5:13

Jesus called to me and I said, "Yes, Lord".  I began to follow Him and was set free from my sins.  He made me into a new creation, a new "me" that lives with His Spirit in me.  I found the fruits of the Holy Spirit nature coming into my life.  But sometimes, the human, selfish nature comes out in front and I fail.

In my freedom, I do not give excuses for following my own selfish desires.  I need to realize that my human nature will lie to me and so will the enemy.  My human nature will lead me astray and will not honor God.  My human nature will lead me to greed, anger, jealousy, selfish ambition, fighting, gossip and separation from other believers.  If I follow my human nature long enough, I can become blinded by it and fall deeper into sin.  I will blame others and make excuses for my decisions and actions.  I will not even see the pit that I am in, until suddenly, God makes it clear.

I need to decide every day to love God first.  This will give me what I need to love, forgive and serve others.  This is what the Spirit produces:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  Is this what my life looks like?  You can not follow selfish human desires and the Spirit at the same time.

Every day is a good day to examine your life.  Do you see the fruits of human nature or the fruits of Spirit nature?  Commit to spend some time in prayer today about anything that you need to change in your life.  Ask God to show you how He sees your life.  Allow Him to change your heart so that you can change any actions that need to come under the Spirit's control.

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Showing Others Our Faith

Showing Others Our Faith

Scripture Reading: Matthew 8:28-34

Focus Verse: Matthew 8:28 “When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.”

It may surprise you but Satan and his demons know more about God than many people do.  An atheist is someone who doesn’t believe in the existence of God.  Satan is not an atheist, he knows very well in the existence of God.  The two men in the scripture were possessed by demons and were so violent that no one could go through that area.  Their actions showed what was on the inside.

 

I can understand how violent a demon possessed person can be.  On my last trip to Kenya I had just preached a message in a church when a woman began acting very violent because of a demon inside her.  It took three men to control her, to keep her from injuring someone in the church.  We prayed that she would be delivered from this evil spirit.

 

The demons in our scripture reading also recognize that  Jesus is the Son of God in verse 29.  Satan and his demons do not trust in God, but they hate God and people created in God’s image.  James 2:19 says “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”  The demons acknowledge this is true, but don’t believe in it.  In a similar way, people can believe that God exists and that Jesus is the Son of God, but it has no effect on the way they live.  Why? Because they have never surrendered to receive Christ into their lives.  

 

James 2 also says in verses 20 and 26  “Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”  Our actions show what is on the inside.  If we are going to tell everyone we have faith in God, then let our lives show it by the way we live.  A believer's life, surrendered, will be empowered by faith to live for Christ through good works.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Why Do Good Things Happen To Bad People?

Scripture Reading: Psalm 73

Focus Verses: Psalm 73:2-3  “But as for me, I almost lost my footing.  My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.  For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness."

Why do good things happen to bad people?  A different question we sometimes ask is “why do bad things happen to good people?  Both of these situations seem to be an injustice, but yet we see both situations every day in our world. 

 

Let us answer the first question.  Psalm 73 was written by a man named Asaph.  In verses 4 and 5 he says "They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills”.  Sometimes we feel like Asaph did.  We see people with nicer or bigger homes than us.  We see people with more money than us, when all the time they are living godless lives.  But yet, we are tempted to envy them.  We wonder why God allows this to happen. Verse 16-17 says, “So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.  But what a difficult task it is.  Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.”  The godless are headed for an eternity separated from God in a place called Hell.   All the riches accumulated here on earth will have no meaning in eternity.  We may not have everything we want on earth, but for those who have faith in Christ our eternity will lack nothing in Heaven. 

Let’s now try and answer the second question: “Why do bad things happen to good people?  The short answer is, there are no good people.  Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned.”  Therefore, not one of us is good.  But sometimes we see bad things happen to people.  Maybe a baby gets a disease and dies.  We can't completely understand why things like that happen, but we must trust that God is sovereign and He knows what He is doing and has all things under His control.  Perhaps one day when we arrive in Heaven we will see more clearly and understand better why God allowed some of these things to happen. Meanwhile, we draw near to Him and trust that He is always with us through our life. Verse 26 says it well, "My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart: he is mine forever."

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries