“Our Daily Bread”   http://odb.org/2012/08/11/eyes-to-see/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

Romans 5:5… Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  (NKJV)

God wants to shower Christians with many blessings…  But God also wants His children to remain filled with (totally controlled by) the Holy Spirit…

I often write about the supernatural peace (Philippians 4:6-7) that God allows to flourish in the life of the Spirit filled Christian…  This God given supernatural peace, that goes beyond our mortal understanding, is directly proportional to the level of control the Christian grants to the Holy Spirit…given to the Christian by God at the time they are graced with salvation, as a lifelong Helper to teach them the ways of the Lord (John 14:26)…

I can testify with my own life experience; as well as what I have learned by speaking to family and close friends…that when we take back control from the Holy Spirit, or we allow Satan to have access to our heart, mind, or soul…we not only lose the Spirit filled blessings of joy and peace we once had… we become vulnerable to the temptations and the sins that Satan and our own flesh are waiting to ensnare us with…

The “hopethat does not disappoint”, that the apostle Paul is writing about in the opening scripture, will also be most abundant, when the Holy Spirit is in total control of the Christians life…  Normally a person uses the word hope, when they are anticipating something good happening to them in the future… Without hopes and dreams for good things to come, life would be pretty dull… As a matter of fact…life could be looked at as not worth living, without some kind of hope or dreams for our future…  Despair is the opposite of hope; and a sad, desperate feeling that can lead to thoughts of suicide…

Will all of our earthly hopes and dreams come true ??  Only in fairy tails, and love novels, or movies with happy endings…  But there is one hope that will last for an eternity… It comes along with the peace and the saving faith through God’s grace, given to the new Christian when they become part of God’s family…

Romans 5:1-2… Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  (NKJV)

This “hope of the glory of God”, is the promise that when we die as a Christian, we will be transformed into a glorious new body just like Christ Himself…Philippians 3:20-21… For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.  (NKJV)

Remaining filled with (controlled by) the Holy Spirit…is a day by day, or even minute by minute endeavor, if we as Christians confess our sins as soon as they occur (1 John 1:9)… The apostle Paul wrote the following scripture in a letter to the believers at the church at Ephesus, because many of them had taken their eye off of the Lord…

Ephesians 5:18-20… And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (NKJV)

I always enjoy sharing this command that the apostle Paul gave to the Ephesians…because you can see the joy and the peace right in these uplifting words penned by Paul… More importantly, you can feel the absolute power of the Holy Spirit it your own life…if you become a Christian, and then remain Spirit filled as you walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)…

So don’t just hope for a better future… Put your faith and trust in the Lord by obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ… And when God graces you with salvation, never take back control from the Holy Spirit; or you will lose that abundant joy (John 16:24), that supernatural peace (Philippians 4:6-7), and that hope that God wants to shower upon His obedient children…

Romans 15:13…  Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (NKJV)

Solomon; given wisdom by God to make him the wisest and the wealthiest man in the world (1 Kings 3:9-14), writes this scripture we could all profit from if we follow his instructions, in…Proverbs 3:5-6… Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.  (NKJV)

Heavenly Father, I pray Your Word will give a new meaning of “hope” to those who right now just don’t feel like their lives are filled with the hope, and the peace, and the joy that You wantshower on all of Your Spirit filled children…  I pray Lord, that You would use Your Word to draw those You don’t know as Your children to Yourself; and that all of Your children would see and respond to Your urging of once again placing You first in their lives…  I pray for this total control by the Holy Spirit for all of our lives…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills