“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2013/01/04/help-yourself/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

Psalm 51:12… Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.  (NKJV)

I just wrote yesterday, about the 9 spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), that God gives to all unredeemed sinners, after God freely graces them with salvation; when they are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)…  

The new believer is given the Holy Spirit, along with the 9 “Christ like” attributes, that we as Christians are to grow and mature, in our quest to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29)…  As I wrote yesterday, this is a lifelong process known as sanctification; and for the Christian, it should be a steady, continuous progression of growth and maturity in Christ…

But each Christian, will grow spiritually at a different pace… Sin in the life of the Christian, or the overcoming of sin by the power of the Holy Spirit…will play a big part in the spiritual growth of the Christian…  For some who are absolutely serious about learning and growing closer to the Lord (James 4:7-8a)…they will continue the fire kindled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, by feeding their spiritual wisdom through diligently spending time (hopefully daily) feeding their heart, mind, and soul with God’s Word… Jesus preaches the necessity of feeding on the Word of God, in…Matthew 4:4…

The Apostle Paul writes about the joy the believer will find in their hearts (“singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”); if they allow“the word of Christ to  dwell in you richly in all wisdom”…(both, found in…Colossians 3:16-17…)

We see the same joy, the Apostle Paul writes about in…Ephesians 5:18-20…when he urges the Ephesians to be filled with the Holy Spirit, in verse 19… ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,  (NKJV)

This joy the Christian has…along with the love and the supernatural peace God fills the Christian with, can be hampered, or lost completely… I know this to be true, because I lost my own peace and joy that once flourished in my own heart (from the day God graced me with salvation)…  For me personally, the Holy Spirit took away my peace and joy, when I somehow took back control from Him…  We can also lose our God given peace and joy, when we grieve the Holy Spirit by sinning…Ephesians 4:30…  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  (NKJV)

Psalm 51, was written by King David… It is known as “a prayer of repentance to God”; after King David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba…and then had her husband Uriah killed at the front lines of a battle, to cover up his sin…2 Samuel 11… (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2sam11&version=NKJV)   …We see in the opening scripture, part of King David’s plea to God, seeking forgiveness for his horrendous sins…

The peace and the joy God had given David were gone… David writes this, in…Psalm 51:10… Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  (NKJV)

The new Christian who is truly filled with the Holy Spirit, is typically, what some call…“On fire for the Lord”… I am living proof that the fire for the Lord that new Christians have, can be reduced…sometimes to smoldering ashes…  And in severe cases, the Holy Spirit can be quenched, with our repeated, unconfessed sinning…1 Thessalonians 5:19… Do not quench the Spirit.  (NKJV)

Were you once on fire for the Lord, and have since cooled off ??  Why not start this New Year, by rekindling the fire you once had for the Lord…  Pray to the Lord to again take control of your life, as you turn from and confess any sins…1 John 1:9…  Start reading the Word, if you are not currently doing so…  Go to church every week (if you are not currently attending)…hopefully to a Bible believing and teaching church… (One that regularly preaches the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ)…

Gathering together in a church body of believers, to help each other, and pray for each other, and get involved in good works for the Lord…is a necessary part of a Christian’s growth…Hebrews 10:24-25… And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.  (NKJV)

Heavenly Father, I pray for all of those who are less than Spirit filled…to rekindle the fire with-in us that only You can generate… Help all of us, Lord…in whatever state of spiritual maturity we are now in…to be urged to grow closer to You through our prayers…through spending more time in Your Word…and through becoming part of a body of believers at a church where Your Word is preached from start to finish…  I pray for this yearning to grow closer to You for all of us, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills