“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
1 John 4:1 & 4…Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (NKJV)
The true child of God is filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment God graces them with the free gift of salvation…John 14:26… But sadly, Christians for any number of reasons, don’t make use of the awesome power that God wants all of His children to understand and submit to.
Many Christians don’t want to give up all the fun stuff that Satan uses to keep them under his control. Many Christians have a hard time humbling themselves to following the Holy Spirit, because they don’t want to give up control of their lives. Friends, this is utterly foolish thinking !!
And I believe many Christians have not been educated enough about the Holy Spirit. They have no concept of what the Christian life would be like, when the love of Christ which passes knowledge (Ephesians 3:19), fills them with all the fullness of God.
God gives His children the power to defeat Satan, and all of his (and the worlds) temptations to sin. The full power of the Holy Spirit with-in the Christian, can overcome fear with a supernatural peace…Philippians 4:6-7… He can turn sadness into joy. He can empower the Christian to accomplish all kinds of things that they could not do in their own strength. Look at this scripture penned by the Apostle Paul, in…Ephesians 3:20… (NKJV)
I have always had a problem speaking in front of a crowd. At my baptism, they say I spoke eloquently for 15 minutes; and to this day, I have no idea what I said. I asked the Lord for help in saying a few words, and the Holy Spirit took over in a way that only the grace of God can explain.
The opening scripture tells us to test the spirits, so that we can detect evil spirits from the Holy Spirit’s urging. This, at least for me, took several years…and it’s still a work in process. For me, an advance in spiritual maturity was only possible, through a combination of 1)…putting on piece by piece the “Whole Armor of God”, that the Apostle Paul writes about from his prison cell in Rome, in…Ephesians 6:10-20…and 2)…through final submission to the Lord, as I finally gave up personal control of my life to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Here is the link for Paul’s writing on God’s armor… http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph6:10-20&version=NKJV God provides this spiritual armor, which we learn about from the Word of God (the sword of the Spirit)…which is the only offensive piece of this 6 piece set of protective armor…Ephesians 6:17b…
God’s Word is truth from start to finish. Paul pens this about God’s armor, in…Ephesians 6:11… Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (NKJV) But as I said before, it is a combination of putting on all of God’s armor every day, and total submission to the Lord…that will have Satan fleeing for an easier target. The Apostle James pens this, in…
James 4:7-8… Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (NKJV)
A pure heart (at least as humanly pure as possible), can only be achieved by the Christian who confesses, repents of, and turns from any and all sins…1 John 1:9… Walking with the Lord as a Spirit filled Christian (Ephesians 5:18-20), will not only help keep Satan at bay…it will provide sweet fellowship with the Lord that will allow the Spirit filled Christian to overcome all of life’s trials, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
God reserves His richest blessings for His obedient children, who diligently seek Him…Hebrews 11:6… But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJV)
Heavenly Father, help all of Your children to see the truth from Your Word today. Help us to understand and then to seek the abundant life (John 10:10) You promise to those who allow the Holy Spirit to control their will and their ways. I pray for this fullness of Christ in all of our lives, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce
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