Everybody knows...

Everybody knows that it is wrong to do certain things and that we are obliged to do certain other things.  It's wrong to steal, and you should give up your seat to pregnant or older women. It's wrong to lie, to commit adultery, and so forth. Our conscience informs us of these things and more.

 

Not everyone wants to obey their conscience though.  Some would rather ignore it and enjoy the pleasures of their actions.  I hope you want to obey your conscience, and a step further I hope you want to shape your conscience by reading what God considers as right and good.

 

So far, we haven't hit the spiritual mark yet.  You don't have to be spiritual to know right from wrong, and you don't have to be spiritual to want to do right.  It does help though...

 

You know that you have the Spirit at work in you when you find yourself growing in your ability to do what you want, when what you want is what is good.

 

A caution though, being able to do right (on its own) is not necessarily spiritual.  You can do things without the right attitude and foundation. Your good deeds should stem from love and grattitude for God who has saved you from your sin, Jesus taking the punishment you deserve.

 

Welcome to the new look

And welcome to the new web address: www.SeeTheSpirit.org

 I hope you like the new look.  It is meant to be plain and simple with a focus on the text - just as our focus on God's word should never be interfered with by the many additional extras that can become so distracting.

 

Your comments, sharing, and feedback are most welcome. 

 

Here are some of the favourite posts from the previous incarnation:

Where is the Spirit? (the very first post)

In marriage

When you don't feel saved

Mistakes

Obeting God (for an entire life!)

The personality excuse

Meekness

 

And if you still want more, check out the entirety of the archives. Happy reading, and if you think this website is of value then please share! Thank you muchly.

 

Sam

 

Striving

Not succeeding, not failing to try at all though. Somewhere in the middle, but certainly not a feeble attempt.

 

Being a Christian, having the Spirit at work in you, doesn't automatically guarantee success at everything you try. You might fail to put off temptation one time, you might fail to see what is the right judgment when your kids misbehave, you will certainly get it wrong some time where your spouse is concerned!

 

Failure is not an excuse to give up. Sadly, some will. But others will endure to the end and receive the reward. How we continue to strive in one thing, not to be quick-tempered for example, parallels how we continue to strive for perfection in the rest of our lives.

 

Keep trying your best, trust God for your shortcomings, and to complete you at Jesus' return.  At this time, the fruit of our feeble but valiant strivings will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye, and we will rejoice forevermore in the presence of the Lord.

 

But for the grace of God, that would be me

What is your response to seeing the great evil and wickedness of the world.  When it wears you down and you struggle to find the energy to do what is right.  But right you do, and you can't help but get frustrated at the way everyone around you behaves...

 

Your response could be to forget that this would be you unless God intervened and lifted you out of the pit.  This then leads to prideful boasting, as if you somehow had something to do with your own salvation!

 

You, who were blind to spiritual truth, how did you see for the first time unless you were healed miraculously?  Just remember that God had no good reason to save someone as sinful as you, and if it weren't for His unmerited favour and mercy, He might just have let you descend and decay into worse evil than that around you which pains you so.

 

Thank God for saving you!  Praise His glorious name and speak of His glory with much gratitude to those who frustrate you.  And pray that you would keep the humble perspective when you grow weary of this world, and pray for Jesus to come quickly.

 

 

Authority and qualifications in an argument

You're having a debate over a matter of scriptural interpretation.  Does water baptism save or is it merely something that comes as evidence of faith in Jesus?  Your opponent begins to list his or her qualifications that give authority to their argument.  What do you do?

Every man or woman must have their own personal faith before God.  That means everyone must make up their own mind in the end.  Does that mean you should listen to someone with more authority, believing their position because they are more qualified than you?

Part of being human is being fallen.  Everyone is capable of mistakes.  However, qualifications should give you pause before you reject what the qualified person has said.  

The best qualification is not a degree, or a piece of paper with an amazing seal on it.  The best qualification comes from wrestling with the issues prayerfully, and following the truth where it leads: learning to listen to your conscience, your intuition, and those who are closest to you... and when to reject those same things as being misinformed.

The spiritual person exercises their discerning with care, and understands where they are weak.  The spiritual person seeks wisdom from God because they know there is danger in folly.

 

Do you fear losing something or someone?

What if it is God's purpose that you are to lose everything?  Your comforts in life, the people that you love, your health?

 

Sometimes emotions can't be helped, but at least you can sort out your mind when you have a fear.

 

If it is God's purpose for something to happen, it will happen.  Nothing can stop it.  But if you are His, He will give you the strength to survive and to make it through, either by overcoming or by enduring until the end.

 

Once you have accepted that God really is in control, and that if He wills bad things to happen they will happen, then you can get on with shaping your life with this in mind.  What decisions would be different?  Would you anticipate material acquisitions so keenly, or their loss? Would your focus be on more immaterial, eternal, and spiritual things?

 

If you are not living with your own immanent end in mind, then you will not live as you should.  Jesus could come back at any moment or you could be taken at any moment.  

 

Some might think "at least I won't have to apologise to so-and-so" but really you should be thinking "I should go and apologise as quick as I can, and what is the point in getting upset about this again when I'm going to live for eternity in the joy of the Lord".

 

The balance: should you stop planning for tomorrow?  No way!  Just as God might take your life tomorrow, He might decide that you should stay another 20 years or more! But the length of your life, or the amount of time of possessions (or dear friends/loved ones) in your hand, shouldn't change your attitude.

Is a spiritual person allowed to have fun?

A better way of asking:  Can it be spiritual to have fun? 

 

It can definitely be a bad thing to have fun, if what excites you is perverted or evil.

 

God gave us joy, and children who learn through playing, and various social connections to enjoy.  So yes, I think God wants us to have fun, in a full sense.  Not in an empty, mindless entertainment, sense.

 

The caution is still entertainment.  Do you love God with your entire mind?  What happens inside your head when you watch a movie, or that favourite TV show, or when you spend time on your hobbies.  Those things may, or may not, be good or bad, but if you fail to consider your saviour during the distraction, then your use of them is bad.

 

Fun must be centered in God, and He must be thanked for every moment of joy that He grants us.  And He grants us much.  Chiefly in, and through, His son Jesus.