Tag: Time of need

30.g. ” But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

 

Matthew 4:1  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

 John 14:30   I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,

 Hebrews 2:18   For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

 Hebrews 4:15-16   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 Psalms 143:10   Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

 Isaiah 48:16-17    Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

 Galatians 5:16    But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

There is no way anyone can fulfill the lust of the flesh as they walk in the Spirit. The two simply don’t go together. The Holy Spirit doesn’t move in us to gratify our fallen desires and passions, but to teach us about Jesus and to guide us in the path of Jesus. This is the key to righteous living – walking in the Spirit, not trying to live with desires for the fleshly and Spirit.  We try to do this, don’t we?  We have certain areas of fleshly and worldly desires that we secretly tuck away into corners of our minds.  We seek to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in what we deem appropriate and do not expose these secret passions, vises, addictions, pleasures, or wants and we can also hide, greed, hate, envy, fear, anger, or pride.  We don’t allow the Holy Spirit’s quiet whispers to penetrate our minds in these areas.  For some reason, we hang on to them but deny that we are. And then, there is Satan ready to tempt us with the very things we think we have control over. We may say that is just who I am or how I was raised or some other way to justify allowing them space in our lives.  There is no middle ground where we can stand firm. There is no possible way to be open to being led by the Holy Spirit and try to keep areas of our lives unyielded to the very leading that will draw us closer to a life that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all we say think and do.  

Thankful Worship

“choose this day whom you will serve”

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”

” Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

Psalms 5:7
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Joshua 24:15
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Psalms 55:16
But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.

Psalms 130:4
But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Acts 9:31
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Hebrews 12:28
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

1 Peter 1:17
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Psalms 132:7
 “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Choose this day whom you will serve, worship, honor and glorify.  This was spoken by Joshua near the end of his life as another reminder to those he was leading.  David said I will call on the Lord who will save me. And because he knew this and believed it he said Lets go to His dwelling place and worship Him.  These are summed up by the writer of Hebrews in Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  How hard is it to stay near God?  What is His grace and mercy like to you?  What does it mean to worship Him?  How do I know if I am worshiping Him?  We must recognize that we by nature want to be separated from God and we must choose to draw near and stay near to Him.  This is a choice all day, every day.    When we make this choice we find or see more and more blessings from the hand of God and we are able to acknowledge and thank/worship Him. It is hard to stay near to Him without being in His word.  It is hard to find someone you are not looking for.  It is hard to thank/worship one you do not acknowledge.