Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 4 … There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called …
My Journal for Today: Okay then, let’s begin to get to know God, our Holy Spirit.
You know that there are some who read the Old and New Testaments and somehow get the idea that the character of the Holy Spirit was somehow different under the dispensation of the Old Covenant than in the New. However, in today’s verse (and you can also read so in 1st Cor 12: 11, 13) the Apostle Paul declares strongly the truth that there is only ONE Holy Spirit. And just like the essence of Jesus, as we read in Hebrews 13: 8, the Holy Spirit is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
No matter the false teachings of an open theism or any others who believe that The Holy Spirit is somehow different now than the times of Genesis; God is immutable! The Holy Spirit was, is, and forever will be the ministry agent of the Godhead, ever reaching out to the lost and edifying/empowering God’s only body, His Church. That was true in the Genesis account; … it was true when Paul proclaimed today’s truth to the Ephesians; … and it was true when John wrote of his Revelation. And dear one, it is true today!
Since repetition is the teaching of emphasis, …The Holy Spirit of the Old Testament was/is the same Spirit Paul wrote about to Ephesus and, by extension, to you and me. He is, and will be, the same Spirit written of in the entire body of Scripture, … and the same Spirit Who will bring me – and you if you are in Christ – to completion, as predestined, into the likeness of our Savior. [see Phil. 1: 6]
Therefore, we must not be deceived into thinking that God, in three Persons, is somehow growing or evolving with time. God is God; and therefore, being immutable, His Spirit, Who empowered Moses and raised Jesus from the dead, empowers you and me now and will one day resurrect us into the presence of Jesus in glory. And for that we can – and must – praise and thank our God.
My Prayer Today: I thank you, God, my ever present, immutable Holy Spirit. … Amen
Showing posts with label immutability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immutability. Show all posts
Friday, September 02, 2011
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
February 9, 2011 … God Doesn’t Change
Passage of the Day: Psalm 102: 26 – 27 … 26 They [the created heavens and earth] will perish, but You [God] remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing, You will change them and they will be discarded. 27 But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.
My Journal for Today: If you’ve been reading along with me in my devotional journal entries, this month I’m being led by John Macarthur’s devotional, Strength For Today, in a study trying to get to know our God more intimately. Today’s verse proclaims and exposes God’s character quality of immutability or His unchanging nature. Other passages support this, such as Malachi 3: 6 or James 1: 17 …
SCRIPTURE: Mal. 3: 6 "I, the LORD, do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”
SCRIPTURE: James 1: 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.
Yes, there are some, claiming to be Christian, like the “Open Theists,” who claim that God changes, pointing to passages like Amos 7: 3, 6 or Jonah 3: 10, where God appears to “change His mind.” However, in those instances, God didn’t change. He remained absolutely true to His love, merciful character, allowing His children to live when, in fact, they changed.
Think about it. We could never trust a God Who changed in His character. But we don’t have to worry about that. Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. [see Hebrews 13: 8] When one comes to know God, primarily through the revelation and understanding of His word, that believer knows how God will respond in a certain set of circumstances. God doesn’t lie (see Numbers 23: 19). When God’s word says, “the wages of sin is death,” [see Rom. 6:23] God means it! Count on it! It’s a done deal!
For the unbeliever this means eternal death (again see Romans 6: 23 and also Ezekiel 18: 20]; … for the believer it means eternal life (I’ll bet you know John 3: 16!). And God’s unalterable promises mean that I can (and do) KNOW that God will always supply my needs (see Philippians 4: 19) … that He will always love me in spite of my sinfulness (Jeremiah 31: 3) … that He will always forgive my sins and cleanse me (1st John 1: 9) … that He’ll never forsake me [Hebrews 13: 5] … and I could go on and on and on and on.
So, that’s why we need to get to know our God … really know Him … deeply know Him. We need to get to know His word because it is unchanging truth from an unchanging God. And the more we abide in our immutable God and His unchanging truths, we’ll learn that He will be there with and for us ALWAYS … that He’ll ALWAYS be the same … and we will come to know a God that can be trusted even when the circumstances are not going the way we might like for them to go.
My Prayer Today: Lord, I thank You for Your unchanging promises and Your ever present, immutable Spirit. Amen
My Journal for Today: If you’ve been reading along with me in my devotional journal entries, this month I’m being led by John Macarthur’s devotional, Strength For Today, in a study trying to get to know our God more intimately. Today’s verse proclaims and exposes God’s character quality of immutability or His unchanging nature. Other passages support this, such as Malachi 3: 6 or James 1: 17 …
SCRIPTURE: Mal. 3: 6 "I, the LORD, do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”
SCRIPTURE: James 1: 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.
Yes, there are some, claiming to be Christian, like the “Open Theists,” who claim that God changes, pointing to passages like Amos 7: 3, 6 or Jonah 3: 10, where God appears to “change His mind.” However, in those instances, God didn’t change. He remained absolutely true to His love, merciful character, allowing His children to live when, in fact, they changed.
Think about it. We could never trust a God Who changed in His character. But we don’t have to worry about that. Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. [see Hebrews 13: 8] When one comes to know God, primarily through the revelation and understanding of His word, that believer knows how God will respond in a certain set of circumstances. God doesn’t lie (see Numbers 23: 19). When God’s word says, “the wages of sin is death,” [see Rom. 6:23] God means it! Count on it! It’s a done deal!
For the unbeliever this means eternal death (again see Romans 6: 23 and also Ezekiel 18: 20]; … for the believer it means eternal life (I’ll bet you know John 3: 16!). And God’s unalterable promises mean that I can (and do) KNOW that God will always supply my needs (see Philippians 4: 19) … that He will always love me in spite of my sinfulness (Jeremiah 31: 3) … that He will always forgive my sins and cleanse me (1st John 1: 9) … that He’ll never forsake me [Hebrews 13: 5] … and I could go on and on and on and on.
So, that’s why we need to get to know our God … really know Him … deeply know Him. We need to get to know His word because it is unchanging truth from an unchanging God. And the more we abide in our immutable God and His unchanging truths, we’ll learn that He will be there with and for us ALWAYS … that He’ll ALWAYS be the same … and we will come to know a God that can be trusted even when the circumstances are not going the way we might like for them to go.
My Prayer Today: Lord, I thank You for Your unchanging promises and Your ever present, immutable Spirit. Amen
Monday, August 30, 2010
2010 – August 30 – Faithful as the Rising Sun
Study from God’s Word… Lamentations, Chapters 3 – 5 … Passage for Reflection: Lamentation 3: 22 – 23 … NIV 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
My Journal for Today: Does anyone, besides me, love a beautiful sunrise? Oh, I love a pretty sunset too; but for my own special reasons, wrapped in my desire for constancy, I revel when I see the sun changing colors and showing itself, coming up over the horizon. As I said, I think it tells me that God is going to be with me that day, just as God’s word speaks out in two of my favorite verses in the Old Testament, which are today’s highlight text.
Each day, especially these days, brings forth plenty enough evil or ugliness; and we certainly don’t need to seek it out. It is trumpeted every day by others, by the media, and by our life circumstances. And yes, a lovely sunset is comforting to put a tough day behind us; … but when that sun comes up – and I see it in the morning – it’s like God saying, “Don’t worry; I’m here to be with you all through today.” And when He presents Himself in all the colors of His spectrum, it loudly declares, from God Himself, “I’m in control!”
Yes, my dear one, the truth of Lamentations 3: 22-23, is a testament to God’s constancy, His faithfulness, and His sovereignty. And if you get that truth into your heart, clinging and believing it’s strength, you’ll live with the knowledge that the days of evil are forever wrapped and sandwiched between the bread of life, the sunrises of every morning and the sunsets of every evening. God is faithful; and Dr. Smith in his devotional for today, reminded me of this by referring me to the words of Henry Francis Lyte’s classic hymn … Abide With Me …
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
And when you know that Henry Lyte was dying of TB in 1847, when he wrote this classic lyric, it adds to the poignancy and power of its truth, … that when we abide in the Lord and let Him abide in us, we will experience the beauty of God’s constant sunsets and sunrises in our lives.
My Prayer for Today: O Lord, abide in me! Amen
My Journal for Today: Does anyone, besides me, love a beautiful sunrise? Oh, I love a pretty sunset too; but for my own special reasons, wrapped in my desire for constancy, I revel when I see the sun changing colors and showing itself, coming up over the horizon. As I said, I think it tells me that God is going to be with me that day, just as God’s word speaks out in two of my favorite verses in the Old Testament, which are today’s highlight text.
Each day, especially these days, brings forth plenty enough evil or ugliness; and we certainly don’t need to seek it out. It is trumpeted every day by others, by the media, and by our life circumstances. And yes, a lovely sunset is comforting to put a tough day behind us; … but when that sun comes up – and I see it in the morning – it’s like God saying, “Don’t worry; I’m here to be with you all through today.” And when He presents Himself in all the colors of His spectrum, it loudly declares, from God Himself, “I’m in control!”
Yes, my dear one, the truth of Lamentations 3: 22-23, is a testament to God’s constancy, His faithfulness, and His sovereignty. And if you get that truth into your heart, clinging and believing it’s strength, you’ll live with the knowledge that the days of evil are forever wrapped and sandwiched between the bread of life, the sunrises of every morning and the sunsets of every evening. God is faithful; and Dr. Smith in his devotional for today, reminded me of this by referring me to the words of Henry Francis Lyte’s classic hymn … Abide With Me …
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
And when you know that Henry Lyte was dying of TB in 1847, when he wrote this classic lyric, it adds to the poignancy and power of its truth, … that when we abide in the Lord and let Him abide in us, we will experience the beauty of God’s constant sunsets and sunrises in our lives.
My Prayer for Today: O Lord, abide in me! Amen
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