A Gentle Spirit
.
Pastor Jeanne Stewart, Oklahoma
Behold
“Behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the
children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know
Him.” (1 John 3:1 NKJV)
A prayerful pursuit for God is the
pathway to contentment. Discovering God’s will and His ways through daily
communion with Him in His word, we receive fresh, daily anointing to achieve
His purpose for living on earth before going home to heaven’s wonders.
Let us look at what His word is
showing us to BEHOLD:
Strong’s #1492 – to know – be aware –
understand
God Bestows Adoption
Papers of Love ~
Do you realize God adopts all of us
when we acknowledge and ask His Son Jesus into our hearts? In repentance and
confession of our sin we call Jesus Lord of our lives. Forgiveness then comes
with His conversion of our sinful nature in exchange for His righteous nature.
Adoption papers are then written and registered in heaven by divine scribes. (Now there’s a delightful and rewarding job)
After our redeemed names are
written into a book called, “The Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27b) and God becomes our
heavenly Father and we become His children, our daily journey of learning to
walk in His grace begins. We are re-birthed into God’s Kingdom family as He
bestows His love on us through adoption, being chosen to carry His name.
Walking as Children of
God ~
Disrespectful humanity views pleasure
differently than the followers of Christ whose joy is full (John 15:11) in Jesus. The ungodly sin nature from
Adam’s transgression grounds itself on a foundation of self-righteous thinking.
It is this same spirit of self-centeredness that rebels against the
righteousness of God, its Creator.
In
Jesus there is no sin (1 John 3:5) for transgression is the spirit of
self-interest and disobedience against God’s commands.
Somewhere in the intensity of our
heart’s avenues, we trust in our Creator’s righteousness and overcome our own
self-righteousness. Within this course we then must obey the walk along His
pathway while becoming children of God. Many times we must walk by faith and
exist only in hope, to wait with patience.
Most needful is our surrender of self
in learning this earnest desire intended to reveal our Redeemer’s purpose
before we may move on in His design for our lives. We are made and transformed
into the same image as our view of Him. Jesus can only manifest His likeness
within our hearts as we surrender to His truth and then trust Him.
The World Can Not Understand
~
Do not be surprised if the world hates
you. If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have
passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. We know what
real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up
our wants for our brothers and sisters. Let us not merely say that we love each
other; let us show the genuineness by our actions. Our actions will show we
belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if
we feel guilty, God is greater than our way of thinking, and He knows
everything. (See 1 John 3:13-20)
Heaven is our eternal home. We are
only passing through this earthly pilgrimage that prepares us for heaven’s
glory. The foundation of our home rests upon Jesus, God’s Son; and He abides in
heaven on the right hand of our Father God. “We
are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us.
But by this we know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6)
We should be cautious regarding groups
or individuals who claim a Christian foundation, yet fail to give place to the
Lordship of Jesus Himself. Light and darkness do not mix, for the Light of
Christ’s truth disperses the darkness.
Looking Like the Image
of Christ ~
Do you know we are to practice righteousness? “He who practices righteousness is
righteous, just as He is righteous.” (1 John 3:7 NKJV)
Just what does the word practice mean?
Dictionary meaning of PRACTICE:
Webster’s
– custom – actual
performance – repeated exercise – perform habitually or repeatedly
The KJV word for practice is DOETH:
Strong’s #4160 – to make or do – abides
– exercise – perform
To emulate Christ, we must allow His
image of mercy and grace to come forth so that our hearts beat as His heart
beats within us. For His dwelling place in us is contained within that
righteousness. So let us understand that virtue manifests itself in behavior, our righteous behavior. We change into
His likeness one day at a time as we come before His throne humbled in prayer.
We must be ready to learn His words of truth as we listen and allow the Holy
Spirit to reveal the ‘line upon line and
precept upon precept’ of the
Word.
Ending
Prayer ~
I am so amazed, Father
God, at how you take my life and change me into the image of Christ through
your loving ways of discipline. It is so much more than I deserve. This life
that was once lost in selfishness and sin is now planted in You. I am now on a
path focused on Jesus transforming my soul and my mind with the power of new
hope that soon we will live together in heaven’s glory as I worship You and
practice Your righteousness. I will behold in Your rest and Your love for me, a
new place of praise. Amen ~
