abides

February 11, 2020

“And He In Us”

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. – 1 John 4:13 NLT

1 John 4:13-17 NLT

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He told His disciples and us that He would send us a Comforter and that Comforter would teach us everything.

25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.—John 14:25,26 (NLT)

 ​The Holy Spirit abides in us and His job is to teach us everything, including how to love God and how to love others. The English language does not have words for different kinds of love. In the Greek, there are at least 6 words for love, Let’s look at four of those. We have philos or phileo (brotherly, friendly love), storge (natural or love for family) eros (sexual) love. These three can be accomplished to a degree in the natural and involve both parties loving and giving. The fourth word is agape (unconditional) love. This is the love that comes only from God, It is the love that only the Spirit can teach us. It is unilateral love, God loves us whether we return that love or not. The flesh can not love in that respect. This is the love that we are to be striving to show to others. But, as Paul said, we “must strive toward the mark”. We must keep practicing loving without expecting anything in return.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-11-2020

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August 21, 2019

“It Is Not Beyond Your Reach”

11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.— Deut. 30:11 NLT


Deut 30:11-14 NLT


This was the message that God gave to Moses to give to the children of Israel. Time and again, God would give them this message. Time and again, God changed the hearts of His people. They would disobey and go astray. Being a just God, He was required to discipline them. They would repent and turn back to Him and He would soften their hearts and accept their offerings again. That was the Old Testament. Then Jesus died on the cross for our sins and established a new and better covenant.  Now, Jesus says the whole law hinged on two commandments. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.  Two commandments that are certainly not hard to understand, but God knew we would fail, so He sent us a Helper, His Holy Spirit.  Now, He is closer to us than He has ever been.  We don’t need to look for Him anywhere because He abides in us and is all around us. Or as St. Patrick said: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left.”.  There is no need for us to go anywhere or search anywhere because He abides in us and leads us into all truth.  Two commandments, easy to understand, but not so easy to follow on a daily basis.

John 14:15-21 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 08-21-2019

December 20, 2016

To God Be the Glory!

even-smaller-bug-light1

21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. — Ephesians 1:21
Ephesians 1:18-23 NLT

As God continues to reveal His plan on His own timetable, we see the part that Jesus has played and is playing still. It was always the plan that Jesus would be the Lord of Lords with power and authority over everyone and everything. God has done this for the benefit of the Church. The Church is to carry on God’s work from the time of the Ascension until Jesus returns. The Church is the body of Christ. Christ is the Head of the Church and without Him, the Church has no power or authority. His shed blood is the lifeblood of His Church and His Holy Spirit is the one that leads us into all truth. We are nothing without Him, but because He abides in us, we have access to the same power that raised Jesus from the tomb. To God be the glory, power, and honor for now and forevermore!!


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 12-20-2016