Worried? That Gives You Nothing

Jesus engaged us to think, asking:
“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

This is a wonderful Word of God. A Word often quoted, yet rarely applied.  Anxious is to be nervous, worried, concerned, uneasy, … the opposite of clam, the peace God gives us.

 

We don't seem to know how to fully live in Biblical humility (complete reliance on God) and surrender.  Nor do we “receive” into our very being the fullness of assurance in the blessed hope, verses such as Jerimiah 29:11, the power of prayer—God’s promise that it is answered, the exercise of prayer, and indeed the focus to pray at an intense level in the Spirit.  And, lastly, we believe that we’re to have a faith for salvation in a simplistic form as a child would; but, we can’t do so with all of the before mentioned empowerment that comes with salvation.  Receive the blessing, not things; receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit who seals us into salvation and hope—removing anxiety and our self-reliance. 

Uptight, worried?  Jesus reminds us:
that isn’t going to do you any good.

Through the Cross,

Owen <><

How or what do you do to live the good life?

The Bible says we in Christ are to reveal the Spirit of God’s fruit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). 
How do you accomplish that?  You can't, God’s Spirit can.  

Being open to the Spirit’s leading is how it happens in life.  It is can happen when you enjoy a sunrise, pray, read the Bible, see people’s spiritual need; in moments you’re alone or with others.  When the Spirit of God bears his “fruit,” those who are nourished can rise up and walk in Him.

Through Christ we have eternal life and His Spirit in us; we then, are to live a life—a walk—in the Spirit’s fruit; as Paul said, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25 ESV). 

Walking in the Spirit,

Owen 

 

Read:  Galatians 5:22-25

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (ESV)

My Prayer, By His Power

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

I have no might or power, only my Lord's Holy Spirit can manifest a good work, indeed bring a miracle to pass.  … … I can never again pray for help, to ask God to empower me, and never can I ask to help accomplish Christ’s work.

I can only pray with a surrendered will and life to my Lord, in hope that he will use me as an open conduit, through which His Holy Spirit’s power accomplishes the will of my Father.

So, I pray, “Not I, not by what my will desires, but in the will and by the power of the Lord God Almighty’s Spirit may God’s will be manifest. In the Name above all names, Jesus Christ, so be it, Amen and Amen.” 

“Father, … yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

In Christ alone, a conduit of His Spirit,
Owen <><