Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Spiritual VS Physical

Spiritual VS Physical 
by David Brenneman 

"but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”" 1 Corinthians 2:9.

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was." James 1:22-25.

"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:23‭-‬24.
A world molded to our image of it, that meets with our complete satisfaction, is a very dangerous place to live. 

As Alistair Begg often leans towards...a hymn comes to mind. 

In 1917 Thomas O Chisholm wrote "Living for Jesus".  It's words are a very strong reminder of the word of God and its rightful impact on our lives. 

"Living for Jesus, a life that is true,Striving to please Him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me.

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me. I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne; My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone."

Our eyes will deceive us, mine certainly has me in my short life here on Earth.  

We can as easily be mislead as the children of Israel, as King David, King Solomon, Simon Peter, as any we can read of in the Bible. 

When we're not keeping our Spiritual eyes open, we're going to trip n fall.  We will not be where we need to be posture wise in the battle that is before us.  The temptation to relax and take it easy will be there.  We will not put the needs of other above ourselves.  The Spirit teaches to prefer one another above ourselves. 

What we do in life for Christ is what will matter when we face Him to give an account of our lives. It's not going to at all be about the physical accomplishments. It will indeed be about the deeds done in our bodies for Jesus.  The lives we helped find Him again.  Those lives we had a hand in turning back to Jesus. Those lives we introduced to Jesus for salvation.  

Are the things of God important to you? 

Is living for Jesus what you're doing?  You do realize that outside of growing in Christ, that's the true purpose of you still being here after coming to Christ for salvation? 

Living in obedience. When we get hit, knocked down, we get back up again, pressing on to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Sin is going to land some uppercuts, some hits to the gut. Going to land some punches to the head.  We cannot afford to not be prepared. 

Living for Jesus means His will being done on Earth as it is in Heaven for you.  Not necessarily you getting what you want, when you want it.  We're to be listener's first, doer's second.  

It's harder some days than others.  Sure is for me.  Some days, most days, the only person who knows my pains, my depression, my anxieties, is my Savior.  Mainly because I often don't have words enough for whatever is going on in my head and heart.  The physical world tries to demand much. It tries to take ground away that I've earmarked for time with Jesus.  It's been both a good and different kind of world in a new city for me.  It's also been met with profound disappointment in some areas.  Renewed friendships didn't happen.  A close friend that I did have from where we left have gone on to be with Jesus.  Starting over in social situations is extremely difficult for me.  In many places I am back to being misunderstood because people don't know me well enough.  But these things are what the eye sees.  Spiritually I am working towards whatever the Spirit wants of me.  My wants aren't particularly paramount.  My desires need to take a back seat.  

Would those in your life describe you as living for Jesus?  Are you more concerned about personal comfort than what the Spirit is wanting to teach you? 

It's very interesting to start a repetitive reading of the book of Proverbs. A chapter a day then start over after it's finished.  The more I do the more sinks in.  What a concept. 

We are always in danger of doing what is right in our own eyes.

We are always in danger of crafting a different cross to carry of our own rather than the one we should be carrying as Jesus said.  We aren't to pursue self before pursuing what God wants of us, in us.  Paul refused to do anything that would cause another to stumble. It's often difficult to have that kind of mindset.  We want to put self preservation first.  The Bible says that He emptied Himself. Jesus put the will of the Father as the only important thing in His life.  A no restrictions obedience to the Father’s will.  Seeing the Spiritual impact as outweighing the physical world around Him. 

In the hymn "Jesus Paid it All" we see the following: 

"I hear the Savior say, "Thy strength indeed is small, Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.""

Ask the Spirit to open up your Spiritual eyes.  Ask Jesus to show you what is really important. The interesting thing is when we are where we're supposed to be in Christ, at the center of God's will for us, strivings cease to be troublesome. Struggles are extremely small in light of eternity.  

God will never point any Believer towards doing, saying or thinking things that are against His will for any who are in Christ Jesus.  We will never be directed towards breaking up families or marriages. Will not be directed towards sinful activities.  We will not be disappointed in trusting in Him as our all in all. 

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me. I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne; My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone."


All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. Lockman Foundation.

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