365 Days of Grace From God's Word

Month: April 2023

Power for Daily Living! 

John 14:25 (NLT) – “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.”

The Bible has many reminders about the presence of God’s Spirit with us.  Considering the vast amount of Biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit, it is a shame that many Christians live life without knowledge of, or a desire for, the Holy Spirit.  In this short passage Jesus tells us why the Holy Spirit is given – to teach and remind us.

I was speaking with a friend recently, and she told me that before she reads her Bible she prays to the Holy Spirit for understanding.  How wonderful!  That is a function of God’s Spirit, to teach us, and to give us understanding.  Paul speaks of this in his letter to the Colossians: “We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9).

Not only will the Holy Spirit give us an understanding of God’s Word, the Spirit will remind us when we are in need of being reminded.  If we stay in God’s Word, and if we seek God’s Spirit, we will recall what we need of God’s Word at the right time.  Think how this could benefit us in our daily lives!  Consider how this would benefit our relationships.

God’s Spirit empowers us for daily living!  Today, let’s seek understanding and guidance from the Holy Spirit. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

God Is With Us

Job 38:1 – Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’ (NLT)

Have you ever questioned God?  I suppose we all have at some point in our lives.  If any of us found ourselves in Job’s shoes, we would probably have some serious questions for God!  While the content of the book of Job could provide weeks of study, this passage can speak to us in our times of questions. 

In this passage God asks us, “Who are we compared to God”, “What are we compared to God?”  Those might seem like harsh questions coming from God, but I prefer to turn those questions around – “Who is God? What is God?”  While we may fall short with the full answer, I believe that this passage tells us that God is infinitely greater than we can think or imagine.  God has ordered all we see of the natural universe, and I’m sure that God has provided order for our lives, as well. 

In our times of questions for God, let us trust that the God who laid the foundations of the earth (verse 4) is aware of us in whatever situation we find ourselves.  God, who has provided for life, provides for us.  Perhaps we find it difficult to see God through our trying times, but God is there. 

Today, let’s note the presence of God amongst us, no matter what life confronts us with. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Right Here and Right Now!

Acts 1:6 – Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (NIV).

Who remembers Harold Camping? He was a radio host who gained notoriety back in 2011 for his incorrect prediction that the rapture would happen on May 21 of that year.  (Spoiler alert – it didn’t!). It seems that whatever a date is predicted, end times teaching always attracts attention! In light of this fact of life, this is a particularly interesting passage.  Perhaps the apostles were not asking about the end of time, but they were asking about future events.  Jesus makes it clear in verse seven that future dates are not for anyone to know.  What I find interesting is the very next verse.  Jesus immediately tells his followers to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then to get to work!  It’s as if Jesus is saying, “Hey, that forget that future stuff, go be a witness right now!” 

Basing a ministry on seeking the dates for something in the future is clearly not being a witness! People will often ask me what I think of certain preachers who focus on ‘the end.’  I honestly can’t give an answer because I don’t listen to any such preachers!  It’s not what Jesus was about and should not be what we are about. 

What are we to be about, then?  Just as Jesus charged his first followers, we are charged to seek the Holy Spirit.  Why? So that we, like them, will get to work!  Being a witness of what we have experienced of Jesus is our work. 

Our spiritual eyes may be fixed upon heaven, but we should not stand around and debate and focus on Jesus’ return, or any future events.  Instead, let us focus on being filled with the Holy Spirit this day, and on being a witness in our communities (Jerusalem), in our nation, (Judea), and throughout the ends of the earth! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Slaves to … ?

Romans 6:12 – Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (NLT)

Have you ever felt as if you were a slave to work?  Maybe you feel that you are a slave to a certain activity, a habit.  The Bible teaches us that we are all slaves!  Each of us is a slave – to something!  Romans 6:16 tells us that we are a slave to whatever we choose to obey.  I would suggest that each of us obeys something, even if it’s our own desires.  So, each of us are a slave.

Being a slave to something is simply part of the human condition.  However, we have the opportunity to choose what it is that enslaves us.  In this passage, Paul tells us in verse 16 that we can choose to be a slave to sin, or God.  Some people do not like this imagery. They feel as if this talk of being a slave is oppressive.  Some translations translate the word in question as servant, hoping to make it less offensive.  The word that Paul uses is δουλόω, which usually referred to someone who had sold themselves into slavery.  Sometimes such people were called bondservants.  Paul often called himself a bondservant to Jesus.  As to offering ourselves into slavery, Paul is correct – we do allow ourselves to be enslaved.  If that is the case, and we will allow ourselves to be enslaved to something, then why not choose God?  

Let’s note two things about this passage.  Verse 22 tells us that being slave of God is being free from the power of sin.  Giving the choice between sin and God, I choose being a slave to God! The second thing to note, choosing to be a slave of God does not earn our salvation, for salvation is a free gift (verse 23).  So, why do we choose to be a slave to God?  We do so because we are human, and we will choose to be a slave to something.  Why not choose that which can empower our lives, strengthen our relationships, and bring us eternal joy!

Posted by Ramón Torres

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