Spirit – Page 4 – Praying Pint

30.v. “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Psalms 120:6  Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.

Romans 12:18    If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

James 3:16-18   For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Romans 14:19    So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Hebrews 12:14   Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

2 Timothy 2:22-24   So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

Galatians 5:22   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

James 1:19-20    Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Ephesians 4:1    I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

“The verse which precedes it speaks of the blessedness of ‘the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ It is well that we should understand this. We are to be ‘first pure, then peaceable.’ Our peaceableness is never to be a compact with sin, or an alliance with that which is evil. We must set our faces like flints against everything which is contrary to God and his holiness. That being in our souls a settled matter, we can go on to peaceableness towards men.” (Spurgeon)

We commonly think of this peacemaking work as being the job of one person who stands between two fighting parties. This may be one way this is fulfilled; but one can also end a conflict and be a peacemaker when they are party to a conflict; when they are the offended or the offender. (Guzik)

We will always have the opportunity to offer peace. It can be an encouragement to be peaceful to someone who has been offended, hurt, chided, etc….. and is not at peace about it. Our encouragement might be to help them see it from another view. It might be to just let them know we understand and encourage them to be peaceable in their situation for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Last year I watched unrestrained riots, looting, and destruction. Those in the leadership of these cities, in the guise of trying to bring peace, tried to defend allowing these actions to go unchecked or stopped. This by all means is not being a peacemaker. It is weakness and cowardly. This same mindset would allow a person to be raped if the offender seemed to have a reason for their offense. Utter foolish thinking and leadership. Being a peacemaker may mean we will have to jump in and restrain during an offense. Protecting the weak or outnumbered or overpowered is also being a peacemaker.

Discernment is critical. When you hear what is proclaimed through social media and other media news outlets on their take on what brings peace, rest assured they are basing it on false worldly ideas that run contrary to Scripture. Peace is never obtained by divisiveness. What they are proclaiming may make worldly sense and may even sound like it could be right. This is why it is critical to have God’s Word in your life, written on your heart, mind, and soul. How else will you be able to discern worldly from godly? When there is no acknowledgment of God, Jesus Christ, and Scripture, people will do what seems right in their own eyes. Be a workman of God who is able to rightly divide the Word of Truth from worldly passions and ideas from what is right and wrong. Peacemakers must be rooted firmly in Jesus Christ, and continually learn more and more understanding and knowledge from God’s Word, with a desire to learn and apply it. Discernment will not come to those who are not seeking it.

30.u. “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 23:25-28    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Psalms 15:2    He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;

Psalms 51:6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Ezekiel 36:25-27   I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

2 Corinthians 7:1  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God

James 3:17    But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

James 4:8   Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

1 Peter 1:22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1 John 3:2-3  Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Purity, inner purity, the image of purity, ceremonial purity have been attempted by many religions in many different ways. Pure of heart in Scripture seems to define it as a single, undivided heart – those who are sincere and not divided in their devotion and commitment to God. It is an inner purity and has external manifestations of the Holy Spirit which is in them. There are pollutants (sin) that pollute the heart. Greed, pride, lust, power, anger, deception, hate, confusion, self-reliance, self-worth, self-deserving, etc….. When these are present and acted upon there is little to no intimacy or relationship with God. A pure at heart person has heard the voice of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and humbly surrendered all of this selfishness, repented, committed, believed, trusted, followed, and obeyed Jesus Christ. The purity of heart comes through this alone and not by external actions, though there certainly are external actions that can be clearly seen in those of a pure heart. Being sensitive to Godly, holy, and heavenly spiritual things requires a heart and soul that is pure to things of God and always voiding the worldly and fleshly desires. If you are not conscious of spiritual things then your heart is focused on something else. The greatest motivator of purity comes from a desire to know and understand the grace, mercy, and love of God so that in all we say, think, and do Jesus Christ is honored and glorified. They want to be pure for His honor and glory, not ours.

30.i. “To make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days”

2 Timothy 3:1 But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

Daniel 10:14    and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

2 Peter 3:3    knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.

Philippians 2:21   For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:29   They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

Proverbs 6:17   haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

1 Timothy 6:4    he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,

Jude 1:19   It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

“We should note what the hardness or danger of this time is in Paul’s view to be, not war, not famine or diseases, nor any of the other calamities or ills that befall the body, but the wicked and depraved ways of men.” (Calvin) We should be able to discern when the last days are; or at least when world conditions are like the Bible described they would be in the last days. Apart from the second Advent of our Lord, the world is more likely to sink into a pandemonium than to rise into a millennium.” (Spurgeon) Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day because they did not or would not understand the meaning of their times: Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3). It is possible that Jesus would have the same rebuke for some Christians today who are unaware of the last days and the soon return of Jesus Christ. (Guzik) People are told to love themselves unconditionally and that such self-love is the foundation for a healthy human personality. We don’t need to be encouraged to love ourselves; we naturally have such a love. Neither should we be taught to hate ourselves. This love of self is the foundation for all the depravity that follows. (Calvin) The moment a man makes his own will the centre of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed, obedience to God and charity to men both become impossible. The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self.” (Barclay) The love of money is nothing new, but today people have the ability to pursue our love of money like never before. Boasting, pride, and blasphemy are nothing new; but today, they seem far more prominent than ever. Today boasting, pride, and blasphemy are apparent everywhere, especially among the celebrities that our cultures idolizes. Men have always told hurtful lies about other men; but today, in media and in politics, slander has been elevated to both big business and big money. In politics, candidates routinely and knowingly distort their opponent’s positions, just to make their competition look bad – and they don’t feel bad at all about the lying if it helps them get elected. In media, editors and news directors serve as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner to innocents who are wrongly suspected – and usually refuse to apologize when they are proven to be wrong. In our self-obsessed world, people feel very free to have a “salad bar” religion – they pick and choose what they want. They feel free to be very “spiritual,” but sense no obligation to be Biblical. People who do the things on this list are not only common today but they are often also our cultural heroes. The simple responsibility of Christians is to turn away not only these attitudes, but also from the people who do these things.

30.g. ” But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

John 14:30   I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,

Hebrews 2:18   For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:15-16   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Psalms 143:10   Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Isaiah 48:16-17    Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

Galatians 5:16    But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

There is no way anyone can fulfill the lust of the flesh as they walk in the Spirit. The two simply don’t go together. The Holy Spirit doesn’t move in us to gratify our fallen desires and passions, but to teach us about Jesus and to guide us in the path of Jesus. This is the key to righteous living – walking in the Spirit, not trying to live with desires for the fleshly and Spirit. We try to do this, don’t we? We have certain areas of fleshly and worldly desires that we secretly tuck away into corners of our minds. We seek to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in what we deem appropriate and do not expose these secret passions, vises, addictions, pleasures, or wants and we can also hide, greed, hate, envy, fear, anger, or pride. We don’t allow the Holy Spirit’s quiet whispers to penetrate our minds in these areas. For some reason, we hang on to them but deny that we are. And then, there is Satan ready to tempt us with the very things we think we have control over. We may say that is just who I am or how I was raised or some other way to justify allowing them space in our lives. There is no middle ground where we can stand firm. There is no possible way to be open to being led by the Holy Spirit and try to keep areas of our lives unyielded to the very leading that will draw us closer to a life that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all we say think and do.

29.m. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you”

Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Romans 6:6   We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

James 4:1   What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

Romans 1:18   For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Ephesians 2:2-3   in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

1 Peter 1:14   As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

“put to death” is very strong and suggests that we are not simply to suppress or control evil acts and attitudes. We are to wipe them out, completely exterminate the old way of life.” (Vaughan) The sins mentioned in Colossians are a minimal list of the way the world lives and not the way Christians should ever live. Every Christian is faced with a question: “Who will I identify with, the world or with Jesus?” Who will you live for, self and its passions or for honoring and glorifying Jesus? Who will your serve, self or Jesus? When our eyes get pulled away from being focused on humbly serving, obeying, following, trusting, and relying on Jesus Christ something else comes into focus. If our hearts and minds had eyes, are they intently looking for more knowledge and understanding and godly wisdom to grow and mature in how we live our lives so that Jesus Christ will be honored and glorified? Paul is saying “put to death” our former earthly, worldly, and fleshly desires and passions. Don’t give them a hidden room in your heart or mind. Don’t give them a place to reside. Baptism symbolizes putting to death such desires and being washed clean of their stain and guilt. Put these desires and passions to death. The problem is that we don’t always put them to death. We may bury them deep but we have not put them to death. Somehow they are able to dig their way back up to the surface of our mind and bring to life these old ways of living. The importance of God’s Word in our lives is very instrumental in how the Holy Spirit will guide us in discerning worldly and fleshly passions and desires in our lives. I wonder if we truly even want to know such things. Do we actually think we can live two separate lives, one serving fleshly and worldly desires and the other living to honor and glorify Jesus Christ? This is not possible. Man cannot serve two masters and yet this is exactly what we try to do all the time. We neglect God’s Word and by doing so we open ourselves up to blindly walking down paths of earthly desires and passions, unable to recognize we are. Putting to death these earthly desires and passions do not mean Satan will not try to resurrect them into our lives. He continually tries. It is only when we are intentionally committed to living to honor and glorify Jesus Christ with heart and mind deep desire to grow in knowledge and understanding of His grace, mercy, and love that we will be guided through life, by the Holy Spirit, and be able to mature in discerning the difference between earthly and godly living.

29.l. “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things”

Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Psalms 16:11   You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalms 73:25-26     Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Hebrews 11:13-16     These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Psalms 119:36-37   Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!  Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

1 Chronicles 22:19     Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.

Romans 8:5    For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

1 John 2:15   Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Luke 12:15    And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

“The believer is to ‘seek the things… above.’ The word ‘seek’ marks aspiration, desire, and passion… In order to seek these things the mind must be set on them.” (Morgan) What is it that captures or tries to capture our minds and ultimately our hearts? A seemingly harmless endeavor turns into a heart and mind-consuming desire and soon it replaces or interferes with devotion, submission, worship, obedience, reliance, and glory to Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us to be steadfast, anchored, and heaven-focused all of the time. It does not specify this for specific days or seasons, it is expected that in a man of God it is all the time, and yet, we find ourselves being consumed by things that are not heavenly or Jesus Christ-honoring. How does this happen? The shallowness of personal commitment to spiritual, heavenly, and things of God will always leave a void in a person’s heart, mind, and soul. This void is filled with something, it is not left void. Worldly and fleshly wants, desires, and temptations abound, and in the absence of desire and seeking of spiritual, heavenly, and Godly things in a person’s life will be consumed by the worldly and fleshly. Far too many think believing in Jesus Christ is nothing more than an insurance policy to keep from going to Hell and their lives are neither committed or their hearts desire focused on things above. Examine yourself and see. Is your hearts desire for spiritual, heavenly, and Godly things?

29.f. ” See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit”

Colossians 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

Romans 11:33    Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

2 Timothy 3:15-17   and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

1 Corinthians 2:6-7   Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.  But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.

Matthew 10:26   “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

Ephesians 3:9    and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,

Colossians 2:8   See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,  and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

For Paul, real riches were found in the believer’s full assurance. Many lack full assurance about the character of God and are unconvinced that He is really good and loving. Others lack full assurance of their salvation and wonder if their Christian life is for real. Great freedom and confidence comes when we come to this full assurance. “You will only find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Jesus. He has them all.” It’s not wrong to seek after wisdom and knowledge; but we must seek it all in Jesus. Real wisdom is not hidden in secret books, but deposited in Jesus Christ so that all can access it. When Paul describes the truth of God with words like riches and treasures, he reminds us that God’s truth is precious and worthy of sacrificial seeking. (Guzik)

It might sound simple, but deceivers are deceivers. They won’t announce their false doctrine as false doctrine, and it will often be similar enough to the truth to be dangerous. Combining The Word of God with worldly knowledge and wisdom will never end well. Dilution of God’s Word will never lead us into deeper understanding, knowledge, and wisdom. On the contrary, it will confuse, weaken, and leave us unsatisfied. We never obtain complete wisdom, knowledge, and understanding but we certainly will grow and mature in it for our entire lives. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, we will mature if we are diligent in our intentional choice to humbly seek, surrender, obey, follow, trust, and rely on and in Jesus Christ, the mystery of God to man.

29.d. “A secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory”

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

1 Corinthians 2:7    But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.

Ephesians 3:3-10   how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.  When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,  which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.  This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Jeremiah 6:10    To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.

Jeremiah 3:15   “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

1 Corinthians 2:6    Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.

In the Biblical sense, a mystery is not a riddle. It is a truth that can only be known by revelation and not by intuition. Now it can be known because it now has been revealed to His saints. There are aspects to God’s plan that were not clearly revealed until Jesus Christ. The mystery of salvation for all who would believe and trust in and rely on Jesus Christ. The mystery of God’s grace, mercy, and love reaching out to all mankind. The mystery of the new birth and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of hope, joy, peace, courage, love, gentleness, kindness, patience, in all things at all times through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts ought to overflow with thankfulness and our lives are lived in such a way that in all things Jesus Christ is honored and glorified.

29.c. “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

1 Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Ephesians 2:1-2   And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience

James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Romans 8:7-8    For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 5:9-10   Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Belonging to the race of Adam, we are born alienated from God. Then as individuals, we each choose to accept and embrace that alienation with our wicked works. God’s answer to the problem of alienation is reconciliation, initiated by His work on the cross (reconciled in the body of His flesh through death). In the work of reconciliation, God didn’t meet us halfway. God meets us all the way and invites us to accept it. This means that in Jesus we are no longer alienated. The difference between a believer and a non-believer isn’t merely forgiveness; there is a complete change of status. The desire to be saved means a desire to be made holy, blameless, and above reproach, not merely a desire to escape the fires of hell on our own terms. There ought to be a transformative change in us. Something that is continually cultivated, nurtured, and persevered in. There ought to be a continual working, a persistence, in our desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all that we say, think, and do. Be steadfast and do not allow any worldly or fleshly desires move your feet down paths where Jesus Christ is not honored or glorified. This transformative life never stops being transformed. We continual to grow in our understanding and knowledge of the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ if that is truly the desire of our heart, mind, and soul.

28.y. “I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.”

Colossians 1:9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light

Psalms 119:99   I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

James 3:17    But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Psalms 143:10    Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Romans 12:2     Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 5:17    Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

1 Peter 4:2    so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

Spiritual ignorance is the constant source of error, instability, and sorrow. (Spurgeon) Our Christian walk is based on our knowledge of God and our understanding of His will. How are we to “bear fruit in every good work”, if we do not have knowledge and understanding in what is honoring, pleasing, and glorifying Jesus Christ? Neglect and complacency fill us with Ignorance and ignorance of knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding voids our lives of purpose, meaning, joy, power, courage, happiness, generosity, hope, and satisfaction. We think the spiritual things of God are for Pastors to understand and know and try to educate us in God’s will and purpose. Don’t misunderstand me. Pastors can and do dive deep into spiritual things of God as they are led, fed, and grow in this understanding given to them by God. The problem is with us. We leave the diving deep into God’s Word to them and expect our lives to have growth, meaning, purpose and bear the fruit of good works by nibbling on the breads crumbs of their prayerful study. We leave church with a crumb worth of knowledge and even less understanding, Sunday after Sunday, convincing ourselves we are good and pleasing to God. There is a feast before us in God’s Word. Why would we choose to eat left over crumbs and lead spiritually starved lives? We seem to think being in spiritual starvation is natural. If we had two mirrors, one worldly and one spiritually, would we see an overweight obese worldly person in the worldly mirror and a malnutrition, underweight, and starved reflection in the spiritual mirror?

How we choose to spend out time reflects our spiritual growth, maturity, knowledge, and understanding. We get to choose to eat and drink from the bountiful spiritual feast found in God’s Word. When we seek and desire to eat from it, grow from it, get fulfilled from it, and be satisfied from it, we will begin to grow in spiritual knowledge and understanding, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, bearing fruit in good works, and honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.