Living by Faith-- It's a Lifestyle

"Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3)

Times of hardness are inevitable. You need to know that. It's true that we've been redeemed from the curse, and there's nothing Satan can do to reverse that, but he is going to challenge you on it.

So don't be surprised when things get tough. Times will come when you have to stand strictly by faith, when you'll have to speak and act as though what God says is true even when you can't feel it or see it happening around you. There will be times when everything looks terrible. That's when you must endure hardness as a good soldier.

What Does It Mean to Say the Holy Spirit Is "in Me"?

JAH230
Hank Hanegraaff

Over the past several decades, I have been asked the “in” question in a variety of different ways such as: “What does it mean to say God is ‘in’ my life, Jesus is ‘in’ my heart, or the Holy Spirit is ‘in’ me?” Does it mean that everyone simultaneously has a little piece of God in them? Or is the Bible communicating something far more precious?

First, to say that the Holy Spirit is in you is not to point out where the Holy Spirit is physically located, but rather to acknowledge that you have come into an intimate, personal relationship with Him through faith and repentance. As such, the preposition in is not a locational but a relational term. Similarly, when Jesus says, “the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (John 10:38 NIV), He is not speaking of physical location but intimacy of relationship.

Furthermore, to deny that the Holy Spirit is spatially locatable within us is not to deny that He is actively locatable within us, working redemptively to conform us to the image of Christ. Far from detracting from our nearness to the Holy Spirit, the classical Christian view intensifies the intimacy of our relationship to the Creator as well as the benefits of our redemption.

Finally, according to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is not a physical being, thus to ask where the Holy Spirit is, is to confuse categories. Asking spatial questions about a Being who does not have extension in space makes about as much sense as asking what the color blue tastes like. King Solomon reveals the utter futility of believing that the infinite Holy Spirit can be physically contained in any finite space, let alone the human body, when he exclaimed, “Will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27 NIV).²

— Hank Hanegraaff

NOTES

1.        Adapted from Hank Hanegraaff, The Bible Answer Book (Nashville: J. Countryman, 2004).

2.        For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, “The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit,” http://www.equip.org/articles/the-indwelling-of-the-holy-spirit.

This article first appeared in the Ask Hank column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 29, number 4 (2006). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to:http://www.equip.org

gotquestions  http://www.equip.org/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-say-the-holy-spirit-is-in-me-

The Benefit of Wise Decisions : Ruth And Naomi

The Benefit of Wise Decisions - Ruth 1:1-18

INTRODUCTION

Ruth was of the land of Moab but married a Jewish man who was the son of Elimelech and Naomi. Naomi was a lady who suffered a great deal of loss in her life, including her husband and her two sons. After the loss of her sons (the husbands of Ruth and Orpah), Naomi determined to return home to the land of Judah.

Ruth and Orpah had tough choices to make. Should they go with Naomi or remain in Moab? Orpah determined to stay, but Ruth steadfastly determined to go with Naomi. This may have seemed like a strange decision, but read ahead in the Book of Ruth and you will find that it was a wise decision with great benefits.

Ruth finds a home with Naomi (Ruth 1:22), marries a great man named Boaz (Ruth 4:13), and finds herself in the line of King David and the Lord Jesus (Ruth 4:17; Matthew 1:5).

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• (For smaller children) Missionaries leave their friends and family and go far away to tell people about the Lord. This is a hard decision. What good can come from their decision?

• Do you think that Ruth’s decision was easier than Orpah’s? Which one made the right choice?

• What would Ruth have missed had she decided to stay in Moab? Is it possible that you will miss some blessings if you fail to make wise choices?

PRAYER NEEDS

• Ask God to help you see the long term effect of your decisions.

• Pray that He will give you the wisdom to make the right choices, even when they are difficult.

HYMN

Trust and Obey

http://www.learnthebible.org/the-benefit-of-wise-decisions.html