Welcome! The purpose of this blog is to encourage followers of Jesus Christ to have daily time in which they intimately connect with the Lord Jesus. It includes an aspect of praise to God, some of how I sense the Lord speaking to me, and then a topic for prayer. My hope is that this blog will help you in three ways;

1. A balanced spiritual diet of Scripture reading - Using the lectionary readings for the day, this will give you a balance of passages from the Psalms, the Old Testament, the New Testament Epistles and the Gospels.Don't feel obliged to read all the passages ... unless you have the time and the inclination!

2. An example of Spiritual Journaling - I have committed to write this daily post, not for teaching purposes but as my daily spiritual journal, sharing what I hear from the Lord and how I experience Him with me each day.

3. An online discipler – One of the reasons that so many Christians do not have daily devotion is because they do not have a discipler. A discipler can help them build up this basic element of discipleship when they first become Christians. The best way for you is to have a discipler to walk with you for a certain period of time so that daily devotion become a good habit. Or, you may have a group of 2 or 3 people to encourage and be accountable to each other so that you won’t stop your daily devotion. I offer myself as your online disciple to walk with you daily to enrich your spiritual journey, trusting that you will in time, offer yourself to others.

So let us start this journey with Jesus our Lord . . . click here for today's readings

Friday, April 16, 2010

When it's better for Jesus to leave

Praise: God my Shepherd. "I bless Your name and praise You as my Jehovah-Rohi (the Lord my Shepherd), who will shepherd me and guide me in the paths of righteousness for Your name's sake." (Psalm 23:1-3)

Scripture: "it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7) There came a time in the growth and development of Jesus' disciples, when it was becoming detrimental for Jesus to stay around. Jesus (of Nazareth), though the Son of God, was not going to be as effective in their lives as the Spirit (of Christ) would be. It was only to be after his departure that Jesus was going to be able to send the Holy Spirit upon his followers. Yet in doing this, God was depositing in their lives something of immense worth and power - his Spirit, his very presence. They were going to do even greater things than Jesus because of the indwelling Spirit in each one of them. The Spirit (of Christ) was better for them than Jesus (the Christ).

Why was this? I think, in part, it was because Jesus of Nazareth was just that, a man from Nazareth. Still God, put limited by his human frame and his choice to 'empty himself'. Jesus was teaching them how to depend not upon the man who had walked with them at times, but upon his Holy Spirit who would dwell within them at all times, 'Christ in you, the hope of glory'.

Still today we need to keep learning this lesson and growing into those who would learn to live by the Spirit. Yet we have a strong tendency to look to other men or women whom we think have been given something we don't have. We look to human personalities and even depend upon them because that is what our culture (church and secular) often promotes. But this is not good for us, nor does it facilitate our growth. What does that, is the working of the Spirit of Christ within us and our learning to listen to and relate to him. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and it is at work within YOU! Maybe it is time to release the place some people or person has in your life and yield to the leading and empowering of the Spirit within.

Prayer: Pray that we are giving birth to a new and living hope within our communities that is an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Pray that as we hope in God, our strength will be renewed, we will soar with wings like eagles; we will run and not grow weary, walk and not faint. Proclaim our hope in God alone!
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