Skip to main content

Interactions With the Living Christ

1 Corinthians 3:7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

I love when Paul is so blatantly honest with people.  His words here are my exact sentiment today.  We often times want to give accolades to the the pastor in the pulpit, or the evangelist on television, or the musician in the worship team, or the pastor's wife in the front row. ;-)  Here's the deal, God is the only one who receives glory for the work accomplished in man.  Yes, we play a part in the beginning of the journey by sharing Jesus and digging into the Word with someone, but ultimately it is God who changes the hearts of people.  God is who does the good through us.  Any good we do that seeks praise from another is an act of the flesh and Paul warned us of this in Romans.  When we live by the Spirit, the good we do just oozes from our souls and nothing is needed in return.  We become people who are about others.  Selfishness does not exist when we live by the Spirit.  I'm continually checking my motives to be sure I am living in the Spirit and not of my own good deeds.  God grows me deeper…not my family, nor my church, nor my own study.  Depth of Spirit in the soul comes from my interactions with the living Christ.  Meet Him today!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Signs of His Work

Joshua 4:6 to serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' I realize this is a very fragmented verse, but go with it.  This got me to thinking.  What are the stones in my life that serve as signs of God's work in my life?  I am not a big fan of material items because I don't really care about stuff.  It's just that, stuff.  So, I've had to think a little harder about this.  The obvious sign of God's current work is the tennis bracelet I wear in memory of Mom.  Other obvious signs that might include my Bible, Dalton's grandmother's wedding ring, and my wedding ring.  However, if I think of the things in my life that are the most evident of God's work, it would be the stories of the different journeys God and I have been on together.  The story of how I got my current job and the multitude of "God things" that surrounded that moment.  The story of a college friend telling me, "...

Channels Only

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. Our treasure is the Spirit of God and the jar of clay is our earthly body.  In this section of scripture Paul is explaining to the people of Corinth that they are a channel for God to shine through and that through Jesus we will never be separated from God again.  At the hospice house, Liz, my sister, sat down and played Channels Only on the piano.  This is a song that has deep and lasting meaning for my family, but today I instantly thought of my mother lying in the bed in the next room and felt the truth in the words of that song.  Tears began to stream as I recognized to the fullest extent what it means to be a channel for God.  It is my prayer. Channels Only by Mary E. Maxwell How I praise Thee, precious Savior, That Thy love laid hold of me; Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me  That I might Thy channel be. ...

Freedom Reigns

Genesis 3:8 The the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. The captivity of Satan in this moment really struck me today.  After eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve become captives of Satan.  They lose focus on God and His providence and begin to take over their own lives, right then and there.  Their peace is completely taken from them.  When God comes to the garden, they hide themselves from Him, not because they are naked, they've covered themselves, but because they are captives.  They cannot even begin to think about being in the presence of God because they have been bound by the evil one.  Thankfully, the story of humanity doesn't end there.  When Jesus comes, He sets mankind free from Satan's captivity.  When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior allowing Him to heal our wounds, we b...