You and I are made of flesh and bone. The battle between our flesh and our spirit is constant. Jesus purchased new life for us to live. Living that new, regenerated, liberated life comes as we live in a still fallen world will come as a challenge to us. Because of the flesh and the consequences of sin all around us, we can sometimes react in the strength of our flesh rather than the strength of the power of God in us. The flesh is weak. The only way to live in the victory of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is to submit to the power of The Holy Spirit in us. In order to receive His STRENGTH and POWER over sin, we must be WEAK!

Life is so so complicated. Especially these days. Technology was supposed to bring us more time and resources for relaxation and relationships. It’s almost like the opposite has happened. People are going in more directions than ever. It could be argued that we live in a culture that makes living a Christian life more difficult than any other in human history. But that’s a lie. The Gospel isn’t defined by the circumstances of the culture it lives in. We just need to see the truth of what Jesus says about what we can ask Him for, how He will respond when we do, and what we can do in response to that. The power of Holy Spirit dwelling in us is literally the only way that can be consistent! The Christian life isn’t a matter of balance. It’s a matter of harmony.

Conflict in your soul is not all bad. Even though we long for the day when our flesh will be utterly defunct and only pure and loving desires will fill our hearts, yet there is something worse than the war within between flesh and Spirit; namely, no war within because the flesh controls the citadel and all the outposts. Praise God for the war within! Serenity in sin is death. The Spirit has landed to do battle with the flesh. So take heart if your soul feels like a battlefield at times. The sign of whether you are indwelt by the Spirit is not that you have no bad desires, but that you are at war with them!

The gospel is a way. It’s not an event. Jesus’ work on the cross doesn’t just save us. It calls us to a deep level of self denial as The Holy Spirit works the new identity of the new man into us. That work conforms us into God’s image. If there’s no change in our lives, if there is no change in the way we act and respond to the world, we will look no different than the world. We never really “arrive” to a level of sanctification that is complete until we leave this mortal world behind. Perfection in the flesh is far off. We need to be in a constant state of change.

The weather changes, the seasons change and difficult situations arise when you’re on a long journey. It’s His success on the cross that saves us, so it is with His mission. When we join Jesus on His mission, we must rely on His success, not our own. What will you do when the storm hits? Will you stay aboard and ride it out? EVEN if the result is your safety through… SHIPWRECK

There’s an interesting point that can be drawn by Paul’s life and missionary journeys. At each turn, God is dealing directly with Paul to guide him to where he would go to saturate the region with the gospel. That didn’t mean that Paul had “traveling mercies”. Paul suffered unbelievable pain. Physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological pain. But That didn’t stop him. It didn’t limit God’s power either. God’s mission will not fail. When The Holy Spirit fills and controls us, He also empowers us and encourages us to get through anything to accomplish God’s will. The Holy Spirit gives us GRIT to join Jesus on His mission.

In Matthew 28:19: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations….” The word “nations” is the Greek word ethnos. It is where we get the word ethnic. In Greek, this word always describes Gentile nations. However, it doesn’t just refer to nations that are geographically located distant from us; it also expresses the idea of different customs, cultures, and civilizations. This unquestionably means the Gospel is to be taken to people from every culture, custom, civilization, race, and ethnicity in the world.

The early church was growing so so fast! It was a mess. Everybody was a new believer. The apostles sought God for an answer to the “rumblings” of the people. Like Moses of old, they consulted with God. But now, the Spirit of God was in all of them. That power led them ALL to hear from God as to how to move forward. What was the result? The Church continued on Jesus’ mission to “seek and save the lost” as the number of new believers “greatly increased” in Jerusalem!

Just like he said, “It is finished” on the cross, Jesus will say it at the very end, when sin and death are destroyed forever. Death was not the end for Jesus and it is not the end for us either! We get to dwell with God forever because we belong to Him and have been transformed into his likeness. Sin will have no threat and death will not be a cause for fear. Jesus had to sacrifice what was precious in order to give us an eternal home. We start to see a picture of heaven on earth when we give up what is “precious” for his glory.

The book of Revelation can be quite tricky to navigate. Today as we look at Jesus's words in verses 18 through 29 we can easily see first off how easy it is to forget about or move on from our first love. It is shown here that there is actually a danger in looking past the simple wonderful glorious powerful love of God. Looking for"Deeper truths "can lead us past the simple truths. This passage reminds us that we must HOLD ONTO the simple foundation of our faith.