In a previous blog, I talked about the importance of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We are so blessed that God has sent His Spirit to live in us. His ministry is essential in the life of a believer in Christ. Apostle Paul tells us it is a treasure full of valuable resources and blessings. More valuable than silver or gold. 2 Corinthians 4:7 (NKJV)-7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are a vessel, a temple in which God has placed His Spirit within us. No longer would we have to visit a temple or sanctuary to see and experience the Spirit of God. He now dwells in us! How glorious is that! In the book of James, he addressed the Church and exhorted them on the importance of a life that is single-hearted. A life totally devoted to God. An undivided life. In the Old Testament, God had a contention with the Hebrew people being drawn away to other gods. God saw their relationship as a marriage covenant. He accused them of being adulterers, going after other gods. God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) . He wanted their love and devotion for only Him! Hosea 3:1 (TLB)-1 Then the Lord said to me, “Go, and get your wife again and bring her back to you and love her, even though she loves adultery. For the Lord still loves Israel though she has turned to other gods and offered them choice gifts.”
Look at James– James 4:4-5 (NKJV)-4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? Apostle James is addressing the Christian congregation, calling them Adulterers and Adulteresses. Wow, that is heavy! He saw that they were drifting, being pulled away by their love and fondness for the world. Which is speaking of the world’s system. We are in the world but not of it. It involves the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. (1 John 2:15-17). He calls it friendship or association with the world, or the Greek says the Kosmos. 1 John 2:15 (NKJV)-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. Many things indeed steal our attention, our affections, and our hearts away from the one who demands it all. Our cell phones, social media, Facebook, TV, position, power, prestige, and even our jobs and sporting events. “Worldliness is concerned with material values or ordinary life rather than a spiritual existence.” It is not to say that we don’t reach people of the world, bringing them the gospel message. Apostle Paul addresses the Corinthian Church on the importance of who they are in Christ and their relationship with God and the Holy Spirit. Corinthians 6:16-18 (NKJV)-16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them.I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord.Do not touch what is unclean,And I will receive you.”18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”
Apostle James goes on to say how the Holy Spirit feels. “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? First notice, He dwells in us. Has taken up His home in us. He doesn’t visit now and then. He doesn’t leave us when we are bad. He abides in us! He yearns for us. The King James says He lusts for us. It is not a sexual lust but a strong and determined desire. To intensely crave, to dote on someone. Too long after. What a beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit and how He longs to be a part of our everyday life. To be a major player and influencer. He is a daily helper and comforter. The Spirit of Truth! He is the Spirit of ongoing grace, like a river that flows in our lives. Always exalting and testifying of Jesus. He bears witness that we are God’s children. The Holy Spirit has destined us to be conformed to the image of Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us we can grieve the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 (NKJV)-30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. To grieve is to distress, to sadden, to cause heaviness or sorrow. The Holy Spirit has emotions. Every Christian can sense this when they sin or disobey God. When they have a divided heart. When God is not number one in their lives. He will always convict us and remind us of our right standing with God. Jesus describes their hearts this way. Mark 4:18-19 (NKJV)-18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
The Holy Spirit craves a daily relationship with us. An intense desire for more and more of us! This is our choice every day. He does not force it upon us! He is gentle like a dove. He is a jealous lover of our soul. He will always bring us back to a loving relationship with Jesus! It is our Born Again spirit that always wants and desires this relationship. God is Spirit, and we worship Him in Spirit and truth( John 4:24). It is our flesh, our carnality, and our unrenewed mind at times that get us in trouble. Romans 8:5-6 (NKJV)-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, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. May we be captivated by this relationship and not by the world. Colossians 3:1-3 (NKJV) –1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ( Matt. 6:33).
How wonderful to know one like Jesus, the Holy Spirit, who loves us so much that He wants all of us. Behold the manner of the love God has bestowed upon us. 1 John 3:1 (NKJV)-1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. It takes surrender and discipline, not in our strength but His, to keep the main thing the main thing. To stay in the sphere of God’s love. To be devoted to the one that matters most. I have found that praying in the Spirit, continual fellowship with God, Christian fellowship, and studying and meditating in God’s Word keep me close to the heart of God. God wants us to enjoy Him every day. To rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. I like what the Apostle tells the Philippian believers. Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)-12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit takes hold of us, and that is what true love does. He never lets go, even when we go astray. Hear His voice calling us back to a relationship with Him. Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV)-3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. May He lead us out of the wilderness of worldliness, second place, and compromise, and once again captivate our hearts. For He is fiercely protective and passionate! A jealous lover!
In Christ’s Love;
Brent and Linda Bushen
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