Word for Today, Fri, 19 Mar 2004: Turning Points: Strength Training
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Today's message is about becoming strong in the Holy Spirit.
Note that I did not simply say growing strong, building muscle
tone, or building inner strength. Those are things we can do,
but I'm talking about giving up my own strength of will and
gaining a much greater force - the power of God's Spirit, alive
and at work in my life.
I really have to question just how many people live in the power
of God's Spirit. I believe in God's Spirit, and I've personally
experienced both the joy and freedom of relying on Him instead of
my own wisdom. Sadly, I've also known the heartache of doing
things my own way and messing them up horribly.
No matter what you've done, where you've been, or where you are,
it is possible to grasp the love, hope, grace, and strength of
God, through His Spirit, and it is also possible to surrender
complete control over to God, and allow Him to completely
transform your life. I've gone from deep despair to contentment,
simply by relying on God. Many of my circumstances didn't even
change (not right away, anyway) but my entire outlook did change
- and an inner peace resulted.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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Live It!
Today's best advice for practical Christian living
Strength Training
David Jeremiah
In the late 1880s, you would have been astounded to see a small
Canadian man lift a platform holding 18 men and weighing 4,337
pounds. Louis Cyr became known as the strongest man in North
America and Europe. Strongmen spend their lives conditioning
their bodies so their strength shouldn't surprise us.
What should surprise us is the strength of a different kind of
strongman who never worked out with weights. Yet, he fasted and
fought the Devil and won in the desert. And after 40 days, power
like the world had never seen exploded from Him: "Then Jesus
returned in the power of the Spirit ... and news of Him went out
through all the surrounding region" (Luke 4:14).
News spread so fast because Jesus was "healing all kinds of
sickness, torments ... demon-possessed" (Matthew 4:23-24) with
"the power of the Spirit," the same Holy Spirit who lives in
each and every Christian today.
The gift of God is for us to live with a power greater than that
of human strongmen. No believer in Christ should be a spiritual
"90-pound weakling." Christians need to flex the power of the
Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the Christian's "muscle"-- waiting to be
flexed, exercised and employed in every moment of the believer's
life. Scripture shows us that "the power of the Spirit" is the
strength behind God's strongmen and strongwomen through the
ages: Micah the prophet was "full of power by the Spirit of the
Lord, and of justice and might" (Micah 3:8).
Mary was overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke
1:35). The disciples turned the world upside down after being
told, "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you" (Acts 1:8). God anointed Jesus "with the Holy Spirit
and with power" (Acts 10:38). Paul performed "mighty signs and
wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God" (Romans 15:19).
You may think, "The Holy Spirit would never give me that kind of
power and strength. Who am I?" Who you are is exactly the point:
a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. In fact, if you do
not have the Holy Spirit within you, you are not a Christian to
begin with (Romans 8:9-11). But because you are a believer, you
have the strength of God in you just waiting to be made manifest
in your life.
Your battles are no less serious than the battles fought and won
by Scripture's strongmen. Your need for power and strength is
the same: "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might"
(Ephesians 6:10).
Bodybuilders strengthen the muscles in their bodies. But what
about spiritual muscles? You become stronger spiritually as you
allow the Holy Spirit more control in your life. "You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with
all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). If your
heart, soul, and mind "muscles" are strong, then you will be
strong.
You can love God with your mind by thinking on pure and
praiseworthy things (Philippians 4:8); with your soul by
obedience (Psalm 119:167); with your heart by keeping it pure
(Matthew 12:35; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:22). When you love
God with all your mind, soul, and heart, you will also love Him
with all your strength-which will no longer be your strength but
His.
You don't have to lift 18 men to demonstrate the power of the
Spirit. The only requirement is to acknowledge your own
weakness, "for [His] strength is made perfect in weakness" (2
Corinthians 12:9).
God stands ready to grant you His strength through the Holy
Spirit. But, you must seek it (1 Chronicles 16:11). The greater
your faith, the faster fear is replaced by strength (Psalm 27:1;
2 Timothy 1:7). Strength takes time and courage (Psalm 27:14;
31:24). But... "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their
strength ... mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be
weary, walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). So "mount up with
wings like eagles" because God's "righteous right hand" upholds
you (Isaiah 41:10).
This article was excerpted from Turning Points, Dr. David
Jeremiah's devotional magazine. Call Turning Point at
1-800-947-1993 for your complimentary copy of Turning Points.
For more great articles and resources to help you grow in your
faith, visit:
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Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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