Grieving the Spirit

One of the attributes of God is his unconditional consistency in his love. He is steadfast. Over and over again he says it.

As believers we have the Holy Spirit. If we do not have the Holy Spirit in us we are not believers. Also, as believers God promises to give us a new heart. To sanctify us. This does not mean we will be perfect once we trust in Jesus. We will still sin. And here is where it all ties together, whether we are sinning or not we still have the Holy Spirit in us. Our sin therefore carries a new weight of proximity because the very God we sin against is in our presence at all times.

The beauty is however, his grace. Though we may grieve the Spirit, sin against him ect he will never leave us. He seals us, guarantees that we are saved AND will sanctify us. We must lean on his mercy, we have nowhere else to go but there. Let us also repent quickly, coming back to our loving father who sees all that we do so that we might be forgiven and healed. Let us be teachable as the Spirit desires to prune us and grow our roots deeper in truth and freedom.

Begin Again

I just read my friend's blog. I think I may blog again.

MONSTER SOCKS

I want these MONSTER

Slavery

I have been reading through John Piper's exposition on Philemon and its relationship to slavery. I have never seen slavery as the backdrop or reason for Paul's letter to Philemon. It was incredibly interesting.

Philemon

Letter Pressed

Letter Pressed

Missions

I was talking to a missionary friend today about the roles of people who partake in missions. She pointed out "It's all about spreading the gospel. From those who go to those who pray to those who preach to those who finance. We all have a role & I never saw it so clearly before raising support."

She is being humbled. By that I mean, she is learning she is not the center of the Gospel cause. I am learning through her financial struggle how myopic we can get on the value of "direct" ministry. There are many other just as important unseen and unacknowledged roles. Ultimately Jesus has ownership of HIS cause-spreading the Gospel-& ownership of the MEANS by which his cause is carried out. Therefore, as long as we are being faithful, like she said, we are being good stewards. The rest we must leave to grace & sovereignty.

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Emotional Flu part 2

Or maybe it's just the hot wings....

(In reference to the last post)