BibleTrekToday.com

Category: God with us

  • Day 4–Jesus with His disciples

    Scripture reading for June 4: Mark 16:17-20 “And these signs shall accompany those who believe; in My Name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.”

    The Holy Spirit living in us as believers in Jesus Christ is not some mystical feeling. We don’t walk around like zombies in a trance or like someone possessed by a spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are empowered as children of God to fulfill our Father’s will of bringing message of the kingdom of God to lost people. We are given power to speak to others on behalf of Christ, like ambassadors speak for their native country when visiting a foreign country. (2 Corinthians 5:20) We do this in the context of our normal family relationships and in the setting of our jobs or in our recreation or travels. We are indwelt by God’s Spirit but it is not to be weird or for show or to call attention to ourselves.

    As we go forth each day in our assigned tasks using our gifts and talents to serve others and God, God is with us doing His work. As we see needs, we are led by the Holy Spirit to speak to those needs in prayer and to extend our hands to serve. Jesus works with us through the Father’s Gift, the Holy Spirit, to bring tangible witness of God’s love, power, and desire to see all men served, saved, and marked for His forever family. Sometimes we come against demonic forces and are given power over them to bring deliverance. Sometimes we confront sickness and disease, as agents of God to bring healing. At other times we subdue violent people, bringing protection and correction. All that we do is for God’s glory and kingdom.

    Prayer: Father God, thank You for clear instruction concerning our mission as Your children to a lost world of fallen people. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and use us to bring the Good News to all in need. Amen.

  • Day 3–A Helper Forever

    Scripture reading for June 3: John 14:15-18 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

    In the last major teaching to His disciples, Jesus prepares them for His leaving them through the cross in death and then ascension to heaven following His resurrection. If you remember, God had promised that His Son Jesus would be “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” Now Jesus explained that instead of His physical presence, God the Father would answer Jesus’ prayer to send them another “Helper,” the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit would be with them ‘forever!’ The world could not receive this ‘Helper,’ because it cannot see Him or know Him. Those in the world are blind to this “Helper” Who was the Gift of the Father in heaven.

    Jesus went on to say that His disciples would know Him (the Holy Spirit of Truth) and allow Him to dwell in them and be with them continually for an unlimited time–forever. His disciples would not be left as an orphan without support and family presence. In the form of the Helper, Jesus Himself would come to them and be with them in a way that was not limited to physical location or time. The Holy Spirit within them would cry “Abba” “Father”, marking them as distinctly belonging to God’s forever family. (Romans 8:15-16)

    O how we as first responders and all believers need God’s Gift of the Holy Spirit with us and living in us! God’s amazing love is given to us through the Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:5) It is in the power of the Spirit we can obey God’s commandments and walk in truth. When we set our mind on the Spirit, we enjoy life and peace (rest). (Romans 8:5-6)

    Prayer: Father God, thank You for not leaving us as orphans, but giving us Your Gift of the Holy Spirit of Truth. Fill me with Your love and truth. Empower me as I set my mind on Your indwelling presence, to walk in obedience to Your commandments. I am comforted forever by Your presence. Amen.

  • Day 2–“Immanuel”–God with us.

    Scripture reading for June 2: Matthew 1:20-23 “But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel.”

    God’s promise of His presence with His people and giving them rest was faithfully reinforced over time by prophets like Isaiah who spoke plainly about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son. (Isaiah 7:14) This Son would be given the Name “Immanuel” which means “God with us.” Not only would God be present with His people, but He would save them from their sins. The angel visiting Joseph, the betrothed husband of the virgin Mary, clearly instructed Joseph to act in faith to take Mary as his wife. The Child she was carrying was conceived through the Holy Spirit. The angel gave Joseph the Name “Jesus” for this unique Child, Who would save His people from their sins. Joseph, at first fearful, believed God’s messenger and took Mary as his wife and raised Jesus as a son.

    Now, instead of a visible cloud of glory or pillar of fire, God the Father sends His Holy Spirit to dwell in believers in His Son, Jesus. Believing in Jesus saves us from the penalty and power of our sins. Jesus give us rest from guilt and shame and working for acceptance. His Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. His Spirit marks us as belonging to God and distinct among all people. The Holy Spirit brings gifts and graces empowering His people to share God’s love and desire to see all saved from their sins and adopted in His family. Since God has placed us as first responders in a role of serving hurting people, we should eagerly seek to receive the Father’s Gift of the Holy Spirit. We should ask for the Gift as we believe in Jesus.

    Father God, thank You for being true to Your promise to Moses, Isaiah, and through Your Son Jesus Who is “Immanuel,” God with us! I believe in Jesus Christ as God’s Son. Fill me again with Your Holy Spirit that I might reflect Jesus to those I serve. Amen.

  • Week 23–Day 1–God Go With Us!

    Scripture reading for June 1: Exodus 33:13-16 “Now therefore, if I have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find favor in Your sight. Consider too that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to Him, “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people: Is it not in Your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and Your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?””

    As responders it is comforting for us to know that we are not alone as we go out to serve others. First, we almost always serve in pairs or teams so that we have back-up and help to get the job done. There is accountability and the strength of teamwork that makes the job more enjoyable. The sight of multiple helpers also brings comfort to those being helped. It is an assurance that they are not alone and that many hands are tending to their trouble.

    Moses was interceding to God for the nation that God called him to lead. These were difficult and sometimes rebellious people and God had threatened to leave them on their own, with just angelic support. Moses knew that God’s presence with them was a difference-maker. He asked God to show him His ways and to teach him how to lead God’s people. In response, God promised that His presence would go with them and that He would give them rest. This rest was not just sleep or recreation, but the comfort of God’s immediate presence and protection. It would take the form of a cloud of covering by day and a pillar of fire by night.

    Moses then stated emphatically, that without God’s presence, he did not want to move forward from that place. He reasoned that God’s presence would mark them uniquely among all of earth’s peoples. God’s presence alone would bring provision, guidance, deliverance from enemies, and blessing eternally.

    Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your amazing presence marking us who believe in Jesus Christ! It is comforting to us as responders to know that we are not alone, even though we have team members. May Your presence mark us as Your people and empower us with excellence to serve. Amen.