Chapter 8 of Bookends of the Christian Life

 

Chapter 8 tells us about the help of the divine encourager - the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 says "by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope".   I don't know about you but, I seem to be in a constant battle against sin.  It is either some worldly desire or a sinful way of thinking for me.  But I know that if I place my hope in the Spirit, He is always there to help.  He points me back to the Gospel message that Jesus died to pay the penalty for my sins and that I have a righteous standing before God.  We in no way deserve what Jesus did for us.  When I speak the Gospel to myself daily, my gratitude transforms me.  It causes me to feel loved.  How can I willingly turn away from a God who loves me so much that He sent His Son to die in my place so that I can have fellowship with Him?   The Holy Spirit also encourages us to obey God's commandments.  We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Because of sin, this is a tall order.  I know I need the help and encouragement of the Spirit to do this.    Years ago I was allowing myself to think wrongly and I got into a deep depression.  A friend faithfully came over every week and she told me that I needed to put off the sin of wrong thinking and put on right thinking.  She told me about Phillipians 4:8-9 which said to think on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and whatever is of good repute and to dwell on anything that is excellent and worthy of praise.  When I finally did this, I felt a change in my life.  I was filled with the joy of the Lord.  If a person does not replace sin with God and His ways, she is in a type of vacuum.  She will most likely go right back to the sin.  I know that when I put myself on a diet and purpose not to eat certain things, I will feel deprived if I don't replace what I am giving up with something else that I will enjoy that has fewer calories.  It is the same with putting off sin.   The book brings out the fact that we must battle desire with desire.  Whichever desire is the strongest will always determine the outcome.  We must strengthen and encourage our godly desires.  The Spirit is faithful to help us in this area if we ask Him.  The book says we should ask ourselves this question:  "Because he loves me so much, I love him more than______________________."  This is an excellent way to realize just what we are doing with our lives.  If I love anything more than God, then I am not feeling gratitude for Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.    This chapter also brings out the fact that our purpose in life is glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  I used to think that good works were the purpose of my life.  I knew that Jesus saved me by dying on the cross, but I felt that doing good works was the way to show Him gratitude.  I guess this way of thinking is somewhat true because if we are showing the love of Jesus to others by helping them, than God is pleased.  But God desires a relationship with us too.  He wants us to enjoy Him.  We can look at nature and enjoy it and that brings glory to God.  We can give Him glory for His blessings in our lives.  I especially enjoy looking at the stars at night and giving glory to God for them.   "The Holy Spirit uses our growing appetite for enjoying our relationship with God as a powerful encouragement in our battle agaist sin."  "When we enjoy God more than sin, we give him an even deeper level of glorifying love, a level he alone deserves."   The Holy Spirit also points us to the truth of the Bible.  There are many promises from God to us and the Spirit leads us to them so that we can step out in faith and battle against sin.  I think that memorizing His promises, is the best way to bring them to mind when we need them.  I know that when something happens in my life, I am usually not thinking rightly at first.  Either I revert back to being depressed or I want justice immediately or I think other sinful thoughts.  But if I have God's promises in my heart, those feelings are short lived because I choose to believe in His promises and put my trust in Him.   Do you have any stories about ways that the Spirit has brought God's promises to your mind when you were facing difficulties?   Do you have a special promise from God that you continually rely on?   Just remember that God will never leave you or forsake you. .