I am grateful for Your provision from the garden! The baked, red-skinned potatoes made a wonderful dinner!
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. Titus 2:1-2
Me: Jesus, all these come to those who are Yours and led by the Spirit! Jesus: Paul was telling Titus to speak My word. The trait of being circumspect does not come quickly to the young. Those with some experience ought to model it. Here is my aim:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Titus 2:11-12
Me: I see the next verse goes on to say, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Jesus: You should take from that the need to walk in My calling ever more diligently as the day of My return approaches.
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:14-16
Me: Are you speaking of “him who sleeps” as the unsaved one who is merely drifting through life, carried along by the currents of time? (No one I know disputes that the days are evil.) Jesus: Yes. I Am the life. Yet this one has not even considered his “deadness”. Give a wake-up call where you can! You surely know how transforming to a sober life requires a circumspect outlook, understanding the whole truth about the consequences of drifting mindlessly along vs being awake and alert to the Life. Look to Me for help! I Am with you! Me: Thank You Jesus! I love You! Jesus: You are welcome! I love you!
I am grateful to have found places for all the new barn signs!
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. Ephesians 5:28-30
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23
Me: Good afternoon, Father!
Abba: Good afternoon, Jon!
Me: Clearly, we can walk “after” the flesh, even if we are “in” Jesus.
Abba: You are slave to whomever you obey (Romans 6). You need your body in this life. You are to be a good steward of it. Your body, contrary to popular opinion, does not belong to you.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Your body: you feed it, exercise it, rest it, and otherwise take care of it that it may serve the purposes I Am giving you to fulfill. Your body is not intended to be in charge. The desires of the flesh know no practical limitation. Driven by unfettered desire, you will overeat because I generously made food to taste good to you. Left to the body’s own choice, work and exercise will fall by the wayside and laziness will assert control. You will be tempted to stay up late, then to sleep in. The body’s desires always seek the most instant gratifications. But I Am calling you to be steward over your body, as I said before.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25
Please note that though this is, in human terms, called self-control, it is a gift of the Spirit to Christ followers. What does this mean? Remember that statement about yielding from earlier, that came from Romans 6? Your will is in play here. If you decide to yield to My Spirit and follow My word instead of fleshly desires, if you seek the strength to walk in My ways from Me, then you will see freedom from the domination of fleshly desires in My power. The cravings of the body can then be relegated to fulfill the functions they were created to fulfill with full enjoyment. Most get the proverbial cart before the horse and seek to control the flesh in the power of the flesh, using willpower instead of My power. The natural result is that the flesh (that wants no control) will have made you its slave and you will remain locked in a vicious cycle of serving it.
The first word has more depth than simple negation. If you take “let not” as a command, you are not wrong, exactly, but not seeing My full revelation. I do want you to have peace. The heart is where peace resides. Consider carefully the “lest” aspect of Μὴ. The sense is more explanatory. Jesus is saying, “Lest you be disturbed or agitated, you believe, in the Father and in Me.” The thing that is commanded, because of My loving desire for you, is the “believing”. The “letting” is taken care of in the “believing”, more accurately, in the object of your belief. I Am precisely NOT saying, “Get control of your heart’s condition by some nebulous means, and that will help your believing”. Nor, “Get peace in your heart and belief in Jesus will come.” That would be “putting the cart before the horse”, so to speak.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
Verse twenty-seven repeats verse one, in reverse order. Lest (See what I did there?) you miss the point, Jesus is making it clear that peace is in Him. Further, that He is giving it to “believers”. The “let not” language is exactly as in verse one: “I am giving you the same peace that is in Me lest your heart be troubled or afraid”.
So, the question is whether the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) is the dominant state of your heart. If it is not, what unbelief is blocking the promise?
Me: Thank You Father! I love You!
Abba: You are welcome! I love you!
Graphic depicting some aspects related to the mind, heart, and spirit.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will
Romans 12:2, NIV
Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalms 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Psalms 63:6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Psalms 77:12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Psalms 104:34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
Me: Good morning, Father!
Abba: Good morning, Jon!
Me: How marvelous and powerful are these verses! They speak of delight, acceptance, strength, redemption, steadfastness, song, praise, memory, speech, sweetness, and gladness!
Abba: All those passages speak of benefits of engaging with what I have said (I Am saying). Among those references from the Psalms, only Psalms 57:7 does not explicitly mention meditation. Look at the context in which David said it.
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah.
God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
Psalms 57
David uttered these words as he was hiding in a cave from King Saul, who wanted him dead. He was reminding himself of My mercy and faithfulness and thereby fortifying his heart against fear and despair. David consistently sang directly to Me from the heart. He found that this process diminished the fears plaguing the rational mind and strengthened his faith in Me. I will do the same for all who will turn their hearts to Me.
Consider your own time, you have not personally gotten down to hiding in caves yet, but there are plenty of voices vilifying any who would dare to say there is objective truth of any kind. Much more are those maligned who assert that My word is truth and that it ought to guide one’s actions from the heart. The one who wants to renew his mind from the lies the enemy of your souls is sowing into the world will assess what he hears in light of My word. My truth will set you free.
Me: Thank you, Father! I love You! I have long found You faithful. I have seen even long held destructive beliefs have eventually crumbled under the truth of Your word and the enlightenment afforded by Your Holy Spirit. David may have been hiding from Saul’s jealous wrath in a cave, but he was consistently putting his trust in You. I Pray You will continue to help me lay aside every wrong idea that I may have adopted. Some You have already dealt with, grew out of attempting to explain why certain things didn’t align with my expectations of how things “should” be. Never mind, that almost without exception, those things that were troubling me were consequences of my own unbelieving heart and sinful actions. When Your truth prompted me to finally lay those expectations aside and put my trust in what You have said, my life was able to soar above things that had mired me down for years. I know that Your way is beyond compare.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalms 139:23-24
Abba: You are welcome! I love you! I will continue speaking freeing truth to you as long as you keep seeking Me.
Graphic mine. Depicting some aspects related to the mind, heart, and spirit.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
John 16:13
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:9-14
Me: Good morning, Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit: Good morning, Jon!
Me: This work of Yours, “revealing the deep things of God”, is mysteriously awesome in that it is done completely in the open, yet reserved only for those who love and trust You enough to take what You say by faith over their five senses and human wisdom. And what mysteries! Things that would not even enter my mind, were it not revealed by You!
Holy Spirit: Faith implies you also must be fine with being considered foolish and hateful for believing what I Am telling you.
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
John 15:18-19
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
Me: Thank You Holy Spirit! The name calling of the world is inconsequential compared to the glory of knowing You! I love You!
The star appeared, bright celestial guide; Magi traversed, priests of Persia, Median kings. Angel appears Angel of the Lord; Glorious multitude from heaven sings. Shepherds fall down, cower in fear. Peace, goodwill, God’s message rings. Let us go and see, what we have heard; Into Bethlehem, do they leave the sheep? This is like nothing we have ever known; Do the angels stay, their herds to keep? Keep wolves at bay, with lambs lie down? Under clear black sky, starry deep. Just as the voice of the Lord had said; The shepherds found as they’d been told. Babe in a trough of rough-hewn wood; But swaddled tight against the cold. Our Savior appeared in humble state; Through the plan of God was made of old.
Merry Christmas friends! Take a cue from the Magi and the shepherds. Search for Him and He will be found by you. (Jeremiah 29:13)
“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock;and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Matthew 7:24-27
I was a little behind and I am grateful for a good night’s rest!
Me: Good afternoon, Father!
Abba: Good afternoon, Jon!
Me: I read a blog post from Nicola in the UK this morning that contained a prophecy of a mighty wind of Your holiness coming, that it would blow also against every house that has Your name associated with it. With that, You caused me to think of the passage above in Matthew seven.
Abba: Here is another passage on purging:
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1 Corinthians 3:12-13
There is a picture of surviving this fire in Daniel, chapter three. Here is another passage from Jesus about purging:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
John 15: 1-14
I Am holy. I made you to be holy, as I Am holy. (Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:26; 1 Peter 1:15-16) My purging work in the lives of My children is an expression of My deep love. My pruning results in bearing the fruit of righteousness: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These traits are the expression of My rock-solid nature in you. If you permit My Spirit to do this work, you will be transformed as Jesus, the exact representation of My nature.
Standing on the Rock, here is a description of the needed change:
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
2 Corinthians 5:1-4
Jesus spoke of this move from earthly tent to spiritual house in this way:
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
John 14:2-4
Clothed in My righteousness, standing upon the Rock of My Son, you will fear neither wind nor fire when they come, as they surely will.
I am grateful for the warm weather this weekend to finish cleaning up in the garden and other outside chores!
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4, KJV
Me: Good morning, Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit: Good morning, Jon!
Me: I cannot adequately express my gratitude for Your presence in my life! You are at work in ways that I don’t always even recognize. Help me to be more attentive to Your leading and not so dominated by the momentum of whatever I am doing at any given time.
Holy Spirit: Then attend to these words of Solomon, for they are wisdom. Yet do not follow his example, for he did not always do what this passage says.
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Proverbs 4, KJV
Me: I do recognize the need for diligence in relating to You. I know You are always seeking relationship with me, but I also recognize that I can be oblivious to Your voice if I am not listening for it.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. 9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
1 Kings 19, KJV
Holy Spirit: Yes, I do not override your will. At the creation, when we spoke all into existence, we did not strain nor raise our voice. Do not, therefore, expect Me to yell at you. Do not be like a child who has been trained that his mother only means business if she resorts to shouting. Consider Elijah. The tumult of the wind and the earthquake and the fire were raging without. Noisome fear and despair were raging within. Yet even with Elijah I did not raise My voice over his distractions. It was not until he turned his attention to me that I delivered instructions as to what he was to do.
Me: The angel prepared Elijah for his flight to Horeb. Was going to Horeb to hide in a cave Your idea?
Holy Spirit: In his fear of Jezebel, Elijah was like a horse with the bit in his teeth, wild-eyed and running headlong. I sent the angel to help him survive until he was able to listen to me. At Horeb, I sent the rock-breaking wind and the earthquake and the fire to get his attention. He was completely self-absorbed in his fear of Jezebel, as he knew she intended to make good on her threats against him. He was focused on her and on his own inadequacy, not on Me.
Me: It is easy to sit in my chair in peace and safety and be critical of Elijah’s fear. I am mindful of the lengths to which You were willing to go to get him to return to listening to You. I am grateful that You are speaking to me about minding my own heart. I know You are going to great lengths on my behalf as well. Thank You!
Holy Spirit: You are welcome!
Me: I hope You won’t think this a silly question. We have pets that are dependent on our daily provision for food and water, that are contained indoors such that they cannot fend for themselves. That is also true for many other people. Farmers have animals they have a responsibility to care for. What will be the fate of the critters that believers are keeping at the time of the rapture?
Holy Spirit: Consider Genesis 1:24-31
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Though every beast of the earth was subjected to the futility brought about by the sin of man, the animals were not responsible for it. You recognize I can rapture believers from the earth, including deep-sea divers, submariners, airline pilots, spelunkers, and diamond miners. Do not think I will be stymied by mere doorknob or farm gate latch.
Note the mention of the four fantastic beasts at the throne in Revelation 4 and 5. There is revelation of beasts in heaven. You recognized that the animals of earth obviously have life and that life is of Me. Have you wondered whether all the cats and canines born between creation to the marriage supper will be caught up to eternity in recognition that My creation was very good? What about cockroaches and mosquitoes? They are part of the life that I created. It is not their fault that the fall corrupted them from creature to pestilence.
I leave you with this mention of beasts from Isaiah 11 to consider:
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
2 Timothy 1:13-14
For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Galatians 5:5-6
I am grateful for the loving work of the indwelling Spirit in enabling faith and hope by faith!
Me: Good morning, Jesus!
Jesus: Good morning, Jon!
Me: Thank You for this good word of Paul to Timothy as a reminder that the Holy Spirit is keeping the truth in us and enabling us to hold on when the whole world is overrun by error and even outright lies spoken from places of human “authority”.
Jesus: Here is another passage that pertains to the battle My followers are engaged in:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
War after the flesh is marked by fear and death and malice. War in the Spirit is characterized by the power of speaking the truth in love. Vanities do need to be destroyed, but the aim is reconciliation.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:8
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:14-16
The first thing is aligning (bounding, constraining) your own thoughts to My thoughts. This is My example:
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
John 5:19
I have seen to it that you have the written word.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:16
I have set the Holy Spirit, the very power of God, to be in you and to help you.
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you.
John 16:12-14
The battle is first personal. The world will not be helped by “followers” who are off the path. Do not be misled. You are called to speak the Truth. Remember that I Am the Truth.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Romans 12:3
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
John 7:2-5
Me: Thank You Jesus! I thank you for all these aspects of Your help! I love You!
Jesus: You are welcome! I love you! I remind you of your commission. Do not become so introspective that you neglect others.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Amen.
I am grateful to have the lawn mower put back together. I pray You will help it to work correctly for a good long time. (Joel 2)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Joel 2:28
Me: Good afternoon, Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit: Good afternoon, Jon!
Me: Seems that what I mind (φρονέω, phonetic: fron-eh’-o) is a litmus test of whether I am walking with You.
Definition: to direct one’s mind to a thing, to seek or strive for; τά τίνος, to seek one’s interests or advantage; to be of one’s party, side with him.
Holy Spirit: Verses two and three are both using the word “law”, but they are showing a contrast between the Law delivered through Moses, which none could keep through human effort, and My work in the heart; the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus − meaning the spiritual principles by which I Am working.
So, yes. The things that are occupying your mind are like a barometer, telling you whether you are intentionally giving Me charge of your heart and mind, or taking charge of them yourself.
Me: Thank You Holy Spirit! I do want You to be in charge! I love You!
Holy Spirit: You are welcome! It is always your choice! I love you!
Missionary Sojourn 