Having the right Spirit?

Passage: John 4, 13

 ⁵ Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.. (Psalm 4, NLT) – emphasis added

²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4, NIV)

We can learn a lot from Jesus. Look how Jesus handled a sinner outside and  then those who were His own, when they did wrong

In our everyday life, we also come across these two categories of people: sinners outside, and those who are already in church, yet sin

First, when the samaritan woman (John 4),  highlighted the fact of where she

worships, Jesus spoke about who to worship, why to worship and how to worship

God expects His creation to worship God. Worship keeps us connected to God

We don’t know whether this woman went back to her old place of worship after that day. They never told her the truth.

In  John 13, we see this case of Jesus dealing with ‘His own”. He was washing the feet of His disciples, including thagt of Peter who was going to disown Him and Judas Isacriot, who was going to betray Him

Jesus told Peter, “You are clean”, knowing Peter was going to disown Jesus

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” (John 13, NIV)

Today, living at a time when people fight and separate for silly reasons, we find a role model in Jesus. Jesus tells the truth straight, but then He forgives and loves. He once called Peter “satan” when Peter made a statement Jesus did not want him to make (Mat 16). We often do the opposite. We are afraid to tell the truth, if we see someone doing the wrong. So we “pile up” all of that in our heart and talk to them as if everything is O.K. When we “look good” infront of others, and “save” our face, God expects us to be true to God and others by telling them the truth, in love, and forgiving them

Judas dealt with the consequences of his action, allowing “guilt” to take over, instaed of repenting; Peter repented and came back

May God change us so we can deal with others in the way Jesus would

Have a blessed day

BG

Prayer Request: Please pray for a brother Abraham, who went on a missions trip abroad and had a medical emergency situation

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to treat others the way you would treat them. I admit that I have acted “holier than thou” to many people and I repent. Thank you for your love and mercy. Amen

When God treats us right, we have no reason to treat others wrong

In Spirit and in Truth!

Passage: Psalm 4, John 4

 ⁵ Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.. (Psalm 4, NLT) – emphasis added

²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4, NIV)

In John 4, we see Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman about worship

This woman was trying to use her tradition/ church/temple as a “cover-up” for her sins. (In fact, that is what many people (laity and leaders) do even today!)

When the Samaritan woman emphasized on a place of worship, Jesus emphasized on the person of worship. Jesus was telling her that God is beyond the temple

God is looking for worship from a heart of brokenness and repentance

What goes before worship is a “wash-up” of our minds, contaminated with sins

We cannot cover up our sins and then walk into a great-looking church and just worship God, in truth. (Some do a physical wash-up before worship. It is good, but that alone will not just qualify us before God. He is looking for a “heart” wash-up)

Some people say that worship in spirit and truth is about worshiping like Pentecostals. That is not just true. We can worship in all the tongues, but God won’t understand a thing, unless we are worshiping in truth and repentance!

Our body is God’s temple. Our very life-style should bring glory/worship to God

12 And so, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.^[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Rom 12, NLT)-emphasis added

On a given Sunday, we may say “It was great worship”. But if God does not say the same, our “satisfaction” don’t mean anything. We were deceiving ourself!

Have a great day. Worship God in truth; worship God where you are!

BG

Prayer: Father God, thank you for qualifying me to worship you. I won’t qualify unless you qualify me, because it is you, I worship. Let my thoughts, words and deeds bring glory to you. It makes sense to worship you-in Jesus’ name; Amen

Worship becomes worship when God calls it so, not when we call it so

The Love Of God

Keep yourselves in the love of God . . .
—Jude 21

 

The Bible is a revelation of the fact that God is love. Many people misunderstand the attribute of God’s nature which is love. “God is love” does not mean that everything is sweet, beautiful, and happy, and that God’s love could not possibly allow punishment for sin.

When we preach justice, it is justice tempered with love. When we preach righteousness, it is righteousness founded on love. When we preach atonement, it is atonement planned by love, provided by love, given by love, finished by love, necessitated because of love. When we preach the resurrection of Christ, we are preaching the miracle of love. When we preach the return of Christ, we are preaching the fulfillment of love.

No matter what sin you have committed, or how terrible, dirty, or shameful it may be, God loves you. This love of God is immeasurable, unmistakable, and unending!

Prayer for the day

My heartfelt gratitude to You, Father, for Your forgiveness and love. I must be acutely aware that in all my dealing with others the only yardstick I have is Your immeasurable love.