Paul identifies something spectacular that happens when we are transformed by a generous, loving and good God. Grace begets grace. Grace makes us gracious. God makes us gracious in the most difficult circumstances. God turns self-centered and self-absorbed hearts into hearts that are ready for every good work. God’s grace makes us peaceful, gentle and humble in the most painful circumstances (Titus 3:1-2).
Grace teaches us by the power of the Holy Spirit to 1) unpack who we are in Jesus Christ and 2) shed who we aren’t any longer. As grace unleashes who we are in Christ, we will begin to shed ungodliness and worldly lusts and liver soberly, righteously and godly in the present age.
“The Spirit of God as the dynamic, the life-giving power of the Church, the unseen Lord, Master, Guide and Inspirer of the Christian community, who gives instructions to apostles and disciples, sustains the faithful in persecutions and sometimes give them glimpses of the future through Christian prophets or initiates them into mysteries through glossolalia.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
Four passages will help us put into very clear focus the inevitability of God’s plan for the nations. Three sections from Matthew’s gospel and one from John’s book make it crystal clear that God’s purpose to be known and praised among the nations cannot fail. It is an absolute certain promise.
The Holy Spirit wants to carry the load. He is smart, strong and courageous. He leads from the front and if we as a church family resolve in our hearts to say “yes” to Him, He is going to transform this community!
Of all the New Testament churches, the church in Philippi stands alone in the area of stewardship. According to Paul, their giving hearts were a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. As a result, God promised to supply all their needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Where the Spirit is working, the effects are undeniable, unmistakable and powerful. Are you seeing the undeniable, unmistakable powerful work of the Holy Spirit in your life? In your family’s life?
We want to see God build relationships and partnerships with one another where we can pray specifically with one another, we can speak the truth in love, we can delight in the Word of the Lord together and we can hear the Holy Spirit together.
At the end of each year many of us write out a list of New Year’s resolutions we want to practice in the coming year. What do our New Year’s resolutions reveal about us? What do these changes have to do with a Christian who has been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ? How can we use our New Year’s resolutions as a means to worship Christ?
Christmas is an intriguing time of the year where we work really hard to make love work. We want life to feel different and we don’t want it to feel like the rest of the year. So we max out credit cards; we spend weeks planning and cooking and eating; we pretend to like people we can’t stand with the dream that somehow this thing we call love will really manifest during this Christmas season.
