![Living From the Inside Out]()
by Suellen | God's Guidance
If you have been with me for awhile, you may remember my post concerning “Life’s Greatest Mystery.” Paul talked about it in Colossians 1:27, when he said it’s Christ in you which is the Hope of Glory.
From my perspective, that is a concept which we cannot overemphasize. In essence, it is the very heart of what Christianity is all about. it’s not about rules and regulations – as with other religions. It is about the cleansing we received as believers – through the blood of Jesus – and it’s about the fact that the Holy Spirit now lives within us. We are truly temples of the Living God – right here on earth.
Now as I say these things, I am quickly reminded of two misconceptions which always come up when we discuss these topics. The first misconception is that every human on earth is right now a temple of the Holy Spirit – and that is not true. It is true that every human is created in the image of God, and as such, has the capability of becoming a temple of God’s Spirit, but first they have to be cleansed. They have to receive the forgiving, cleansing gift of Jesus and the price He paid. Then they can become temples of the Holy Spirit. (more…)
by Suellen | Bible
What is God saying to you? That is one of the most important questions you will ever ask yourself. Are you listening? Do you hear Him? How can you know for sure what He is saying?
As you read the Bible, you realize that God has always wanted to talk to us. From the time of Adam when He met with His people in the cool of the day, until this present time, God has been speaking. So what is He saying? And how does He speak to us?
The first means by which God will speak to us is through His Word: the Bible. This miraculous book contains the thoughts and plans of God as He has walked with men throughout the centuries. Line upon line, precept upon precept, we begin to capture His nature and His intentions toward us. We begin to see His love and faithfulness toward His people.
I recently read an article written by a supposed Bible scholar, saying that to understand the Bible, you had to realize that it wasn’t consistent, but a hodge-podge of writings by many people of many different cultures. Boy, did he miss it.
Sure the cultures were different throughout the centuries as the many tribes and civilizations emerged on the scene. However, the one thing which caused the story to be consistent was God Himself. God never changed. He had a plan, and He continued to work with imperfect human beings to lay the foundation for His plan and then to build upon that foundation bringing His plan to fruition.
Think about it. If God had just beamed Jesus down from heaven and had Him fulfill His mission on the cross, no one would have understood what He had accomplished. To most people, He would have been just another man who died on the cross.
But that’s not what God did. He took centuries developing His relationship with Abraham’s children – the nation of Israel. He needed a family of people through whom He could bring His Son into the earth legally – that is, to be born into the earth. He also wanted these chosen people to understand the blood sacrifice Jesus would make when the day came for that. So He instituted patterns of worship which would lead the people to understand His perfect lamb. And He instituted patterns of the tabernacle which would point to God’s true temple in heaven. He showed all of the elements of heavenly worship so that His people could get a glimpse.
To accomplish His goal, God had to be very strict. If the people couldn’t stay focused on their relationship with Him, they would start copying the cultures around them, and they would abdicate their mission ordained by Him. To accomplish His plans, these people had to be true to Him. So when God’s people turned away from Him and followed after other gods – the gods of the surrounding neighbors – they received strict punishment in order to keep them on track.
So this unchanging, all powerful, all knowing, forever loving God dealt with His chosen people so that His Son could be brought to the earth. When the day finally came for His entry, the Holy Child Jesus came to earth as the son of Mary, from the family of Abraham. Though His entry had been prophesied and promised for centuries, most of the leaders could not understand who He was and what God was doing.. They were too focused on outward, prideful appearances, and they were offended by the humble entrance of the Savior.
So we can see that these supposed Bible scholars didn’t recognize their Savior when He arrived. They were too caught up in the pomp of their positions, and they wanted to look good to those around them. So they missed it.
Now we come back to our original question. How can we know what God is saying? How can we know His character and His nature? How can we know His will for us?
When we come to the Bible and receive it with humble, teachable hearts, we will begin to see who He is. He will speak to us through the passages of scripture written so long ago. He will open our eyes to His plans and His purposes in the earth. We will truly come to know our God and to hear what He is saying to us.
As you read the Bible ask the Holy Spirit to show you what He wants you to know. There will be times when you will start reading in a ho-hum manner and suddenly some divine thoughts will leap off the page. You will see things you never saw before – even in passages you have read over and over.
As you and I continue this journey, we will begin to hear more and more from God. He will reveal Himself – and He will reveal His will. We will begin to know what we are to do in order to fulfill our purposes in the earth. Then we will grab hold of the grace available for us to accomplish those purposes.
We will hear what He is saying.
Forever Upward!
P.S. If you would like a Bible reading plan with notes for understanding, check this out. If you want the big picture, you must read it from cover to cover.
by Suellen | Bible
What’s so significant about the Bible?
Why is the Bible truly one of God’s greatest miracles in the world today? For the next few posts I want to be sharing my perceptions about this.
Let me start with a story. You may remember – or remember having heard about – a horrific incident which happened in 1979. It was right after the Shah of Iran was overthrown by radical Muslim clerics. (The same radical group still in power there today).
Thousands of radicals screaming, “Death to America,” stormed the American Embassy and took 66 Americans hostage – and held them captive for 14 months. We are talking about U.S. government officials being taken captive and held by this evil regime. It was unbelievable.
Jimmy Carter was president at the time, and it was the greatest embarrassment of his presidency as he was totally ineffective in trying to obtain their release. In fact, when President Carter directed an attempt to rescue the people, 8 American servicemen died in the effort, without obtaining their release. The mission was a dismal failure.
The United States was humiliated – and shocked at the treatment of their officials and the inability to find a solution. The release of these people didn’t come until Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president. That very day, they were released. (more…)
by Suellen | Prayer
Everyone wants a confident prayer life. We want to know that when we pray, God hears and He answers. Yet many don’t know how to attain this. So let’s talk about that.
First we have to be honest with ourselves and determine where we are in our journey. with God. Is Jesus truly our Lord? We want our eyes open to God’s plan and we can only do this if we do it His way. For our prayers to be answered the way we want we have to have faith in God, so every step we take is part of the process of building our faith.
(more…)
by Suellen | Awakening
I often tell a story about my granddaughter, Lauren. When she was in second grade, as a school project, Lauren had to give an oral report on her favorite state. Since she lives in Atlanta, we were flattered that she chose Mississippi, where we live. Her accompanying prop was a white poster board with many symbols of our state. The symbols included a Magnolia blossom, items related to the zoo we visit, certain facts, and a tiny (and I do mean tiny) dot with the words “Blue Mountain,” our town. The dot and words were cut out of a map and placed right in the center of the poster.
We couldn’t help but chuckle. From the display, there was no context at all. Just a tiny dot and tiny words. There was no way of knowing where the town was located, or anything else about it – except that it was small.
I sometimes think that we are like that about the Bible. We pull verses out of the Bible and put them on the refrigerator. Without the proper context, there are times when we totally miss the meaning. The words would mean so much more if we would read them in the framework around them. (more…)
