Communion with God

The human soul is the temple of the Spirit where we meet with God to commune with Him personally. Each one of us possesses our own personal temple; our own personal rooms where we may, at any time, sit and encounter God in meaningful fellowship—heart to heart. Judging from the Samaritan woman’s response to meeting Jesus spiritually, we must attest to the fact that such an encounter is life changing.

BIBLE TRUTH
“The woman said, 'I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.' Then Jesus told her, 'I AM the Messiah!' . . . The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 'Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could He possibly be the Messiah?'” (John 4:25–29 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Spirituality enabled this woman to see beyond Jesus’ humanity into His deity. Perhaps the reason it is so hard to experience Jesus as real and relevant is because we are not seeking Him in spirit and truth. In order to be desperately dependent on God we must confront the deception—our independence is leading us away from Him. It is essential to experience Him as relevant in every area of our lives while we apply truth concerning Jesus to the challenges of our lives. When we see Christ as relevant in our lives, we desire Him. As we desire Him, we draw into a closer love relationship with Him. Repentance is required to turn from our self-indulgence to finding our satisfaction in Christ alone. He is all we need.

PRAYER
Dear God, I don’t want to be a liar by saying I have fellowship with You but go on living in spiritual darkness; I am not practicing the truth. But I desire to live in the light as You are in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses me from all sin. . . . (1 John 1:6–7)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.

The Pursuit of Happiness

The issue of happiness is introduced in “The Blessed Man” passages of Scripture. Happiness, however, does not generally appear as the subject of these passages, but rather the adjective describing the state of those who are rightly connected to God. The truly blessed man, or the happy person, should not seek to enjoy happiness as a primary pursuit, but should rather seek to connect with God. Happiness occurs as the by-product of connecting to God. It is self-indulgence that motivates us to connect to God for the attainment of happiness. Often Christianity is billed as the elixir of life to ensure happiness. This misses the mark of Christianity’s real purpose—to experience God through the blood of Jesus Christ and to glorify Him. Encountering God produces happiness. To avoid the “What’s in it for me?” syndrome, happiness must not be held up as the ultimate virtue for the Christian.

BIBLE TRUTH
“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires" (2 Peter 1:4 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
One may ask, “Then why would a person come to Jesus if not to gain happiness?” The Bible asserts that we were drawn to God not by the potential of happiness but by the aura of His glory and virtue. Upon being enlightened by God, His image within us attracts us to Himself. By Him we were created, through Him we consist, for Him we exist. Thus for Him we yearn. Reconciliation to God is the core need of the soul; therefore, connection to Christ becomes our deepest desire. We come to God because it is within His design that we need someone who is greater than ourselves to direct our lives. Our souls long for God and the fellowship He offers through the forgiveness of sins and the communion of His Spirit.

PRAYER
Father, it is time for me to truly worship You in spirit and in truth. I know this is the way You want me to worship You. You are Spirit, and deserve to be worshiped, so I worship You in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23–24 NLT)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.

The American Dream

We want to be happy. “God wants us to be happy.” We want our spouses to be happy. We want our kids to be happy. We just want everyone to be happy. We especially want everyone to be happy with us. This is the American dream—we all deserve to be happy. But the American dream spawns the American nightmare. The pursuit of this dream leads to addiction, deviance, mental illness, and death because it is ultimately based in self-centeredness. It is accurate to proclaim that the crown and glory of all the fruit of the flesh is self-indulgence. It is the expected reward for having labored in the vineyard of self-centeredness. Happiness is the illusive prize.

BIBLE TRUTH
“The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength" (Deut. 6:4–5 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
The continuous pursuit of pleasure-producing indulgences culminates in discouragement. The eventual outcome of self-indulgence is discouragement because we want what we want, but our wants are never satisfied. Then we move to a new set of desires, believing these new choices will produce the ultimate fulfillment.

Ultimately there is nothing that can impart contentment apart from Christ. We flit from bloom to bloom looking for the nectar of life, but only God is able to provide true satisfaction. The spiritual fruit of self-control is experienced through dependence on the Spirit of God so we do not have to depend on ourselves. His divine enablement leads to personal empowerment.

PRAYER
Dear God, I do not want to be dominated by my sinful nature that thinks about sinful, self-centered things. I truly desire to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and think about things that please the Spirit. I choose to avoid a dead life with my mind controlled by my sinful nature. I want an abundant life filled with peace, so please keep me aware of the Spirit’s control of my mind. (Rom. 8:5–6)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Jubilantly, biblical truth redefines happiness. Happiness, by God’s standard, is a state of well-being that is independent of all that is of this earth and dependent on all that is divine. It is the outcome of connecting to God in a manner that changes the innermost parts of our souls, giving rise to the fruit of His spirit. The happiness spoken of in the Bible exists apart from worldly endeavors. Contrary to human wisdom, we do not need the right people, the right positions, or the right possessions to be happy.

BIBLE TRUTH
“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
      there is no help for you there" (Ps. 146:3 NLT).
“Then he said, 'Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own'" (Luke 12:15 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
The pursuit of happiness through the avenues of life resources is sure to lead to the loss of happiness and will establish the foundation for all varieties of addiction. To independently seek happiness constitutes the surest way to become lost amid the maze of life’s self-centered options. Solomon asserts that we are to pursue truth, not happiness. Why? People are incapable of discerning what is in their best interest. Happiness is derived when we encounter God and connect with Him spiritually.

PRAYER
Lord, I desire to live in truth and never stray from it. I do not want to be impressed with my own wisdom. Instead, give me your wisdom so I may learn from your discipline, and follow your good judgement. Remind me and help me to fear you and turn away from evil. (Prov. 3:7, 23:23)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.