Just 5 Minutes

Freedom is what we have---Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love. You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? It was not done by God, who calls you. "It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise," as they say. But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God. But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves! As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another. What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do. If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law. What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God. But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives. We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another.
(Galatians 5:1-26 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 9:43 AM May 11, 2007  0 comments links to this post

Does this sound as if we were again boasting about ourselves? Could it be that, like some other people, we need letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are the letter we have, written on our hearts for everyone to know and read. It is clear that Christ himself wrote this letter and sent it by us. It is written, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on stone tablets but on human hearts. We say this because we have confidence in God through Christ. There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work. The capacity we have comes from God; it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life. The Law was carved in letters on stone tablets, and God's glory appeared when it was given. Even though the brightness on Moses' face was fading, it was so strong that the people of Israel could not keep their eyes fixed on him. If the Law, which brings death when it is in force, came with such glory, how much greater is the glory that belongs to the activity of the Spirit! The system which brings condemnation was glorious; how much more glorious is the activity which brings salvation! We may say that because of the far brighter glory now the glory that was so bright in the past is gone. For if there was glory in that which lasted for a while, how much more glory is there in that which lasts forever! Because we have this hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who had to put a veil over his face so that the people of Israel would not see the brightness fade and disappear. Their minds, indeed, were closed; and to this very day their minds are covered with the same veil as they read the books of the old covenant. The veil is removed only when a person is joined to Christ. Even today, whenever they read the Law of Moses, the veil still covers their minds. But it can be removed, as the scripture says about Moses: "His veil was removed when he turned to the Lord." Now, "the Lord" in this passage is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom. All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.
(2 Corinthians 3:1-18 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 10:37 AM May 10, 2007  0 comments links to this post

Do not be like children in your thinking, my friends; be children so far as evil is concerned, but be grown up in your thinking. In the Scriptures it is written, "By means of people speaking strange languages I will speak to my people, says the Lord. I will speak through lips of foreigners, but even then my people will not listen to me." So then, the gift of speaking in strange tongues is proof for unbelievers, not for believers, while the gift of proclaiming God's message is proof for believers, not for unbelievers. If, then, the whole church meets together and everyone starts speaking in strange tongues---and if some ordinary people or unbelievers come in, won't they say that you are all crazy? But if everyone is proclaiming God's message when some unbelievers or ordinary people come in, they will be convinced of their sin by what they hear. They will be judged by all they hear, their secret thoughts will be brought into the open, and they will bow down and worship God, confessing, "Truly God is here among you!" This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church. If someone is going to speak in strange tongues, two or three at the most should speak, one after the other, and someone else must explain what is being said. But if no one is there who can explain, then the one who speaks in strange tongues must be quiet and speak only to himself and to God. Two or three who are given God's message should speak, while the others are to judge what they say. But if someone sitting in the meeting receives a message from God, the one who is speaking should stop. All of you may proclaim God's message, one by one, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. The gift of proclaiming God's message should be under the speaker's control, because God does not want us to be in disorder but in harmony and peace. As in all the churches of God's people, the women should keep quiet in the meetings. They are not allowed to speak; as the Jewish Law says, they must not be in charge. If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home. It is a disgraceful thing for a woman to speak in a church meeting. Or could it be that the word of God came from you? Or are you the only ones to whom it came? If anyone supposes he is God's messenger or has a spiritual gift, he must realize that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. But if he does not pay attention to this, pay no attention to him. So then, my friends, set your heart on proclaiming God's message, but do not forbid the speaking in strange tongues. Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.
(1 Corinthians 14:20-40 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 9:41 AM May 09, 2007  0 comments links to this post

It is love, then, that you should strive for. Set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of proclaiming God's message. Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit. But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort. Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church. I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues---unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped. So when I come to you, my friends, what use will I be to you if I speak in strange tongues? Not a bit, unless I bring you some revelation from God or some knowledge or some inspired message or some teaching. Take such lifeless musical instruments as the flute or the harp---how will anyone know the tune that is being played unless the notes are sounded distinctly? And if the one who plays the bugle does not sound a clear call, who will prepare for battle? In the same way, how will anyone understand what you are talking about if your message given in strange tongues is not clear? Your words will vanish in the air! There are many different languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. But if I do not know the language being spoken, those who use it will be foreigners to me and I will be a foreigner to them. Since you are eager to have the gifts of the Spirit, you must try above everything else to make greater use of those which help to build up the church. The person who speaks in strange tongues, then, must pray for the gift to explain what is said. For if I pray in this way, my spirit prays indeed, but my mind has no part in it. What should I do, then? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray also with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will sing also with my mind. When you give thanks to God in spirit only, how can ordinary people taking part in the meeting say "Amen" to your prayer of thanksgiving? They have no way of knowing what you are saying. Even if your prayer of thanks to God is quite good, other people are not helped at all. I thank God that I speak in strange tongues much more than any of you. But in church worship I would rather speak five words that can be understood, in order to teach others, than speak thousands of words in strange tongues.
(1 Corinthians 14:1-19 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 10:08 AM May 08, 2007  0 comments links to this post

Now, concerning what you wrote about the gifts from the Holy Spirit. I want you to know the truth about them, my friends. You know that while you were still heathen, you were led astray in many ways to the worship of lifeless idols. I want you to know that no one who is led by God's Spirit can say "A curse on Jesus!" and no one can confess "Jesus is Lord," without being guided by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge. One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another person he gives the power to heal. The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person he gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another he gives the ability to explain what is said. But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as he wishes, he gives a different gift to each person. Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink. For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. If the foot were to say, "Because I am not a hand, I don't belong to the body," that would not keep it from being a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, "Because I am not an eye, I don't belong to the body," that would not keep it from being a part of the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell? As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. There would not be a body if it were all only one part! As it is, there are many parts but one body. So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" Nor can the head say to the feet, "Well, I don't need you!" On the contrary, we cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker; and those parts that we think aren't worth very much are the ones which we treat with greater care; while the parts of the body which don't look very nice are treated with special modesty, which the more beautiful parts do not need. God himself has put the body together in such a way as to give greater honor to those parts that need it. And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness. All of you are Christ's body, and each one is a part of it. In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues. They are not all apostles or prophets or teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said. Set your hearts, then, on the more important gifts. Best of all, however, is the following way.
(1 Corinthians 12:1-31 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 12:01 PM May 07, 2007  0 comments links to this post

Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good, and his love is eternal. Let the people of Israel say, "His love is eternal." Let the priests of God say, "His love is eternal." Let all who worship him say, "His love is eternal." In my distress I called to the LORD; he answered me and set me free. The LORD is with me, I will not be afraid; what can anyone do to me? It is the LORD who helps me, and I will see my enemies defeated. It is better to trust in the LORD than to depend on people. It is better to trust in the LORD than to depend on human leaders. Many enemies were around me; but I destroyed them by the power of the LORD! They were around me on every side; but I destroyed them by the power of the LORD! They swarmed around me like bees, but they burned out as quickly as a brush fire; by the power of the LORD I destroyed them. I was fiercely attacked and was being defeated, but the LORD helped me. The LORD makes me powerful and strong; he has saved me. Listen to the glad shouts of victory in the tents of God's people: "The LORD's mighty power has done it! His power has brought us victory--- his mighty power in battle!" I will not die; instead, I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done. He has punished me severely, but he has not let me die. Open to me the gates of the Temple; I will go in and give thanks to the LORD! This is the gate of the LORD; only the righteous can come in. I praise you, LORD, because you heard me, because you have given me victory. The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the LORD; what a wonderful sight it is! This is the day of the LORD's victory; let us be happy, let us celebrate! Save us, LORD, save us! Give us success, O LORD! May God bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD! From the Temple of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God; he has been good to us. With branches in your hands, start the festival and march around the altar. You are my God, and I give you thanks; I will proclaim your greatness. Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good, and his love is eternal.
(Psalms 118:1-29 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 11:16 AM May 05, 2007  0 comments links to this post

How I love your Temple, LORD Almighty! How I want to be there! I long to be in the LORD's Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrows have built a nest, and the swallows have their own home; they keep their young near your altars, LORD Almighty, my king and my God. How happy are those who live in your Temple, always singing praise to you. How happy are those whose strength comes from you, who are eager to make the pilgrimage to Mount Zion. As they pass through the dry valley of Baca, it becomes a place of springs; the autumn rain fills it with pools. They grow stronger as they go; they will see the God of gods on Zion. Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty. Listen, O God of Jacob! Bless our king, O God, the king you have chosen. One day spent in your Temple is better than a thousand anywhere else; I would rather stand at the gate of the house of my God than live in the homes of the wicked. The LORD is our protector and glorious king, blessing us with kindness and honor. He does not refuse any good thing to those who do what is right. LORD Almighty, how happy are those who trust in you!
(Psalms 84:1-12 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 4:36 PM May 04, 2007  0 comments links to this post

Listen to us, O Shepherd of Israel; hear us, leader of your flock. Seated on your throne above the winged creatures, reveal yourself to the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Show us your strength; come and save us! Bring us back, O God! Show us your mercy, and we will be saved! How much longer, LORD God Almighty, will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have given us sorrow to eat, a large cup of tears to drink. You let the surrounding nations fight over our land; our enemies insult us. Bring us back, Almighty God! Show us your mercy, and we will be saved! You brought a grapevine out of Egypt; you drove out other nations and planted it in their land. You cleared a place for it to grow; its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land. It covered the hills with its shade; its branches overshadowed the giant cedars. It extended its branches to the Mediterranean Sea and as far as the Euphrates River. Why did you break down the fences around it? Now anyone passing by can steal its grapes; wild hogs trample it down, and wild animals feed on it. Turn to us, Almighty God! Look down from heaven at us; come and save your people! Come and save this grapevine that you planted, this young vine you made grow so strong! Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down; look at them in anger and destroy them! Preserve and protect the people you have chosen, the nation you made so strong. We will never turn away from you again; keep us alive, and we will praise you. Bring us back, LORD God Almighty. Show us your mercy, and we will be saved.
(Psalms 80:1-19 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 7:01 AM May 03, 2007  0 comments links to this post

I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal his children. For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth. But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God's gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and set our whole being free. For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will. We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers. And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them.
(Romans 8:18-30 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 9:59 AM May 02, 2007  0 comments links to this post

There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me free from the law of sin and death. What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending his own Son, who came with a nature like our sinful nature, to do away with sin. God did this so that the righteous demands of the Law might be fully satisfied in us who live according to the Spirit, and not according to human nature. Those who live as their human nature tells them to, have their minds controlled by what human nature wants. Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace. And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature; for they do not obey God's law, and in fact they cannot obey it. Those who obey their human nature cannot please God. But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to---if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ lives in you, the Spirit is life for you because you have been put right with God, even though your bodies are going to die because of sin. If the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, lives in you, then he who raised Christ from death will also give life to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you. So then, my friends, we have an obligation, but it is not to live as our human nature wants us to. For if you live according to your human nature, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death your sinful actions, you will live. Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's children. For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God's children, and by the Spirit's power we cry out to God, "Father! my Father!" God's Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children. Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we will also share his glory.
(Romans 8:1-17 GNB)

Labels: Experience New Life in the Spirit

posted by Faith  # 10:20 AM May 01, 2007  0 comments links to this post