AUGUST 8, 2016

“He loves the unwanted, the weak and unloved. He is not just a king and we are the subjects; he is not just a shepherd and we are the sheep. He is a husband and we are his spouse. He is ravished with us—even those of us whom no one else notices.” 
― Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters

PSALM 82-84

The Psalm states that it is better to be a mere servant of God than a ruler of the world...

10Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you. (84:10-12)

ROMANS 8:19-39

Paul states that the spirit will guide our desires...the spirit will transform our hopes and longings...

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordace with the will of God.

JOURNAL 

For some reason it really hit me this morning that once we truly submit to the spirit of God our lives become directed by that spirit. Our desires begin to change. They can't possibly stay the same. The things we want most in life must become God's desires and wishes. I would feel it would be safe to say that unless our desires and passions change...then we really have not fully embraced and been transformed by the spirit.  We really have not understood the offer, the gift and the overwhelming perfect love of God. 

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. - ROMANS 12:1-2