Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: 1 Samuel 6-7; Ephesians 5
Devotional Thought:
Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” The only way for the Christian to not grieve the Holy Spirit is to yield control over to Him. “Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess but be filled with the Spirit.” (vs. 18) The manifestation of being filled or controlled by the spirit is three-fold: (1) A new inspiration in your heart. (2) A new appreciation in your soul. (3) A new submission in your spirit. There is joy in the heart of every child of God who is walking by faith in the word of God. Our faith always determines our obedience, and therefore, the devil is constantly trying to cause doubt in our minds as to what God has declared to be true. When doubt and rebellion come into the heart of the child of God it directly correlates to a life that is headed for disobedience. We can never change truth for it is timeless, but the arm of flesh will sometimes doubt the declared truth of God’s Word and thereby leading us to depend upon the arm of flesh. Being controlled by the Holy Spirit will always be rooted in trusting the truth of God’s Word in every circumstance that will produce joy and peace in our hearts that produces a new song. Gratitude is a product of that same acknowledgement of truth. We give thanks, which is an act of our will, that comes from an intellectual acknowledgement that God is right and that what He says and does is ultimately rooted in His love for me and therefore, produces a heart that is thankful to Him. This chapter concludes with reminding us that the submissive spirit of the Christian manifests being controlled by the Spirit. We make all of God’s decisions successful. We may understand or not understand. We may agree or disagree. However, we acknowledge God’s right to determine what He allows and brings into my life and I seek to make it successful. May God help us to live with this type of control of the Spirit.
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to live controlled by the Spirit.
• Lord, please help me to manifest the clear manifestation of God’s clear leadership.
• Lord, teach me to trust you more and yield to the control of the Spirit.