Man's Ingenuity or God's Spirit
Writer Author Sylvia Huffnagle
Christian Article
:
Exhortation
- Fiction No
I read just read what is considered an inspiring story involving man’s ingenuity. The gist of it was that the mother of a family of six wanted to have a wonderful Christmas, but her family did not have the Christmas spirit--the kids were bickering among themselves most of the time.
She came up with an idea. At the beginning of the week, they would draw the name of one of their family members and spend the week doing nice things for them. For each good deed they did they would get to contribute a piece of straw to the manger that the baby Jesus would be in on Christmas morning. If one of them drew the name of someone whom they particularly found it hard to be nice to, the incentive doubled--they would get a fat piece of straw or two pieces of straw to add to the manger. The idea worked and the family had the right spirit by Christmas day.
The story was entertaining, amusing, and it was full of wisdom and creativity. The family had fun doing it and benefited from the experience. The desired result was accomplished. To those untrained in the Word of God, it was very successful.
This using man’s ingenuity to get the job done even in evangelizing and adding members to the church is the in thing today. Everybody’s doing it. That’s why I must share this message.
Whose birthday were they celebrating? Jesus. Whose Spirit was the original spirit of Christmas? Jesus. Whose Spirit does the New Testament teach us how to receive? Jesus. Why do we need to find another way to have a similar spirit when it’s His birth day and His Spirit that we are celebrating and desire?
The way to have Jesus’ Spirit is to repent of your sins and your ways and ask Jesus to come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior from that day forth and forevermore. You are then to turn from your ways, your old thinking, and old way of doing things. Repentance and turning results in a person being given a new desire, which is to learn of Him and implement the things they learn into their daily walk.
This is done by studying the Word with the understanding that the New Testament is the mind and spirit of Christ. As we do what it says, we become more and more Christ-like. We do not receive God’s Spirit and God’s empowerment be conjuring it up thorough man’s ingenuity. It comes as we make Jesus Lord in our life.
How do you make Jesus, Lord? When a decision or situation arises, the one who has determined to follow Jesus, adjusts his or her attitude till it comes into line with what Jesus and the whole New Testament teaches. They make their choices the same way. They ask themselves; What would Jesus do and then they go and do likewise. But it’s more than that, they identify with Him and adopt His way of looking at, feeling about, and doing in the matter.
The Bible teaches us to consider the old man crucified and put on the new man. This is the same thing as making Jesus, Lord. This is the same thing as receiving a new heart--a heart to please God rather than our sinful nature. This thinking empowers us to receive God’s Spirit and walk by it.
Secondly, in why a believer should seek Jesus’ Spirit instead of a substitute--any time a person has to work up the desired result through man’s devices, it will be a substitute for the real thing-- is that Jesus’ Spirit is a sweet, sweet spirit and it empowers beyond natural ability and It always works toward the eternal--never operates just for the moment.
Some may not even now think my making issue of this is all that important. Let me show you why it is of great importance. Below is how God sees it:
Isa: 30:11-18: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12: Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14: And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. 15: For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. 16: But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. 17: One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. 18: And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
When Christians accomplish what God has mandated by human means, God calls it riding on horse of flesh and He is not pleased. Why? He sent Jesus to us so that we would have access to His super-natural power in order to get the job done right and we think our own ingenuity will do the job.
In the story, they were celebrating the birth of the Savior, but because He wasn’t Lord in their life, they had to conjure up a spirit that seemed like His to them. God said the answer lay in returning to Him and resting in Him. In having a quiet peaceful spirit because we have confidence in Him.
This using ingenuity instead of Holy Ghost power is the reason why we have such little strength. Christians consider themselves only human and that is why they fall, but God wanted Christians to be spirit-filled warriors. He is waiting to be gracious unto us.
And then in Isa:40:6-8, God says: The voice said: Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Sylvia Huffnagle
Editor's Comment:
About the Writer Author
State:
Pennsylvania
Country:
United States
Email:
huffnagl@verizon.net
Website:
www.straightpaths.truepath.com/about4.html
Profile:
Click here!
|
|
Most Recent From This Writer
Inspired Still - Designs by LaVellaK
Design Challenged? No worries! Among many design services I offer, I'll gladly design hats, t-shirts and more for you or your organized Special Event. Email me at justask@worthfinding.com for details!
Photgraphy & Design by LaVella Kraft
|
Select Article or Story
|