2025-10-17
Good morning, Dear Ones,
Over mankind’s history, things started out according to God’s will but experienced a downhill slide due to the original sin in the Garden of Eden [GN 3: 1-6]. God’s ideals for His human creation were sullied by the introduction of sin, which, through heredity, stained the human soul. A way out of this predicament was needed and only God’s sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, would provide that. It was never God’s intention to remove our free agency, because it was needed to reveal a person’s heart attitude.
There was no shortage of pain for our Father in watching the Lord Jesus suffer and die on the cross, enduring a three-day separation when Jesus went to hell. Then, the Father resurrected His beloved and only Son to heaven [JN 11: 25-26]. All of this provided a way out for those humans who decide to have faith in Him [1 COR 10: 13]. Understanding the compassion and power that went into God’s finding this way out must be part of one’s belief to be fully appreciated.
For some people, their rearing by their parents gave them faith in Christ, right from the beginning. For others, finding it involves a step-by- step process of searching and discovery. However, without realizing it, life-long faith isn’t accomplished without the acts of the Holy Spirit (God’s third personality). JN 14: 26 [Christ speaking], “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” It took me years to understand how much God’s love for us leads Him to use His power for righteousness to seek us by means of the Holy Spirit and to engender faith that leads to our salvation. IS 44: 3, “For I will pour water on a thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants.” Our loving God wants what is best for us! But we must do our part in this process too.
The year-long Masterlife course by Avery T. Willis has a section on how we gain faith and fall in love with the Scriptures. It uses a diagram of a person’s heart, represented by a circle that opens on the bottom and at the top. Sinful thoughts and behaviors are to escape from the bottom, and yet the prompting of the Holy Spirit that enters through the top is not lost. This diagram is based on the will of a human being, who is studying the Scriptures, engaging in the life of a believer, and keeps his heart open to the Holy Spirit. Living the life of a believer is reaching out to others in faith-building, both private and corporate prayer, listening for God’s input, regular attendance at church, serving God using his talents in the many ways available, studying God’s teaching, and in every way open to him-- building a relationship with God. PR 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” HE 11: 1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” RO 10: 17, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” MT 22: 37-40, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”
PRAYER: O Lord, there is so much more that we must understand to know how You use Your righteous power to seek us, so that we can open our hearts to the Holy Spirit. In building a relationship with You, You show us how to discern between what is right with You and what is evil, how to fend off evil, how to avoid trouble, and how to have an earthly live that will lead to salvation. Eternal life with You is the greatest, most important goal we can have. JN 3: 16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” You deserve our never- ending praise, loyalty, love and thanksgiving for such a sacrifice as this. We utter this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As the Holy Spirit directs, I will be writing about the mechanics of getting this fresh start and what it takes to keep on God’s track in our lives in the next few weeks. We have not left the gifts of the Holy Spirit in all these weekly devotions, and only He is generous enough to provide all the specifics on how to incorporate each gift in our lives [GA 5: 22-23]. Imagine that God is chasing after us, mere and ordinary human beings who hardly deserve the riches of His love! With faith in Him, we can be eternally forgiven for our sins, justified in His sight, and saved for a blissful eternal life with Him. Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace Be with You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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