The Spiritual Journey
The Journey with Jesus Christ begins with spiritual poverty and starvation…. Blessed are the poor in spirt and those who who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. God will fill us with the power of his Holy Spirit when men and women are hungry and thirsty, not for physical air, water and food, but for the spiritual breath of life and and the sustenance of His spiritual food.
The gospel is bad news and good news. Before we can receive the good news of salvation, we must be aware of spiritual hunger when the things of the world leave us unfulfilled and unsatisfied.
The spirit of the Lord will lead us into the desert… into the valley of dry bones before God can infuse us with the life of his holy spirit. The prophet Ezekiel revealed the vision of the valley of the dry bones. The prophet said, Son of Man, can these bones live?…. Only thou O son of Man can know this. The sovreign Lord said, I will breath my breath into these dry bones and they will come to life.
In the book, the Journey to the Inner Chamber, Rocky Fleming describes walking skeletons. They would collapse and these bones would be cast into the fire. Shall these dry bones live? The new birth is when a man comes before the Lord dead in trespasses and sins with meekness and humility to approach the throne of God’s grace. These dead and dry bones shall live for that which is impossible with man is possible with God. The greatest of all miracles is to bring dead men walking into the life of the spirit of life in Christ.
Salvation, the new birth of God’s spirit is the greatest of all miracles. Jesus himself said before his ascension, The works that I do, shall they (who have been born again of God’s spirit) do, and even greater works because I go unto my Father. The greater works is to lead others to salvation.
The spirit of life in Christ is the power of the resurrection of God’s only begotten son. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone… That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Ron recalls that when he accepted Jesus Christ, he lost the desire to drink and smoke. Then after an argument with his wife six months later, he bought two bottles of champagne and went to the park to drink them. After he had finished one bottle, he saw a man on a park bench smoking a cigarette. He said, “can I bum a cigarette from you?” The man gave him a cigarette. Ron said, “This is the first time in six months I’ve had a cigarette.” The man said, “how did you quit?” Ron said, “I was saved by Jesus Christ and lost all desire to drink and smoke.” The man replied, “How can I receive Jesus Christ?” Even though he had fallen from fellowship, Ron taught the man about salvation and the man accepted Jesus as Lord.
God will forgive us but what is done in darkness will be brought out into the light…. For the light exposes the hidden things of dishonesty. Sometimes God will speak to us through our own godly wives…. The “still small voice” of the Lord takes many forms. Thank God for those who love us enough to shine the light of truth into the dark places in our hearts. God will teach us to love and honor those we love. Then he will show us that the greatest blessing is to please our Heavenly Father. When we love others with the love of God, we will learn to love our Lord Jesus Christ… for Jesus said, in that thou hast done it unto the least of these my brethren, thou hast done it unto me.
The love of God is God’s force-multiplier… for it is charity, the unconditional spitirual love of God that initiates the fusion reaction…. The implosion that fuses our hearts with God’s heart, and one with another in the household of faith. This is the reason for Colossians 3: Above all things, put on charity, the agape love of God which is the bond of perfectness. The love of God fuses our hearts together in the unity of the spirt in the bond of peace.
As men of God passionately seeking to do His will, all that is within you praise his holy name. In praise and thanksgiving to God, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. For we have this treasure (of the spirit of life in Christ) in earthen vessels of our corruptible bodies, that the excellency of the power (of his spirit) may be of God and not of us…
Upon the journey of this life, what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?…
…That we may become a living sacrifice of praise, wholly acceptable unto Him to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
