The ministry and indwelling of Holy Spirit enables us to study the Scriptures. The third person of the Godhead reveals to us everything we need to understand and to live in the Grace of God given in Jesus Christ!
Jesus split the veil that separated God from us. Through Him we can come boldly to the throne of God’s grace.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Galatians 1:11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
If we were to name the feelings "the man" described in Lamentations 3:1-9, we could say he felt: alone, victimized, bitter, trapped, unheard and blocked from future success. It sounds like a terrible place to be.
Lamentations also reminds us there is hope beyond our hardest seasons. God's faithfulness overrides the darkest of the dark (Lamentations 3:6). So even when we feel like we're walking "without any light" (Lamentations 3:2), we can tell ourselves the truth: Christ is the "light of the world" (John 8:12), and in Him, we are not trapped or unheard. Yes, there will be seasons that are difficult, but the difficulty is not the end.
It might feel like the air around your face is about to escape and you cannot breathe, but this is the time to remember God cares individually for you. Hold on to hope and the Truth of God's Word. He has the power to change grievous times into a great blessing. First 5
There is a story (about an embrace) told in the Gospel of Luke (The Prodigal Son). A young man leaves home in order to explore and experiment. And "find himself.”
It doesn't turn out like he planned. He squanders his inheritance and his opportunity, and lives penniless. So, he decides to return--full of shame and regret--willing to be his father's servant, as some kind of penance.
And then this sentence; "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
His Father's reaction? Wrath?
Hardly. Just the opposite. His father throws a party. He calls for rings on his son's fingers, shoes on his feet, and says: "Kill the fatted calf, and let us eat and be merry. My son was dead, and he's alive, was lost, he's found." And they do indeed have the best of all parties, with music and dancing and everything else.
In real life, it doesn't always turn out this way.
Even so.
In all of us, there is a yearning. A hunger.
A need to know that we count.
That we matter.
That someone knows us, and sees us, and is willing to open their arms, wide no matter what. Sabbath Moments
To avoid suffering from a fuel-less faith, you need to fill yourself with some high-test fuel. Try some Philippians. Like chapter 1 in verse 6: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And then chapter 4 in verse 13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
God is able to do what you can’t. Max Lucado
2 Corinthians 3:7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. The New King James Version
Paul contrasts his ministry with the ministry of Moses. The law, as given by Moses, only brings death and condemnation. In contrast to God’s Spirit, the law was not capable of giving life.
The Greek word used here, doxa, refers to the splendor of God’s manifest presence. Even though Moses’ ministry of the law was a ministry of death and condemnation, it was still accompanied by the glory of God. While God’s glory made Moses’ face radiant that glory did not last.
The ministry of the Spirit refers to the ministry that imparts the Holy Spirit (pneuma in Greek) and stands in contrast to the ministry of death described in 2 Corinthians 3:7. The glory of this ministry is greater and longer lasting because of the Spirit’s presence within the believer. Faithlife Study Bible
Paul lists the contrasts between the Old Testament ministry and the New Testament ministry.
The Old Testament ministry engraved on stones (a reference to the Ten Commandments) was glorious, but the ministry of the Spirit is more glorious, because the glory of the ministry of the Law given through Moses was passing away. Besides, though the Law itself is holy the ministry of the Law is the ministry of death, whereas the ministry of the Spirit is the ministry of life.
The Holy Spirit produces eternal life. The NKJV Study Bible
Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 3:21–22 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
2 Corinthians 3:13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.
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