The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Gift of Himself"
After the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, it became possible for God to permanently indwell believers with the Holy Spirit. The Savior's redeeming and atoning work cleansed the temple of trusting spirits, as it were, resulting in the most marvelous of all gifts God could give to those who receive His saving grace. Yes, from Pentecost on, our Lord gives Himself to all who believe.
"I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16-17).
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
(I Corinthians 3:16).
Amid "the unsearchable riches of Christ" God gives to those who receive the Lord Jesus, the gift of Himself serves as the heart of all (Ephesians 3:8). "I will come to you" promised the Savior to His disciples (John 14:18). He kept His word, of course, even as He faithfully comes to indwell the spirit of every sinner who becomes a "new creature" in the moment of salvation (II Corinthians 5:17). Thereafter, we live not as a "me," but as a "we." "We shall live with Him" (II Corinthians 13:4). God made us for this, and so loves human hearts He is not content to merely dwell with them, but rather within them. "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).
What if this is true? It is, of course. But what if the presence of the living God serves as the greatest truth of our existence in this very moment? How does this change the moment, or rather, our perception and experience of it? Of course, we presently "walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7). Our awareness and response to God's nearness ebbs and flows in our conscious awareness. However, the reality never changes. Again, therefore, what if God has drawn nearer to us than our next breath, serving as the very Life of our lives? He has.
"Christ is our life… to live is Christ… I will dwell in them and walk in them… I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Colossians 3:4; Philippians 1:21; II Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 13:5).
The advent of the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit changed everything in God's working in humanity. It changed everything in the innermost sanctum of our being when we believed. It changes this and every moment as we remember and affirm the greatest of all gifts bestowed upon us in Christ. Whatever our "now" involves, we face it not as "me," but as "we." Thereby, our blessings become all the more blessed, our challenges all the more manageable, our moments all the more momentous.
Father, are You there?
No, My child, I am not there,
I am here, nearer than any other.
And I will always be not there, but here,
of this you can be sure,
and this you will discover
As the years roll on, and eternity draws nigh,
I am with you always,
so near, so much nearer than any other.
I am here, My child.
"I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
(John 17:26)
Weekly Memory Verse
"We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord."
(II Corinthians 4:5)
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