Have you ever thought about your soul? What is it exactly? The common definition of soul is something that is a combination of our emotions, thoughts, and will (decision making functions). Dallas Willard, who writes extensively on spiritual disciplines and soul-care, defines it differently. He suggests, “What is running your life at any given moment is your soul. Not external circumstances, not your thoughts, not your intentions, not even your feelings but your soul. The soul is that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in the various dimensions of the self. The soul is the life center of human beings.”

If you think about it, the usual definition almost attaches soul to our physical processes of feeling, thinking, and decision-making. But if our body is destroyed, our soul goes on apart from any physical connection. The soul then is a spiritual aspect of who we are that coordinates these other facets of the human experience. It doesn’t control those aspects but coordinates them. In the beginning, God’s intention was that a healthy soul connected to him would rule over or direct our thought life, our emotions, and all of our decisions. However, sin corrupted that process and our corrupted minds and emotions began to rule our souls. When we come to Jesus, he begins the process of restoring God’s intended order to our internal world.

John Ortberg suggests that we must move from being self-focused to being soul-focused. We tend to be self-focused where how I feel, what I do, my goals, my happiness, etc. are what life is all about. We read self-help books, go to therapy to explore our thoughts and our needs, and build relationships on the basis of how the other person might benefit or even complete me.

Soul-focus simply pays attention to my connection with God knowing that when my soul is healthy, everything else takes care of itself. When my soul is healthy my internal world will be divinely ordered and nothing (or very little) will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in my life. Then I will be like a tree planted by streams of water that flourishes and bears fruit in every season. The key is for my soul to be centered in my relationship with the Father. An uncentered soul is restless and constantly dissatisfied.

In his book, Soul Keeping (p.100-103), he lists several indicators of an uncentered soul. You might check these out.

• A soul without a center has difficulty making decisions. When our souls are not centered in God, even as believers we may have a great deal of internal debate about whether our decision should serve God or serve our flesh.

• A soul without a center feels constantly vulnerable to people or circumstances. In those moments we feel as if people, what they think of us, or our circumstances determine our well-being rather than God and his provision being the determination of that.

• A soul without a center lacks patience. Think express lane at HEB. When you feel your blood pressure rising because the woman who is paying out in front of you is fumbling for her coupons in a purse the size of Texas that she could have retrieved while she was waiting in line, shift your thoughts from self-focused to soul-focused and ask, “What is God wanting me to do or learn from this moment?” Your chosen focus changes everything.

• A soul without center is easily thrown. Does every little crisis or disappointment in your life cause a spinout? Are you derailed emotionally all day long when things don’t go your way? Did you experience a little road rage on your way to work this morning? Your soul may not be centered.

• A soul without a center finds its identity in externals. Does your car, your clothes, your house, your title, or the people you are seen with define you? Are you constantly thinking about image or the way others perceive you? Think about how much that dynamic steals your peace. The enemy comes to steal. If those concerns constantly steal your peace, then those concerns are probably from the enemy.

I have been challenged lately to think more about my soul than my self. My soul will never find rest until it rests in God. The key is finding that rest now, not just in eternity. Blessing in Him!

We have just spent my last four blogs looking at Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones. I want to connect that text with prayer. The apostle Paul tells us, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom.15:4, ESV).   In other words, when we study Old Testament scriptures, they have been included so that we might learn something significant for ourselves and our spiritual life. What we learned from Ezekiel 37 is that the Word of God has power to produce life even when it is declared by human tongues.

Too often we have defined prayer as simply asking God to do things we cannot do but there is more. Prayer is also a time for praise and worship, a time for sharing the thoughts of our hearts, a time for asking God what is on his heart, and a time for joining the Father in accomplishing his will by making declarations of faith and authority over people and situations that need his touch.

What is dead or dying in your personal universe? I want to encourage you as part of your prayer life to begin to declare the Word of God over that situation using the very words of Ezekiel crafted to fit your prayer. For instance, let’s say you have a son and daughter-in-law whose marriage is on the verge of failure. You might begin to pray and declare, “Dry bones of Ben and Marie’s marriage… hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to this marriage: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will restore love and life to your marriage and make it live again. I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O Spirit , and breathe into this dying marriage, that it may live.”

Ezekiel tells us that after his declaration of God’s word over the desolation of the valley the following was the result. “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.” Praying and declaring the very word of God over a person or a situation is very powerful. Sometimes results come in a moment but in most instances persistence will be needed.

I want to quote from Dutch Sheets book, Intercessory Prayer, to make this point. “ John Killinger tells about an interesting method used in the past to break a wild steed by harnessing it to a burro. The powerful steed would take off across the range, twisting and bucking, causing the burro to be tossed about wildly. What a sight. The steed would run away, pulling the burro alongside, and they would drop out of sight – sometimes for days. Then they would return, with the proud little burro in charge. The steed had worn himself our, fighting the presence of the burro. When he became too tired to fight anymore, the burro assumed the position of leader. And that’s the way it is many times with prayer. Victory goes to the persistent, not to the angry; to the dedicated, not to those who can provide great demonstrations of emotion and energy. We need committed, determined, systematic prayer, not once on a while fireworks.” It’s not that righteous anger and fireworks aren’t appropriate at times, but consistent, faith-filled, dedicated, on-target prayer wins the battle more often.

I sense that there are a few who read this blog that have given up on a situation of “dry bones” close to them. I want to encourage you to begin again. You know what God’s will is for the situation, so begin to pray and declare God’s word over that situation believing that when God’s word goes forth it fulfills its purpose. Believe. Declare. Persist. We are often thrilled at the exploits of men of faith in the Old Testament as they waded into battle and won great victories against overwhelming odds – David and Goliath, Gideon, Jonathan and his armor bearer, and so forth. These were furious fights that lasted for a few hours or a day. But many other battles (probably most) were won by laying siege to a city, cutting off supply lines, and attacking one section of wall day after day in strategic intervals until it crumbled. Persistent, systematic prayer cuts off the supply lines of the enemy and brings down walls that a furious fight for a few hours can’t topple. Begin again and be blessed in Him.

“Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them…Ezek. 37

When asking God to breathe life into a situation, a relationship, or a disease riddled body we must always remember that our faith and action will play a part. God had already decided to raise this army of dry bones from the valley floor but would wait on Ezekiel to declare his word before the power flowed. Notice that Ezekiel was not declaring his own word or his own will but the will and the word of God.

Our first step in changing an impossible situation is to make sure that what we are asking is aligned with the will of God. Are we praying something or declaring something that has his stamp of approval on it? You would think that principle is a given but I have known Christians who were praying for things far removed from the will of God. For instance, I met with a woman once who was frustrated with God because he hadn’t answered a long time prayer for her “boyfriend” to leave his wife and children to marry her. I’ve met with a Christian whose greatest desire was for a former spouse to die and burn in hell. I’m not sure that follower of Jesus prayed for that particular outcome but I know she hoped for that outcome because she told me so in no uncertain terms. I believe she had prayed for it.

Our first assessment should be whether the thing we are praying for or declaring lines up with the will of God as revealed in scripture. We can always pray, declare and command for the sake of someone’s salvation because we know that God desires that all men should be saved. We can always pray, declare, or command on behalf of a failing marriage, a person in bondage to an addiction, a nation that needs to turn back to God, or for a woman not to choose abortion because we know God’s constant heart on those matters. We already have his unchanging word on the matter. Other issues may be a little trickier so we simply need a “rhema” or direct word from God on the issue. Ezekiel didn’t get his command to prophesy over dry bones from the Torah but from a direct word from the Lord.

The key is in praying, prophesying, or declaring the word of God over the issue. God said, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isa.55:11). When God’s word goes forth it fulfills its purpose. In the case of Ezekiel, God’s word was placed on Ezekiel’s lips and he sent it forth by declaring God’s word over an entire valley of dry bones. Jeremiah experienced the same dynamic. “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer.1:9-10). Jeremiah would build and tear down nations by declaring God’s word over them. As I said before, God loaded the gun but his prophets pointed the gun at the target and pulled the trigger which released the power of the Holy Spirit into the very situation God was willing to effect on the earth.

Those patterns of how God works in the earth were given for our learning. Just as Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and a host of others in scripture declared God’s word over a matter, we are to do the same. When God’s word goes forth from our lips, it also fulfills its purpose. That is how we speak life over dead things that God wants to make live again. That is how we tear down strongholds and set people free. The desired result is not always immediate. It takes years to build some things as each prayer and declaration adds a brick and months or years to tear down other things. At times we are laying siege to the enemy and every prayer, declaration, or command releases more of the power of God into the situation we are dealing with. When enough spiritual artillery has pounded the walls of a demonic stronghold, the wall will fall like the walls of Jericho. God wants to build up and tear down and he wants to use us to do both. He uses us by placing his words on our lips so that we might send forth the words of God that in due time will fulfill their purpose.

Next Blog: More lessons from dry bones.

He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever –Jn. 14:16

This is a rewrite of a blog I wrote months ago but I sense that God is wanting me to revisit the theme. For most of my years in ministry, I functioned as one of the primary pastors in my church that provided counseling for members as well as for other believers from the community. I typically saw problems that you would encounter in any counseling practice – chronic depression, anxiety, anger, shame, addictions, gender confusion, eating disorders, and marriages on the brink of dissolving. Most of these individuals had been Christians for years. The huge red flag should have been that our people, after following Jesus for years, looked very little different from those living in the world who did not know Jesus. They were saved but their lives had not been transformed.

As I met with individuals, I gave them a little insight into their troubles and a couple of exercises to do at home, prayed over them, and sent them on their way. I would see them again the next week and hoped for a little progress. Typically, little or no progress had been made and we would march around the same mountain again. We would work until some identifiable progress had been made and I would release them. I would likely see them again in six months. I had taken graduate courses in Marriage and Family counseling and went to top-notch workshops offered by both secular and Christian counselors. Other than an opening prayer, I heard essentially the same strategies for counseling.

However, as the years passed something kept eating at me. When I read the New Testament, I never got the sense that the church in Jerusalem (or anywhere else) offered counseling from leaders who went to the world’s universities for training nor did the writers of the N.T. encourage believers to work hard to “manage their issues. ” Instead they commanded them to rid themselves of those things. More strikingly, there was no sense that followers of Jesus took months and years of meeting with a local pastor or a therapist to experience healing and significant life change.

What I did see was the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Christ healing bodies, hearts, and lives. I saw once broke and even perverse sinners transformed and walking in a holiness that stood out from the world…and it didn’t take a lifetime. Paul clearly expected the church to be the place where the wisdom and power of heaven would reside and where the Holy Spirit would unravel the knots of a believer’s past while drawing the poison out of long-standing wounds. There was no hint that the church would go to the world for help but that the world would come to the church. Yet I (and other Christian counselors) tended to call secular training with an opening prayer Christian counseling. Even Christian colleges offered essentially the same training in counseling and therapy that unbelieving universities offered.

I am not denying that secular counseling can help. But what I am saying is that there is power and transformation available from God’s Spirit that secular counseling cannot touch. Paul is clear that the real battle for the hearts and minds of people rests in the spiritual realm where only divine weapons have impact. The N.T. church seemed to rely much more on encounters with the Holy Spirit and the powerful exercise of spiritual gifts to heal and change those who followed Jesus than wisdom the world might offer.  As those who will “judge angels” (1 Cor. 6:3) and who have the Counselor of Heaven residing within us, we should have much more to offer than secular therapists.

Once I began to allow the power of the kingdom of heaven to invade the counseling room and began to be a catalyst for encounters with God, I began to see the radical life change that I saw on the pages of the gospels. Once I began to speak God’s truth over situations I began to see Christians delivered from anger, fear, depression, addictions, eating disorders, and sexual brokenness in hours or weeks rather than months and years. I saw marriages on the brink of divorce begin to thrive because the Holy Spirit changed hearts rather than people simply changing behaviors. I must admit that when the power of God brings the transformation rather than my “amazing counseling skills” I feel much less significant in the process. In those moments I am no longer the dispenser of wisdom, the Holy Spirit is. But then, I get to see radical change rather than miniscule progress.

The good news of the kingdom of God is that Jesus has come to heal the brokenhearted and set captives free. He wants to release His power into the lives of his children for every circumstance. The Holy Spirit is an amazing counselor full of not only wisdom but also power.   Until a greater portion of the church discovers that, many committed believers who love Jesus will continue to walk for years with a relational limp and a broken heart – never living up to the dream their Father has for them. That is not God’s will for his church. The bride of Christ is meant to be shining, glorious, and powerful. Lets not settle for less. The world needs us and it needs us to be the distributors of God’s power on this planet. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Cor.4:20).

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.             Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Eph.6:13-18)

This will be my last word on this key passage from Ephesians 6 for a while but I wanted to look at the last and greatest weapon in God’s arsenal – prayer. After listing truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God as weapons and armor with which to do battle in the spiritual realm, Paul calls on us to pray – not only to pray but to pray in the Spirit. So what does it mean to pray in the Spirit?

Paul gives us an indication of what this means in his letter to the church at Corinth. In his discussion of spiritual gifts he says, “So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying” (1 Cor. 14:12-16). In this context, Paul is clearly giving direction on the practice of praying in tongues – a spiritual language given by the Spirit that even our own minds don’t understand unless God gives us a gift of interpretation as well. Paul speaks about praying out loud in a tongue to give a blessing and calls that blessing “in the spirit” or “in the Spirit” depending on your understanding of the context.

Jude instructs us, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 20). John tells us that he was “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day when he received the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:10). This idea of praying in the Spirit as a spiritual weapon suggests that we should be praying in tongues as well as praying by direction of the Holy Spirit. Paul encourages us when he says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Rom.8:26). I believe the Spirit intercedes or prays for us even when we are unaware but also when we engage with Him as we pray in tongues. Jude tells us that as we pray in the Holy Spirit there is something about the process that builds us up and strengthens us spiritually.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul states that he would pray both with the spirit (tongues) and with the understanding, which is our typical way of praying, and in this passage he seems to encourage both in the life of every believer. However, the overall theme of his statements in Ephesians 6 is to pray every kind of prayer and to persist in prayer not only for our own needs but also for all the saints.

As a weapon, our prayers not only activate the power of heaven but they also direct the power of heaven. Without our prayers, little power is appropriated and little power is directed. The early church was a praying church. The leaders ministered in prayer, the people met often to pray and fast, and when they did the power of heaven shook the earth. The church grew and when Rome crumbled into dust the church still stood. Above all else we must pray for that is the ultimate weapon in spiritual warfare. So pray in all kinds of ways about all kinds of things but keep on praying until hell bows the knee to Jesus in the lives of individuals and nations. Be blessed and please be in prayer of our nation and the Lord’s churches in this nation.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Rom.8:9-14)

As we continue dissecting Romans 8, it is clear that the Holy Spirit is essential for living up to the calling that we have received in Jesus. Paul makes a bold statement when he says, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Rom.8:9). I believe that Paul’s statement here speaks to the potential of the Spirit controlling believers because he has just said in Romans 7 that the flesh wars against the Spirit and he says in other places in Romans that we must choose to serve the Spirit rather than the flesh – it is not automatic because our free will is always in play. But our goal should be complete surrender to the leading of the Spirit.

Interestingly, Paul lifts up the Spirit within us as the mark of belonging to Jesus even more than moral living, Bible knowledge, church attendance or correct doctrines. All of those things are important but the one thing that sets a believer apart from all other people in the world is the Spirit of Christ living in us. Since the Spirit living in us is the great divide among the saved and the unsaved there should also be evidence of the Spirit within us. Paul warns us not to quench the Spirit (I Thess.5:19) or grieve the Spirit (Eph.4:30), but rather instructs us to be filled with the Spirit (Eph.5:18). The fruit of the Spirit (character) and the power of the Spirit (spiritual gifts) are the primary evidences of his presence and should increase as we mature in Christ and mark us as being different from all other people on the planet.

In this section of Romans 8, it is clear that the idea of Christ living in us and the Spirit living in us are the same. Christ lives in us through his Spirit so as we are led by the Spirit we are led by Christ. As we honor the Spirit we honor Christ. As we hear the Spirit we hear Christ.   The Spirit within us is also the Spirit of the Living God whose ultimate purpose for us is the resurrection of the body and eternal life with the Him as our Father. The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will do the same for us and fit us with bodies suited for eternity and for the presence of God. In our glorified bodies there will be no fallen or sinful nature. We will have no rebellious impulse that pushes back against the Father’s will. We will carry no shame, no fear, and no sense of condemnation. We will be fully alive in an atmosphere of peace, joy, and love.

In view of that hope, Paul counsels us to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh by the power of the Spirit. He would say to us, “Ignore the impulses of the flesh. Be clear that you have no obligation to honor its demands. It leads to death rather than life – not just in the world to come but in this world as well.” We all reap what we sow. If we give into the impulses and demands of the sinful nature, disaster and destruction will follow at some point. But if we surrender our hearts, our thoughts, and our actions to the Spirit there will be a harvest of life-giving outcomes.” Paul would also tell us that the true sons and daughters of God are marked by evidence of the Spirit in their lives. They are marked by goodness and life. Both the fruit of the Spirit and his power mark them. The more Spirit-led we are, the more power he is willing to entrust to us.

We are all interested in the return on our investments. We wonder what the payoff will be for our time and effort. Many of us watch interest rates and the stock market daily to see what’s happening to our investments because we are investing for the future. Paul’s counsel is to be even more concerned about our spiritual investments because there will be an inescapable payoff some day for good or for pain. The sure investment is always to lay up treasure in heaven and our sensitivity and surrender to the Spirit will be directly proportional to our deposits there. To be all that God wants us to be we must pursue the Spirit of God and all that he offers because what he offers has already been purchased by the blood of the Son.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desiresThe mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Rom. 8:5-9)

I commented on this section of Romans 8 in my last blog but wanted to take one more look at it from a different perspective. This section underscores how different the sinful nature is from our spiritual nature – the nature of the redeemed believer. In Romans 7, Paul makes it clear that believers have two natures and choose which one takes the lead in their life. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (Rom.7:18-23).

Once we have named Jesus as Lord and Savior, our eternal spirit is given life and the Holy Spirit begins a work of sanctification in us. That is simply the work of changing us so that we become more and more like Jesus. But we still deal with the fallen nature that afflicts the entire human race. It is in our flesh and in our soul and does not just go away. Instead, it wars against our spirit pushing back each time the Holy Spirit prompts us to choose righteousness over selfishness.

We know that dynamic by experience. We have all felt those internal debates about doing right or doing wrong, about acting responsibly or irresponsibly, or about giving into hurtful emotions or bridling our tongues. Satan fuels the desires of the natural man so that those desires and impulses can be very powerful – even in believers.

Let me list the descriptors from both Romans 7 & 8 that Paul expresses in relation to the sinful nature which is sometimes called the natural man: nothing good, evil, sin living in me, waging war, making me a prisoner, death, hostile to God, unable to submit to God’s law, and displeasing to God. That’s quite a “rap sheet” for the sinful nature and clearly sets it in opposition to the work of the Holy Spirit. That fallen nature is so much a part of us that we will be given glorified bodies at the resurrection rather than refurbished bodies. It is almost as if God is saying that our fallen nature is so defective that he is just going to toss it out and give us a new one rather than trying to repair what we have.

This truth should tell us that we cannot make peace with our sinful nature. We cannot compromise or be friends with that nature. Instead, we must battle it and overcome it. We must crucify it and consider it dead. Too many believers try to pacify that nature by giving in “a little” or by satisfying it “a little” so that it quiets down, but that only strengthens it. In a sense, we won’t rid ourselves of it totally until the resurrection so what we must do is weaken it to the point that it displays little strength in our lives. As the devil fuels our sinful nature, the Holy Spirit desires to fuel our spiritual or redeemed nature. We have a major part to play in that process.

It simply gets down to which nature do we choose to nurture and which do we choose to starve. What do we do on a daily basis to feed our sinful nature and what do we do to feed our spiritual nature? When do we open ourselves up to Satan and when do we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit? When do we agree with Satan by giving into his leading and when do we agree with the Holy Spirit by giving into his leading? Whatever choices we make most often tip the battle in one direction or another.

Be mindful of which nature you are feeding and whose leading you are allowing to influence you. One is death and one is life. One is hostile to God while the other loves God and the things of God. One day Joshua challenged the Hebrews to choose whom they would serve – the God of Israel or the false gods of this world. We make that choice fifty times a day – big choices and small ones – and each choice determines how the war is going. Spirit-led is the path that marks the true disciples of Jesus.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:5-9)

Churches that minimize their emphasis on the Holy Spirit are setting their members up for failure because it is the leading of the Spirit that brings us into the perfect will of God. Most churches that minor in the Spirit believe that the Spirit simply works through the Word and that all you need is biblical knowledge to live as God calls you to live and to be pleasing to him. However, without the Holy Spirit having an active ministry in your life you cannot live as Jesus lived.

Certainly, scripture provides principles for living the Christian life and is always the plumb line for whatever we do. But there are times when scripture can only take you so far and then you need to hear from the Spirit to step into God’s purposes in a given situation. For instance, in Acts 1:20-26, Peter is prompted by the Spirit (or directed by Jesus before his ascension) to apply two obscure verses from Psalms to the apostolic situation and a need to replace Judas with another follower. Peter was clear on the qualifications for an apostle of Christ. The conundrum was that two men met the qualifications for the position but there was only one opening. Peter prayed asking God to reveal His choice to replace Judas because only God knew their hearts. Then, they cast lots and trusted that God had spoken through the lots since the scriptures were able to reveal God’s general will for the situation but not his specific will. They needed direction from heaven in addition to the written word of God. If we do not believe that the Spirit speaks and leads in addition to the written Word, we will miss much of God’s specific will in our lives and miss many of his purposes.

In this chapter, Paul counsels us to desire what the Spirit desires and to invite the Spirit to govern our minds – our thought processes. He makes the point that this governing of our thoughts by the Spirit is a primary step to freedom from sin and the demands of our fallen nature. We need to understand that Satan attacks us through our ungoverned thoughts and the desires of the flesh so that this Spirit-led life is key to overcoming the enemy and taking “every thought captive and making it obedient to Jesus Christ” (2 Cor.10:5). Paul points our that our willing submission to the Spirit of Christ is the doorway to life and peace.

The Spirit is so critical to our life in Christ that Paul declares that those who do not have the Spirit do not even belong to Christ. Those who have the Spirit but who do not pursue the leading and the gifts of the Spirit will live a powerless and, in many ways, an undirected life. Paul is building up to the idea that we are more than conquerors but being certain of where we stand with the Lord (no condemnation) and being Spirit-led through the Word and in addition to the Word are foundational to our victories. It’s interesting that Paul seems to feel that you are either controlled by the flesh (the sinful nature) or by the Spirit. He doesn’t give much ground to being in between.

By experience we know that sometimes the flesh leads and at other times the Spirit leads but a life that is comfortable compromising with the sinful nature will soon loose ground to that nature. Because of that our focus, our purpose, and our prayer should be that we hear the Spirit more and more clearly and submit more and more quickly to his leading. That is the key to power and freedom in the kingdom of God!

I’m amazed that in four gospels made up of 89 chapters that recount the life of Jesus, not one of the writers gives a physical description of the Messiah – the deliverer for whom Israel had waited since Moses. They also omit a myriad of details that I think would be incredibly interesting. The gospel writers give us a brief introduction to the birth of Jesus, a snapshot of Jesus at about age 12, and then nothing until he begins a three-year ministry at the age of 30. The writers knew Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. They spent every day of three years with the Son of God but chose (or the Holy Spirit chose) not to fill in the blanks of his years in Nazareth. Neither did they tell us whether he was tall, short, or average. Whether he was thin, stocky, or even pudgy. They never mentioned the color of his eyes, the texture of his hair, or whether he had a dark or light complexion. We don’t know if his nose was large or unusually small or if he had a deep voice or a high, nasal tone.

What physical appearance does your imagination project when you think of Jesus? Does he laugh through the day or is he mostly serious? Does he ever whistle or sing a song or is he always taking care of business? Does he get excited when someone is healed, angry when an injustice is done, or is he always cool and calm – unruffled by events around him? Is he gentle and domestic or is he strong and aggressive? Does he make requests or issue orders in clipped sentences? Some of these things may not matter so much but if we are to become like Jesus then our view of him in many things does matter. I wonder if we need to stop from time to time and see if our personal vision of Jesus needs adjustment.

Most of us probably assume that our view of Jesus is the biblical view. But since many of us disagree about other biblical doctrines we probably disagree about what Jesus was really like as he walked in the flesh. If we see Jesus as the gentle Mr. Rogers then we too may become very gentle and almost passive toward life and be overwhelmed in the face of any situation that requires an aggressive response. If we believe that Jesus watched the world around him with the detachment of a distant and objective observer then we too may watch the triumphs and tragedies of lives around us with detachment and avoid emotional investment in others or in a cause as we take a cerebral, passionless approach to our faith.

If we see him like ourselves, then we may feel that Jesus would see no need for change in us and, therefore, not experience much transformation at all as his disciple. If we see him as a white American then we may find ourselves standing against Israel forgetting that Jesus came as a Jew. If we see Jesus as a social revolutionary with long hair and an unkempt beard then we might lead the way in civil disobedience for some cause we believe offends heaven. If we believe Jesus spent his time pointing out the failings of sinners then we may well do the same or if we see him as so accepting that he never mentions the sin in a persons life then we may be tolerant and accepting of everyone and everything – in the name of Jesus.

How do you see Jesus? Do you see him as predictable and definable and model your Christian walk after that view? Why didn’t the writers of the gospels or Peter when he wrote his letters give us more detail? One reason may be that Jesus simply cannot be typecast. He has never been one-dimensional. At times he seems to ignore the sins of those around him while at other times he warns and rebukes men for their sin. At times he seems passive and gentle and at other times he is turning over tables in the temple or rebuking his own followers. He is both the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah. He is not only the Prince of Peace but also the one who brought a sword of division to the earth – the fragrance of life to some and the aroma of death to those who reject him.

In a sense, Jesus has many layers and one view of him does not do him justice. In many ways he seems unpredictable and surprising but I believe it is because he did not set his own agenda. Jesus clearly tells us that he only did what the Father directed him to do and only said what the Father directed him to say. That is probably the one thing that defines the man Jesus more than anything else and that set him apart from all other men. Jesus was truly Spirit-led and since the Father’s ways are beyond our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts, we should expect those who are Spirit-led to be somewhat unpredictable and multi-dimensional as well.

If we are never surprised by what we find ourselves doing or saying then we are probably not being responsive to the Spirit and if we are not being led by the Spirit then we may not be as much like Jesus as we think we are. Hearing the Spirit and being responsive to him is what sets certain people apart in the kingdom of God. I want to hear the Spirit not just in the quiet of an early morning devotional but also in the chaotic craziness of the mall at Christmas time or in rush hour traffic. I want to hear him in the heat of spiritual battle and in the complexities of a family crisis. That is the consistency that I find most in Jesus and the one I want to grow in during 2015 – hearing, doing, and saying only what I receive from Jesus. Perhaps, you will join me!