The Power to Love
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Since our conduct cannot be controlled by the law, (an external set of rules and regulations), we must be governed internally by grace through the personal leadership of the Holy Spirit. This very thing God promises to do for all who receive His son Jesus as their personal savior. But how do we know He is leading us? Can we really trust Him in all areas of our lives? These and many other questions tend to cause us to doubt the reality of being led by the Spirit, so Paul assures us in these verses that we are, in fact, being led by the Spirit. The personal leadership of the Spirit may best be understood in terms of our ability to hear God talking to us. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me...” (John 10:27). Hearing the voice of Jesus is necessary to follow His leadership. It is for this very reason that He promises that He would not leave us comfortless in this world, but would come to us through His Spirit living within (John 14:16-18). Three factors need to be considered when trying to understand the way we hear from God. First, we must realize that since God has given us the ability to think, He will naturally speak to us in the privacy of our own hearts or minds. As the prophet Elijah noted, it is not in the loudness of cataclysmic events, but rather the still small voice within that we shall hear God. The voice of God through the indwelling Spirit will frequently appear in a spontaneous flow of persistent thoughts in our minds. This does not rule out the possibility of a neon sign in the sky, or a thunderous roar like the ocean, but most likely it will be a persistent thought repeated over and over in our minds. Persistent thoughts, however, are not enough to really discern the voice of Jesus. It is quite possible to have persistent thoughts in our minds that are not of God, as in the case of certain obsessions. This underscores the necessity for filtering our thoughts through the written Word of God, the Bible. This miraculous book was inspired and preserved by God so that we might be aware of how he speaks to us, and what he is concerned about in general. The same Spirit who inspired the forty different men to write the various books and letters of the Bible over a period of 1600 years, will also guide each reader into a proper understanding and personal application of the scriptures. Thus, the written Word of God should be used as a safeguard against the thoughts and intents of the heart that are opposed to God, (Hebrews 4:12). Circumstances also play a role in hearing God's voice, and following the leadership of the Spirit. Whatever God leads us to do; He will arrange the circumstances of our lives to accommodate His will. For the believer, nothing is left to chance, or is simply a coincidence. Although it's much easier to look back on the circumstances of our lives, and see how God has led us (hindsight is always 20/20), we may be assured that He is continually “ordering the steps of the righteous.” Our own thoughts, and the written Word of God, combined with our circumstances in life constitute the main factors we need to consider in determining God's leadership. However, these three factors alone cannot truly reveal God's voice, and leadership in our lives. The bottom line in this issue, as with all others in the Christian life, is FAITH. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). In hearing God's voice, or following His leadership, we must trust (1) that God exists, and (2) that God is speaking to us, and will lead us. Only when we believe that God is leading us will we be able to follow His leadership. Besides the failure to trust that God really is leading us, another great obstacle stands in our way of hearing His voice…our fear. Often we are afraid of what God might say to us if He did speak to us personally. While the “fear of God” is healthy in the sense that we reverence Him, and are willing to submit ourselves to Him completely, being “afraid of God” is really an expression of unbelief in God's goodness and infinite love for us. To assure us on this point, Paul reveals that we have not received “the spirit of bondage” again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15). The “spirit of adoption” is the legal privilege we may enjoy because we are legally adopted into God's family, one with God's only begotten Son, Jesus. Far from being something to be feared, such personal leadership of the “Spirit of adoption” is a fantastic opportunity for all who will receive it by faith. To be led and empowered like Jesus is the way we truly experience the benefits of being in God's family.
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About the Book
Loving others like Jesus is not automatic or natural, but it is vital to a satisfying home life, productive work environment, and a positive community. "The Power To Love" is a concise overview of the personal, communication, and relational skills needed to develop and maintain loving relationships. The personal skills include cognitive restructuring, emotional management, behavioral redirection, and spiritual enlightenment. The communication skills include understanding the miracle of communication, knowing what to talk about, and being able to speak the truth in love. The relational skills involve confrontation without condemnation, comforting without enabling, and supporting without hidden strings. Together these skills provide the relational empowerment needed to actually fulfill the new commandment of Jesus to love others the way he does. Those who experience "The Power To Love" described in these pages enjoy the personal benefits and genuine freedom of loving others regardless of their circumstances of life.
About the Author
Drawing on his 35 years of pastoral counseling John C. Glenn has outlined the skills needed to develop and maintain healthy relationships in the home, on the job, or in the community. His Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and his Masters in Bible provide a unique background for applying his biblical model of counseling to some of the toughest relational issues in life. While serving as the ministry Training Director for two of the largest recovery programs in South Florida, Glenn wrote "the Alpha Series" emphasizing the need for biblical self-awareness and the believer's true identity in Christ for a lifestyle of recovery. Glenn is currently the Senior pastor of Alpha Ministries' "Church in the Woods". He and his wife, Sandi, live on a ranch in South Florida.