Friday, February 1, 2013

Living in the Spirit

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I am participating in a class led by a leader at our church.  When I went to the class last Sunday, she was speaking about Daily Bread.

"Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we have also forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."
Matthew 6:9-13

I hadn't really thought about what it means to "give us today our daily bread", but she was equating it with the manna that the Israelites received from heaven.  It sustained them but they were only allowed to gather what they needed for each day.  If they gathered too much, it would rot by the next day. 

In this same way, we can rely on God for what we need each day...enough strength and power to get through each day as we rely on Him.

She said "Daily Bread living involves inner Life increase versus outer life reaction."  One example she gave was when we get sick.  Our outer life, our earthly bodies can feel lousy.  We get colds, the flu, viruses...at this time of year, sickness is difficult to avoid, especially having a little man in the family.  But instead of dwelling in the lousy feeling we have while we are sick, we can ask for God's help to live more in our inner lives, or more in our spirit.  We can focus on the inner life we have with Jesus Christ and the strength and power He gives us as we live with "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27

I have been practicing this as I fight a cold this week and I have been amazed by the results.  Instead of allowing the cold to weigh me down and darken my spirit, I have asked each morning for God to help me live more in the spirit.  It has uplifted me and changed my attitude.  And it has helped me physically fight this cold much more easily than I have before.

What an amazing Father we have that He gives us the ability to feel better, even when our physical bodies do not feel very good.  He has provided us a way to lean more on Him and He will carry more of our burden...

In His Grace...

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