Again And Again Choose God

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and Holy Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:2-5 NLT

When we call out to Holy Spirit, when we open our hearts to Him, He will make us holy as He is holy. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him if we truly want to experience and reflect His purity. 

Choice by choice by choice. 

When Holy Spirit says something needs to go, get rid of it. Now. 

When He says a relationship needs to be severed, sever it. 

When He says we need to offer forgiveness to that person, offer forgiveness to that person. 

When He says to ask someone else for forgiveness, ask that person for forgiveness. 

When He says to break that habit, break that habit. 

Like right Now !!

Don’t procrastinate. Don’t rationalize. Don’t excuse or defend yourself. Do what Holy Spirit says, when He says it. 

Ephesians 4:30 NASB Do not grieve Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

When I received Jesus as my Savior, my assumption had been that Holy Spirit was “assigned” to me. I thought He had come into my life because He had no option. I was now His “job”—His responsibility. 

Then one day the words of Ephesians 4:30 gripped me. While I understand that Scripture is warning us not to intentionally, willfully sin, the word grieve caught and held my attention. I reflected on grief in my own life and knew I had experienced that emotion when I loved someone deeply and they loved me. 

This realization turned the light on in my thinking as I realized that if I can grieve Holy Spirit, it’s because He loves me and cares deeply about the outcome of my life.

Holy Spirit loves us! He’s not just a  partner. He’s not just assigned to me. HE IS GOD AND HE IS A PART OF EACH AND EVERY PERSON WHO HAS EVER OR EVER WILL BREATH THE AIR THAT GOD BLOWS INTO US!!

He doesn’t live within me because He has to—He lives within us because He wants to live within His people. He deeply cares about what we do and who we become. Not only is He spiritually and practically involved in our lives life; Holy Spirit is also emotionally caught up in who we are and who God is directing us to become.

What a difference that simple truth has made in my perspective. I can be myself with Holy Spirit. I don’t have to be “on.” I can relax and be transparent with Him. We can trust Him completely, we can bring our rusty chains and the sin that shackles us and asking for forgiveness He breaks the locks!  Hallelujah! Praise the One who sets us free! 

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Jesus takes the outstretched hand of a saint who has repented, that saint is you that is me that is the people from church we don’t like that’s the rowdy person on the golf course …. The passed out guy in the alley EVERY PERSON ever born is offered the choice of following Jesus to eternity - It doesn’t matter how small or how large your concern is. He cares. He understands. He wants what’s best for His people. 

Regardless of how long we have walked with Jesus, you and I constantly need to check our hearts and remove any obstacles that can trip us on the path to our God-given destiny. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to, “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1).

We cannot control outcomes, but we can rule the choices that shape our character. We can choose to trust God, to listen to what Holy Spirit says, to love one another, and to follow the ways of Jesus Christ. Doing so may not create desirable circumstances. But the presence, the wisdom and blessings of God are the ultimate rewards. 

God’s invitation through John the Baptist was for people to “prepare the way for the Lord” (Matthew 3:3). If you and I choose to conceal our sin we willingly shut the door of our hearts on God and block ourselves off from His mercy. It is only the key of repentance that can open this door and make a way for the Lord to enter in.

He wants to make us holy— we must repent and seek Jesus. Now.