Ephesians 5:18
Dry as A Prune or Plump?
“I’m thirsty!” How many times have we said that? Our bodies need water. But, what about our spirits? According to Jesus, they need spiritual water, Living Water, the Holy Spirit.
Listen to Jesus words. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:38-39
In these verses, Jesus tells us an important truth. Just as our body needs water, so does our spirit.
Unhappy? Grumpy? Dry as a prune? If so, you could be spiritually thirsty.
Go to your Heavenly Father. Tell Him, “I thirst. I feel spiritually dry.” Ask Him to refresh you. Open your heart and ask Him to fill you to overflowing with His glorious, refreshing, life-giving Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 reinforces Jesus’ words with the command that believers be filled continually with the Spirit.
So yes, when your body is dry, reach for a glass of water. When your spirit is dry, reach for the Lord’s filling.
Jesus, thank You for giving us the LIVING WATER of Your Spirit who cleanses and refreshes us so we are filled and energized to serve You. We love You, Lord.
Click HERE to watch all of Debbie’s teaching on John 7, where Jesus says that whoever believes in Him will have rivers of living water flowing from within them, referring to the Holy Spirit. You can also listen to the podcast teaching by clicking HERE.
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was for Christ but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is an assignment from Christ and if we’re doing it in His power. Or, are we doing something we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength.
Why is this important? Just as Christ is the head of every man, 1 Corinthians 11:3, He is Head of the church, His body, which he metaphorically describes in 1 Corinthians 12 as some members being the eye and some the feet.
Writing to the church in Colossians 1:18, Paul states Christ is “head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
Christ is the head of every man. Christ is the head of the church.
When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but we will also experience Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
How joyful are you in your service to the Lord?
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your will, strength, and power.
Would you like to better be able to discern the voice of the Lord to ensure that you’re walking in His will? Listen to Debbie’s teaching, “How to Discern the Voice of God,” on Podbean or YouTube.
Bite, Chew, Graze
Are you hungry? Is there a gnawing in you? Do you feel that something is missing? Do you feel that no matter what you do, purchase, or where you go, you still want more? Do you fill the emptiness but it quickly returns?
If so, maybe it’s your spirit that is hungry. If that is the case, the solution isn’t more food, clothes, or earthly success. The solution is Jesus who describes Himself in John 6:51 as the bread of life who came from heaven. “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
Jesus is to our spirit what food is to our body. Our body can’t live without food. Our spirit can’t live without Jesus.
Receive Christ as Savior if you haven’t already. Then, begin each day with bite-size Bible verses. Chew on them throughout the day. At night, graze on the promises of God. Go to sleep with your soul filled and satisfied in Christ. Wake hungry for more of Jesus. Grow as a Christian and feed others.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, BREAD OF LIFE. Thank You for coming from heaven and being to our spirit what food is to our body. Help us recognize our hunger is only filled by You. Increase our appetite for Scripture so by it we grow in respect to our salvation.
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was for Christ but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ assigned to us and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so we the church are lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit it is merely human effort. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate actions flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but we will also experience Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
Bite, Chew, Graze
Are you hungry? Is there a gnawing in you? Do you feel that something is missing? Do you feel that no matter what you do, purchase, or where you go, you still want more? Do you fill the emptiness but it quickly returns? If so, maybe it’s your spirit that is hungry. If so, the solution isn’t more food, clothes, or money. The solution is found by filling our spirit with the Holy Spirit of Jesus who John 6:48 describes as the BREAD of LIFE. Jesus is to the soul what a delicious nourishing meal is to our body. Begin your day with bite-size Bible verses. Chew on them throughout the day. At night, graze on the promises of Christ. Go to sleep with your soul fully satisfied in Christ.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, BREAD OF LIFE! Thank You for satisfying the yearning of our spirit as we meditate on You.
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was for Christ but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ assigned to us and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so we the church are lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit it is merely human effort. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate actions flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but we will also experience Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
Bite, Chew, Graze
Are you hungry? Is there a gnawing in you? Do you feel that something is missing? That no matter what you do, purchase, or where you go, you still want more? Do you fill the emptiness, but it quickly returns? If so, maybe it’s your spirit that is hungry. If so, the solution isn’t more food, clothes, or money. The solution is found by filling our spirit with the Holy Spirit of Jesus who John 6:48 describes as the BREAD of LIFE. Jesus is to the soul, what a whopping delicious meal is to our body. Begin your day with bite-size Bible verses. Chew on them throughout the day. At night, graze on the promises of Christ. Go to sleep with your soul fully satisfied in Christ.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, BREAD OF LIFE! Thank You for satisfying the yearning of our spirit as we meditate on You.
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was Christ, but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ assigned us and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea, then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so we, the church, are lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important work, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit, it is merely human effort. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate actions flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but the result will be Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
Bite, Chew, Graze
Are you hungry? Is there a gnawing in you? Do you feel that something is missing? That no matter what you do, purchase, or where you go, you still want more? Do you fill the emptiness, but it quickly returns? If so, maybe it’s your spirit that is hungry. If so, the solution isn’t more food, clothes, or money. The solution is found by filling our spirit with the Holy Spirit of Jesus who John 6:48 describes as the BREAD of LIFE. Jesus is to the soul, what a whopping delicious meal is to our body. Begin your day with bite-size Bible verses. Chew on them throughout the day. At night, graze on the promises of Christ. Go to sleep with your spirit fully satisfied in Christ.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, BREAD OF LIFE! Thank You for satisfying the yearning of our spirit as we meditate on You.
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was Christ, but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated much of the time? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ set us on and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we thought was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea, then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so the church is lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important work, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit, it is merely human work. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate deeds flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ sends us to do, the result will be we enter into Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers! May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
