Devotion for Wed. 12/16/20 7 Minutes

Devotion for Wed. 12/16/20 7 Minutes

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion.

I'm praying that all of you are having a wonderful week and hopefully getting close to finishing up your Christmas shopping.

We are almost finished and if everything goes well,,, we will finish up tomorrow,,, or at least we will definitely run out of money by then!

In all seriousness though,,, we need to continue to remember those that are dealing with the sickness from this covid pandemic.

I'm not going to mention names,,, but God knows and that's all that really matters anyway.

So be sure that you remember them in your prayers.

Our scripture this evening will be 1 John 3:24.

It comes from Billy Graham's devotion book titled "Unto the Hills A Daily Devotional".

I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible as usual.

1 John 3:24

24 The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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Billy Graham had his devotion titled "SPIRIT-FILLED LIVING".

And he titled it that way because,,, the Holy Spirit is already in every Christians heart,,, and He is there,,, because His job is to be sure that we produce,,, His fruit.

However,,, for that to happen,,, Billy Graham says that there must be a "displacement".

In other words,,, something must move out for something else to come in,,, and he gave some examples.

First,,, a boat does not sink when it is put in the water,,, as long as it's not overloaded or there is a hole punched in it,,, you can ride around all over the lake in the boat.

But,,, it does sink when the water comes into the boat,,, if one of those two things that I just mentioned,,, happen.

Billy Graham says that we do not fail to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit because we live in a "sea of corruption"; we fail,,, because the "sea of corruption" ends up,,, in us.

Our automobile engine’s worst enemy,,, or any gasoline engine really,,, is the deadly carbon that builds up in the cylinder chamber.

It reduces the power,,, and causes the motor to lose efficiency.

Oil will improve the engine’s performance,,, but it will not remove the carbon so that the motor can run more efficiently.

Billy Graham says that,,, mechanical surgery must be performed to remove the carbon so that the oil can do its best work and the motor perform as it was designed to do.

In the same way,,, we must eliminate the works of the flesh from our inner lives,,, so that deadly carbon and grit do not impair the effectiveness of our spiritual performance.

This is possible,,, only when we yield our lives to the control of the Holy Spirit.

We must let the laser beam of God’s Word scan us to detect the abiding sins and fruitless qualities which impair our personal growth and fruitfulness.

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The story is told of a man who glanced at the obituary column in this local newspaper.

To his surprise he saw his own name,,, indicating that he had just died.

At first he laughed about it,,, but soon the telephone began to ring.

Stunned friends and acquaintances called to inquire and to offer their sympathy.

Finally,,, after becoming really irritated,,, he called the newspaper editor and angrily reported that even though he had been reported dead in the obituary column,,, he was very much alive.

The editor was apologetic and embarrassed.

Then in a flash of inspiration,,, he said,,, “Do not worry, sir, I will make it all right, because tomorrow,,, I will put your name in the births column.”

Billy Graham said that this may sound like merely a humorous incident,,, but it is actually a spiritual parable.

Because it's not until we have allowed our old selves to be crucified with Christ can our new selves emerge,,, to display the marvelous fruit that is characteristic of the life of Jesus Christ.

And only the Holy Spirit can make possible,,, the out-living,,, of the in-living,,, Christ.

Our Father and our God, purge my heart and mind with the truth of Your Word. Find the unfruitful parts and eliminate them from my life. Prune my attitudes and my actions, Lord, until they are healthy and wholly in service to You. Give me the heart of my Savior Jesus Christ, through whom I pray. Amen.

Graham, Billy. Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (p. 401). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.