".....Apart from me you can do nothing" John 15:5

I know it has been awhile since I last posted. I’ve been very busy with school and life but I always feel drawn back to writing the things the Lord shares with me in hopes that it will encourage someone or set someone free.

So since my last post I’ve thought really hard about the working of the Holy Spirit in us in God’s effort to sanctify us. Now we know that our faith in Jesus’s finished work is what justifies us in the sight of God. This doesn’t mean our actions are perfect at the moment but it merely means we have been acquitted in God’s sight of our crimes against him. Sanctification is the subsequent work of the Holy Spirit after salvation (justification) in order to make our actions and behavior match the new nature we have been given through spiritual rebirth.

Just a couple of months ago I read James 4:6 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  I thought about this verse and it really hit me for some reason. I’ve probably read this verse several times and never thought about it until now. As I sat and thought about it I realized that in a sense my humility is a determining factor in how much of God’s transforming grace I walk in. Now before you get legalistic on me or try to make my words say something they aren’t read the rest of what I have to say.

Jesus said in John 15:5 that “…apart from me you can do nothing”. Jesus is the source of that transforming power that changes us into his likeness. Jesus says that if we abide in him we will produce much fruit.  So what does that have to do with humility?

We walk in humility when we can acknowledge that no effort of our own changes us but rather it is God’s grace that does the work in us.  It is in the cultivating of our relationship with Christ that we learn to draw from his grace and become like him. Most preaching I’ve heard, not all, is aimed at condemning believers of their lack of victory over sin which only leads one to exert more effort to “do” something.  It is only the preaching of God’s grace in Christ and his finished work that will lead people to victory and Christ-like character. Condemnation leads people to try to find some will or strength in themselves to carry out what God wants of them, only to find themselves exhausted or defeated.  On the opposite side though, when Christ and his finished work is preached, you are pointing people to a well spring of life where they are able to draw strength and share in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).

 The proud man wakes up and makes no effort to commune with God and in doing so his actions say “Lord I’ve got this. I’ll call you when I need you.” I pray you wake up every day and you are driven to commune with God through his Spirit because you honestly believe that apart from him you can do nothing.  “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” Philippians 3:3. We must realize that what it takes to live the life God has called his Church to is not possible through human will or strength but only found in the Holy Spirit. We are able to help facilitate the work of the Spirit in us through fasting, prayer, worship and other types of activities. Not only does God delight in our relationship with him but we must realize that our union with him is for our benefit, our well-being. So I pray you read this and not only delight yourself in God for your own pleasure but also out of necessity so that you can stand firm in the faith.