What is human spirit?

WHAT IS HUMAN SPIRIT?

"There is a spirit in man"(Job 32:8),and this human spirit is man's key to experiencing Christ.The Lord Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who woship Him must worship in spirit (John 4:24),taht is, in the human spirit. If we must worship God in spirit, it is important for every believer to understand what the human spirit is.

Over the centuries, there has been confusion concerning man’s inward parts. Some Bible teachers argue that the spirit is no different from the soul. For our experience of Christ, to say this may be comparable to the dangerous endeavor of having cardiac surgery performed by a doctor that believes there is no difference between the heart and the liver. First Thessalonians 5:23 clearly tells us man is made of three parts: body, soul, and spirit. Hebrews 4:12 says that “the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This shows us that the spirit and the soul are not the same thing and can be divided. We need the living word of God to help us know the distinction between our soul and our spirit.

When we believe in the Lord Jesus, it is our human spirit that is born of the divine Spirit, regenerating us with the eternal life of God (John 3:6). So the apostle Paul says that the Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16). In Ephesians, Paul speaks of the human spirit in a crucial way in every chapter (1:17; 2:22; 3:5; 4:23; 5:18; and 6:18). Paul also told Timothy that the Lord’s dwelling place is in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). In the book of Revelation the apostle John saw four major visions and to see each one, he was “in spirit” (1:10; 4:2; 17:3; and 21:10).

from : http://www.biblereading.com/devotionals.asp

posted by Rachel

Memory Words for Experiencing God-unit 1

"I am the vine;

you are the branches.

If a man remains in me and I in Him,

He will bear much fruit;

apart from me,

you can do nothing."

~JOHN15:5 NIV

Posted by Rachel

Daily Bread

I want you to know, brethren,

that the things which happened to me

have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

—Philippians 1:12

On a map in the back of my Bible, each of Paul’s missionary journeys is shown by a colored line with arrows indicating his direction of travel. On the first three, the arrows lead away from his place of departure and back to a point of return. On the fourth journey, however, Paul was traveling as a prisoner, bound for trial before Caesar, and the arrows point only one direction, ending in Rome.

We might be tempted to call this an unfortunate time in Paul’s life, if it were not for his view that God was leading and using him just as much on this journey as He did on the previous three.

He wrote: “I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear” (Phil. 1:12-14).

Even when our journey in life is marked by confinement and limitations, we can be sure that the Lord will encourage others through us as we speak His Word and trust in Him. — David C. McCasland

The journeys that we take in life,
Though unexpected they may be,
If we commit to follow Christ,
His work through us the world will see. —Sper

For the Christian, what looks like a detour may actually be a new road to blessing.

Posted by Rachel

The LORD is my shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd,

I shall not be in want.

— Psalm 23:1 (NIV)

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

A sheep is only as good as its shepherd. We are incredibly blessed!

My Prayer...

O Great Shepherd,

carry me like a lamb,

tenderly in your arms and close to your heart.

My life, my future, and my strength depend upon you.

Please help me hear your voice above the confusing distractions around me.

Under your care I have no fears.

Thank you for being my Shepherd.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Posted by Rachel

Today Bible Reading-Psalm 106:1-6, 13-23, 47-48

God will remember the people

Praise the Lord!

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

for His steadfast love endures forever.

Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,

or declare all his praise?

Happy are those who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times.

Remember me,O Lord,

when you show favor to your people;

help me when you deliver them;
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory in your heritage.
Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. ...

But they soon forgot his works:

they did not wait for his counsel.

But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert;

he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among them.

They were jealous of Moses in the camp,

and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf at Horeb
and covered the faction of Abiram.

Fire also broke out in their
and worshiped a cast image.

They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.

They forgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

Therefore he said he would destroy them-

had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them. ...

Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, "Amen."
Praise the Lord!

Posted by Rachel

Grace and a bunch of apples

CONSIDER 2 SCENARIOS :

Scenario #1 :

Someone has been caught stealing a pair of sandals from a shop in a market bazaar.The law of the land stipulates that the guilty party has to have one of their hands cut off in public,to serve as further deterrent to others not to commit the same crime.

Scenario #2 :

One cool autumn day,you are driving down a quiet country road where there are numerous apple orchards. suddenly you stop by one and see a table piled with the most luscious,juiciest apples you've ever seen.But there is no one manning the shall, just a cup with some coins in it. but there's a sign-and it says :

"Apples -50 cents each ;please leave your money in the cup and take your change from it, have a nice day!!!"

take a walk with me...

Those two are actual events that occur in real life.They serve to reflect two worldviews. One says that harsh laws are needed because man is depraved,cannot change his base nature and is thus always needed to be reminded of the consequences of their transgressions.The other takes a leap,goes on faith that man is capable of more noble intentions and practise.That he can be honest,and not selfish.

Which world would you like to live in? How would you make your world more like that? Take a looks at how you behave in your workplace, your home with your loved ones and your friends. That's the world you're shaping with your thoughts, words, deeds and intentions. Is that world what we would call the Kingdom of God ?

The Kingdom of God. One author asked this pertinent question :" Can you imagine what it would be like if people actually lived the Gospel and we lived the Kingdom of God". I can, It would be amazingly bizarre . "Oprah" would feature kids who actuallly like doing their homework and honouring their parents. Gossip magazines would be full of Hollywood celebrities who actually stay married to their spouses for life. And the orphans and old folks home would be empty bacause every family would want to adopt one. The unwanted will become the wanted.

You might say this is a pipe dream,a fantasy and not realistic.It can't possibly be real.True, all true.But....one day it will be. Christ will come again and then every tear, every pain and sorrow will be washed away. and the Kingdom he establishes will be like the one i wrote about, even better.A thousand times better. until then,what will you do with your life? How will you live it ?

Grace to be with you.

Verses for study and reflection :

* Romans 7: 7-25

⁷What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet ⁸But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. ⁹Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

¹¹For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. ¹²So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. ¹³Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

¹⁴We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

*Galatians 2 :15-21

⁵"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' ¹⁶know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷"If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! ¹⁸If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. ¹⁹For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

*Revelations 21 :1-4

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Updated by Rachel

Vesper by Mr.Michael Gong (PJTMC)

Irene's baptism

How glorious it is indeed to praise the Lord!

How much more glorious to praise Him at the beach with the morning sun shining brightly in the horizon!

We (in order of appearance) Auntie Helen, Sue Ann, Rachel, Nichol, Phoebe, Irene, me, Pastor, Yeo Hwa & wife, Eric, Mr & Mrs Liew, Eric's grandma, Sam and Jessel arrived at the Teluk Chempedak beach on the morning of 4th July 2009 (coinciding with America's Independence Day) to witness Irene's baptism.

Of course, we sang and lifted our voices to praise the Lord God! Pastor started off with a prayer and Jessel led us in praise and worship on my old out-of-tune guitar. We aptly sang songs like "From the rising of the sun" and "Come on and celebrate", just to name a couple.

Then, it was down to business -- the baptism rite according to the Methodist Book of Discipline (was it waterproof, Pastor?). After acknowledging her conversion and commitment to Christ, it was time to dip Irene into the waters! Pastor led Irene out into the sea until the water was about waist-high. The waves were not too strong and Irene stood her ground with her feet planted firmly in the sand underneath.

Then Pastor baptized Irene "...in the name of the Father" -- first dip (Pastor placed his hand on Irene as her head went underwater momentarily before reappearing), "...the Son" -- second dip, "...and the Holy Spirit!" -- last dip!

Hallelujah! What a joyous occasion! Irene had made a public declaration of her faith in the Lord Jesus by water baptism! Hallelujah!

Did the celebration end there?

Of course not!

We adjourned to Kopitiam Muar E for a hearty breakfast of toast bread, otak-otak (steamed and fried), cakes, nasi lemak, you name it -- we ate it!

Did the celebration end there?

Of course not....again!

We went for a "durian feast" at my house -- though shabby and unfurnished, the draw of the durian fragrance cannot be resisted by all! Jenny generously provided six (or was it seven?) of the king of the fruits -- the best selection, of course. We discovered that Yeo Hwa had a talent at splitting durians. None of the durians thorny resistance could stand against Yeo Hwa's hands and knife. Evelyn and Jeff joined us, too -- I bet it was the durian fragrance!

We had our fill of the yellow-fleshed durian fruit. Everybody was burping durian breath or letting out durian-tainted air from somewhere. Some of us filled the husk with salt water and drank to "cool the heatiness" of the thorny fruit.

At about lunch time, we each departed to our homes.

Praise the Lord!