To hear this Morning Devotion, please click Who doesn’t want more love?
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It is great to read of how God has arranged to pour more love into my life.
I certainly need more of His love filling me and spilling out of me.
You see, I have learned over the years that I am not capable on my own of being a fountain of godliness.
I am never going to be good enough to keep my soul, or the souls of others, refreshed in a meaningful way.
If I am not being filled by Him, I become a small pond that relies on the random rain clouds of good circumstances and my random good deeds in order to have any “Living water” within me.
It is so much better to be spring-fed than to be dependent on such clouds that are too erratic in their appearing.
Spring-fed as in the springs of Living Water that Jesus described to the Samaritan woman in John 4:13-14.
Which water supply do you think would be of more interest to the people who watch my life? A flowing spring? Or a sometimes-murky pond?
You get the point.
I was stirred to write the above after reading from Romans 5:1-5 yesterday morning in the One-Year Bible. After reminding us that we have access to God’s peace through faith, the Apostle Paul wrote that we are to rejoice in all situations because of the hope for heaven that we have as believers.
Rejoice in sufferings because they produce perseverance.
Rejoice in perseverance because it produces character.
Rejoice in character because it produces hope.
And rejoice in hope because it DOES NOT disappoint.
Why? “Because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us” (verse 5).
I don’t believe Paul was referring to a one-shot dispensation whereby someone is baptized into Christ, receives a Holy Spirit “download” and then goes through the rest of his or her time on earth rationing out the use of the Holy Spirit’s quota in his or her life.
Instead, I believe the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives — as a personal, empowering gift from God — provides an ONGOING, tangible fountain in our minds, hearts and souls that reassure us the God exists, loves, oversees, empowers, forgives, restores and that He does all these things and more for His faithful.
Notice something significant about verse 5.
Paul wrote “poured,” not dripped or sprinkled.
There is nothing chintzy about this promise of God.
It is the offer of abundance.
Given with generosity so that the Person and love and purposes of God might flow through us into other lives.
The only way that I can receive an increasing measure of refreshing inspiration and empowerment from God is to pour what I’ve already received into the lives of others.
This is an assessment that I need to make daily. Am I passing onto others what the Holy Spirit is pouring into me from the Father above?
If I’m not passing on the “pouring in,” what am I becoming?
A pond.
This is not His plan.
Whatever has dammed up your stream of personal ministry to others, break apart the logjam.
Forgive others if that’s what is blocking the flow. Repent of materialistic selfishness if that is blocking the flow. Move the computer into the family room if that’s what is needed to keep the screen clear of Spirit-quenching filth.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all for the glory of God” (Colossians 3:17).
Pull out the logs. And then pray that God pours on the love.
That way, as others see how God’s love helps you convert suffering into hope, they will see in a tangible form of how God can pour the love into their lives.
As always, I love you
Martin
