Category: indwelling Holy Spirit

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #14

Sunday, May 31, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Dear young reader, abstain from all drugs and alcohol. Cigarettes and vapes contain poisonous, addictive chemicals that increase the risk of various cancers (mouth, throat, tongue, et cetera). Intoxicating beverages shrink the brain, destroy the liver, stress out the heart, and negatively affect the stomach. All these products age the body, people ending up ill in a hospital or prematurely dead in a morgue. Frankly, you can locate millions of individuals today whose bodies are permanently disfigured or ruined because of drugs and alcohol (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:30)—missing limbs, blindness, extensive scarring, cirrhosis, brain damage, and a plethora of additional health complications. Some are even doomed to live with the knowledge of having taken other’s lives. I have a friend who repeatedly overdosed on illegal drugs, almost dying on those occasions. A lady I knew smoked cigarettes for 50 years, nearly perished because of diminished lung capacity, quit smoking, and then spent her last 20 years finding it increasingly harder to breathe!

Since it is human nature to seek entertainment—to be thrilled, frightened, delighted, and so on—drugs and alcoholic beverages are tremendously appealing. Yet, Paul the Apostle reasoned: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power [mastery, control, domination] of any” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Indeed, there is freedom under grace, but the absence of an express prohibition does not necessarily mean an action is “expedient” (profitable, useful, beneficial). Once identified, any and all addictions should be avoided. As opposed to being under the influence of wine (or any other mind-altering substance/addiction), the Holy Spirit should control our thinking and conduct: “See then that ye walk circumspectly [cautiously, looking around], not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;…” (Ephesians 5:15-18).

NOTE: In order to bring you a special study tomorrow (a commemoration of 15 full years of “333 Words of Grace!”), we will temporarily break away from this devotionals arc….

Continue #10

Friday, May 15, 2026

“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16 KJV).

A single word can mean the difference between victorious Christian living and notorious Christian dying….

For over a decade in my denominational system, I was comfortable in ignorance and childishness (the death of my Christian life)… but that all changed when two faithful brethren gave me the Bible verses I needed to recover myself out of the snare of the Devil (the revival of my Christian life). For almost 20 years now, I have striven to pass on to others what saved me from spiritual kindergarten, that any poor souls willing to listen and believe may come unto the knowledge of the truth as well.

“Continue” distinguishes between the Christian life surviving (it working as God intended) and the Christian life dying (it separated from its function). Those who “depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrine of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1) have no one to blame but themselves. They did not remain with the Dispensation of the Grace of God the resurrected, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ delivered them through the Apostle Paul’s ministry of Romans to Philemon. Having the completed Bible canon and the indwelling Holy Spirit to teach us, we have no excuse whatsoever for being unaware, immature, or deceived.

“Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:15,16). To “meditate” is “to revolve in the mind, think deeply about, care for, attend to carefully.” Stated another way, Timothy is to contemplate what he has been given in the epistle of 1 Timothy (and 2 Timothy, its companion). Along with the two Timothy Books, Titus and Philemon form the four Pauline pastoral epistles—the handbooks of the local church. Pastors and teachers would do well to concentrate on those four formal doctrinal letters, that they minimize what the Devil does in their assemblies and among their congregants. They should give themselves wholly (completely, entirely) to these words of God’s grace. Let us do likewise, brethren, also depending less and less on man’s intellect and man’s ability. 🙂

Mother: A Virtuous Woman

Sunday, May 10, 2026

“Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10 KJV).

Today is Mother’s Day, so we dedicate this devotional to godly women (specifically mothers). I especially dedicate this to the virtuous woman who has been in my life for almost 38 years… my mom!

Today’s Scripture is the first verse of the Bible’s “Virtuous Woman” passage (Proverbs 31:10-31). King Solomon explained that the virtuous woman:

  • has a husband who safely trusts in her (verses 11,12).
  • is not lazy, but is strong because she works to feed and clothe her family and herself (verses 13-19,21,22,24,25,27).
  • pities the poor and needy (verse 20).
  • has a husband who is well-known because of her godly lifestyle (verse 23).
  • opens her mouth with wisdom, and speaks kindly and lovingly (verse 26).
  • has children and a husband who praise her (verse 28).
  • excels in what she does (verse 29).
  • has works that praise her (verse 31).

Verse 30 explains the virtuous woman is “a woman that feareth the LORD.”

The Apostle Paul wrote that godly women should: not slander/gossip, not be controlled by alcohol and emotions (sober minded), be teachers of good things, love their husbands and children, be cautious and modest, maintain the home, be “good,” and should obey (respect) their husbands… “that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5). A Christian woman, especially a mother, should be a virtuous woman in beliefs as well as in deed. She needs to set an example for her children (especially her daughters).

A Christian woman and/or Christian mother places her faith in this sound Bible doctrine, the indwelling Holy Spirit will then take that doctrine and transform her for God’s glory (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Her mind will be renewed by sound Bible doctrine, and that will transform her outward activity (Romans 12:1,2).

Are you a Christian woman or Christian mother who desires to be the woman God intends you to be in Christ Jesus? Place your faith in this sound Bible doctrine, and God will take care of the rest!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO OUR READERS WHO ARE MOTHERS!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

Archived: “What does the Bible say about motherhood?”

The Fulness of Him That Filleth All in All #3

Friday, May 1, 2026

“Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all…” (Ephesians 1:23 KJV).

What is the definition of this obscure expression, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all?”

Read carefully the wording of Ephesians 1:22,23, today’s Scripture with the prior verse: “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Obviously, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all” is a title of the Church the Body of Christ.

“Fulness” (a variant spelling of “fullness”), of course, is the state of being full or complete. The Church the Body of Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ’s “fulness,” or what completes Him, as in a complement. Some Bible readers needlessly struggle to understand this (“How could Jesus be ‘incomplete’ without us?!”), but, as long as we are mature saints, it really is not complicated. In order to facilitate His exaltation in the heavenly places, He needs the Church which is His Body. That group is an extension of His own influence as the God-Man, we as individuals being vessels of His life. As we govern the heavenly places in eternity future, so He reigns in and through us.

The “filleth all” links to Father God’s plan to fill us with Christ’s life, Father God’s very life, which the indwelling Holy Spirit makes real in our life. “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation [dwellingplace] of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21,22). “…[T]o be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;… that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:16,17,19). “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:…” (Ephesians 4:13). “…[B]ut be filled with the Spirit;…” (Ephesians 5:18). “When Christ, who is our life,…” (Colossians 3:4).

Let us now break down “in all….”

Heir by Position, Pauper by Practice #23

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

“Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7 KJV).

Saints, we in Christ are spiritual winners and heirs by position, but we can choose to be spiritual losers and paupers by practice!

Courtesy of spiritual immaturity—people not letting the Bible define its own vocabulary—there is great misunderstanding about adoption in the Holy Scriptures. Adoption here is not taking a child from his biological family and legally placing him into a foster family: it is not God removing a lost person from Adam and putting him into Christ. Rather, adoption in the Bible is the father declaring his biological son to be mature, full-grown, or an adult (see Galatians 4:1-7). It is someone who has already been trained in the curriculum and can therefore make wise decisions without having to be led by the hand like a little child (cf. Galatians 3:22-26).

Father God has pronounced us Christians as His adopted sons positionally, for the indwelling Holy Spirit enlightens and empowers us to work in the family business of exalting Jesus Christ (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5-7). He would like to pronounce us believers as His adopted sons practically, though this cannot come to fruition unless we choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19)—and this is mature Grace, not immature Law (Galatians 5:16-26). Alas, like Christendom now, the Galatian saints did not walk according to Romans truth. The Christian life will not operate on the basis of ignorance because it cannot operate on the basis of ignorance. We must have a clear understanding of grace living, Romans to Philemon—and precious, precious, precious few souls ever do (this is not God’s fault!).

Thankfully, at the resurrection or redemption of our body, God will ultimately declare us His sons practically (the “adoption” of Romans 8:23 and Ephesians 1:5). Again, adoption is not simply being the sons of God by position, but by practice too. Here is spiritual maturity, being acknowledged as full-grown sons. We do not have to wait until Heaven to grow up: we can grow up now! This is what the Galatians needed to understand in today’s Scripture, and it is what we need to learn even now….

Heir by Position, Pauper by Practice #17

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

“Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7 KJV).

Saints, we in Christ are spiritual winners and heirs by position, but we can choose to be spiritual losers and paupers by practice!

Despite the (hopefully) underlying sincerity, it is vain church tradition to urge unbelievers and new believers to begin reading the Holy Bible in the Book of John. Yea, it is more preferable for them to start in the Book of Romans. After all, Paul’s epistle (formal doctrinal letter) to the Romans is actually divided into four “grace pillars” which constitute the foundation of the Christian life. How does the Christian life commence? Read Romans! How does the Christian life work? Read Romans!

Romans chapters 1–5 is justification, having a right standing before God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Chapters 6–8 is sanctification, being set apart unto God’s purposes (chapter 6 is how we are dead to sin, chapter 7 is how we are dead to the Law, and chapter 8 is how we are alive unto God by the indwelling Holy Spirit). Romans chapters 9–11 is dispensation, how we are not Israel and how we have not replaced Israel (chapter 9 is Israel’s past, chapter 10 is Israel’s present, and chapter 11 is Israel’s future). Chapters 12–16 is application of grace principles to specific daily situations and circumstances (renewed mind, living with fellow Christians and unbelievers, human government, weaker brethren, unity among members of the local church, et cetera).

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6,7). Our “walk” is our Christian conduct or service—and it works by faith in Christ just as we received Him by faith (see verse 5). “Rooted in Him” suggests life (like a plant), whereas “built up in Him” implies firmness (like a structure). “Stablished in the faith” is stabilized according to sound/healthy Bible doctrine which we must first be “taught,” for our Christian life will not operate on the basis of Bible ignorance. We should be immensely grateful to God for what He has done for us. Yet, Colossians 2:8 issues a warning….

Heir by Position, Pauper by Practice #4

Thursday, January 8, 2026

“Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7 KJV).

Saints, we in Christ are spiritual winners and heirs by position, but we can choose to be spiritual losers and paupers by practice!

Carefully re-read Galatians 3:22–4:7, and observe how it parallels and re-states Romans: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:14-17). Romans chapter 8 is victorious Christian/grace living or Christian service. The indwelling Holy Spirit works in the believer to lead and empower.

When the Bible refers to believers in Christ as “the sons of God” (John 1:12; Romans 8:14,19; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 3:1,2), it underscores how their Heavenly Father (God) has qualified them to be in the “family business.” The Lord Jesus Christ Himself highlighted this principle in His own life in Luke 2:49: “How is it that ye sought me? wist [recognized] ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Link this to the title “Abba, Father” in Mark 14:36 (“Abba” is Aramaic for “father”), Romans 8:15, and Galatians 4:6. What Christ declared, the Holy Spirit states it in us believers, and we the believers also affirm it by drawing on the Holy Spirit’s power.

Exactly what is this “family business?” God the Father has a plan to exalt or glorify God the Son (Jesus Christ) in Heaven and Earth by creating and maintaining two entities or groups of redeemed (bought-back-from-sin) people. Ephesians 1:9,10: “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:…” (cf. Philippians 2:9-11).

Dispensational Bible study enhances our awareness of what is taking place in the Scriptures….

Scrooges and Christians

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV).

To the old identity, we say, “Bah, Humbug!” To the new, we say, “God has blessed us, everyone in Christ.”

Other than Jesus Christ’s conception and birth as found in the Holy Bible, there is one other classic story associated with Christmastime. British author Charles Dickens’ 1843 book, A Christmas Carol, focuses on the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge (the novella has some Christian influence).

From the onset, Scrooge is a wealthy, miserable, mean, stingy, and selfish old man. His employee, Bob Cratchit, is underpaid (yet, strangely, Ebenezer observes, Cratchit is cheerful). Scrooge refuses to donate to charities collecting for the destitute—to him, Christmastime is a time for others to “pick his pocket.” He even refuses to attend his nephew’s Christmas party. What a miser!

Through visitations by four Spirits—his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley; and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future—Scrooge is forced to realize what a thoroughly rotten man he is. Once confronted with his future, the awful events that lie ahead, he asks for another chance to make things right (which, thankfully, he receives and does!). The Scrooge at the end of the book is drastically different from the Scrooge at the beginning. Scrooge is now loving, warm, cheerful, and generous—he is a brand-new man.

Bible-believing Christians recognize parallels between Dickens’ work and the Holy Scriptures. The sinner starts off rotten, a rebel from birth—selfish, miserable, and mean. When he or she comes to realize that pitiful condition he or she is in, and comes by simple faith in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins, God gives him or her a new identity (today’s Scripture). That identity is designed to influence subsequent actions. Scrooge did not simply change his outward activity; he had a change in heart first. This Christmas, let us be submissive to God’s Holy Spirit working in our hearts, as He uses sound Bible doctrine to manifest in our behavior our identity in Christ, that we be not Scrooges.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing #5

Sunday, December 7, 2025

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:14-17 KJV).

The final verse of the classic Christmas carol highlights today’s Scripture.

“Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!”

Religion has done an excellent job (wrongly) teaching us that God likes to rehabilitate humans—that He wants to make us quit doing certain things (“fleshly”) and make us start doing other things (“churchy”). What a very shallow, and actually a false, perception. God wants to do much more than what we could ever do by ourselves.

For good works to reign in our lives, God has to kill us! As sinners, in Adam, we are dead in our trespasses and sins, no life in ourselves (see today’s Scripture). Nothing we can do in our own strength will ever change our (sinful) nature in Adam. However, God offers us death to Adam and a new identity through Christ at Calvary. When we trust that Jesus Christ died for our sins, in God’s mind, we died to sin, too. Christ did not simply die for us but as us. Romans chapters 5 through 8 describe the victory is in Christ, not in Adam or in ourselves. Success is by the power of the Holy Ghost working with the grace doctrines we study and believe, not in our struggles to do right. And so, “Christ [is] formed in [us]” (Galatians 4:19).

Something about which the angels cannot sing, but we can, should, and do! 🙂

The Injudicious Judge

Sunday, November 9, 2025

“Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9 KJV).

The verdict is in—guilty of injudiciousness!

Many years ago, a judge noticed a man sitting in the back of his courtroom wearing a hat. Outraged that this individual would be so disrespectful to the court, the judge demanded he leave. Proceeding to further business, the clerk announced the next case. The name of a burglar, out on bond, was called. No one came forward. Suddenly, a voice was heard. The prosecuting attorney was speaking: “Your Honor, that was the man you just dismissed!” It is unknown if the burglar was ever re-apprehended.

Doubtless, it would have greatly benefited the public if the judge had first asked the man to identify himself and/or ordered him to remove his hat. Alas, emotions contributed to recklessness, and that “brilliant legal mind” fell prey to injudiciousness. As King Solomon penned in today’s Scripture, “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” Also from Solomon is Proverbs 16:32: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” Emotions are not evil, but, if they rule us, they become evil. Sound Bible doctrine—the indwelling Holy Spirit using the Word of Christ—should instead dominate what we believe and do (Ephesians 5:18,19; Colossians 3:16).

“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26,27). We ought to always be angry with sin (“And when he [Jesus Christ] had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,…” [Mark 3:5]). However, the anger we see, hear, and feel in the world is seldom justified. Rather, people are reacting in a petty, irrational, or childish manner because they have not gotten their way. It is not individuals irritated that sin is destroying lives and souls. As the injudicious judge of decades ago, they are throwing fits and doing more harm than good (though he/they had good intentions). Friends, may we judge wisely here.

ATTENTION: Regarding our New Testament Survey Project, we have now begun studying Ephesians verse-by-verse. Watch the introduction video here.