As I write this article we are off-line with the Washington Gas Company. The potential for power and warmth are irrelevant because the supply of gas to the church building has been cut off. There is a perfectly harmless, and temporary, reason for going off-line. A random survey of equipment in our area revealed that our regulator needed to be replaced, so do not fear that our next appointed meeting will be a chilly affair.
Just as the gas supply enables the potential power of our church equipment, the Spirit of God enables our potential power for living as a follower of Jesus Christ. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of the salvation that we enjoy through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, but some cut themselves off from the Spirit’s work in their lives.
Your flesh is at war with the Spirit’s work, and the two are operating contrary to one another. It is safe to say that, as Christians, we are either being led by the flesh or we are being led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18). There can be danger and spiritual lifelessness when we cut ourselves off from the Supply for powerful Christian living. The cure: don’t go off-line!
|
