How the Greatest War Was Won

Two opposing forces, Flesh and Little Spirit, do battle with one another constantly. Little Spirit fights hard against Flesh, but loses control with nearly every battle.

The Law was brought in to restrain and control Flesh. But the Law's demands were too much for both Flesh and Little Spirit. Neither could ever satisfy the Law. The Law had pinned them both and had become a weight that smothered and crushed them.

Into the arena stepped Big Brother Spirit. Big Brother Spirit came from the Maker of the Law and met the demands of the Law perfectly. He never failed once to meet the stringent demands of the Law.

Big Brother Spirit delivered the Law a crushing blow, thus releasing the Law's grip on Little Spirit. So that now, every little spirit that reaches a hand toward Big Brother Spirit can find release and freedom from the death-grip of the Law.

"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18, HCSB). Go back up four paragraphs and replace the name "Little Spirit" with your name and insert "Jesus" in place of "Big Brother Spirit" and "God" in place of "Maker of the Law." Now, read it again.

God gave us the law to show us the things that are wrong and the things that we should avoid. But the law only points out sin. It does not change the sinner. A burglar alarm does the same thing. It points out a burglar, but has no power to change the burglar's behavior. It can't arrest a burglar, detain a burglar or rehabilitate a burglar. All it can do is spot a burglar and point him out.

The law never died for you. It just points fingers at you. You can try with all your might to serve it, but failure is inevitable. It is too heavy a burden for a sinner.

But Jesus - Big Brother Spirit - DID die for you. You now have the privilege of living with Him as His Spirit lives inside you. If you will accept Jesus as your personal Savior and friend, His Spirit will make His home in your heart and guide you away from the bad and toward the good.

Galatians 2:20,
Perry Crisp

Hand Over Your Cup!

Daphne made her way around the table filling coffee cups and chatting with some of her regular morning customers at the diner. As she was about to fill the fourth cup, Mack told the punch line of a joke and everyone at the table roared with laughter.

Daphne was laughing so hard she didn't notice Clyde's hand covering the top of his coffee cup. Clyde didn't want coffee. But he got it anyway. Hot coffee hit his hand, splattered up his arm, and ran down the table into his lap. It must've been instant coffee because Clyde was drenched before he knew it.

"Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) is the daily challenge of every believer. The challenge is not due to the hesitancy of the Spirit, but to the hindrances of our own flesh. Like Clyde, our flesh gets in the way, makes a mess, and we get burned.

All the Spirit of God needs is an open, empty vessel. But too many times there's too much "u" in the "cUp."

Welcome to the table this morning. Have a seat. The Holy Spirit is pouring.

Who needs a refill?
Perry Crisp