"Bringing Us Together"

 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." (John 16:7 NLT)

  "All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:15-18 NLT)

 There is something that we have in common, all of us that are God's children; we all have the Holy Spirit living in us, and we can see right away, one another as brothers and sisters. It is really not uncommon for us to meet someone for the first time, yet feel as though we have known each other all our lives. This is because the New Life we have been given is connected to theirs; as we are all members of His body. 

 That might be one of the greatest things we get to celebrate, here on this earth, that we are not alone, no matter how odd you might feel, there are always fellow believes; and if you have none close by, you can still be comforted by the Holy Spirit's presence. I hope you feel that way too, because there are just too many things that go wrong in this world, we need something to help to keep us pushing forward. 

 I heard something last night that I might not have agreed with, at least not as it was presented. The point was about the chance we might have to give a fellow believer hope, when they might feel as though there is no hope. As it is, if someone is suffering and feels as though their life is over, letting them know that this is not the end, and that a greater life awaits, is something I believe is the greatest cure for not having hope. 

 Then again, if you are still wanting to be connected to this world, then showing you the hope that is on the other side, may not be the greatest answer to what concerns you. In that case, you might try to ask God to at least give you some peace, knowing that the joy you lack, will come tomorrow! At least that is my thought on the matter. 

 Jesus has given us all that we need to be victorious and strengthened; but all that He has given us has no use, if we don't allow Him to work through us. This is our choice, not anyone else's; no one can tell you what you must do, because the Spirit within us knows more than we know, and He surely knows more than someone else. 

 If you need an example of that, Paul gives us a great example, as he refutes the prophet's warning to go to Jerusalem. Even though the man was telling the truth, the context given was to stop Paul from going; but the Holy Spirit gave Paul comfort to go, even though he might get killed by going...

"Several days later and man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. He came over, took Paul's belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, "The Holy Spirit declares, 'So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.'" When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But he said, "Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I an ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus." When it was clear that we couldn't persuade him, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done."" (Acts 21:10-14 NLT)