THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

From time to time, I am asked about the meaning of "the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit," because Jesus said it was an unpardonable sin. He said, "Every sin or blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which can never be forgiven" (Matthew 12:31).
When God is trying to bring a person to faith and he or she says no, that is resisting the Holy Spirit. This is a sin that only an unbeliever could commit. The work of the Spirit, as Jesus said, is to "convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). And when someone refuses to accept Christ, they are denying the very mission of the Holy Spirit when they say they don't need salvation, when they say, "Not only am I saying no to this, but I am saying that I don't care if Jesus died. And if He did die, then His death was a waste. I don't care if He shed His blood. It means nothing to me." That insults the Holy Spirit, because the Bible says, "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who have trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:29).

Therefore, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is when unbelievers say no to the Spirit's work of showing them their need for Jesus and bringing them to faith. By resisting and turning their back on God's gracious offer of forgiveness, they can ultimately insult—and even blaspheme—the Holy Spirit and go beyond a point of no return. To resist the Holy Spirit's appeal is to insult God and to effectively cut off hope of all salvation.

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation,

which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was

confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with variousmiracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? Hebrews 2:3–4

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!


DAWN

GOD'S PLAN FOR SUCCESS

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine. 11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. 12 For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.[a] Proverbs 3: 5-11 (NLT) Anytime I say that the Lord desires success for His children, someone tries to contradict me. A man or woman sitting in the congregation takes a look at him- or herself and thinks, Not me! I’m not winning at anything! I have two responses to help that person get a proper mindset. First, as yesterday’s devotion noted, we must define success as God does. And second, we must follow His plan for triumphant living.

Step 1. Set goals according to God’s will. The Father has a tailor-made plan for every believer. Following it requires regular prayer and Scripture meditation. Only when our minds are focused upon Him can we discern the proper course for our lives.
Step Step 2. Walk obediently before God. The Bible is packed with workable principles, because the Lord expects His people to use them. When we are applying His Word to our daily life, we cannot help living victoriously, even in times of trial and “defeat.” Step 3. Use gifts for God’s glory. Every believer is given the Holy Spirit as a Helper and Guide (John 14:16-17). Furthermore, when a person is saved, he or she receives one or more spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:6-8). God provides the Spirit and our gifts to aid in accomplishing the tasks He sets before us. Succes is conditional. God won’t help us achieve goals that are outside His will. His ultimate plan is to transform you into the image of Jesus Christ, which is a rare kind of success indeed. He has already mapped out the perfect plan to get you from where you are to a flourishing spiritual life.

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!


DAWN

OBEYING THE GOLDEN RULE

Most of us have known the Golden Rule since childhood: we are to treat others the way we want to be treated. And for young children, this standard seems to make sense. It is logical to share if you want others to share with you, and to avoid hitting because you wouldn’t like being on the receiving end.

But as life continues and relationships become more complicated, this simple ethical code doesn’t always seem to fit our circumstances. For instance, imagine being wronged by your business partner. How can you treat him respectfully when he has taken advantage? What if a kind, forgiving attitude opens the door for you to be hurt again?

God’s command nevertheless applies in this situation. However, obedience can be challenging, because when we are hurt or mistreated, our instinct is to retaliate. This might take the form of speaking badly behind a person’s back or showing subtle disrespect to his face. Human nature wants revenge for wrong. In fact, we are unable to do anything different on our own.

Thankfully, as believers, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who enables us to forgive. So while our own strength is insufficient for a godly response, through the Spirit, we have the option to obey.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). Are these characteristics evident in your interactions—even with people who are difficult to love? Ask for God’s supernatural strength so you can respond correctly. READ Matthew 22:36-40


BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

Jesus Listens

What do you think about prayer? Do you think that God really wants to talk to you? Do you think He really wants to hear what is on your heart?

The answer is, yes, He really does. He is an attentive counselor who listens to you. You understand this picture if you know what it's like to sit and talk to someone who really knows how to listen. They hear you. They get it. You can see in their eyes that they're tracking with you. Psalm 116:1-2 tells us "I love the LORD, because He has heard my cries. Because He bends down and listens."

Picture your closest friend, turning his ear to you, and you cup your hand around your mouth and whisper your need. That's the picture. God knows exactly what's going on in your life. He’s aware of your needs and your heartaches and your worries about the future. God totally gets it - that one truth has inspired and comforted and ministered to God's people through thousands of years of history.

Not only is God listening to your prayer, but He will give you wisdom about the difficult season of your life if you ask Him for it. James 1:5 tells us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." That phrase "without reproach" means literally that God won't sink His teeth into you. God won't be like, "What? What are you asking Me that for!?" He's not the impatient parent who doesn't have time for you or the irritable boss who snaps back. No, He's the attentive counselor, listening to you. Hebrews 4:16 assures you to, "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Take to heart the comfort of Psalm 62:8: "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,

that we may receive mercy and find grace to

help in time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

Be Blessed & Be A Blessing to One Another!

Dawn

PLAYING THE FOOL

Life is filled with choices—dozens, hundreds, even thousands of choices each and every day.Maybe you are at a fork in the road of your life where you are facing an important choice right now. Perhaps it is a decision regarding a relationship or a career. Maybe it is something else.Whatever decision you must make, make the right choice. Choices produce consequences, and actions produce reactions.We find a clear and tragic example of this in the life of Saul, Israel's first king. His life is a study in contrasts.

He started his reign in victory and ended it in humiliating defeat.His life stands as a warning that you cannot rebel against God and get away with it. Your choices and actions will catch up with you—maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow. But sooner or later, the Bible says, your sin will find you out unless you repent.Saul's story begins with the nation of Israel, which until then had been ruled by various judges, along with prophets who would give the word of the Lord to them. But the people grew tired of that. They wanted a king, because other nations had kings.So they complained to the prophet Samuel.

As God instructed him, Samuel warned them of the consequences of having a king. Still, they were intent on having one.Samuel brought Saul before the people of Israel and told them: "Here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired . . . If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God" (1 Samuel 12:13–14 NKJV).Not long afterward, Saul began an inexplicable course of self-destruction. He became a victim of himself—full of impatience, pride, rebellion, and jealousy, ultimately leading to attempted murder.

Over a period of years, he descended from being a great leader to being a paranoid tyrant. And when he directly disobeyed God's command, Samuel said to him, "You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart . . . " (1 Samuel 13:13–14 NLT).After this, Saul went from bad to worse. It wasn't long before David emerged on the scene, and Saul began to relentlessly pursue him out of paranoia and jealousy. Saul eventually died a pathetic death on the battlefield, taking his own life.Saul started well, but he finished badly. In effect he wrote his own epitaph when he said, "Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly" (1 Samuel 26:21 NKJV).We too can "play the fool." We play the fool when we disobey God, even in the smallest matters. Spiritual decline is gradual. It is not for us to pick and choose what we like about God's will for our lives. It is for us to do what the Bible teaches.We play the fool when we attempt to justify the wrong we have done. More than once, Saul blamed others for what he had done. He was more concerned about the opinions of people than the opinion of God.We play the fool when we forget that how we finish is more important than how we start.

Finishing well is important. Saul forgot that.We play the fool when we allow hatred to control our lives instead of love. Saul's jealousy ultimately destroyed him. He thought everyone was out to get him, but he was self-destructing.We are all going to slip up in life. We are all going to make mistakes. We are all going to sin. But you don't want to look back on your life one day and think, I threw my life away by the stupid choices I made.The question is, can you learn from your mistakes? Can you say, "That was such a bitter experience, such a hard pill to swallow, I pray that I will never do that again"?If so, you have learned something. Something good will have come out of something bad.But if you go back and do the same thing again and again and again, then you are falling backward. And ultimately, you are going to play the fool.


BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

WORSHIP IS A WITNESS

From Harvest Ministries

What an attractive group the early church was to a lost and watching world as they learned, loved, cared, worshipped, prayed, and helped out one another. The world watched and paid attention, and people came to faith. So witnessing is not just something we do; it is something we are.

There is a direct connection between worship and witness. We are being watched by the outside world. And the outside world marvels when a Christian can praise God when they are going through hardship. It is a powerful testimony.
Sometimes that outside world even joins us in the pew. So what kind of worshipper are you? What kind of a witness are you? You may think it doesn't matter, but actually it does, because unbelievers are checking things out. Maybe someone sitting near you has never been to church before. But while the worship was going on, you are preoccupied. You are chatting with a friend or daydreaming or texting. It is important to pay attention and engage during worship, because unbelievers may be watching you.
I can speak from personal experience on this, because I came to faith as a result of Christians who worshipped. No one invited me to their meeting. No one broke the gospel down for me and explained how to come to Jesus Christ. But when I saw a group of Christians sitting on the front lawn of my high school campus and singing songs to Jesus, I watched them and thought, They have something I don't have. It opened my heart to hear and believe the gospel message that was given that day.
There is a connection between our worship and our witness. So let's be a good one, and let's make sure that our heart is in the right place with God.

Be Blessed & Be a Blessing to One Another!

Dawn

The Sacrifice of Praise

There are times when we are not in the mood to praise God. But did the first-century believers always feel like praising God? They were harassed. They were beaten. They were mocked. And that was all before breakfast. Yet they worshipped the Lord nonetheless.
The Bible doesn't say to give thanks to the Lord because you feel good. Rather, the Bible says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever" (Psalm 106:1). The Bible also tells us to "offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name" (Hebrews 13:15).

Yes, praise and worship can sometimes be a sacrifice. There are times when we are down or depressed or things aren't going well, when there is a hardship or a tragedy, and we don't want to thank God. But do you think Job felt like praising God when he lost everything? He lost his family. He lost his home. He lost his possessions. He lost his health—all in one fell swoop, in effect. But what does the Bible say he did? He "fell to the ground to worship" and said, "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:20–21). Now that is the sacrifice of praise.

The sacrifice of praise is also something we are to verbalize. Notice Hebrews 13:15 says that offering a continual sacrifice of praise to God includes "proclaiming our allegiance to his name." We need to verbalize our praise to God. It is not that God needs praise from us, but He wants it. And He tells us to verbalize our praise.

"Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice

of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name"

Hebrews 13:15

Be Blessed & Be A Blessing to One Another!

Dawn