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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends. . . so how’s your SOUL today?
The daily news broadcasts haven’t produced much encouraging, hope-filled, good news lately have they? How about your friends or family, how many of them are hopeful, joyful, encouraging of others these days?
So what can we do to “RENEW our SOUL’s” in these days of global chaos? Would you consider this powerful word from the Holy Spirit of God to us, through Paul, as he wrote a letter to the Christians, living in the Greek city of Corinth, in very difficult times, in the first century: “We do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being RENEWed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporal but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Oh my, there is so much in those few words isn’t there. The truth is, each of us, all of us, regardless of our age, our medical condition, where we live, what we eat or don’t eat, drink or don’t drink… we are all ageing, and as we age your body and mine is decaying, right before our eyes! It’s true isn’t it? Oh you might want to stop the decay, you might even try to use surgery or other extreme measures to try and reverse the decay and return to your appearance of many years ago, but we all know the truth. . .these bodies are wonderful, remarkable, but designed to live here on earth only for a relatively short few decades, maybe a century at most. These bodies don’t do well in extreme heat or cold. They need fresh air and some liquid very often.They need rest and nourishment. But even with all of that they age and we can’t stop that. In fact, if you haven’t noticed, that ageing process begins the moment that little infant comes through the birth canal and breathes for the first time outside the womb!!
Now if you are under about age 70 or so, you might not choose the words “…outwardly we are wasting away…” to describe what’s happening when there are more birthday candles needed then you can fit on your birthday cake. . . but it’s true! The big question here is not what’s happening to your body, the question is… what’s happening deep inside you, as you age? What’s happening to your SOUL?
I wonder how you describe your SOUL? Because the Bible several times speaks of our human design as being BODY, SOUL and SPIRIT, (Luke 1:46,47) what is SOUL? May I suggest it is the combination of your emotions (feelings), intellect (thoughts), will (ability to reason & choose), passions (what you care deeply about), and your unique, God-given personality. So how can our SOUL be renewed, when our body is ‘wasting away’? How can our SOUL be ‘renewed’ when the circumstances in which we are living are depressing, or stressful, or frightening, or hopeless? For some people, those are words they would use to describe the times we’re living in right now!
Paul gives us several answers so let’s look closely and hopefully, our SOUL’s will be RENEWED, even though our bodies are ageing in very difficult circumstances and times.
First, look at 2 Corinthians 2:14,15 “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Jesus Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
The total transformation which the Holy Spirit of God is being accomplished in a person when they turn from their soul decaying sin, and trust Jesus for their rescue from their sin bondage, and also from the death penalty due to their sin condemnation… that transformation is like the reversal of a terminal illness. If you’ve ever smelled decaying flesh you’ll never forget it.
Vibrant Christians should have a spiritual aroma… the aroma of new life in Christ. The aroma of the outrageous gratitude of deliverance from sin bondage. The aroma of the certainty of eternal life in heaven. The aroma of the living presence of the Holy Spirit IN us! It should be evident to everyone and a great joy to God as He watches us in our joyful, hopeful, effervescent living, in the midst of such disturbing times! Is the Holy Spirit doing this transforming work in you my friends?
Secondly, look at 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6. Paul is talking here about the ‘spiritual blindness of the soul’ which every person has naturally. In our natural human nature we cannot understand God’s Word, God’s Truth, God’s Love for us that would move God to send His Son Jesus to die in our place, paying our sin debt. It just doesn’t make any sense!
But “…only in Christ is it (the blindness) taken away… and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Because, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” So my friends, as the Holy Spirit of God removes the blinding veil and helps us understand God’s truth in His Word, that truth should counter the effects of the manipulative, distorted information we hear each day and instead should RENEW our Soul’s with God’s glorious and freeing truth!
Thirdly, look at 2 Corinthians 4:14 “We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.” Oh my, this is a glorious promise that every Christian lives with… that when the day finally arrives and our wasting away body finally dies, our soul will immediately depart this old body and go directly into God’s Presence in heaven, because of Jesus!
Remember Paul wrote to his Philippian friends: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. I am torn between two great things. I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and your joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.” (Phil.1:20-26)
Does this tug-o-war RENEW your Soul my friends? The desire to depart and be in heaven with Jesus, but also the desire to continue living here on earth for God’s great glory? Either way, either place, it’s a win for you and for Jesus!
And finally, do you see Paul’s forward focus in 2 Corinthians 4:18-5:8 “For we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal… Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands…We live by faith and not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from this body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it, and with the Lord.”
Do you see how Paul’s soul is renewed as he contemplates and looks forward to the day his soul will be set free from this old, decaying body, and will be called home to heaven where one day he, and all who have trusted Jesus, will each receive a glorified, heavenly body, similar to what Jesus had when He was raised from the dead?!
Oh my friends…where are your eyes focused? What renews your Soul as you and I live in this chaotic, discouraging, decaying world? Today I’ve given you four specific things that Paul tells us ‘renewed his soul’, and I’m trying to learn them well, and I encourage you to do the same!
Lord Jesus, thank you that YOU renew our Souls, and oh how we long to learn that well!
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Click to read today’s chapter: 2 Corinthians 4:14-5:8. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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