DO YOU WANT TO HAVE MORE INTIMACY WITH THE LORD AND HIS SPIRIT?

SCRIPTURE:
“He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above 
all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who 
comes from heaven is above all” 
(John 3:30-31)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever tried to lose weight?
Some people have lost hundreds of pounds 
because they would lose, then gain it back and then lose it again.
The truth is, developing a discipline for eating is not easy.
We like to eat what we like to eat, 
and not necessarily what, or how much, we should eat.

The Bible tells us about another discipline 
that is important for Christians.
Anytime we are required to exercise discipline, it is not easy.
In most cases, we want what we want and often disregard what we need.
Some people want to have more of God in their lives, 
but are unwilling to make room for Him.
Why? Because making room for Him, requires discipline.

The setting of these two verses deals with John the Baptist exalting Christ. 
He is dealing with the subject of him decreasing and Jesus increasing. 
This was an event for John, but it is a life experience for us today. 
When we experience the new birth, we first submit our will, repent, 
give our life to Christ and in essence make Him Lord of our life.
 
In order for us to reach our potential and grow in Him 
we must come to a place of “total” surrender. 
Our life must be a life of surrendering to Him daily. 
Everything about our flesh must continually be decreasing, 
as we allow the Spirit of Christ to increase in us.

Within all of us we have a desire to be recognized and to be seen. 
It is our fleshly nature. 
We like attention and fame. 
But, as Christians, we need to be very careful, 
because we have a new nature.

We become more concerned about Jesus being seen 
than we are about ourselves being seen. 
Our goal is to reduce our earthly spirit 
so the Spirit of God can be released in us.
Just as a seed cannot yield forth a plant until it is broken and dies, 
we cannot release the destiny of Christ in us 
until we become totally broken.

We must come to a place that we are not concerned about what man thinks 
or says, either positive or negative, but where we are focused on what 
the Spirit of God is calling us to do, 
and the direction that He wants us to go. 

Just as Jesus, when He walked on the face of this earth, 
had to die to the flesh in order to accomplish His purpose in coming to 
earth, we must surrender the wants and desires of our natural man to the 
plans of God. 
When this is accomplished, we will sense the greatest joy and fulfillment, 
because we are truly walking in God’s plan.

ACTION:
Are you doing the things you need to do 
that will allow the Spirit of God to be released in you?
Have you allowed Him 
to seize control of your desires, attitudes, and actions?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to not live for myself, but for You and You 
alone. I pray that in all I do, Your Will is perfected in my life. Help me 
to practice a self-discipline that will cause me to decrease so that You 
can increase. Increase my desire to create a bigger void in ‘self’ so there 
will be more room for Your Spirit to live in me.”