God at work

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.     — John 14:23 

As I stood on the Golan Heights, with the Sea of Galilee sparkling in the distance, I listened to our Jewish guide tell about his participation in the 1967 Six-Day War. His vivid accounts of Israel’s victories over bigger, more powerful enemies reminded me of Bible stories I learned as a child.

Even though I believe that God has been moving individuals and nations down through history to accomplish His purposes, sometimes I get the idea that God stopped working in people’s lives when He finished writing the Bible. Now that He’s less visible, I conclude that He’s also less involved. But that’s not true. Even though God has finished His book, He hasn’t finished telling the story; He’s simply using a different form of media to tell it.

In Bible times, God often communicated in tangible, visible, and audible ways — tablets of stone, a pillar of fire, a still small voice, to name a few. But when Jesus came, that changed. He told His followers that God’s Spirit would live not only among them but also within them (John 14:17).

When I long for God to communicate in ways I can see, hear and feel, I need to remember that He is doing something even better. He is living in me, so that through my life the world will be able to see, hear, and feel Him.   — Julie Ackerman Link

By this shall every person know

That we serve God above:

His Spirit dwells within our hearts

And fills us with His love.     — D. De Haan

READ: John 14:15-23

God’s Spirit lives in us in order to work through us.

The Bible in one year:

• Job 28-31