DOXOLOGY: Preparation or Victim?

We are each a combination of physical and spiritual. We are each a corporeal flesh and blood vessel containing a mind and spirit. And although each of us (generally speaking) is active in mind and body, not all are ‘active’ spiritually. Having a spirit does not necessarily mean our spirit is receptive or that our spirit is actively engaged with our mind’s efforts or responses.
 
We are each an electrically charged spirit before we are ever flesh and blood. At conception we are spirit, and subsequently at birth we are a body, mind, soul, and spirit being. We are each sparked to life as/with a spirit, for in our essence we are spirit, just as the essence of God’s existence/being is Spirit. (John 4:24)
As creator of the universe His animate creations are also in essence, spirit. Spirituality [in all living beings] is rooted in acknowledged love.
 
One difference between animate (living) creations; flora, fauna, and humans is, humans possess a soul.
(Possessing) a ‘Soul’ [is the combined existence of spirit and ‘being’ {mind and body}]. The soul binds together one’s spirit with logic and rational hierarchical relationship knowledge and understanding.
Activation of the spirit is a response to the presence of the creator’s (God’s) Spirit through Christ, for the believer.
 
It is imperative to remember that life is corrupt at its core. Corruption is the way of the world (2 Peter 1:4b). We are born into and are inheritors of the world’s ways through familial, growth, and social indoctrinations of and by the world. Corruption and evil desires are the route by which we suffer iniquities and the negative consequences of our choices. ‘Sinful’ disobedience to God is our nature as a species and within our character as individuals. ‘Self’ is the fundamental element of our intuitions and therefore the manner of our convenient and comforting deconstructive actions.
 
Our actions, reactions, and responses flow in two opposite directions.
Think of them as two separate yet interlocked spirals:

 (One is influenced or directed by our natural human desires and ways in their applications. The other is our spiritually assisted responses in action. The first involves no ‘active spirit.’ The second relies on and is grounded in an active spiritual intervention relationship with God, through Christ’s spirit dwelling with, and counseling ours. The choice as to whether or not we have and employ an active spiritual relationship with the Holy Trinity of God is entirely up to each of us.
 
In the first spiral we are susceptible to and suspect of a corrupted life. Without a healthy and growing spirit, we are at odds with God’s desired guidance for us and we can more easily fall prey to the forces of evil. Without a spiritual connection to God, we have only guilt laden remembrance and experience of past negative consequences to dissuade us from a path of emotional, psychological, and possible physical pain, struggle, and/or destruction. Left on our own the die is cast. It’s merely a matter of time, when and where our life will be disrupted or worse, possibly hampered beyond recognition or recovery.
 
Those who have invited and accepted the Spirit of God, Christ’s shared counselor to abide with and in their spirit have a permanent hedge against the demolition and destructive forces of the world. The indwelt spirit of Jesus Christ can protect and serve the believer by revealed strength to resist the daily and continued onslaught of life’s tempting invitations to stray from or off the path that leads to truth, wisdom, and spiritual salvation.
 
The world is full of motivators that complicitly steer and alter our desires and directions. There are five prime motivations for every choice we encounter or embrace. They are; Need, Want, Status, Love, and Fear. Picture each one related to a section or part of your being.
‘Need’- your feet. Our feet are guided by Need, leading us step-by-step to each focal point of our necessity.
 
‘Want’- your heart. You may have heard it said, “The heart wants what the heart wants.” Often the desires of our heart castigate our better senses, or override our own best interests, even when cognition of outcomes warns us to turn from further involvement.
 
‘Status’- your mind. Throughout history, and particularly noticeable in today’s self-centered cultures, Status has motivated many who pursued it. One’s risen place and presence in life and lifestyle can be intoxicating and often destructive. Humans as creatures honed by societies are many times prompted and promoted to excel as high as possible in the eyes and recognition of others. Heroes and heroines have always been held in high esteem and envied. Mankind is inherently a competitive group. For centuries efforts were made in conjunction with survival. 
 
Today more than ever, a world of celebrity exists whereby ‘Status’ can be exhibited or exposed to at the earliest stages in a wide variety of endeavors via worldwide media and instantaneous viewership. Status by itself as never before can provide and guarantee much of what life may have to offer regardless of one’s skills, talents, or accomplishments. Status in today’s world is accessible to untold numbers of people as never before, merited or not.
 
‘Love’- your spirit. As stated previously ‘Love’ acknowledged or not is the pinnacle of mankind’s desire and obsession. Whether it’s a quest for endearment of another or wrapped up in the confines of an object or dream realm, Love is the essence of existence (1 John 4:8). For this reason, Love is coupled with spirit (John 4:24). To love the Lord God enough to emulate the thoughts, words and deeds of His Son, Jesus, one must possess a living and covetous love for the Lord; Father, Son, and Spirit.
 
Love within spirit transfers itself easily to others, for its depth and commitment recognizes itself. The presence and strength of Love transmuted by the Spirit from Father to Son to the individual believer and follower of Christ is unmistakable, undeniable, and irrevocable once received. (1 John 4:9-10)
 
And ‘Fear’- existential knowledge of both God and Satan. ‘Fear’ can be the most powerful motivator of all. Fear of the unknown, fear of punishment, fear of reprisal, fear of loss. For those embraced by and spiritually conjoined with Christ Jesus, fear is neutralized and unwarranted. Why? Because the believer in Christ need not fear death (John 11:25-26). Although everyone alive during the coming “Last Days” will be filled with fear, by both God’s judgments and the reign of the Antichrist, the spiritual love relationship between the Lord and His believers and Christ followers will provide acknowledged strength to overcome fear (John 16:33).




​