drawing from daniel recap
As we, like Daniel, through a confident faith, access His power and authority, we are transformed, according to His likeness. In this instance, we see Daniel bear the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit in a way that honors the Lord’s holy name, while promoting the welfare of his captor, at the same time.
Highland, we must draw from Daniel in how to approach these instances. He maintains a yielding to the Holy Spirit, yielding fruits of His authority and nature. The trend for a Christian can easily slide one of these two lanes we want to avoid:
Christian Critic
Christian critics are often fueled by fear or by anger, or by a mixture of both. Critical Christians often base their handling of tough people or a secular world on a lot of spiritual elements or positions, including a lot of spiritual language. However, when we approach others as right-fighters or critics, we often see a lot of hyper-spiritual language or opinions, but a lack of spiritual fruit. This is because love is not the motivation. Drawing from Daniel here, as we are facing more and more of a secular world, bashing people with our Biblical views and demanding them to respect our convictions is not what we see Daniel doing here.
Christian Conformists
Christian conformists typically present a lot of agreeability, often in the name of pandering. However, when the backbone of truth and holiness do not persist in our testimonies, it reveals that our hearts belong to the world, not Lord. It is impossible to please God without faith, thereby, conforming leads to a fruitless situation.
This is how the Spirit of God directs our hearts:
The Spirit of God Transforms
The Holy Spirit transforms. It transforms us from the inside, out - making us new. In the day-to-day and drastic circumstances, the spirit of God produces and pours forth fruit from any submissive in a repentant relationship with Jesus! This is what you see in Daniel – the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Daniel maintains a yielded heart to the Holy Spirit of God - and the power of His Spirit reveals takes over! Truth prevails through fear, through doubt, producing a steadfastness that is unshakable in the most bleak of situations.
Throughout the Week
Mondays @ M2540, 6:30pm
I am grateful for our team, who fosters our partnership with M2540. Each Monday evening, all are welcome to help them love our neighbor in a way that expresses our love for the Lord.
Prayer Gathering, Wednesdays, 9am
As Patti continues to lead our Prayer Gathering – come, be part of seeking our Lord’s face for mercy. We will continue to pray for Israel, our streets, our nation – that the Kingdom of God would continue to advance on all fronts.
Marriage Study this fall, Wednesdays, 6:15pm
We continue to refine our marriages through our current study, which is held at Kim and Nancy’s home. See you Wednesday!
Boxes of Love Collection: Dish Soap
Highland fam, we are collecting dish soap for Boxes of Love throughout November. Please bring a bottle in as you’re able. Thank you!
Throughout the Weekend
Chicken & Rice, Saturdays, 10am
Our team will continue to impart the love of Christ to our streets each Saturday. All are welcome to come and serve.
Sunday Mornings at 9am
Spending this time together over a warm cup of coffee is such a great way to start our week, Highland. I look forward to seeing each of you, as we come together to lift up the name of Jesus, who teaches us how to love one another. Grateful we get the chance to do just that over a cup of coffee.
Jo Ellen always does a great job of then offering us such a meaningful devotion to close our time together.
Robert continues to lead our Men’s Study each Sunday morning, at 9am. All men are welcome to come and be part of this helpful time of walking through God’s Word together.
SUNDAY MORNINGS AT 10AM
Our church service (we call services “Firehouse Gatherings”) are held each Sunday morning in the Firehouse (3402 6th Ave). This Sunday, we will continue through Daniel. We will be in the latter third of chapter two, verses 31–49. It is my hope to conclude chapter two this Sunday.
Next Sunday, October 29th, Robert Singleton will bring us a sermon. Our family will be out of town. We are taking a day trip to Atlanta for an event that Luke and Jude want to do. When I return the following Sunday, I intend to start chapter three of Daniel.
Filling the Rooms
Highland, our plan to make our house a home is called: Filling the Rooms. Now that we’ve gone over the plan, let’s carry out the plan together. Please click on the link below and sign up to be part of filling the rooms. You can also ask questions or make recommendations, too.
I look forward to seeing you, Highland.
I am grateful for you,
Rob