Morning by Morning, July 18 - The Spiritual Principle of “Increase” and “Decrease” to “Prepare the Way of the Lord”
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as I wait for Your leading to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
There is a spiritual principle of “increase” and “decrease.” It’s very much parallel to the spiritual principle of “humility” and “pride”, where Your Word teaches us and invites us, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Just as John the Baptist said of You in his calling and ministry of one crying out “Prepare the way of the Lord,” so Your Holy Spirit moves in my spirit, crying out to me, “Prepare the way of the Lord” in my heart (Matthew 3:3).
How do I “Prepare the way of the Lord” in my heart? ...
By yielding my heart to Your Heart, my spirit to Your Spirit. By allowing You to put Your thoughts in my thoughts and Your desires in my desires. By trusting You to place Your words in my mouth and Your moves as my actions. By following You with Your steps as my path and Your goals as my destination. By surrendering my will to Your will and entrusting my ways to Your ways. By letting You make me more like You each day--as best as I can and all by Your grace--until I am conformed into the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29) and I am like You in my world (1 John 4:17), with You expressing Your nature through my transformed nature (2 Peter 1:4).
This is how I decrease and You increase--not decreasing in my sense of value or worth or significance or true identity, but decreasing in my sense of insisting on my own control, my own nature, my own will, my own way apart from Yours.
This is how I “Prepare the way of the Lord”--not insisting on my way, but trusting Your way; not building my own kingdom, but embracing Your Kingdom; not developing my own identity apart from who You say I am, but taking hold of the new identity I have in You as a child of God and disciple of Christ.
“Christ in (me), the hope of glory” is You being glorified in me and through me, as You keeping making me more like You, as I keep decreasing and You keep increasing in this way (Colossians 1:27). For by Your grace at work within me, I am growing up in “maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
“Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). In this way, we are being “transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that (we) may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). And “this is the will of God, (our) sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 6:22).
So give me Your grace--the free gift of God--to keep choosing this path each step of the way, to keep embracing Your will and Your way morning by morning, moment by moment, day after day. You keep increasing and empowering me to keep decreasing. You keep preparing the way of the Lord in me and my heart and in all the earth, as I cry out with Your Spirit, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)
With this heart, may we hear and embrace Your Word from Your Heart, “Surely I AM coming soon!” (Revelation 22:20). “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with (us all)!” (Revelation 22:21). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may you allow the Holy Spirit to keep preparing the way of the Lord in your heart, decreasing in your will and your way, that He may increase in His will and His way for your life in Him and His life in you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Messiah Ministries Mailing Address:
412 S. Adams Street #148
Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
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