Day 5 - Week 52 - Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Holy Spirit."

"When we are living under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we're controlled and empowered by Jesus Christ, and He has full access and influence in every corner and quadrant of our lives.  Being Spirit filled is being Christ centered.  It means that Jesus controls us and is living His life through us.  It has an exuberance that could almost be compared with being under the influence of alcohol."  Robert J. Morgan

I agree with all Mr. Morgan has to say, except that the comparison of being filled with the Holy Spirit to being under the influence of alcohol ends with the attitude of exuberance.  For being under the influence of alcohol, after the exuberant stage, almost always leads to "reckless actions", and poor choices.  I don't know how many people I have heard say that most of their really bad decisions were made after overindulging in alcohol.  Some of those decisions have life-altering effects, taking us off the God-designed course for our lives.

Morgan's statement, "It means that Jesus controls us and is living His life through us," really shakes me up a little bit.  To think that I have the ability to allow Jesus to live His life through me and sometimes I choose not to.  And I absolutely know that you can't make the decision to allow Him to have control when you have already made the decision to be under the control of alcohol or drugs.  So what's our choice?  Is there even an argument to be made for anything other than allowing the Spirit of the Living God to control our lives?  Can we have any better option? 

I believe that's why the Christian life is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment act of submission to the Spirit of God.  We are either choosing to allow Him to control our lives, our choices, our actions or we are giving that control to something else.  Sometimes our weak flesh, sometimes outside influences, sometimes substances.  But when we don't purposefully give control to Him, we will give control to something or someone else.

Every day needs to be started with a prayer of submission, allowing God to move in our lives, to prompt us to His actions, which are never reckless or foolish.  When we are Spirit-filled, we will make good choices, leading us to lives of fulfillment and ones that are God-pleasing.  We will be aware of opportunities to serve others, we will give cheerfully, we will love people with a supernatural love that goes beyond dutiful love. 

And you know one of the listed fruit of the Spirit that I like to dwell on most?  JOY --- we will have joy, we will be joyful!  If you're searching for joy in a bottle, I'm promising you it's temporary.  But the joy of the Spirit is for eternity!

Day 4 - Week 52 - Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Holy Spirit."

I think we, as humans, long to escape the pressures of life at times...the hum drum ongoing of life's monotonous activities at times...the painful times of life due to a wide variety of external causes...we all look for something more.  Many times this yearning is exactly what leads people to lean on alcohol and other drugs in abusive ways.  And once you cross the line into over drinking or using drugs, your life generally not only gets filled with reckless actions, it usually spins out of control. 

Paul says God has given us THE "something more", THE better way...when we come to Jesus and bend on our knees in submission to Him, asking Him to be our Lord and our Savior, He has promised us the gift of the Holy Spirit.  THIS is the filling that we need to walk us through this earthly life with its times of pressure, times of monotony, and times of pain.  Why would we ever opt for a temporary fix when we have within us the eternal Healer?

Reading the verses preceding this week's verse gives us an even clearer picture of the life that God desires for His children,

So then, be very careful how you live. Don't live like foolish people but like wise people.   Make the most of your opportunities because these are evil days. So don't be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants.  Don't get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. 

God doesn't want us to miss a thing that He has in store for us.  He has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and has prepared in advance good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  We will not be aware of these great moments of life if we are living foolishly, if we are drunks, living wild lives of oblivion.  God wants more for us now, and He expects more of us now.

So, as we asked yesterday, when we are Spirit-filled what do our lives look like?  Well the easiest description to remember is what Paul tells us in Galatians when he lists the fruit of the Spirit...a life filled with the Spirit will exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  If you could describe your "dream life" would it not be filled with these characteristics?  This is the life that God wants for His children...this is the life that the Holy Spirit develops in us.  I want this life.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday.  Many churches no longer celebrate the Lenten season, but I think there is such merit in taking these weeks to really dwell on the ministry and sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  During these days, an extra verse of meditation will be included that focuses on what we have been given through Christ, and on His great sacrifice for us.

Psalm 103:8-14
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust. (NRSV)

Day 3 - Week 52 - Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Until reading Robert J. Morgan's passage on this verse, I had never noticed the two other times that being Spirit-filled is compared to being drunk.  But there they are...in Luke 1:15 when John the Baptist is described, Scripture states, "He will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer.  He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb."  And then in Acts 2, when we are told of the day of Pentecost, we are reminded that others thought the apostles were "full of new wine", but Peter countered their accusation saying, "These people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it's only nine in the morning.  On the contrary, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel, 'And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Holy Spirit.'"

So what is the comparison between being drunk and being Spirit-filled?  Could it be that they both change our attitudes from our "norm"?  There is no doubt that people behave differently when they are under the influence of alcohol...do we also behave differently when we are Spirit-filled?  Well, that's an emphatic, YES we do!

But as our verse of the week points out, being drunk on wine leads to reckless actions, or as other translations state, wild living, a ruined life, debauchery, a cheap life, a loss of control...you get the idea.  That's the changes we see when we allow alcohol, or any other substance of abuse, to take control.  It leads us down a path of recklessness and ruin.  (I actually saw a bar in Logan, NM, that had the name painted on a sign over the door, "The Road to Ruin."  Don't know how anyone was brave enough to enter that place, but I guess they did!)

In contrast, when we bend our knees in submission to God and ask for His Spirit to come into our life and take control, what changes do we experience?  That's what we're going to talk about this week...we're not going to dwell on the negative control of earthly source, we're going to dwell on what it is that we receive when God's Spirit is our controlling force.

But just with what we've talked about today, why would anyone opt to try to fill themselves with something that at best brings a hangover, when we have the Spirit of the Living God to fill our hearts and our souls and bring us not only earthly joy, but eternal happiness? 

Day 2 - Week 52 - Yes, I know, this doesn't quite make sense, but....

....as I have been out of town since Friday, and I didn't get to introduce our new verse on Sunday, I need to jump to Day 2 so we can be on track by the end of the week.  And now, just to throw another kink in the order of things, I have to add something else regarding last week's verse, Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle word turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath."  In Robert J. Morgan's book, 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart, he gives some great words regarding the book of Proverbs:

The book of Proverbs is packed with verses about our tempers and our tongues.  If you need some help with anger management or mouth control, read through Proverbs with a red pencil, circle every verse you find on these topics, then type them on your computer or wrtie them on a page in your notebook.  Read over your list, find the best verse for you, and memorize it.  After you have memorized it, learn the second best verse for you; and so on until the power of God's Word melts away the hardened habits of tongue and temper.

You might want to start with Proverbs 15;1.  This verse applies particularly to the tone of our voices.  It talks about a gentle answer or a harsh word.....
Many times we speak the right words with the wrong attitude, making a good situation bad or a bad situation worse...
It includes the expression on our face and the body langauge behind our words.  Want to be wise, mature, less stressed and less stressful to others?  Become a Proverbs 15:1 person.

Well, I don't know about you, but these words hit me square between the eyes!  Sarcasm can be a handy tool for me to fall back on, and it seems that does not really qualify in the characteristics of a Proverbs 15:1 person.  I'm going to need to let this verse really resonate in my head when I am tempted to fall back into habits that are not what God is wanting me to use in my communications with others. 

OK - we just finished up the 10 verses on obedience and we're now ready to start a new section on the Holy Spirit's role in our lives.  These will be perfect verses to meditate on as we enter into the season of Lent.

Let's review our past twenty verses and then we'll open up our next section.

Promises of God (10)

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Proverbs 3:-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will support you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.

Obedience (10)
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.
Romans 12:18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (NKJV)
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle word turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath."

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives

Ephesians 5:18  "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."

I promise you, I had not looked ahead to see what this week's verse would be, and yet I had already decided in my heart that this year, I would abstain from any alcoholic drink during the season of Lent because this verse had already come to my mind.  I couldn't hardly believe it when I turned to our text and this was today's verse!  What an affirmation that this is exactly what I need to do right now!  I do not want to infer that alcohol is a huge issue for me, and I always understand the Christian's restraint from drunkenness, but this year it just seemed that this is what I need to totally refrain from during this special season of focus on our Lord's ministry and sacrifice.

Loving God's Word and His interaction with where we all are in our current life's moment...praising Him for understanding us and directing us to allow Him to fill our every need!