City Life Starter

I. The Word:

Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise. Which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22

If you love Me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words, and He Who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him (Jesus) who loved us. Romans 8:37

I have never liked to save, and I never saved any money until I married Scott. I still don’t like to save even though I believe God expects me to because it is wise. I know this sounds extreme but, to me, it’s like getting a paper cut. It hurts. You know what my problem is? You’ve probably already guessed: my flesh.

First of all, God’s word tells me it is righteous and wise to save. Secondly, if I don’t save money, how will I be able to help others when the Lord tells me to? Thirdly, it is presumptuous of me to think I will never have a need myself. And, just to close the loop, that is why God says it is righteous to save: to take care of myself when trouble comes my way without neglecting the needs of others.

How do I deal with this flesh (paper cut) I have? The obvious answer is to submit my will to God’s will, but I would like to go a little deeper. I think a lot of times I forget to ask the Holy Spirit for His help. If you read the verses in John 14, you’ll note the new paragraph starts in verse 15 and all those verses go together. Jesus knew I would have trouble keeping His commandments so He asked the Father to give me a helper. He abides with me and brings truth into my life.

In Romans 8 Paul confirms that this is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, I can “overwhelmingly conquer” this flesh. I’m supposed to save, I don’t want to save, but the Holy Spirit helps me do what I should.