The radio said this morning during my two-minute commute to the office that the temperature is 22 degrees. I never realized it got this cold in central Texas.
We loaded up on firewood yesterday afternoon and christened the fireplace in our new home last night. We a blessing to play with the girls, watch Christmas shows and read, once they were in bed, next to the fireplace (that once is for you, Rick).
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The Rangers pulled off the first blockbuster deal of the Jon Daniels era last night, trading Alfonso Soriano to the Washington Nationals for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge and a minor league pitcher. While the return didn't reap the pitching dividends I'd hoped for, the return of Wilkerson alone is worth it. Wilkerson will likely be slotted for centerfield (or left if the Rangers go ahead and trade Kevin Mench).
Ian Kinsler now becomes the Rangers everday 2nd baseman.
I'm pumped! The loss of Soriano will be more than made up for with the additions of Wilkerson and Kinsler to the lineup.
Look now for the Rangers to go ahead and deal Mench in the upcoming days for pitching.
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What is the purpose of the indwelling Holy Spirit? If God places a part of Himself within us that is "greater than the one who is in the world," then what is His Spirit inside of me to accomplish for His will?
For the answer, I submit to you three passages from the inspired pen of Paul:
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him, all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him..." (Colossians 1.15-19).
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form..." (Colossians 2.9).
The undeniable truth is that all of the fullness of God and Deity resides in Jesus Christ. Now watch how it unfolds with the work on the Spirit in our lives today.
"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3.14-19).
See the Spirit's purpose? The purpose of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God in the heart of the believer is to recreate the character of Jesus Christ. We are powerless within ourselves to live Christlike. Our deepest spiritual problems, as Jesus noted in the Sermon on the Mount, are not so much our behavior but our heart. Our behavior is simply the revelation of what we harbor in our heart.
So God gives us His Spirit to live within us -- where our real problems reside -- to do the inside work that we are powerless to do! He gives to us, upon our conversion in baptism, His Holy Spirit to make us like Jesus.
Today, I am thankful for the Holy Spirit of God who lives within me to make me more like Jesus.
