"One Word"

Far beyond what people think,

The Spirit shows the way,

Some are struggling on the brink,

But God’s own words will say,

The truth that points us to the cross,

The central focus there,

His life laid down to heal our loss,

The Good News with us share.

He draws us to His liberty,

Past lies, deceptions real,

Show His possibility,

God’s power and presence feel.

The mind of Christ and what He thinks,

Has now made clearly known,

And even those whose hope all sinks,

Have found their burdens flown.

Come this way, come home, my dear,

It’s best not to delay,

The grace to save and heal is near,

Today should be the day.

To come by faith and just say yes,

To Him whose smile came first,

He forgives our sinfulness,

And saves us from the worst.

The word, great word that’s Spirit-born,

To share the mystery deep,

Of God’s great love from heaven torn,

Our soul’s eternal keep.

To bring the wayward, desperate one,

Back home to safe and sound,

The Father, Spirit and the Son,

The lost can yet be found.

His mind, His thought and reason, too,

Divine His strategy,

Ever faithful to pursue,

Such love for you and me.

Just one word can break the yoke,

Of every chain that binds,

And all He ever did and spoke,

Shows that He seeks and finds.

“Now we have received, not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we can know the things freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12, NAS)

Paul said that we haven’t received the world’s spirit. We, rather, have received the Spirit of God. He deals with us and is ever-present with us. At length He convinces us of our need for Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross. He enables us to receive the gift of salvation, and then His transforming work actually begins in our lives and hearts. His is the ongoing revelation of Jesus and all that it means to live for Him and be filled by Him. It is the Spirit that communicates God’s truth to us and empowers us to live it out. We can never exhaust the truth of God’s word that flows from the Spirit into our lives. This is the great mystery and miracle of the Christian life.

Lord, help us to receive Your Spirit and all that He says to us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.