Psalm 12:4 (NIV)
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
A badly behaving spouse is like a bad hip.
O Lord, I want to be a spouse of good character,
and not a pain in the hip. Fill me with wisdom.
May my words be kind and my actions helpful.
For years, my hip hurt. Then it quit bearing its part of the load. My knees pitched in and carried the slack. They started hurting too.
Fixed my hip –voila!–my knees felt better.
It reminded me of this Biblical wisdom:
1 Corinthians 12:14, 21, 26 (ESV)
For the body does not consist of one member but of many . . . The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you” . . . If one member suffers, all suffer together.
When one member of Christ’s body suffers, we all do.
Proverbs 3:7-8 (ESV)
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
Revere God and be good . . . it’ll give new life to your bones, kind of like hip replacement surgery.
Take my word for it, you’ll feel better.
I’m back!
It wasn’t a vacation. It was a medical procedure to fix what ailed me, to replace my wonky hip. I feel better and I’m walking well, thanks be to God, the medical professionals and the wonders of modern medicine.
We all need fix-it breaks:
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (MSG)
May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ.
Fixed . . . whole, holy and fit.
1 Corinthians 12:3 (ESV)
. . . no one can say “Jesus is Lord”
except in the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the power behind our prayers of praise and worship. It is through God that we know God.
When our world crumbles, when things seem darkest, the best we can manage is a one-word prayer:
God!
It is enough.
Romans 8:26 (NLV)
We do not know how to pray or what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays to God for us with sounds that cannot be put into words.
Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Pray in the Spirit at all times
and on every occasion.
Pray “at all times.” No way!
Good thing the Holy Spirit is here to help.
The epistle of Jude is short (one chapter, 25 verses). In verse 20, Jude tells us to pray “in the Holy Spirit” (that’s how it’s worded in most English translations).
What does that mean? Let’s look at the verse in other versions of the Bible:
(NIRV)
Let the Holy Spirit guide and help you when you pray.
(NLV)
Let the Holy Spirit lead you as you pray.
(EXB)
. . . praying ·in [in dependence on; or as directed by; or according to the will of] the Holy Spirit.
Like these versions, the Holy Spirit helps us find the right words.
