![]() Oh God! May You be the One who is increasing in our lives! May we continue to set our hearts on You and allow You to enable us to put the flesh to death. Maybe it’s time to ask ourselves some questions: Is Jesus increasing in authority and prominence in my life? Is He the One people think of when they meet me or we part ways? Are people being attracted to Him through my broken life? Am I experiencing a deeper and fuller understanding of His goodness and grace, even in the midst of great hardship and pain? The opposite questions also reveal who is increasing and who is decreasing. This revealing (and the ensuing humble submission on my part that should follow) sets up the win-win situation where my flesh decreases (a VERY good thing for me and everyone else!) and His authority, power, and grace in me and upon me increase. Trials reveal our weaknesses and our inabilities, but they also reveal His strength and His capability. Why? Because He uses these things to strip away the material and superficial layers of me and causes my heart to be tender and raw to Him in a way that is seemingly not possible when everything is fine and dandy. The thought struck me this morning that the reality of this verse really pops out when we get into trials, struggles, and suffering. Even in our discussions we groan inwardly about having to die daily, having to give up our way and our will. At the same time, He is indwelling me with His Spirit and enabling me to be absorbed by Him – the old man is crucified and I am raised to life with Christ (Galatians 2:20). We must see that for every decrease of Self, Christ is increased. This drives me to prayer and to the Word of God and to waiting on the Lord His ways and His character and His honor become my desire and my focus, over and above any and every other wish, dream, desire, and plan. Instead of seeking my own selfish gain or merely looking to help those around me, my first concern must be my Master’s glory and will. What does it mean that He increase and I decrease in our personal context? For starters, it means that we must be absorbed with and by Him. John’s words should pierce our prideful and self-seeking hearts and cause us to pause in brokenness and awe. It is here that the “rubber hits the road”, so to speak. It is not just a great concept and a lofty, but improbable goal no, our decrease and His increase is what dying to self and living to God is all about. Here within this verse John the Baptist expressed what is perhaps the preeminent attitude that is necessary for us to truly follow Christ. The more He grows in us, the more we fulfil our potential and become all that God wants us to be without ceasing to be ourselves.“He must increase, but I must decrease.” ~John 3:30 We can also say, “He must increase I must decrease'' as His presence increases in us and our ego welcomes Him. The closer we come to Jesus, the more we know how much we need to grow. None of those things applied to John the Baptist and recognised the uniqueness of Jesus, which is why he could say, “he must increase, but I must decrease.” We cannot fully appreciate the mystery of Jesus, if we do not allow the influence of Christ to dominate in that of the self in us. ![]() With these two - Jesus and the Holy Spirit - as official witnesses, the Truth cannot be denied: God so loves the world that God sent the only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him might have eternal life and those who refuse to believe, after they have been given the opportunity to believe, will experience God’s wrath. Not only did Jesus give witness to the love which God has for the people, but also the Holy Spirit gives witness to the eternal life which is the gift for all those who believe. Jesus announces that the One “from above” (ἄνωθεν - anothen) can speak of His experience of God because He has been with God. Jesus is aware that He is from "above” and that the Father has entrusted everything to Him. In today's Gospel, Jesus tells Nicodemus that He must continue to speak about the relationship He has with His Father because He has been empowered by the Holy Spirit for this very task from above. The key is discipline of mind, body and spirit. If you have weight problems of any kind, this book is for you Inside is 20 years experience in counseling men/women with weight control problems. It is not just the apostles and disciples who testified that Jesus died and rose for the forgiveness of our sin the Holy Spirit – God’s divine Spirit – is also testifying to the Truth. He Must Increase but I Must Decrease is for those who overweight, underweight, bulemic or anorexic. Peter replies that they must give witness to the truth of God, by and through the power of the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. For Peter, obedience to God’s command is more important than obeying the orders of mortals, even if they are the religious authorities. Today's first reading relates the experience of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin as they were accused of disobeying the council’s orders. The Sanhedrin clearly made known to them that they should stop to preach in the Name of the Lord Jesus, crucified and alleged to be risen from the dead.
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