Category Archives: Holy Spirit

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October 14, 2014

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God's Promises, Holy Spirit, Joy, Salvation: A New You

BELIEVE AND RECEIVE

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. [John 3:16-17 (NCV)]

What a beautiful promise Jesus makes to us: everlasting life! There is, however, a stipulation: to get this wonderful gift, we have to believe! This belief is not just an intellectual exercise of acknowledging that someone named Jesus lived in Israel over 2,000 years ago. It’s more than knowing a few Bible verses and stories. This belief requires us to trust Jesus’ words and to rely on his Holy Spirit to make a change in our lives. We need to have confidence in Him as our Lord and Savior. We need to be confident enough that we will give Him our lives. That’s a lot of belief!

If we believe, God promises us a gift: everlasting life. This will not be a continuation of the life we have now on earth. There will be no death, sin, sickness, pain, enemies or anger. The wonderful thing is that we don’t have to wait until we die before we start enjoying this new life in Christ. All we have to do is believe and accept the gift of His Holy Spirit right now. Christ’s love will live in us and we will start experiencing a new life immediately.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. [Romans 10:9 (NCV)]

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October 2, 2014

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Holy Spirit, Wisdom & Guidance

MAPPING OUR WALKS

I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to. For we naturally love to do evil things that are just the opposite from the things that the Holy Spirit tells us to do; and the good things we want to do when the Spirit has his way with us are just the opposite of our natural desires. These two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us, and our wishes are never free from their pressures. [Galatians 5:16-17 (TLB)]

Realizing that my power walks had become more like leisurely strolls, I recently got an app called “Map My Walk” that keeps track of my mileage and pace. Now that I’m using it, I’m walking faster and farther and enjoying it more. The app knows exactly where I’ve been and how long it took me to get there; there’s no more fooling myself about how far I’ve walked or how much effort I exerted. Moreover, the app doesn’t care if I’m tired or the weather is hot and humid. It’s made me accountable! Of course, I do have to remember to turn it on before I go walking.

Let us never forget that we don’t need to have an app on a Smartphone to map our daily walk in life. We have the Holy Spirit within us and He will, indeed, make us accountable. If we’re wandering off course, He’ll tell us. If we’re lingering when we should be jogging or rushing when we should take our time, He’ll either prod us to get moving or slow us down. He’ll even point out the errors in our ways and, like my walking app, the Holy Spirit isn’t much interested in excuses! We just have to remember to listen to His voice and follow His instructions!

Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. [Ephesians 3:20 (TLB)]

 

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September 27, 2014

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Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Holy Spirit, Temptation & Sin

DO WE NEED TO BE RESCUED?

Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me. Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers. They have set an ambush for me. Fierce enemies are out there waiting, Lord, though I have not sinned or offended them. [Psalm 59:1-3 (NLT)]         

The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. [Psalm 18:4-6a (NLT)]        

Many of David’s psalms are about battles, protection from his enemies, or being rescued from an attack. For example, Psalm 59 was written about the time soldiers were sent to watch David’s house in order to kill him and Psalm 18 was sung on the day David was delivered from the hand of his enemies and King Saul.

Granted, there may be people who don’t particularly like us, but they’re not our enemies and, while we may have a few disputes, we aren’t preparing for combat. Since we’re probably not on anyone’s “hit list” and we don’t have an angry king or opposing armies waiting to ambush us, how do David’s psalms relate to us? Who are our enemies and what are our battles?

Our enemy, of course, is Satan, and we enter into a spiritual battle with him every day. It’s good to remember that no matter how safe we may feel in our comfortable homes and lives, we are never safe from him. He is always looking for ways to ambush or trap us because he wants our souls. God, however, wants our salvation. With the power of the Holy Spirit we have all of fire power we need for today’s encounter with the enemy.

When the devil comes knocking upon the door of my heart and asks, “Who lives here?” the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out; now I live here.” The devil, upon seeing the pierced hands takes flight immediately. [Martin Luther]

I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. [Psalm 18:3 (NLT)]

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September 19, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Holy Spirit, Love & Works, Salvation: A New You

BUSTED!

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? [James 2:14 (NLT)]

While enjoying lunch with a group of church women, the person across from me asked if I could deliver “Meals on Wheels” the following week. Knowing how busy my life has been of late, I reluctantly looked at my calendar, secretly hoping every day was booked between 11 and 2. Monday through Thursday were, but Friday was open. I wanted to say, “I’m sorry, but it just won’t work!” I was sorely tempted to do so until the Holy Spirit pointed out the irony of the situation. You see, I’d just finished writing yesterday’s message about sharing God’s love and compassion and there I was: unwilling to share even a few hours. Rather hypocritical, to say the least! Yes, I was busy, but if I had time for a “Boot Camp” class that Friday morning, I could certainly find time to deliver some meals in the afternoon. Granted, I had lots to do but so did the “Meals on Wheels” chairperson. She has a family with youngsters still at home yet, for twenty years, she’s spent countless hours lining up drivers and delivering food to shut-ins! We’re all busy, but God is never too busy when we call on Him. After that rebuke from the Holy Spirit, I cheerfully said I’d do it.

We “Christians” can be the worst hypocrites of all. We may say all of the right things, but often don’t live them. We preach forgiveness, but hold grudges. We speak of generosity, but only give our leftovers to God and those in need. We say we love, but hold prejudices. We say “judge not” but act as judge and jury when it comes to the behavior of others. We say we pray, but frequently don’t; we say we trust God, but let fear and despair lead us; and we say we read the Bible, but rarely do. Being a Christian, however, is not just talking like Christ; it is being like Him!

Father, forgive us when it’s only our words that are “Christian” and not our behavior. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, point out the errors of our ways, and transform our lives so that we carry the message of Christ in all we say and do.

Why is it that a community that talks so much about supernatural transformation shows so little of that transformation? We will have to be men and women who embody the message that we are preaching, whose lives are faithful to the claims we are making. [Ravi Zacharias]

If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. [1 John 2:4-6 (NLT)]

 

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August 26, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Fruit of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spiritual Gifts

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

8-26-14 fruitofspiritWEBBut what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. [Galatians 5:22-23 (MSG)]

I love to picture the fruit tree of a Christian’s life. Instead of apples or oranges, it is laden with fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Let’s grab our bushel baskets and harvest this wonderful fruit of the Holy Spirit!

The Fruit of the Spirit Song (Fill Me Up)
[by Rick Muchow & Rick Warren]

God’s apple is love, His orange is patience,
Banana is self-control, His lemon is peace,
His kindness a peach, And my life is the bowl.

So, fill me up (with your Spirit, it’s delicious),
Fill me up (let me hear it, it’s nutritious),
Fill me all the way up, With the fruit of Your Spirit!

 

 

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August 15, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Holy Spirit, Love & Works

A THORN IN THE FLESH

cactus (prickly pear) - NBG03270WEBSo to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. [2 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)]

Paul wrote that he had a thorn in his flesh; some Bible scholars believe it was a physical ailment and others say it was a person. I don’t know which it was for Paul, but I do know we all have people in our lives who sorely test our tolerance and can even cause a rise in blood pressure. These are the people who, sometimes through no fault of their own, truly challenge our capacity to act as Jesus would behave. They try our patience, cause us to question our ability to love our neighbor, and test our capability to curb anger and tame our tongue. They challenge our generosity and exasperate, irritate, frustrate and annoy us. These people are what a friend calls our “Jesus meters.” Our behavior toward them is a clear indication of how much like Jesus we’ve become. Like Paul’s thorn, they keep us from becoming proud and self-righteous.

While it helps to remember that even the prickly pear cactus, with all its thorns, bears a beautiful flower and delicious fruit, the best solution is to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit and let Him guide us whenever we have a thorn in our flesh.

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. [Ephesians 4:23-24 (NLT)]