A Glimpse Of The Holy Spirit

 This was written on November 20, 2012

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The Holy Spirit... Yes, We can grieve Him and we can quench Him but He is for us. Once with us He never leaves us. Once we let Jesus in He rushes in with Him and never goes. Always there to guide... always there to comfort. Like a coach to give us guidance... like a lawyer to plead our cause. The Bible would be a foreign language if He didn't translate it for us. When we are so distraught that we want to speak but can't find words He makes utterance. What a Divine friend... humble and meek... misunderstood.

He whispers, "Look to Jesus." He waits when we are stubborn or proud and whispers. When Jesus is in clear view He is like a strong wind in our face or at our back... like fire in our belly... flaming to ignite the heart... and in worship... Oh, In worship He is there woven in the middle... loud and clear... bright and glorious. 

We are not worthy of Him but that is not the issue. He can't be bought or sold only freely given. Jesus has Him without measure. There is no measure to Him.

In a moment of faith we were sealed with a seal that can never be broken. Our spirit made alive is of the same stuff that He is made and mingled in Him who is Holy breath. 

Sent on a mission after the ascension of Christ He will not leave until a body is made to be a bride. We are people of mission born of The Spirit on a mission. The lost must be found... the blind must see... the water must be presented to the thirsty. The Spirit and the bride say "Come". We stand before the darkened heart and say, "Look to Jesus" and there is an all powerful Trinity of Divinity behind every word.

I will never harness Him but perhaps He will harness me today. As I bow before the Throne and come to His cross with nothing He lifts my head and fills me. My will now free to choose in liberty to go where I am led.

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Be First

 "...so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory." - Ephesians 1:12 ESV

Ephesians is an astonishing book. Really. If you read it line by line in a good translation it builds in such lofty ways.

What struck me this morning was this little phrase, 'we who were the first to hope'. Then you can go back in the chapter and see the great things that these people found hope in.

"...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will," - Ephesians 1:4-11 ESV

You could say, 'see this is talking about those first believers' but really it is talking about all believers. In every group there are those who become 'the first to hope'. In every generation it happens again and again. The Gospel goes to places where it is rarely seen and people begin to hope. Children grow up in groups and either make individual decisions to believe or some wander off into the world and do other things.

I feel like a 'first to hope' person. There was a time when all i had was here and now but then the knowledge of Christ dawned on me and i became a believer... a hopeful person.

Maybe you can be the 'first to hope' today in your household. If you wake up before everyone else and actively put you trust in what Christ has done you are numbered as first. You can be the 'first to hope' in a situation and express that hope to the group that is dealing with hardship. The evangelist is really just the person who is 'first to hope' in a conversation. 

Being the last to hope means hours, months or years of hopelessness. Don't do it. Start being first. Start now. Start early.

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There Is No One Like Jesus

Reading this got me thinking about my early days in Church. I was an outsider. "So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, 'Why did you not bring him?' The officers answered, 'No one ever spoke like this man!' The Pharisees answered them, 'Have you also been deceived?' - John 7:43-47 ESV The Pharisees likely never heard Jesus speak. They certainly never spent time with Him. The whole 'idea of Him' vexed them. Then these officers needed to get close to Him out of duty. Maybe they gathered on the edge of the crowd and out of respect, or just fear of the 'mob', deciding to wait until Jesus finished speaking before the arrest. Then they heard His voice and His words. Duty melted away. There was life here. His words pierced their soul and awakened long forgotten desires, innocence and dreams of fulfillment long dead. Maybe they drank coffee with the people who lovingly accepted them from the crowd and ate pastries and laughed. Then later they realized they had to go back to work. "The Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived?" - John 7:47 ESV Perhaps some of them said, 'Maybe I am.' in their heart when challenged with this question. 'That sure seems better than this.' There just isn't anything like hearing Jesus. It isn't a siren song drawing you by lust to the rocks where you will be destroyed. It is the sound of home. It is like waking from a dream. It is like sunshine breaking through the clouds after weeks of gloom. It is the sunset that is so spectacular that you have to stop what you are doing and just look at it. You pull out your camera and take bad pictures of it because you never want it to end. I'm sure some of those soldiers pitied those Pharisees that day. They had seen the Messiah. These old crusty accomplished men were dead relics. I still get that wonderful sense sometimes. I have it this morning. There is no one like Jesus. His words are sunshine. He breaks every chain. There is no disease that can stand against Him. No evil can triumph over Him. No matter how far away you are He can bring you home again. {{Tears}} // I had to stop typing because I couldn't see the keyboard // Do you have that in your life? I hope so. There is only one place I have found it. There is only one person who is consistently like this. Meeting your heroes can be disappointing because you realize they are just people like you. When you meet Jesus you realize He Is worthy of praise. He Is divine. --

Develope Spiritual Neediness

I'm thinking this morning about 'spiritual neediness' and how it is a good thing but it takes maturity to realize this. The aging process is a good parallel. As a young person I didn't wear glasses. Then I got one pair as an adult. Now I have two pairs used for different things. I aged but adjusted. Our spiritual vision has always been impaired and it isn't because we are the 'exception' and everyone else has something we don't. A person who needs mercy all the time is just in touch with the divine reality of what it means to live in a fallen world. 2 Timothy 2:2 KJV - "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." If we live in shame because of our spiritual neediness we won't obey this passage. Grace and mercy will be theoretical emergency measures instead of a daily provision and a normal framework.

Real Assistance

Today I am focusing on the 'why' and 'how' in this next passage... "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:3-5 ESV I never liked this passage. The wording always throws me off. How can you have a log (Strong's G1385 - dokos). The Greek word actually talks about a beam which is a structural building block also made out of wood. If my wife or friend has something in their eye and I see it before they realize it is there what would be my motivation for telling her? He eye is in danger and I see it... if I act quickly I might avert a bigger problem. Shouldn't i act? We have blind spots. Why do we even see other people's problems? Our blindness clearly isn't complete. Our lack of complete vision allows us to see enough that we diagnose but not enough to provide a good solution. The beam (structure of our value system) blocks us. How do we get the beam out of eye? We must abandon our structure and get outside. Wow. That is quite a challenge. I see abortion clinics as a perfect example of this principle. Altruistic people who are blinded by their own structure trying to help but really they are hurting the individual and society. The cure is worse than the disease. God must help us remove the beam. We must leave our small circles for seasons to even see the structure we are so used to that it is invisible to us. Only then can we be of service to others. History shows us that blinded people justify the murder of others as a way to help society. Grace and mercy must move us outside. If it doesn't even our kindnesses become cruel. --