An adaptation of an illustration by Chuck Swindoll is useful to describe the way believers will experience and enjoy Life by the Spirit.
Turbines at Grand Coulee, Rocky Reach, Rock Island, Bonneville, Wanapum and other dams produce billions of kilowatts of electricity which become hundreds of thousands of volts. Power lines take the electricity and distribute it throughout the Pacific Northwest and even into the Southwest. In theory, a person could follow the power lines that connect into Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake. As one would follow the power lines, there would be various substations with all kinds of warning signs—“Danger! High Voltage” “No trespassing! Violators will be prosecuted.” The warnings are stern because the threat of being electrocuted by thousands of volts is very real. In fact, no one needs thousands of volts coming into their home or office. So the engineers put “transformers” in the power lines that reduce the volts into the amount that people need—110 volts or 220 (or 221—whatever!) These transformers are on power poles above ground and in vaults below ground.
Nearly everybody, however, uses transformers within their homes. Why? Because if one were to connect the dead battery of a cell phone to the 110 volts coming out of a regular wall socket, the unit would buzz loudly for a second, make a pzzzttt sound, flash blue sparks and burn to a crisp. Cell phones only need a handful of volts to be charged. What people call a “charger” is really a transformer. Computers, printers, game systems and camcorders—most all electronic gadgets—need much less than 110 volts.
When the Holy Spirit (the Transformer) comes to live in a believer, the Spirit will then take the majestic truths of Scripture, the power of Christ, the guidance of the Lord, and everything else God gives a believer, and dispense them in just the amount needed—as much as a believer can handle, take or use. It is the Spirit’s delight to take the fullness of the God of the Universe and make one thing meaningful to this woman, and another thing useful to that woman. He works one way in this guy here, and does something very different in that guy over there. It is the way the Spirit works, and His work is flawless. He gives to each believer just what is necessary.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26 ESV)
Don’t ever stop pursuing living Life by the Spirit. It is the wonder and joy of life in Christ! Pursue it always. Live secure in His presence and seek His filling daily. He will provide just what is needed for every situation of life!
That’s all for now!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Power! Part Two
“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49 ESV)
The spectacular works of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the first church has caused people in the modern church to ask: “What about us? How come the Holy Spirit doesn’t perform miracles now like He did then?”
Many believers have become discouraged when comparing their ordinary, simple, down-to-earth life of faith with the lives of ancient believers. When these feelings are taken to extreme, brothers and sisters in the faith have questioned whether the Holy Spirit really does dwell in them; have wondered whether they have missed some secret key for unlocking the Spirit’s power; have simply ignored His power and promptings as meaningless; or have tried to live Christian life without the Holy Spirit.
While these approaches deny the believer the blessing of Life by the Spirit, they are very real emotions and experiences. It is so tempting to read into the Bible that extraordinary works of the Holy Spirit were customary and usual. However, when the whole of New Testament record is considered, the Spirit’s miracles must be considered rare.
Consider the words of Jesus…did He really promise miracle-a-minute lives for believers when He said believers would receive the Holy Spirit? (Acts 1:8) Not even the disciples lived life like that! After the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13 ESV), the Bible records that the first disciples lived ordinary lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, and only occasionally witnessed extra-ordinary demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s power.
Consider the life of the Apostle Paul. He was slandered, libeled, assaulted, beaten, stoned, stalked throughout his work for the Kingdom in Palestine, Asia Minor and lower Europe. In the midst of Paul’s difficulties, however, the power of the Holy Spirit was evident—not in transporting him away from the tribulation—but in the provision of the Lord’s strength and confidence for Paul as he traveled the deep valleys of persecution. What a fabulous display of the Spirit’s power!
Believers today can have real hope that the Spirit may do the miraculous (Pray for it!) and realistic expectations that He will provide His power in the daily, ordinary and routine. Yet, believers see the Spirit doing miracles when He…
· Speaks through a believer who proclaims the Gospel.
· Transforms a bitter, angry believer into a miracle of forgiveness and grace.
· Heals a believer from serious disease and protects him or her spiritually.
· Gives the believer the freedom to call God, “Abba, Father” in prayer.
· Brings a wandering son or daughter back to love Jesus again.
· Provides joy in the midst of life difficulties or persecution for Jesus’ sake.
God is the Lord of the miraculous, supernatural and mysterious. Grasping this truth, how then, should believers live?
More to come!
The spectacular works of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the first church has caused people in the modern church to ask: “What about us? How come the Holy Spirit doesn’t perform miracles now like He did then?”
Many believers have become discouraged when comparing their ordinary, simple, down-to-earth life of faith with the lives of ancient believers. When these feelings are taken to extreme, brothers and sisters in the faith have questioned whether the Holy Spirit really does dwell in them; have wondered whether they have missed some secret key for unlocking the Spirit’s power; have simply ignored His power and promptings as meaningless; or have tried to live Christian life without the Holy Spirit.
While these approaches deny the believer the blessing of Life by the Spirit, they are very real emotions and experiences. It is so tempting to read into the Bible that extraordinary works of the Holy Spirit were customary and usual. However, when the whole of New Testament record is considered, the Spirit’s miracles must be considered rare.
Consider the words of Jesus…did He really promise miracle-a-minute lives for believers when He said believers would receive the Holy Spirit? (Acts 1:8) Not even the disciples lived life like that! After the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13 ESV), the Bible records that the first disciples lived ordinary lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, and only occasionally witnessed extra-ordinary demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s power.
Consider the life of the Apostle Paul. He was slandered, libeled, assaulted, beaten, stoned, stalked throughout his work for the Kingdom in Palestine, Asia Minor and lower Europe. In the midst of Paul’s difficulties, however, the power of the Holy Spirit was evident—not in transporting him away from the tribulation—but in the provision of the Lord’s strength and confidence for Paul as he traveled the deep valleys of persecution. What a fabulous display of the Spirit’s power!
Believers today can have real hope that the Spirit may do the miraculous (Pray for it!) and realistic expectations that He will provide His power in the daily, ordinary and routine. Yet, believers see the Spirit doing miracles when He…
· Speaks through a believer who proclaims the Gospel.
· Transforms a bitter, angry believer into a miracle of forgiveness and grace.
· Heals a believer from serious disease and protects him or her spiritually.
· Gives the believer the freedom to call God, “Abba, Father” in prayer.
· Brings a wandering son or daughter back to love Jesus again.
· Provides joy in the midst of life difficulties or persecution for Jesus’ sake.
God is the Lord of the miraculous, supernatural and mysterious. Grasping this truth, how then, should believers live?
More to come!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Power!
The normal Christian life—Life by the Spirit—is full of contrasts, even seeming contradictions. For instance, the way God works is thought to be foolishness to the person who doesn’t know the Lord, yet His ways have proven again and again to be fantastically wise. God says that the poor will be the rich, the weak will be the strong, and the powerless will be used in mightyways.
Many have rejected faith in Christ simply because it is rather offensive that God would work through the overlooked, the lowly, the disdained, and even despised. It is the natural desire of humanity to want a role, a sense of significance, and a reason to boast about achievement. Yet God makes it clear that all the glory of what He has done, is doing and will do in the world belongs to He and He alone.
How, then, does the Lord involve people in what he is doing in the world? He does it through the power of the Holy Spirit in His people.
It is both the Lord’s promise and plan to empower believers through the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told thedisciples: And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49 ESV emphasis added) Before Jesus departed earth for heaven, He told the first church: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.... (Acts 1:8 ESV)
It might be best to say that there is an exchange required for those who desire to live life by the Spirit. When a believer releases his or her dependence on mere human strength to accomplish and achieve, then the Holy Spirit uses His power in and through the person. The churches in Galatia resisted this truth, and so Paul asked them this question: Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith…? (Galatians 3:5 ESV)
The answer is obvious. When a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit, he or she will experience the empowering of the Holy Spirit in amazing ways. A few of the works of the Holy Spirit’s power in believers (The stuff that mere human power can’t do) include:
· An inner peace in the midst of crisis.
· The ability to love unconditionally and receive love.
· The boldness and clarity to proclaim the Gospel.
· A capacity to forgive repeatedly.
· A positive attitude with selflessness, humility, and sacrifice.
· The ability to discern truth and falsehood, good and evil.
· The competence to grasp the deep things of God revealed in the Bible.
The normal Christian life is empowered by the Holy Spirit! What other works of power will the Holy Spirit do in believers?
More to come!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Courage!
Life has all kinds of challenges that require courage. Marriage, child-raising, travel, being self-employed, moving to a new city, taking a stand for what’s right, helping a person in need, all have hair-raising, “this feels out of control,” moments. The really brave person, however, is the believer who submits to the will of the Lord and lives by the Spirit. Courage is needed, not just for a certain moments, but moment-by-moment when Living by The Holy Spirit.
What the Spirit requires is also what the Spirit provides! When facing threats, it is the Holy Spirit’s guidance that provides resolute determination and courage. This truth is illustrated several times in The Acts of the Apostles. Most people just know the book as Acts, looking past the history of what the Holy Spirit did, and focusing only on what the Apostles did. But what the Apostles did was only possible because of what the Holy Spirit did (Indeed, a more accurate title for the book could be: The Acts of Holy Spirit through the lives of the Apostles).
One of the times that an Apostle needed courage was when Paul came to the gut-wrenching moment of leaving the leaders of the church in Ephesus. He realized that he would not see these men whom he loved again this side of death. In the moment of need, the Holy Spirit guided him.
And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22-23 ESV)
The word “constrained” carries the meaning of compelled or restricted. Paul, then, submitted to this control of the Holy Spirit over his life, even in knowing it would take him into difficulty and trouble. Because he was indwelled and filled with the Holy Spirit, blessed with the Spirit’s guidance, there’s no hint of fear in the Apostle’s words.
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24 ESV)
What was true then is true now. Believer’s can count on receiving courage from the Spirit especially when the guidance of the Holy Spirit leads a believer to terrifying situations and every day challenges. Since marriage isn’t for the fainted-hearted, God provides believers with the presence and direction of the Holy Spirit. Because parenting isn’t for cowards—believers can have the wisdom of the Spirit. And in the battle against ruler and authorities in unseen places, the Spirit’s power and guidance wins the struggle.
Believers can be courageous because the Holy Spirit provides and guides.
More to come!
What the Spirit requires is also what the Spirit provides! When facing threats, it is the Holy Spirit’s guidance that provides resolute determination and courage. This truth is illustrated several times in The Acts of the Apostles. Most people just know the book as Acts, looking past the history of what the Holy Spirit did, and focusing only on what the Apostles did. But what the Apostles did was only possible because of what the Holy Spirit did (Indeed, a more accurate title for the book could be: The Acts of Holy Spirit through the lives of the Apostles).
One of the times that an Apostle needed courage was when Paul came to the gut-wrenching moment of leaving the leaders of the church in Ephesus. He realized that he would not see these men whom he loved again this side of death. In the moment of need, the Holy Spirit guided him.
And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22-23 ESV)
The word “constrained” carries the meaning of compelled or restricted. Paul, then, submitted to this control of the Holy Spirit over his life, even in knowing it would take him into difficulty and trouble. Because he was indwelled and filled with the Holy Spirit, blessed with the Spirit’s guidance, there’s no hint of fear in the Apostle’s words.
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24 ESV)
What was true then is true now. Believer’s can count on receiving courage from the Spirit especially when the guidance of the Holy Spirit leads a believer to terrifying situations and every day challenges. Since marriage isn’t for the fainted-hearted, God provides believers with the presence and direction of the Holy Spirit. Because parenting isn’t for cowards—believers can have the wisdom of the Spirit. And in the battle against ruler and authorities in unseen places, the Spirit’s power and guidance wins the struggle.
Believers can be courageous because the Holy Spirit provides and guides.
More to come!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Silence Is Golden
Isolation!
Most people are terrified when completely cut off from all other people. Even men and women of great faith sink under the weight of isolation. As painful, even destructive as being utterly alone can be, it is often when God’s people receive the wonderful gift of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
That’s what happened to Elijah. He had the faith to believe that God would turn off heaven’s faucets and God gave no rain to the Kingdom of Israel for three years. He believed in the authority of God’s Word for provision in times of famine and the power to raise a boy from the dead and both happened. He had a God-given courage when he confronted, mocked, defeated and destroyed the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. On that very same day, God released torrential rains after Elijah’s prayer. And then Elijah, well past his athletic prime, ran faster than King Ahab rode in his chariot to Jezreel (1 Kings 17-18).
It was, however, in those moments just after these incredible triumphs that Elijah’s stellar faith wilted. When the prophet heard the death threat from Jezebel, the wicked wife of King Ahab, he hi-tailed it into the wilderness. After he stopped running and sat down under a broom tree, he slid into the despair of loneliness and isolation. He prayed—“O LORD, take away my life,” but God didn’t grant Elijah his request. In fact, the Lord took him to a place of even greater isolation—Horeb, the mount of God. (1 Kings 19:1-8)
Elijah desperately needed to hear something from the Lord and he did. And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12 ESV)
One would think that the magnificent Lord of the Universe would speak by the howling wind, roaring fire or rumbling of the earth, but no! It was in the still and quiet that the Lord spoke to Elijah words that reached down deep and spoke the needed message to the prophet’s heart.
Don’t resist times of isolation. Times of solitude and separation are a must! Getting away from the noise of relationships and daily routines is necessary for the Holy Spirit to have a believer’s exclusive attention that allows Him to reveal clearly His specific plans and desires.
The revelation of the Lord’s guidance is vital to Living by the Spirit.
More to come!
Most people are terrified when completely cut off from all other people. Even men and women of great faith sink under the weight of isolation. As painful, even destructive as being utterly alone can be, it is often when God’s people receive the wonderful gift of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
That’s what happened to Elijah. He had the faith to believe that God would turn off heaven’s faucets and God gave no rain to the Kingdom of Israel for three years. He believed in the authority of God’s Word for provision in times of famine and the power to raise a boy from the dead and both happened. He had a God-given courage when he confronted, mocked, defeated and destroyed the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. On that very same day, God released torrential rains after Elijah’s prayer. And then Elijah, well past his athletic prime, ran faster than King Ahab rode in his chariot to Jezreel (1 Kings 17-18).
It was, however, in those moments just after these incredible triumphs that Elijah’s stellar faith wilted. When the prophet heard the death threat from Jezebel, the wicked wife of King Ahab, he hi-tailed it into the wilderness. After he stopped running and sat down under a broom tree, he slid into the despair of loneliness and isolation. He prayed—“O LORD, take away my life,” but God didn’t grant Elijah his request. In fact, the Lord took him to a place of even greater isolation—Horeb, the mount of God. (1 Kings 19:1-8)
Elijah desperately needed to hear something from the Lord and he did. And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12 ESV)
One would think that the magnificent Lord of the Universe would speak by the howling wind, roaring fire or rumbling of the earth, but no! It was in the still and quiet that the Lord spoke to Elijah words that reached down deep and spoke the needed message to the prophet’s heart.
Don’t resist times of isolation. Times of solitude and separation are a must! Getting away from the noise of relationships and daily routines is necessary for the Holy Spirit to have a believer’s exclusive attention that allows Him to reveal clearly His specific plans and desires.
The revelation of the Lord’s guidance is vital to Living by the Spirit.
More to come!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
For Better Vision
“Spirit Thing” is the title of a song by the contemporary Christian music artists, the Newsboys. The song can be heard at http://youtu.be/Be6IFyAyJTg.
The lyrics in the chorus describe how the Holy Spirit provides believers a particular blessing:
It's just a holy nudge
It's like a circuit judge in the brain
It's just a spirit thing
It's here to guard my heart
It's just a little hard to explain
Jesus made this promise about the Holy Spirit: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:12-13, underline added) The Holy Spirit will provide believers the blessing of guidance.
The primary way the Holy Spirit provides believers guidance is by illuminating the Word of God so that the things of the Lord can be understood. All of what believers need to know about the expressed will of the Lord is communicated in the Bible.
Yet, the Holy Spirit also provides the light of understanding in the matters of the unexpressed will of the Lord. Many believers can point to specific moments in their life when they have experienced the Spirit’s nudge—clear direction when facing two compelling, yet equal choices. Or, the guidance has come in the form of practical wisdom in a moment of crisis. For many, many believers, the Spirit’s guidance has been His quiet and unmistakable voice when the right words, proper action, or appropriate attitude were needed.
The Spirit’s inner promptings push many believers past the boundaries of experience and knowledge, and into uncharted areas. It can be more than a little unnerving! Yet, could it be that what many believers call intuition is, at times, the guidance and conviction of the Holy Spirit? Exploring that possibility isn’t easy…but it is important in pursuing what it means to Live by the Spirit.
When are some of the times a believer might expect the Spirit to guide?
More to come!
The lyrics in the chorus describe how the Holy Spirit provides believers a particular blessing:
It's just a holy nudge
It's like a circuit judge in the brain
It's just a spirit thing
It's here to guard my heart
It's just a little hard to explain
Jesus made this promise about the Holy Spirit: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:12-13, underline added) The Holy Spirit will provide believers the blessing of guidance.
The primary way the Holy Spirit provides believers guidance is by illuminating the Word of God so that the things of the Lord can be understood. All of what believers need to know about the expressed will of the Lord is communicated in the Bible.
Yet, the Holy Spirit also provides the light of understanding in the matters of the unexpressed will of the Lord. Many believers can point to specific moments in their life when they have experienced the Spirit’s nudge—clear direction when facing two compelling, yet equal choices. Or, the guidance has come in the form of practical wisdom in a moment of crisis. For many, many believers, the Spirit’s guidance has been His quiet and unmistakable voice when the right words, proper action, or appropriate attitude were needed.
The Spirit’s inner promptings push many believers past the boundaries of experience and knowledge, and into uncharted areas. It can be more than a little unnerving! Yet, could it be that what many believers call intuition is, at times, the guidance and conviction of the Holy Spirit? Exploring that possibility isn’t easy…but it is important in pursuing what it means to Live by the Spirit.
When are some of the times a believer might expect the Spirit to guide?
More to come!
Monday, May 14, 2012
For Better Vision
There is so much that the Spirit is able to reveal about the Lord. Most believers can scarcely grasp it all in head and heart. Yet, as believers are filled by the Spirit and follow Him, the Spirit does a wonderful work called, “Illumination.” Like a beam of light in a very dark place, the Holy Spirit gives understanding and clarity to the things of God that are hard—even impossible—to grasp.
This illumination of the Spirit took place for the Gospel writer John. As much as it might be tempting to think of John as some super-human Christian, he also was in need of the Spirit’s illumination. Prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said things that John didn’t understand. But after the Holy Spirit came to indwell (live in) John, the Spirit illuminated some otherwise confusing words spoken by Jesus. Read this following section of John 7, and consider the order of events John describes:
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39 ESV)
What happened in John’s life happens in every believer’s life. Believers need the Spirit to give understanding to God’s ways. Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth gives the assurance of illumination.
For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:10b-12 ESV)
Read the last phrase one more time: “that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” While colleges, universities, tech and trade schools charge huge amounts of money for education, the Holy Spirit freely gives understanding of the most important subject of life—the Lord of the Universe.
Illumination is an invaluable gift of the Holy Spirit and is always available when requested. Ask then, for the knowledge and understanding of the Spirit when reading the Bible, meditating on a passage of Scripture, listening to a sermon, or talking about the Lord with friends, to name a few of the many ways and times the Spirit will shine Hislight.
Where else can believers see the Spirit’s light?
More to come!
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