Category: Holy Spirit

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The Best Gifts

This morning my heart is filled with gratitude and joy.

God has graciously blessed every one of us with so many wonderful gifts.

“ He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life. 4 Through His shining-greatness and perfect life, He has given us promises. These promises are of great worth and no amount of money can buy them. Through these promises you can have God’s own life in you now that you have gotten away from the sinful things of the world which came from wrong desires of the flesh.” II Peter 1:3-4 NLV

My heart is filled with gratitude this morning; God’s amazing love is overwhelming; His peace passes all understanding (that means I can’t figure out how I can have so much peace when things seem anything but peaceful) and His grace (giving me what I don’t deserve) is so marvelous!

Each day I have the opportunity to receive these gifts anew; each day I have the opportunity to share these gifts with others; each day I have the joy of saying thank you to my wonderful Father who has given these gifts to me!

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7 KJV

The gifts we have been given are not for our benefit alone. We have the opportunity to share them with others. The Holy Spirit is the giver of these gifts. He empowers us so that we become a blessing to others.

Just as our hands help our feet by putting on our shoes and socks or our sense of smell helps to keep us from eating something that is spoiled, our Spirit-given gifts help others in the body of Christ to grow and mature in the things of God.

“The Holy Spirit works in each person in one way or another for the good of all. 8 One person is given the gift of teaching words of wisdom. Another person is given the gift of teaching what he has learned and knows. These gifts are by the same Holy Spirit. 9 One person receives the gift of faith. Another person receives the gifts of healing. These gifts are given by the same Holy Spirit. 10 One person is given the gift of doing powerful works. Another person is given the gift of speaking God’s Word. Another person is given the gift of telling the difference between the Holy Spirit and false spirits. Another person is given the gift of speaking in special sounds. Another person is given the gift of telling what these special sounds mean. 11 But it is the same Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, Who does all these things. He gives to each person as He wants to give.” I Corinthians 12:7-11 NLV

We receive our gifts from God and then we use them for His glory.

No one is left out. Everyone receives. Share what you’ve been given. It will be a wonderful blessing to those around you!

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Peace, Wonderful Peace

I want to go back a couple days to the reference I made on Jesus, Prince of Peace. In light of all that is going on around the world today there is definitely a need for the Prince of Peace.

Can you imagine being a shepherd, probably dosing off for the night when the entire night sky lit up? Talk about UFO’s – this was an invasion! No place to run, no place to hide and then came the message:

“That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. 9 All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. 10 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. 11 This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. 12 You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”

13 Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said: 14 “Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.” Luke 2:8-14 CEV

Don’t be afraid – Peace!

Notice the words – all of a sudden, brightness flashed and suddenly there were more! This isn’t just a nice little story in a nice little book – these shepherds were real people, and they came face to face with angels. That would make the hair on the back of your neck stand up!

But their message is for us as well. What is it you’re facing – a bad medical report, a failing marriage, wayward children, financial failure, world unrest, the collapse of the future you had planned…

Then listen to what Jesus said

“But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.

27 I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.” John 14:26-27 CEV

and then just a bit later

““I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” John 16:33 ERV

and finally one of my favorites

“Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body. And always be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 ERV

This morning as you are looking out on your world, be still and let the peace of God rule in your heart.

The Prince of Peace came to reign in our lives!

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More Than Enough

When I was a little girl, I was intrigued by one of the Thanksgiving decorations I saw. It was a cornucopia or otherwise named, horn of plenty.

I learned that big word and liked using it. For a seven-year-old, a five-syllable word was a big deal.

Wikipedia describes it like this: “In classical antiquity, the cornucopia, from Latin cornu (horn) and copia (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts.”

A symbol of abundance and nourishment.

I believe you know what I’m going to say next. Reminds me of the promises and blessings that are in God’s word.

“The Lord will love you and bless you by giving you many children and plenty of food, wine, and olive oil. Your herds of cattle will have many calves, and your flocks of sheep will have many lambs.” Deuteronomy 7:13 CEV

Moses was preparing the Israelites for their new life in the promised land. God wasn’t taking them to an impoverished home, on the contrary, He was leading them to a land that was “flowing with milk and honey”.

The Lord made them some very specific promises and they still hold true today.

“You will have many children. You will harvest large crops, and your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats will produce many young. 5 You will have plenty of bread to eat. 6 The Lord will make you successful in your daily work.” Deuteronomy 28:4-6 CEV

When I look at the cornucopia now, I see overflowing abundance. Most of the items are fruit. The very thing that Christ says will be produced in our lives when we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

“But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things.” Galatians 5:22-23 ERV

My thoughts take me to the mountainside where Jesus multiplied the fish and the bread of a little boy’s lunch.

“Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat.” John 6:11 CEV

But more than that, I remember another mountainside message.

“Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?” 32 Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all of these. 33 But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.” Matthew 6:31-33 CEV

When we put God’s word and His will first place we will have a virtual spiritual cornucopia. In Christ we have more than enough.

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Fruit Inspection

Dave and I grew up on the Arizona/California border. We were very familiar with the Agriculture Inspection Station at the border.

“Do you have any fruits or vegetables to declare?” That was always the question.

The Department of Agriculture didn’t want any pests transported from other states to the fruit and vegetable growing in California.

Did you know Jesus has something to say about fruit inspection?

He has been teaching on the mountain for three chapters now. We’ve heard him teach on adjusting our attitudes, how to pray, how not to worry about anything and not to judge others. All daily life, practical teaching from the heart of God.

As Jesus comes to the end of this time with the multitude He gives us a strict warning.

“Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. 16  You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19  Every tree producing bad fruit will be chopped down and burned. 20  You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.” Matthew 7:15-20 CEV

What Jesus came to share was good news and it brings a harvest of good fruit. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia about the fruit that God’s Spirit produces in our lives.

“ God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” Galatians 5:22-23 CEV

This fruit is very similar to what Jesus described as the be-attitudes. It’s so important that we don’t allow our fruit to become infected by the harmful pests of pride, anger, fear, greed, malice and gossip. These things can and will ruin our fruit.

“Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in. 22 On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, ‘We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles.’ 23  But I will tell them, ‘I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!’” Matthew 7:21-23 CEV

God will judge, not us. In our day, we have seen examples of false prophets. Jim Jones is one of the first to come to mind. “We preached in your name”.

Our job is to be fruitful. Jesus gave us a clear message on that.

“Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. 5 I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me.” John 15:4-5 CEV

We don’t judge, but we do inspect fruit.

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For Our Benefit

This morning I’m going to do something I rarely do. I’m going to talk to you about a few “don’ts”.

When I was a kid I received a lot of instruction; don’t touch the stove, it’s hot. Don’t throw rocks at the window. There was a skull and crossbones on the bottle of poison telling me not to drink it. Don’t run with scissors. Don’t cut the dogs hair. Don’t go swimming for an hour after you eat.

All of these, and many more, instructions were for my benefit from loving and caring parents.

The Apostle Paul is giving us some don’ts today. These come from our loving heavenly Father and are for our good and beneficial to our development as we grow in Christ.

“So stop lying to each other. Tell the truth to your neighbor. We all belong to the same body. 26 If you are angry, do not let it become sin. Get over your anger before the day is finished. 27 Do not let the devil start working in your life. 28 Anyone who steals must stop it! He must work with his hands so he will have what he needs and can give to those who need help. 29 Watch your talk! No bad words should be coming from your mouth. Say what is good. Your words should help others grow as Christians. 30 Do not make God’s Holy Spirit have sorrow for the way you live. The Holy Spirit has put a mark on you for the day you will be set free. 31 Put out of your life all these things: bad feelings about other people, anger, temper, loud talk, bad talk which hurts other people, and bad feelings which hurt other people. 32 You must be kind to each other. Think of the other person. Forgive other people just as God forgave you because of Christ’s death on the cross.” Ephesians 4:25-32 NLV

Each one of these instructions is for our benefit. Lying will destroy our character. Anger will give us ulcers and effect our heart. Stealing will get us thrown in jail or fired. Bad talk will separate family and friends.

On the other hand kindness, forgiveness, and thoughtfulness are beneficial and restorative.

The Bible is practical in its instruction. Let me put it this way, Don’t not follow the loving guidance that God gives us for a prosperous and peaceful life.

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Help to Grow

One thing I know about our heavenly Father is He never leaves us alone. He doesn’t abandon us in our times of trouble or do we ever hear him say, “Go figure it out on your own”.

No, quite the contrary. He tells us to come to Him boldly when we need help and He’ll be there. He tells us to call and He will answer. We are to seek and we will find; ask and we will receive; knock and the door will be opened.

Jesus told his disciples that when He left the Father would send us a helper, the Holy Spirit would come to comfort, instruct and advocate for us. His primary purpose is to come along side of us and give us aid in our walk with Christ.

We have also been given spiritual leaders to help us grow. We learn from their teachings and instructions. Paul, the apostle, was doing just that when he wrote these words to the Christians in Ephesus.

“Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, 12 so his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong. 13 This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.

14 We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. 15 Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16  of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.” Ephesians 4:11-16 CEV

The teaching we receive should help us to grow to be more like Christ as we mature. Godly teaching is based on God’s word and not men’s opinions. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His day. Paul warns us not to be tricked by false teaching.

The Holy Spirit was sent to guide us into all truth. He’s there with that still small inner voice to steer us away from wrong teaching.

“The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen.” John 16:13 CEV

As I said, the Father never leaves us alone or abandons us. He is here to help us grow!

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All for Him

I hope you are enjoying this morning walk through the book of Ephesians. I know I am.

There are so many promises and insights contained in this one book. God’s character, His love, revealed in depth. Being raised in a church that was more concerned about it’s rules than in relationship I had a hard time realizing that I didn’t have to earn God’s love. He gives it freely.

The last three chapters have shown us God’s mercy, grace, forgiveness, power and unconditional love. Now Paul is going to show us how to put what we have received into action.

He was imprisoned because he taught that the message of Christ’s redemption was available to all, including the Gentiles. The Jewish religious elite hated this message and did their best to eliminate it from the very outset. But God had a different plan. Missionaries went around the known world telling them of the incomparable love of God. When Paul could no longer travel because of his imprisonment he wrote letters. Letters for us to read; letters that God has used to bring so many to a saving knowledge of Christ.

“I am being held in prison because of working for the Lord. I ask you from my heart to live and work the way the Lord expected you to live and work. 2 Live and work without pride. Be gentle and kind. Do not be hard on others. Let love keep you from doing that. 3 Work hard to live together as one by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then there will be peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit. There is one hope in which you were called. 5 There is one Lord and one faith and one baptism. 6 There is one God. He is the Father of us all. He is over us all. He is the One working through us all. He is the One living in us all. 7 Loving-favor has been given to each one of us. We can see how great it is by the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:1-7 NLV

Do you see the theme of these verses? There is One. One way to live, one way to work and that is to follow the example and teachings of Christ.

We have the Holy Spirit living in us and He will help us to live in a way that brings honor to the Father. Since we are called the body of Christ, and Christ is the head that implies unity of thought and passion. Our physical bodies don’t act independently of our head and our spiritual bodies shouldn’t either.

Each one of us have received the loving-favor or the grace of God as a gift. Not one of us is good enough to work our way to heaven. This is a humbling fact. Remember these words from chapter 2?

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” Ephesians 2:4-5 NKJV

Let me repeat. Since Christ is the head and we are His body we should be working together for His honor and glory. It’s all for Him!

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Read It Again

Have you taken my suggestion of reading the book of Ephesians? I hope so, and now, I will encourage you to read it again.

There is so much spiritual gold to be found in this book. Personally, I have read the verses I’m going to share with you this morning thousands of times. Each time, they become more real and my understanding of God’s love and provision grows deeper.

I have to stop for a moment on something I just said. Provision. Pro – vision. To look ahead and supply what is needed. From the beginning of time, God looked ahead, saw what we need and provided it.

Don’t just read over these verses. Read them slowly, phrase by phrase, and let the Holy Spirit make them real to your heart.

“Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.” Ephesians 1:15-23 NLT

There are so many nuggets in those few verses. God doesn’t want us to miss a thing.

  1. Spiritual wisdom and insight is needed so we can grow in our knowledge of God
  2. With that knowledge our hearts will be flooded with hope, confident hope
  3. (This next one really took me a while to comprehend.) WE are God’s rich and glorious inheritance. An inheritance is something we receive when someone dies. It something of value. When Christ died, He gave the Father an inheritance – He gave the Father us! Let that sink in.
  4. When we understand that, we will also begin to understand the power of God that is working for us. It’s the same power that He demonstrated when He raised Christ from the dead.
  5. And finally, God put all things under Christ’s authority for our benefit. We, the church, are Christ’s body and as such we are full and complete in Him.

All I can say now is go back and “Read It Again”. God bless you!

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No Coincidence

Through my years, I have learned that there are no coincidences with God.

This morning while I was praying I thanked God, the Father, for providing us with a “free” will. Then I said thank you to Jesus for paying the price for our salvation making it a “free” gift. Lastly, I thanked the Holy Spirit for guiding us each day and reminding us of the freedom that we have in Christ.

Free indeed!

Then I began reading in Psalms and there David was thanking God for freeing him of his past sins. From there my reading took me to the book of Daniel and I read the story of Daniel being sentenced to the lions’ den for his faithfulness to God. When Daniel was freed, he gave credit to God for his salvation.

My Bible reading ended this morning in Galatians, chapter 5.

“We have freedom now, because Christ made us free. So stand strong in that freedom. Don’t go back into slavery again…13 My brothers and sisters, God chose you to be free. But don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful selves. Instead, serve each other with love. 14 The whole law is made complete in this one command: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.” 15 If you continue hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other. 16 So I tell you, live the way the Spirit leads you. Then you will not do the evil things your sinful self wants… 22 But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.” Galatians 5:1, 13-16, 22-25 ERV

Free will, free salvation, free direction!

Just exactly what I had been praying about before I started reading.

Our freedom in Christ is no coincidence. It was planned in heaven before the world began. While we were in rebellion to God, He made a way for us to be reconciled (made right) with Him.

“So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. 2 That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death. “ Romans 8:1-2

God’s plan is our freedom; free from sin, free from fear, from guilt, from anger, from selfishness, from hate. Our freedom is no coincidence – it’s the intentional plan of our loving Father.

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It Means So Much

The other day I received a text from a friend halfway across the country. This is what she said.

“Hello friend. How can I pray for you today?”

Little did she know but at that moment, that very hour I needed prayer. She didn’t know but God did! We should always be ready to pray.

How many times have you been driving down the road or going about your business when a name pops to memory and you ask, “I wonder how they are doing – haven’t seen or thought about them in forever.” What do you do with that thought? Do you smile at remembering an old friend and let it go at that?

I have found when people are brought to mind that God is bringing them to mind for a reason. Most of the time I stop to pray for them when the thought comes, praying in the Spirit, knowing that the Holy Spirit is leading me to intercede for them. The Apostle Paul said at the beginning of nearly every epistle he wrote

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy” Philippians 1:3-4.

If Paul was faithful to pray for people upon every remembrance of them, it is a good example to follow.

Many years ago Dave & I lived on a remote ranch in AZ. No cell phones and we were way past the landlines. I had a few friends that would ask, if we need to get a hold of you what do we do. My answer was a simple one – pray. God will get us the message.

One morning I got up earlier than I normally do. My heart was heavy, and I began to pray. I knew I was praying for a friend and her daughter in Hawaii. I later learned that the daughter was in a life and death situation. Life won!!!!

“The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen.” John 16:13 ERV

I believe that when we are open to the Holy Spirit, He will bring things to our remembrance and will show us what we need to do. Remember, when the saints were together praying for Peter’s release from prison as they were praying an angel went to the prison and released Peter. Spirit led prayer is effective.

“… The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” James 5:16-18

I can hear someone saying, but how do you know it’s the Holy Spirit leading you and not just your own thoughts? If it’s your thoughts or God prompted, it can’t hurt to pray for someone, it can only benefit them. Right?

“Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. 17 The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.” John 14:16-17

The Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father to help us and to always be with us, to live in us. So, when someone comes to mind, I trust that it’s the Holy Spirit bringing them to remembrance.

As you’ve read this, I’m sure that the Holy Spirit has brought someone to mind, maybe it’s me. Pray for them; they will feel it!

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