Read posts that reference the Holy Spirit

Using Our Resources

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

I take the winters off from running. I do this for several reasons. It gives my body a couple of months of rest and time to recuperate. I get cold weather exercise-induced asthma and it saves me from an inhaler. (If you’ve never used one, blecch) But the overwhelming reason is that I do not like the cold. Period. Dragging myself out of my warm bed and into the cold air is the worst.

Last winter, though, rather than spend the entire two-month hiatus as a bed slug, I lifted weights in the basement. There are some real advantages to lifting. I can do it in my pajamas. I can be a lot less awake than I have to be if I’m running. Most of the time, I barely even have to open my eyes to lift. It works more muscles than running. It’s right in my basement. I don’t have to drive to a gym. There’s no danger of cars or dogs or even owls.

But for years, lots of years, that weight machine sat in my basement doing me absolutely no good because I never used it for anything more than a laundry rack. It was only when I (finally) took advantage of the great resource available to me that it benefited me at all.

God, in His grace, has given me a ton of resources to help me out as I live for Him.

He has given me His Holy Spirit living inside me. But, if I ignore His promptings …
He has given me the privilege of prayer. But if I don’t talk with Him as an integral part of my day …
He has given me His word. But if I don’t read, study, and practice what He’s told me …
He has given me the consolation of friends. But if I don’t call on them …
He has given me the Sabbath. But if I decide I’m too busy for rest and renewal and reconnection …

It’s worse than having an unused weight machine in a basement.

The Spirit Works

By Paula Wiseman

Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Ezekiel 2:1-2 (NAS)

God issues a command.
At the same time the Spirit intervenes making obedience possible.

God speaks.
At the same time the Spirit enables us to hear.

That’s how it works.

God doesn’t expect us to act according to our own abilities.
God doesn’t commission us so we can muddle through as best we can.

Because of Christ’s work, we don’t have to wait, or hope, or pray for the Spirit to enter us.
He is already here.

So what are we lacking?
In the previous chapter, Ezekiel saw a vision of God’s glory, and he fell on his face in reverential awe, yielded and waiting.

There’s the key.
Reverence. Yieldedness. Patience.

Let the Spirit work.

(We are taking a much needed break. The next regular post will be July 7. The hymns will still post. Happy summer!)

All Access

By Paula Wiseman

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Ah March … For most people this signals the return of spring, the celebration of Easter and planning for gardens and summer vacations.

And basketball. If you’re not a basketball fan, let me just say there are a ton of critical games going on with teams vying for positions in the upcoming tournaments. A few years ago in March, as a fundraiser for a charity, one of the coaches gave away his signed, all-access lanyard from the tournament his team played in over the previous weekend. His name and college team name appeared on the badge, and in large letters at the bottom, it read “all access” with the dates and event name.

As cool as a lanyard is, and even though it has “all access” stamped on it, it has limitations. It is limited to the venue, the event and the days on the badge. It doesn’t grant the coach lifetime admission to every event from now on.

However, three different times in the New Testament we as believers are granted an all-access pass through Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:2 says that through Jesus Christ “we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.”

Ephesians 2:18 “we have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

And Ephesians 3:12 “we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”

Grace, the Father, boldness. Our lanyard is unlimited. It is good everywhere, in every situation. It never expires. However, it’s up to us to take advantage of the benefits.

The coach’s lanyard wouldn’t benefit him or his team if he left it at home. He would excluded from the bench and the locker room and wouldn’t be able to do his job.

Likewise, if we don’t take advantage of the grace, the empowering Holy Spirit and the Father’s favor, as well as the boldness and confidence, it will impossible to accomplish the tasks God gives us.

We have the access. Why don’t we use it?

Strive for Peace and Holiness

By Paula Wiseman

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 ESV

Strive is also translated pursue or follow.

It evokes an idea of a relentless chase,
of never letting up,
never resting,
never missing an opportunity.

Honestly, I think I’m more inclined to expect peace and holiness to catch me.

Yes, it is the Holy Spirit working in me who sanctifies me, who makes me holy, who brings peace.

Yes, it is His work and His responsibility …

But I am to pursue it as if it were solely on me.

Pursue it. Strive for it.

The New Owner

By Paula Wiseman

The house across the street sold recently, and the new owner has spent evenings and a couple of Saturdays moving stuff in, pitching other stuff to the curb, and redoing the landscaping. I expect he’s painting and reworking some of the insides as well. That’s only right. He bought the house. It’s his to inhabit, rearrange, and redecorate however he chooses. It’s the right of ownership.

Now imagine if the previous owner showed up and started moving stuff back in, or started repainting the kitchen to match what it had been. “I know it’s your house now, but I like it better this way.” That’s crazy, isn’t it? Now consider this…

Paul says “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

We are not our own. We are bought with a price. And the new owner has some definite ideas about how He wants things arranged in us. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work reshaping, remaking us so that we are more and more like Christ.

It’s our job not to be like a crazy previous owner who tries to move our junk back in, or fights to restore everything to the way it was before He bought us. Trust the new owner. He knows what He’s doing.

The Comforter

By Paula Wiseman

And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever. John 14:16 (KJV)

Comforter.

I admit, that’s not the first thing that I think of when I hear “Holy Spirit”, but that is exactly what Christ called Him.

In the lesson for children’s church, the teacher asked if the kids had a blankie, or a favorite stuffed animal…

The one to go to when you’re afraid or sad.

We have someone much better than a teddy bear.

We have a Comforter.