Archive for the ‘inspirational’ Category

Corvid 19 – Are You Ready?

Posted in Christian Living, Faith, Gospel, inspirational, tagged , , , , , , , on April 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been listening to the news which is non-stop lately about the Cornavirus.  To be truthful it is scary.  I hear a lot from the scientists and our leaders both at the national level, state and county level.  They have news conferences one after another. But, I find something very important missing.

What about the spiritual side of this?

I’ve read that some think this is brought about by some kind of conspiracy.  I’ve heard some say it is part of a long standing plan to take over the world and control people.

I’ve been thinking is this from God as a judgement on our wicked world?  Or is this from the devil who is trying to mess everyone up and be in control of us completely?  That brings me to this:  No matter what it is, or who caused it, the fact remains that we are in this situation and what we each do is of the utmost importance. We must listen to the authorities and take their advice about social distancing so that the virus may not spread as much. We must take it seriously!

How do we handle this time?

Do we worry and fret about what is going on? Or do we put our trust in God who we all know is ultimately in control of everything.  You see, for a Christian, we can look at this differently than those who don’t know God.  We have an edge.  I’d like to leave you with a couple of scriptures to help during this difficult time.

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

We should be concerned and take the steps we need to keep us and our families safe, but we should not be terribly full of fear.  God is still in control and we know of his power and love which we have in us. A sound mind means a disciplined mind.  Discipline is very important especially now. We need to control our minds.

2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

According to this scripture we do not need to imagine the worst all the time. It says to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”  That shows us that we can control our thoughts.  If you take something captive you are in control of it not the other way around.  Think of soldiers when they are captured, who controls them? The one who captured them.  So it is with our thoughts, we can control them.  If it were not true God would not have said this.

What to think about

Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

God loves us so much He even teaches us what to think about.  Look over this list.  Judge your thoughts at this time by these things: are they true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, praiseworthy?  If you are worried pray and ask the Lord to help you think on these things instead of the fearful ones.

The most important thing!

Know matter what happens during this unprecedented time the most important thing is to know that you are ready to meet your maker.  What is your spiritual relationship to God? Have you ever admitted that you are a sinner and need to repent which means turn from your sins? Have you ever gone to God and admitted that and asked him to forgive you? He sent His only Son to die on the cross for your and my sins.  God is holy and we can only approach Him through the blood of Christ shed on the cross.  Now is the time to really seriously think about these things.  My friend, there are only two outcomes for everyone in the end. We all die at some point and when we do we either go to Heaven or Hell. And, that is a true fact.  (Think about what is true.)

If you are already a Christian which means Christ follower, then you know whatever happens you will eventually go to Heaven and be blessed beyond belief.  But, if you are not a believer in Christ than your destination is Hell where you will be tormented forever and ever.  Which will you choose?  Today may be the last opportunity you will have.

Click here to read my little booklet  The True Gospel Message

May God bless each and every one who reads this post.

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Thanks to God!

Posted in Hymns, inspirational, Praise, Testimonies, tagged , , , , , on November 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

1 Corinthians 15;57

Hi friends,  Thanksgiving, a time to get together with family and friends and share a big, hearty meal and enjoy each other’s company. It’s also a time to reflect on our lives and think about what we have to be thankful for.

It’s certainly been some time since I’ve had a chance to write and touch base with you, so I thought this would be a good time to bring you up to date on what’s been happening in my life.

I haven’t written in my blog since last April.  Can you believe that?  Last April my husband began having heart symptoms and in May he had to have open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve and also a triple by-pass.  This surgery had to be done in a large hospital and that meant we had to travel a distance from our home.   So, as it turned out he had to stay in the hospital for 19 days.  I stayed by his side the first 11 or so days, then I went home for a day or two, then back and forth with family.  My eyes are bad and I couldn’t drive in the city, so had to depend on others to get me back and forth.

During his recovery time in the hospital which was only suppose to be 5 to 7 days, he had some setbacks.  The first one was A-fib.  While he was in ICU his heart started racing and being erratic.  They gave him medication for this.  At the same time our pastor and his wife came to visit and to take me out for dinner. (They thought I needed to get out of that place for a little bit.  Bless their hearts!)  Anyway, before we went our pastor prayed for Charlie and his heart racing problem.  Then we left.  They dropped me off at the hospital in a couple of hours and I went up to ICU to check on my hubby.  The young man who was caring for him told me about his heart acting up and that they were watching it.  I checked the monitor and I said, “It doesn’t look to me like it is irregular now.”  He looked, “You are right!  Just a minute.”  He took the long strips of paper the machine spits out that showed his heart rhythm and ran down through it.  “It looks like it has been okay now for a while, look here.”  I looked and agreed.  Praise God!  I’m so thankful that God answered our prayer, and that his heart beat became regular again.  It’s been okay ever since.

They moved him to his own room the next day.  Things went along pretty well and they scheduled him to go to a nursing home for a week or so to get stronger before actually coming home.  That sounded pretty good and I was pleased  as it was near our home and I could commute myself there.  The next morning I came to his room with my suitcase in tow.  I was more than ready to go home.  But, guess what?  Yes, a problem had cropped up.  He was allergic to the heparin they had given him during surgery and afterwards to keep his blood thin.  It worked just the opposite and thickened up his blood.  It is called HIT.  The blood gets kind of clogged up and it can cause blood clots.  Nice!  They called in the specialists, and got him off the heparin and put him on another kind of thinner.  He would have to be in the hospital for several more days because the heparin actually ate up his platelets and he was in bad shape.  The platelets are what control clotting I believe.  Anyway, another crisis.

I alerted several to pray for him and I continued to pray.  The good news is that the platelet count began coming up and it took another week or so to get them back up to normal.  Praise the Lord it worked.  And, I’m so thankful that problem showed up before they had shipped us off to the nursing home.  It most likely would not have been found there and the outcome would have been bad.  Another thing to be very thankful for.

Finally, Charlie came home.  By that time he didn’t have to go to a nursing home first as he had gotten a bit stronger.  He had some physical therapy in the hospital and that helped.  We got him physical therapy, a visiting nurse, and occupational therapy at home for a few weeks.

Another problem!   He was all bloated up when he came home.  I could hardly get his shoes on and his pants would not button.  But, he was coming home and we were both happy about that.  The visiting nurse had a fit about how bloated he was all over.  She contacted the doctor and got him some Lasix and potassium.  He began taking that and overnight he lost 6 lbs.  He kept losing weight and fluid, but they thought his lung sounded like it wasn’t working.  So, back to the hospital!  (I thank the Lord for his brother and his wife because they took us back and forth several times.)  He had to have the fluid drained from around his lung and they got out over a liter of fluid.  After that he started feeling better.  More thanks to God for all He has done.  He got him through it.  And, he got me through it.  Praise the Lord!

Also, I am thankful that the kids came an helped out a lot.  They brought me back and forth to the hospital some.  They came while he had his surgery.  They came every evening they could.  I’m very thankful for them and love them that much more for what they did.  They were very helpful and supportive.   Friends and neighbors visited and people sent such nice cards and notes of comfort and love.  God showed me how  much people cared.  I thank Him for that.

Another crisis we had happened when he got home. They had put him on Coumadin in the hospital before coming home.  That was to keep his blood thin so that clots didn’t form.  Anyway, they told me the dosage for each day, and then we were to have the visiting nurse check it by a blood test.  She came and pricked his finger for the test.  Well, at the hospital they thought she was taking blood out of his arm like a regular blood test, therefore, the results were not read the same.  (I know this is confusing.)  But, then the doctor’s office from the hospital would call me to let me know how much medication to give him.  Well, they weren’t on the same page, so that threw it all off.  (Of course, I wasn’t aware of all of this.)

The day we had to go to the hospital to get the fluid drained they checked his blood there and it was way off.  It was so thin that he could have hemmoraged easily.  They tried to get his blood out of his arm, but the vein would not cooperate.  I said, “Why don’t you just prick his finger like the visiting nurse does at home?”  They all looked at each other.  “She just did a finger prick?  She didn’t take it from his arm?” the nurse said.  “How much medication did he have last night?”  I told them.  They did not dare punch him with the needle to remove the fluid.  They told us to go home, do not let him hit his head, do not let him get cut, and on and on.  If we saw any blood anywhere to get him to an ER right away.   Yes, they unnerved me!  So, we went home and I prayed all the way we wouldn’t get in an accident. That’s all we would need!  I didn’t give him any medication that night.  We had to wait another day, and then bring him back to get the procedure done.  I told Charlie, “Don’t even cut your finger nails will you.”  He said, “I already did.”  Gulp.  Whew, he didn’t cut himself.  Praise the Lord!  God kept him safe through all of this!  I’ve never been more thankful!

There were a few other things that went wrong, but God got us through it all, as He as promised.  He said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” I sat there hours in the hospital and I felt the peace of God that passes understanding.  Even when the times got rough.  I knew He was by my side.

There were many blessing along the way and I’m so very grateful.  One was when I went to the desk to pay for the room I’d been staying in over at the guest house near the hospital.  I gave the lady my key. She said, “Thank you and turned away.” So, I  asked her how much I owed.  I had it figured roughly in my head, but wanted to know for sure.  She said, “You don’t owe anything, it’s been taken care of.”  Wow!  What a blessing!  I’m so thankful for people who are not selfish and help out in times of need like this.  That took a lot of the pressure off.

Another expense when staying at a hospital is for food.  I ate all my meals at the hospital cafeteria.  And, they really had good food.  That alone helped the stay.  I had many meals paid for by friends and family.  Another praise as God touched their hearts to help out in that way.  Little things mean a lot actually.

Here is a song that I would like you to listen to.  It blessed my heart today as I listened.  Just notice all the things that we can thank God for.  The good and the bad.  I pray all of you will have a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving.

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God’s Awesome Power in Your Life!

Posted in inspirational, Religion, tagged , , , , , , , on April 22, 2013| 1 Comment »

Stream on Flat Iron Road

Have you ever considered that you have God’s awesome power in your life?  It is true!  In this verse Paul the Apostle is praying for us and he wants us to know what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.  This is an amazing scripture and Sunday our Pastor laid it out for us.

Paul wants us to know this power that God has placed in us at salvation.  I don’t think most of us are even aware that we obtained a great power when we were saved.  The Holy Spirit came to live within us and in Him we have power.   No matter what is going on in our lives we can be assured that we have the power in us from God to be victorious.

I’ve been pondering on just how this power works in us.  Yes, we have it, but do we use it?  Or, do we do everything in our own strength.  When we do that we are weak and not powerful.  But, when we walk in the Spirit and allow the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through us and energize us for service then we will be powerful.  I think it is when we yield ourselves to God in every way that we find this supernatural power.

This power within us helps us to talk to others about Christ.  We cannot save anyone, it is only the work of the Holy Spirit that does it.  We are merely the messengers.  God uses our bodies to work for Him and He gives us the strength to carry on whatever He calls us to do.

We pray, confess our sins, make sure we are right with God, then we go out to serve Him.  This should be our daily walk.  Wherever He sends us we are His ambassadors for Christ.  We need to remember that we are not of this world, but we are in it.

By the way, what really boggles my mind, is that this power God has given us is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.  Isn’t that awesome!  We can be strong and we can overcome temptation in our lives.  We can go out and evangelize people.  We can do anything God gives us to do because He is in us giving us the power we need.

I’d like to give you a cute illustration of this power that is hard to comprehend and put into practice.  A couple of weeks ago I was shopping and happened to look at picture puzzles for kids.  I don’t have any little children so that was unusual in itself.  But, as I looked through them I saw this really cute puzzle of a rabbit and baby chicken.  It was so cute and right away I thought, “I’d bet Cora would like this puzzle.”  Cora is my great-great-niece and is only 7 years old.  Anyway, just for fun I purchased the puzzle.

Days later I happened to see Cora’s grandmother.  So, I gave her the puzzle and asked her to give it to Cora, as I seldom see her.  Her grandmother said Cora came over to visit so she gave her the puzzle and told her it was from me.  Cora’s face lite up and she said, “How did Aunt Bonnie know I wanted this puzzle?  I saw it in the store and asked my mom if I could get it and she said I had to wait till my birthday.” Cora took the puzzle and opened it and put it together right then.  She was so happy!

It boggles my mind when I think about it.  I believe that the Holy Spirit put it on my heart to buy that puzzle for Cora.  I didn’t have a clue that she wanted that one or had even been in that store.  But, God knew that Cora had been looking at it and wanted it and was disappointed when she couldn’t have it.  God blessed Cora through me.  Isn’t that interesting?  God of wonders!

I thank the Lord that I had that urge from the Holy Spirit to go ahead and get it and it made a little girl happy.  And, I’m also very grateful that I listened  and acted upon that urge.  It is a lesson for me.  I need to be more aware of what the Holy Spirit is asking me to do.  I think many times I simply stifle that urging inside from doing things.  Many times I think I should call a certain person or send a card or email them.  But, I don’t do it.  Maybe I am missing a blessing because of that, and perhaps that other person is too.  I must be more aware and try to obey the prompting.

If you’d like to listen to this “powerful” sermon you can click on the link below:
God’s Mighty Power in You!

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Has God Called You?

Posted in inspirational, Religion, tagged , , , , , , , on April 10, 2013| 4 Comments »

Ephesians 1_18a

Ephesians 1:18a “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling,…”

The Apostle Paul prays in this section of scripture for believers.  If you are a believer then you can insert your name.  “I pray that the eyes of your heart, (insert name) may be enlightened…”  He is praying to God that the eyes of our understanding will be open.

Paul has a reason that he wants our understanding to be open, and as we read on we will find out why.  He says, “so that you (insert name) will know  what is the hope of His calling.”  Now let’s look at these three words.

KNOW:  This word as used in the Greek means something we know instinctively. In other words, we know that we know.

HOPE: As Pastor Ron Lewis has said, “This is a confident expectation of a future unseen reality.” This is the blessed hope we have that someday Christ will come back for His church, and that we will live with Him in heaven forever.  Isn’t that wonderful?

HIS CALLING:  God’s call on our lives took place before the creation of the world according to Ephesians 1:4. (NIV)  “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight…”  This is almost too wonderful for me to think upon.  But, God actually chose you and me to be his adopted children before he even created the world.  This boggles my mind.  I can only say, “Why me Lord?”

Paul wants you and me to know all of this because it gives us the assurance of our salvation.  We know that we know that we are saved and are on our way to heaven. Satan will come after us and tell us all sorts of lies.  He is the father of lies.   But, knowing where we stand now and what awaits us in our future gives us the courage to resist the devil.  When we know the truth then we can be overcomers of whatever comes our way.

I’m glad Paul prayed for us.  Aren’t you?  We should pray this prayer for other believers also.

I’ve taken these thoughts from a sermon my pastor preached last Sunday.  If you’d like to hear this very encouraging message you can click on the link below.

The Hope of His Calling

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Immanuel “God With Us!”

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, inspirational, tagged , , , , , , on December 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

matthew1_22-23

Matthew 1:22-23

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”

Isn’t it awesome to  think about what this means?  God with us?  How can that be?
That beautiful little baby that was born of a virgin, and laid in a manger so many years ago in Bethlehem was actually God.  That just boggles my mind!   Yes, Jesus was fully man and fully God at the same time.  I can’t understand all that, and I’m sure you can’t either, but we can take it by faith and believe it.

Now, think back to that day in Bethlehem so many years ago, and picture Mary and Joseph.  She was pregnant and about to give birth and they couldn’t even find a room to stay in. Oh, how uncomfortable and stressed Mary must have been.  But, God provided a place in a stall with the farm animals.  Then, that little one was born.  He was “God with us.”  Wow!  That tiny baby was God!  How amazing!  How wonderful!

Do you think Mary knew the significance of it all?  I wonder what Mary and Joseph thought when shepherds came and worshipped their little baby?  Then, kings showed up and brought gifts.  How puzzling it must have been and how wonderful at the same time.

Jesus was sinless and therefore He could stand in our place of judgement for our sins.  Only a sinless one could do that.  He took our punishment for sin which is death.  The Bible says in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Oh, God must really love us more than we can ever appreciate.  He sent His Son to die for me!  And for you! Wow!  That’s truly amazing!  What love!  What mercy!  I truly deserved to die, but He stood up and went to the cross and took on the punishment for all humanity who would believe in Him.

That’s not all.  After Jesus suffered and died that horrible death on the cross, He was buried in a tomb, and after three days He miraculously came back to life.  That is almost unbelievable too.  But, it is true as the scriptures testify of it.

But, there is even more.  When we turn to Jesus Christ, confess our sins, repent,  and give our hearts and lives to Him then guess what?  He (God) actually comes and lives in us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  We are reborn.  We are “in Christ.”  We have been cleansed of our sins and can live to glorify God with the power of the Holy Spirit in us.  I’m so thankful that God sent Jesus so that God could be with us.

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“Happy Thanksgiving,” or “Happy Turkey Day”?

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, inspirational, Religion, tagged , , , , on November 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It’s that time of year again.  I’ve noticed lately that some people say, “happy turkey day!” instead of “happy thanksgiving!”  Have you noticed that?  At first I didn’t think too much about it and kind of thought it was cool, but then I gave it another thought.  Is thanksgiving just a time of getting together with friends and family and gorging ourselves with all the delicious goodies on the table until we feel more stuffed than the turkey?  After that we waddle off to the family room to watch football the rest of the day until our eye balls just about fall out of our heads?  Is that what it is about?  That must be “turkey day!”

The First Thanksgiving, painted by Jean Leon G...

I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, so Thanksgiving was more of a family gathering where we did enjoy all the wonderful food my mom and aunts prepared.  It was fun having all the company and playing with my cousins in the afternoon.  We didn’t have television so the conversation was around the deer hunting stories the men told.  It was a fun time that’s for sure.  Also, in school we were told about the pilgrims and how they celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the Indians and gave thanks to God for the bounty.  That’s about all I knew about it.

By the way, if you are thankful, who are you thankful too?  Are you thankful to your boss for giving you a good job so you can have that shiny new car in the drive?  Are you thankful to your wife for preparing a wonderful meal?  We need to check our thanksgiving and see who we are thankful too.  We can be thankful to our bosses and spouses, but above all we need to be thankful to God who supplies all our needs, and gives us all things to enjoy.  God is above all else.  He is the one who put it on your bosses heart to hire you.  He is the one gave you the ability to do your job.  He is to get all the thanks and glory!

Later in life I became a Christian and Thanksgiving now has new meaning for me.  Yes, I am thankful and for so much.  I am thankful that God saved me from myself and gave me a new life in Christ.  I am thankful for being adopted into God’s family.  I am thankful for the Word of God and all that it has meant to me from that time on.  Yes, I have a true Thanksgiving because I am thankful to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:18  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

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Your Body is aTemple of the Holy Spirit

Posted in devotional, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , on November 9, 2012| 1 Comment »

1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB  (19)  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

I suppose I’ve read the above scripture many times and kind of skimmed over it and the meaning didn’t really set in.  Maybe you have also.  Let’s take a few minutes and meditate on these verses.

Just think, the Word says our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Now, what does that mean?  When we became Christians the Holy Spirit came and now dwells in us.

2 Timothy 1:14 NASB (emphasis mine) Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

The Holy Spirit of God now actually lives in us!  Wow!  That seems impossible doesn’t it?  But, it is true!  The third head of the godhead now lives in me!  And also in you! We have been changed! We are different now that we have Him in us!  What an awesome privilege it is that God in His infinite wisdom chose to allow the Holy Spirit to live in us.  That simply boggles my mind!

We are not the same as when we walked in the world before we were saved.  In fact, the Bible says we “are a new creation.”

2 Corinthians 5:17a NASB  (17)  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;…

What does it mean that our bodies are a “temple” of the Holy Spirit?  The word temple means a sacred place.  We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and our bodies are to be holy, acceptable to God.   How can my body be holy?  I know that when something in the Bible is holy it means that it is set apart for a special use, such as the vessels used in the temple in Old Testament days.  So, that must mean we are set apart by God for a special use and part of that is for us to be a temple for the Holy Spirit.

This is serious business!  As we live out our Christian lives we must remember who we are in Christ.  We must remember that the Holy Spirit lives in us and that we are His holy home.  We need to think about the things we do and the places we go.  Remember, who is with you at all times.

As I ponder these things, I realize it is vitally important how I act, where I go, and who I spend my time with.  I need to evaluate my actions with the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in me.  I need to remind myself throughout the day of this fact.

Do you remember from the scriptures how Jesus went into the temple area and found the money changers there and because there was corruption and greed going on He threw over the tables and cleansed the area?  He said, “…My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13 KJV) Likewise the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer according to God’s will.  We are the means the Holy Spirit uses to offer up His prayers.

But, what if we don’t live holy lives?  We are a temple and when we sin we are as the money changers.  We corrupt the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and that is shameful. Do you think God just might discipline us for that?

Do you realize that Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price to purchase our salvation?  He gave His life so that we might not have to pay the penalty for our sins.  The Bible tells us “the wages of sin is death.”

Romans 6:23 KJV(emphasis mine)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:20 NASB (emphasis mine)   (20)  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

We must keep our bodies undefiled because they are a shrine of the Holy Spirit. When we live holy lives we glorify God.  We show Him respect and honor by living the right way.

After meditating on these things I think we need to take an inventory of our lives and see if we live a holy life, or if we follow the things of the world.  There is  much coming at us all day long that can trip us up.  We need to be mindful of who we are in Christ and who lives with us.

  • Can we take the Holy Spirit to the bar?
  • Can we take Him to the casino?
  • Can we take Him out on that date with an unbeliever?
  • What about the kind of people we hang out with?  Is there coarse language and dirty jokes?
  • Do we watch the right kind of movies and television programs?
  • Can we go out partying like we did before we were saved?

I believe that when we are faced with a decision about whether we should do something or not we need to ask ourselves: “Would Jesus do this?  Does this thing honor Him and will it bring Him glory?”

A few weeks back I wrote an article about doing Tai Chi.  As a Christian I determined that I could not do that because I should not participate in a false religion.  I could not take Jesus with me to Tai Chi.  It would not glorify God.  This is just one example of how we need to evaluate what we do and who we spend our time with knowing that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.

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The Holy Spirit – The Abundant Life

Posted in Bible Study, Christianity, inspirational, tagged , , , , , , on June 2, 2012| 1 Comment »

It is only through the Holy Spirit that you can live the abundant life.  If that statement is true then it is imperative that we understand who the Holy Spirit is and how he works.  Here are a few scriptures that gives us a short overview of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead:  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19 NASB  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

The Holy Spirit was there at creation.  Isn’t it interesting to know that all three, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit took part in creation?

Genesis 1:2 NASB  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

He was present in Old Testament times.

Micah 3:8 NASB  On the other hand I am filled with power– With the Spirit of the LORD– And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, Even to Israel his sin.

Ezekiel 3:12 NASB Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His place.”

Psalms 51:11 NASB  Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

There are many others.  And, of course, we see the Holy Spirit all through the New Testament.

So, let’s focus on how the Holy Spirit can effect our Christian life today.   Let’s bring it right down to where we live.   Let’s discover how we can be victorious and have the abundant life Jesus would like us to have.

Just before I was saved, and that was many years ago, I started having a curiosity about the Bible.   I wondered what it said, and if it was important or not.   I knew people who went to church and read the Bible, and I wondered what it did for them, if anything.

I had a lot of problems in my life at the time especially horrible panic attacks that were ruining my life completely.   There didn’t seem to be any hope for my future.   I really didn’t know where to turn and I experimented with fortune tellers, astrology, and alcohol in an effort to find answers.   Then I thought maybe I’d find some answers in the Bible.   I didn’t know where to look though, so I just began reading at the beginning.   That was hard because it wasn’t long and I was bogged down in genealogies which are very boring and difficult to read.   So, I skipped them and pressed on.   I read some in the New Testament too, but I had a hard time understanding much of it.

Finally, I said to a friend who I thought was “religious.” “I don’t know why, but I’m reading the Bible, and I don’t understand it.”

She answered, “Well, if you don’t have the Holy Spirit you can’t understand the Bible.”

“What?   You need something called the Holy Spirit to understand the Bible?   I don’t even know what that is, or where I’d get that.” I replied.   It all sounded kind of spooky to me.

Later, I discovered how to get the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13 NASB  In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

You see the moment I heard the gospel message and committed my life to Christ, the Holy Spirit came to indwell me and sealed my salvation.

Not only is the third person of the godhead in me, but He also is my teacher.   He also uses good Bible teachers to help us and I found Dr. J. Vernon McGee on the radio who also helped me tremendously.

1 John 2:27 NASB  As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Jesus was talking with His disciples and He told them that He had to go away but that the Father would send them another Helper, and that Helper was the Holy Spirit.   He was sent to teach us.

John 14:16 NASB  “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

John 14:26 NASB  “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 said to you.

God knows us and He knew that we would need help in this world.   While Jesus was here on Earth, He was only in one location at a time.  But, He needed to go back to the Father and He promised to give us the Holy Spirit who can be in all of us at the same time no matter where on Earth we are located.   That is simply amazing!

Now, that we have the Holy Spirit does He make any difference in our lives?   Do you realize that we have the “power of the Holy Spirit,” living in us.   That power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.   Wow!   What power!   If we have that much power why then are we so weak and unable to break out of our sinful habits?   We have the power but it doesn’t seem to work for us.

Romans 8:4 NASB  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Shortly after I was saved this dear Christian lady whom I later came to call my spiritual mother, sent me a little booklet called, “Walk in the Spirit.”   I wish I still had that little gem.   It was printed in England and was out of print at the time, but she felt I might benefit from it so gave me her last copy.

As I remember, the booklet talked about how to learn to walk in the Spirit much the same way as a little child learns to walk.   He starts out, takes a step or two, and then falls down.   The child usually gets right back up and tries again.   He does this over and over until he is actually gets all over the house and gets into lots of trouble. (We are not to do that part.)

But, to walk in the Spirit is like that.   We go to God in prayer and ask Him to help us follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.   Then, we start out our day.   Yes, we slip too and fall down. We sin. When we do then we must go back to God, confess how we messed up, and try again.   It is a learning process and with time will yield much success.

I’m so glad I received that little booklet back then because it got me started out on the right foot, so to speak.

What was the alternative?   Well, the alternative is that we would walk in the flesh.   You see, when we get saved we become a new creation on the inside.   We get the Holy Spirit and all of His power in our lives, but there is a catch.   Even though Christ died on the cross for our sins and we have been forgiven completely, and we are a new person inside, we still have to deal with the flesh.   That is our humanness.   Our outer man.   Our inner man is new, but we still have the outer man.   The outer man and the inner man are in a constant battle.   It’s really a good thing we have the Holy Spirit because we could not win this battle without Him.

Now, we have a choice. We can live our lives according to the flesh, or we can live our lives according to the Spirit.   We can follow the desires of our flesh.   When we do we will not be victorious over the sins in our lives. They will grow and get worse.   When we live according to the Spirit we can have victory.   That is the difference.

When we try to beat some besetting sin and we continue to fail, we need to ask ourselves if we are operating in the flesh or the Spirit?   That is the question.   That just may be the key to your success as you battle sin.   When we try to beat sin in the flesh it will never work.   We might have a small victory here or there but we will never gain the total victory over it.   But, if we totally yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us in the battle, He will defeat the foe.   We will be successful, and then we can give all the praise and glory to God.   We will be able to live the abundant life He desires for us.

Ephesians 5:18 NASA  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

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