Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts

Friday, January 1, 2016

Knowing Verses Wondering

Matthew 8:8-9 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

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Is it a question of “knowing” versus “wondering”?  The centurion understood the hierarchy principle.  The Jews wondered who you were.

The leper, at the beginning of the chapter, said, ‘If you want to, you can heal me.”  He didn’t wonder if you could but he wondered if you wanted to.

The centurion didn’t plead with you to heal his servant.  He stated the facts; he was paralyzed and suffering.  He didn’t say, “Please come.”  He didn't say, “Please heal him.”

When I pray for people I often speak like that.  I tell you what the problem is, like you don’t already  know.   I guess it could be said that I state the obvious.  But then, rather than asking you to heal, I proclaim that it is, or will be done.

You gave us the authority to do what you did and you said we’d do even more.  But the power to heal was not yours while you maintained your earthly body.  It came from the Spirit of your Father moving through you.  And that’s exactly who gives me the power.






Sharpen my mind.
Sharpen my faith.
Sharpen my discernment.

Use me!

Friday, October 9, 2015

Breathe Deep and Trust

1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.



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Where will I live? 
Will I have a home to live in? 
Will I live? 
Or will I die? 
Can I die if I’ve already died in Christ?
Where will they live? Will they have enough? 
Will they be safe and secure? 
Will they survive?

These are big, scary questions; especially in today's global climate.  Things are very bad in some places, for those who believe.  Will it get so bad where I live?  Is it that bad where I live now ?

What does it mean, that “he cares for me”?  Does it mean I don’t have to worry about what I will and and drink?  Does it mean I will never feel threatened by outside forces?  Does it mean that I can lay my illness down at his feet and walk away healed?

It seems there are more questions, more “I don’t knows” than there are “I do knows.”

Loved ones die of devastating illness.  People lose their home and have to live in their cars, or in an unsafe shelter.  People are randomly attacked everyday. 

How does God care?  Do you believe that Jesus is alive?  Do you believe that he dwells inside of you?  Do you believe the Holy Spirit gives you the power to overcome in any situation?  What does it mean, to overcome?

Part of it is recognizing that your body is only the tent that houses you; just as your body and your spirit houses the Lord,  once you’ve invited him in.  Part of it is believing that no matter what happens to you, who you are is safe in God.  You are eternal.  When your tent collapses you go on.

If the Lord loved you enough to die for you, to make a way into the eternal presence of the Father, if he loves you enough to live inside you no matter what you’re going through, if he loves you enough to be always faithful and trustworthy, then we can trust him in each and every situation.

We can breathe deep and trust him.  If he’s never let you down in the past, you can be assured, he’ll never let you down in the future.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Absolutely Obtainable!


 



In a nut shell, this says to me; I want to be perfect, like Jesus,  And I keep on trying.  Someday I  will be!  I know that Jesus sees me as perfect, but I do not see myself as perfect.  The closer I come to the end of days, the harder I want to work at doing what the Lord has laid out for me to do.  He has plans for me that I do not feel adequate to accomplish, but they are his plans, so how can I feel as if I could fail?  

And that’s what faith is!  God wants me to attain perfection!  I believe that!  When Christ returns, or I am called to the throne room, I will be perfect in my own eyes, as I am perfect in his eyes now.  I believe that!  God has given me everything I need to lead a life that is acceptable to both him and me!  I believe that!

So, where is faith lacking in me?  The plans he has for me are mighty big and in my own strength I know I could never achieve them.  But look what he’s done for little me; He’s given me this farm,because he knew I was capable of taking care of it.  He’s given me a music ministry.  He sent me to Nigeria!  He sent me to Italy!  He’s placed me in healing ministry. He’s given me boldness to speak his truth into other people’s lives.

If this is what I’ve already accomplished. how how much more am I capable of, by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Those things which linger on the edge of desire, because my mind says they are far too big for me to realize are absolutely obtainable!  Not by my strength, but by the strength of he who lives in me and has great plans for me!

Amen!

Yeehaw!!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Filled to the Measure of all the Fullness of God


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Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how high and long and wide and deep is the love of Christ, and to know that this love surpasses knowledge -that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

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Out of Your glorious riches, Lord, I have been strengthened with the power of You, Holy Spirit, in my inner being.  Jesus, You dwell in my heart.  And it is through faith that I believe this.  Being rooted and established in your love, I have power,  together with all the saints, to grasp how high and long and wide and deep is Your love, and I know that this love surpasses knowledge!  I am filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!  

I am filled with all the fullness of God?
Yes!  Scripture says it.  I believe it!
And I will testify to it!

This makes perseverance possible.

Based on what I know about You, from my past, I can persevere because I know that You are faithful and have filled me with Yourself.


Open me up even more!  Let the world see that inside of me is only You.  Help me to make my death complete so that all the world sees is you, no matter what!







Friday, March 27, 2015

I Am Not Abandoned







Ps. 16:10  ...because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will let your Holy One see decay.

This is my strongest hope and belief.  I will not be abandoned to the grave.  Because Jesus did not see decay, and I have faith to believe it, I have an eternal home.  Life may be crappy sometimes, in the here and now, but when things get ugly and stressful I can picture heaven and see myself there.  My hubby calls it  a “mental vacation.”  Toil and striving will cease.  To be in God’s presence and worship him will be my eternal delight.  Like someone in church said once, “ To stand before the throne and sing out, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ for all eternity and never get bored!”

Thank you, Lord, for eternity with you.  


Thank you, also, for the deposit of you, Holy Spirit, the evidence of my inheritance!


Friday, March 13, 2015

I Am Not A Chachke

1 Corinthians 6:12, 19, 20

“Everything is permissible for me” -  but not everything is beneficial.  “Everything is permissible to me” - but I will not be mastered by anything. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own, you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.

Verse 12 has always been one of my favorites.  To me, it speaks directly to the fact that, once we are saved, God no longer sees our sin.  “All things are permissible.”   Nothing I do can rob me of my inheritance.  And that thought fills me with wonder and makes me love him and want to serve him that much more!  There will still be consequences if I do things that are harmful to me or others, but I cannot lose my salvation.

Verses 19 and 20 remind me that I am not my own.  If I truly wanted to be my own person and run my own life then I wouldn’t have given it to God in the first place.

But here’s the magnificent part;  I was bought with the blood of Jesus for the purpose of being filled with his Holy Spirit.  I am not a chachki!  I’m not something that was purchased because I was so beautiful and interesting, to be put on a shelf and admired.  I was purchased to become a holy vessel, specifically designed to hold the Holy Spirit of God.

And he pours himself out of me, yet I am never emptied.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.








Friday, January 30, 2015

All Things Work Together For Good...








Acts 21:3b-5a,10,11
We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo.  Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them for seven days.  Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem, but when our time was up we left and continued on our way... (Now at Caesarea)  After we had been there a number of days a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.  Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the gentiles.’”

This is something that has puzzled me for a long time.

The Holy Spirit told Paul not to go to Jerusalem.  When he refused to obey He sent Agabus to make the warning stronger.  But still Paul decided that what he wanted to do was the correct thing and went to Jerusalem anyway.  He was not there four days when everything he had been warned about happened.

It is true that he was fearless.  But was he wise?  Did he sin?  Was he too proud in wanting to share with the fathers in Jerusalem all that he had accomplished?

Why didn’t he obey?  What could have been accomplished if he had made his way to Spain?  Might Spain have been the center of the Christian world instead of Rome? 

Romans 8:28 - For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”

When Paul disregarded the Lord’s warnings he was not walking in the Lord’s will, yet he was soundly grounded in his purpose of making Christ known throughout the world.

Being arrested and taken to Rome certainly led to that achievement, yet maybe not in the way the Lord would have chosen.

This is one of the greatest “What ifs” in history!  What if Paul had stayed away?  What would our world look like now if he had been obedient?

God never stopped loving him.  He continued to help him.  God continued to work miracles through him.   He did not curse him or turn his back on him.

And, as it is said, “God is no respecter of persons.”  What he did for Paul he will do also for each of his beloved children.

We are all disobedient.  What seems like a small infraction to any of us may have major Spiritual implications.  But God never turns his back on us either.  He will turn our worst mistakes into what glorifies him.  He is our Father and he wants our best, always!

We have the confidence of Paul’s example; even when our egos get in the way and screw up the plans the Lord has for us,  he will still love us just as much!  He will never turn away from us!   He will see that all of our mistakes, somehow, lead to good!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

My Relationship with the Holy Spirit

My relationship with the Holy Spirit
Scripture says that after Jesus ascended into Heaven, his Holy Spirit became the indwelling of God in all people who believe in Jesus as redeemer and Lord.
I believe that every person who has made that leap of faith has the Holy Spirit living in them. And that is that aspect of God that we deal with on a practical level. We pray to the Father, through the mediation of his son and our daily walk is informed by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
The fruits of the Spirit listed in the book of Galations reveals the ways our understanding of God and his purposes deepens as we learn to trust in God as a perfect provider. These fruits, when evidenced, are the visible signs of our maturity.
I was baptized in the Holy Spirit when I was 14 years old. I began to speak in tongues, and to prophesy in tongues. I prayed over people with infirmities and injuries and watched with joy and assurance as they were healed, sometimes right before my eyes, other times gradually. I found that I was able to sense the presense of the Holy Spirit in others and also to sense unclean spirits.
But! None of these supernatural events was anything I did on my own. Each instance, each occurance was the Holy Spirit working through me. I have learned that wonderful and fearful things alike can happen when we desire to see him working in and through us.
Lately I have begun to viualize just how it is with us and the Holy Spirit. Our pastor talks about calling down the power of the Holy Spirit. But if we are Christians, it seems to me that when we enter into worship and fellowship the Holy Spirit is already there. To call him down is unessesary. What I visualize is the Holy Spirit welling up in each of us and overflowing out of the tops of heads to flow among us and fill the room to overflowing with his presense and power.
The Holy Spirit is with me all the time. There is not a second when he is not in me and with me. Sometimes I like to think about how he looks out through my eyes and I see his holy power streaming out of my fingertips. It's a cool thing to picture.
Power! That's what the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about! The gifts he gives enables us to live righteous lives. They are the tools we need to succeed in doing his will on a daily basis. If it were not for the sin that creeps in on a moment by moment basis then it would be possible to use those gifts on second by second basis.
Life is hard! But it would be so much harder without the knowledge of God's presense with me, in me every moment.
How Cool!!

Prophesy

Prophecy
Today I start a blog on my relationship with God. That's becasue I have a feeling that things are going to be changing for me, that I will be heading down a new road.
Here's what happened;
I have been a member of our church's intercessory prayer team for several months. Terry our team leader has prayed over me a few times and the same theme seems to pop up. She has prophecied that God intends to use me now and that I need to be ready. (I had been sick for several years with Lyme disease and chronic pain but God performed a miracle on Friday, Oct. 29, 2006 and lifted my illness and pain from me.
So,after the second time Terry pronounced that word over me I started to look for the way God would choose to use me. I believe that I am being sent out as a speaker of hope and encouragement. I believe that I am to become a public speaker, giving my testemony to womenn's groups in my area.
But I have had, all my life a problem with seeing things through. Like I said to my husband last night, "All my threads are hanging out and none of my seams line up!" I'm a person who sews. As opposed to being a sewer. 80)
Today, at Terry's house I told what I said and she told me about the dream God had given her six months ago.
Terry saw a very large peice of beautiful cloth hanging on a line, flapping in the breeze. She noticed that the end was frayed and that the threads were unraveling. She was concerned becasue she thought that the beautiful cloth would just unravel until the design on it was ruined. So she thought, "What can I do to save this beautiful blanket? I don't sew and I don't know what to do." Then the Lord answered her and said, " You have two choices. You can cut the threads away. That will make it look neat but it will not solve the problem. The fabric will continue to unravel. Or, you can take the threads, one by one and tie them together. That will stop the fraying and save the beautiful artwork."
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up! Here is an answer! Somehow, all my ends will be tied together. The beauty of the work that God has for me to do will be preserved and I will know what to do
So now I prepare a presentation. There is so much I can talk about, about a loving God who has walked me through so many dark valleys. When I know what the Lord wants me to say I will pick a date and give my testimony to the ladies of the IPT. Then we'll see where the Lord leads me from there.