37 Days – A Promise of the Holy Spirit

Pastor Randy’s devotional:

Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Acts 2:38-40

January 31^st Prayer:
Jesus, You promised in John 14 to give us another Helper—the Holy Spirit. You are the One who baptizes me in the Holy Spirit. I believe You! You promised me the Holy Spirit, and I know by faith that I am now the temple of the Holy Spirit. O Holy Spirit of God, love through me, joy through me. Let Your peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness be evident and visible in my life. Release Your powerful gifts to flow freely in and through me . . . in Jesus’ name!

My thoughts:

The Holy Spirit, my helper, my comforter, my advocate and my mentor.  In the book of John, the 14^th chapter; Jesus tells us that He will send the Holy Spirit as our advocate.  He gives us a clear understand that He, the Father and the Holy Spirit are one; and that as a believer we receive the Holy Spirit, who will dwell within us.

“If you love me, keep my commands.   And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you….But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”  John 14: 15-20, 26 (NIV)

Jesus was explaining to the disciples that He must leave and return to the Father, but that they (and therefore we) would not be alone in our pursuit.  Many fear the Holy Spirit because accepting requires admitting that God is always, always with you and guiding you.  Others, will demonstrate with outward examples of the Holy Spirit in their lives and acknowledge His presence through dance, worship, speaking in tongues and using their gifts for the Lord. 

What is it that the Holy Spirit is doing in and through your life?  Are you accepting His presence, letting His love flow through you, using your gifts as an expression of His purpose or worshipping and sharing His presence with others?  Just as the Father, nor Jesus can accept sin, neither can the Holy Spirit.  Our sinful worldly nature goes against His very nature, so there is a battle inside every time we are outside of His plan.  He is our advocate and therefore pulling us back to the righteous path.  This is why we know what is sinful in the eyes of the Lord and what is good.  We are righteous because He is righteous through us, not because of anything we have done or earned.  Believe that He is in you and leading you toward the Father’s perfect plan, and trust that indeed He is there for your peace, comfort and strength as you follow the Lord.

Be Blessed,

Rich

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A Fount of Wisdom

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“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?  To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?" – Isaiah 46:5

  I am reminded of a song (see lyrics below) from 4 or 5 years back that clearly spoke to me just how magnificent and incredible it is that God Almighty thinks about me.  When we face challenges in life and it looks as though there is no way out of a particular situation, we often times turn to those that we love and ask for advice, help and support.  It’s not that this is wrong, because we are called to help one another when they are in need and to love one another through their heartaches.  This is being Jesus to those around you and we are designed to do this.  But, the realization that hit me a few years back was that as frequently as we call on our friends and family, we very seldom actually call on God to help us through our daily struggles.  I began asking myself why. . .

1)      I can’t comprehend how He can help us when I can’t see Him, feel Him or hear Him

2)      We don’t want to bother God with our silly little problems

3)      We’ve done something wrong and going to God will require admitting it
(hint, hint: He already knows)

4)      There is no real relationship with God, we simply say we believe so we can get to heaven when we die

5)      God is good, pure and righteous and the problem I’m facing is unethical or immoral

6)      Other people are watching and I’m somewhat embarrassed to pray in front of them

7)      He didn’t help me the last time I prayed

I’m sure there are other reasons for not turning to God for help.  I ask that you sit back and ask yourself one question: “Who knows more than God?”  If you truly believe that there is an answer to that question other than no-one, then by all means go and ask that person for help.  The reality is that God created the heavens, the universe, the galaxy, the sun, moon and stars and the Earth and all that is within it.  His bank account is infinite, His mercies are plentiful and His love overcomes every single broken heart.  He has poured out His grace upon mankind, not because we deserve it, because we surely don’t; but because He loves us so much. Grasping that concept is the key to understanding who God really is.

We live in a society framed up by the digital era, and we expect instantaneous results to our questions or problems.  God does not work that way.  He doesn’t have a cell phone, laptop, tablet, or TV.  There is no need for email in heaven.  He hears your thoughts before the words leave your lips.  He thinks in the big picture, not in the small stuff and therefore just because you want something done by Friday, it may or may not be beneficial in the long run.  Trust in His sovereignty and trust in His love for you.  He’ll not let you fall, though you might stumble a time or two.

My Redeemer – Nicole C. Mullen

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning
and Who told the oceans, you can only go this far
and Who showed the moon where to hide till the evening
Who’s words alone can catch a falling star?
chorus:
Well I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
All of creation testify
Let this life within me cry
I know my Redeemer lives

There is a God that spins things in orbit
Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak
and the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken
They conquered death to bring me victory
repeat chorus(1x)

He lives To take away my shame
and He lives, forever I'll proclaim
That the payment for my sin
Was the precious life He gave
but now He's alive and there's an empty grave.
repeat chorus(2x)

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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Making Choices in Life

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“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”   - John 14:26

Wandering, aimlessly.
Confused and feeling lost.
Overwhelmed, unsure and tired all of the time.
Monotony and boredom fill the gaps.

These are the typical words I hear describing the life of those living in the 21^st century.  We have engineered and innovated more technology in the last 7 years, than in the last 2000 years combined.  Through the devices that we carry in our hand we can answer 90% of the questions that are posed to us each day, and we trust the information we receive as if it is fact.  More data is flying through the air at this very moment than what has been spoken in the halls of Congress in the last 30 days.  At any given moment, there are hundreds of millions of people all over the globe posting comments and updates via Twitter, Facebook, email or other social networking sites.  We have created the busyness that we so desperately despise.

Where does the social network with the Holy Spirit reside.  Is there a web-site, a URL, a Facebook page where I can go and hear the words that the Holy Spirit has for me today?  The words of Paul the Apostle, John the Baptist, Peter, John, Mark and the others were communicated face to face across the Mediterranean Basin over the course of 70 to 80 years.  They wrote them down on papyrus and hand carried them by foot or water to share the Word with others.  They were filled with the Holy Spirit and then took to the task of spreading the word as Jesus instructed them to do. 

Each of them had lives, and had to make choices to follow His teachings and pursue His purpose or to return back to their life in Nazareth, Jerusalem or the Israeli countryside.  How are you any different?  Jesus does not walk by your side in the physical sense of the word, as He did with these great men and the women of that day.  Yet in this scripture John 14:26, Jesus clearly states that He will send a Counselor to walk with each of us and continue teaching us and helping us carry on what He started.  This counselor, the Holy Spirit, resides within each of us.  We are choosing to ignore Him or to take time and listen each day, each moment.

The world will bombard you and occupy every moment of every day if you let them.  This is the strongest tool that Satan has and it is highly effective at distracting you from pursuing God’s love and grace with everything you have.  Let’s face it, you likely spend more time on Facebook, Twitter, texting, reading emails and socializing on the internet each day than you do pausing and communing with the Holy Spirit.  Ask yourself why?  Why do we as a society prioritize those areas of life over the most important area of life – our spiritual strength? 

Many of us wonder where God is in situations in our lives, without realizing or recognizing that He is right where He has always been – inside of your heart.  The Holy Spirit is God, manifested inside of each of you.  He is your Counselor and everything you hear from Him is pure, truth and righteous.  God cannot sin, lie or deceive; and the Holy Spirit likewise cannot.  There is no condemnation from the Holy Spirit, conviction – certainly; but not condemnation.  You will hear from the Holy Spirit what is working and what is not; and you will be convicted to do what is righteous and holy, rather than what is unrighteous and worldly.  The choice will still be yours on which you will pursue, but don’t put the blame on God for the decisions you are making in life.  Ok.  So at least now you know that the power of God is within you, what are you going to do about it?  Again – the choice is yours.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com