Month: November 2013

DevotionalsHoly Spirit

What’s He Here For?

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In the last two weeks we have looked at the person we call the Holy Spirit. I love talking about God, but I’m especially intrigued with the third person of the Trinity.

The three persons of the Trinity are enigmatic, cloaked in a mantle of mystery slowly pulled back through the ages to reveal the face of God. When we learn about Father God, we incorporate what we know about Him from our experiences with out earthly fathers. His Son, Jesus Christ, is the central figure of the gospels, painting a vivid picture of the Deliverer.

The Spirit, on the other hand, often remains in the background. Though equal in power to the others, He points humanity upward to them instead of drawing attention to Himself.  In a world clamoring “Look at me! Look at me,” He always inspires us to look heavenward.

The fact that He consents to live inside the cracked clay we call home never ceases to amaze me.

How do we wrap our minds around a Being who can be everywhere at once, whose power caused the universe to spring to life, who brought back the Savior Himself from the dead? How do we live with such a Being inside us? It’s a story more radical than anything dreamt up by Hollywood.

God in You, the Hope of Glory

In His person, the Holy Spirit is totally God. In His work and form, He functions as the “breath” of God. As such, He has a vital job to accomplish on earth:

  • He convicts us of sin. John 16:8

Before we can come to Him, we first must realize our need. It is the Spirit’s job to make us understand how we’ve sinned against God and our need of a Deliverer. He’s the one who makes us feel guilty when we’ve done wrong.

  • He frees us. 2 Corinthians 3:17

The Spirit is the One who breaks the chains of sin and walks us into liberty.

  • He sanctifies and sets us apart as His own. 1 Peter 1:2

When we accept our need for God and receive the cleansing sacrifice made by Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our bodies. His indwelling sets us apart as His own and begins the lifelong process of preparing us for eternity.

  • He transforms us. 2 Corinthians 3:18

When we become His, we are changed by the force of the same creative power that brought the universe into being.

  • He intercedes for us. Romans 8:26

In our weakness, we often don’t even know ourselves how to pray for what we need. The Spirit steps in, bringing us to the throne of God. Romans 8:26 is often used for speaking in tongues, but the Scripture says that this intercession is “too deep for words.” It is the place where our spirit connects with His in a cry for help.

  • He rebukes those who mock Him. Acts 5:9-11

The Spirit upholds the holiness of the Lord. He will not be mocked and must be treated with respect.

  • He empowers us for His work. John 7:37-38; 16:7; 1 Corinthians 2:3-5; Galatians 5:25

We can’t live a holy life on our own. Our best intentions and efforts can’t come close to pleasing God. We fall on our face every time. It’s His power that accomplishes what we can only long for without Him.

  • He directs us and gives us joy in the journey. Matthew 4:1; John 16:13; Luke 10:21; Acts 16:7

It’s not just about getting through this life. Jesus promised us abundance. When His Spirit is free to work within us, He fill us with joy. This is the incomprehensible place of peace Jesus’ disciples encounter through the darkest days of their lives. It rises above trials and smiles at the future.

  • He provides for our every need. Philippians 1:29

He is the great provider. In His care, every need we have will be met.

  • He reveals the future when necessary. Luke 2:26; Acts 1:16

Because He is all-knowing, nothing surprises Him. When it is necessary, He will reveal to His people future events. Usually, though, He counts on us to trust Him for our future.

This exquisite being, who dwelt in eternity in the highest heaven, has consented – even yearned- to live with us in our frail homes of flesh. He longs to be our protector and Lord. Only a mighty God could be powerful enough to be so tender, or strong enough to live with such weakness.

No wonder they call Him the Comforter.

 

Baptism photo courtesy Erik Thorson/ copyright 2013

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DevotionalsHoly Spirit

Breath of God

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The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it,

but do not know where it comes from and where it is going;

so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

– John 3:8

This is the air I breathe,
This is the air I breathe,
Your Holy Presence, living in me.
-Marie Barnett

Sunday morning arrives in fine form. I’m in fine form, too. Dressed in my best Sunday clothes, I negotiate the thirty-minute drive to church with my favorite Christian band belting out “I’m awake, I’m alive” over the car speakers.

I slip into my usual spot near the back of the church and am soon joined by dear friends. The worship team begins to play and my heart leaps to the music. Joy infuses me as I give myself to join the voices raised to our Creator. Soon, the pastor challenges the congregation with a message from the Bible. I can feel God moving my heart in renewal. I know the Holy Spirit is there.

It wasn’t long ago I was in a different place as events beyond my control sucked the life out of me. I was frustrated and took it out on those around me. I wasn’t feeling holy or calm or civil. I longed for the comfort of the Spirit, but I couldn’t feel Him near.

Had I angered Him and made Him leave me? Was He powerless, busy, or uninterested? Or had He just deserted me?

Who Is the Holy Stranger Who Lives in Us?

The Holy Spirit is probably the least understood of that Godhead we call the Trinity.  Sometimes He is referred to as a force, a fad, or an “it.” And yet the Scriptures reveal a wealth of information about Him.

The Greek term for the Spirit of God is pneuma, or “breath.” He is, however, anything but a mere stirring of air. The Bible describes Him as a powerful and pure personality. Within these verses, we discover this about Him:

  • He is a real person, referred to by such pronouns as “He,” “Whom,” and “Who.”

Luke 4:18; John 7:39; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 5:3; Ephesians 1:13-14

  • He is the vital third Person of the Triune God.

Matthew 12:31-32; 28:19; Mark 3:29; Acts 5:3,4; 1 Corinthians 2:11

  • He is eternal and glorious.

Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 4:14

  • He speaks to and through mankind.

Matthew 10:20; Mark 13:11; John 16:13; Acts 4:25; 13:2; 20:23; 21:11; 28:25; Hebrews 3:7; 10:15; Revelation 2:7

  • He is the Lifegiver.

Matthew 1:18; John 3:8; Romans 8:11

  • He is our helper and teacher.

John 14:26; 15:26; Hebrews 9:8

  • He can be grieved.

Ephesians 4:30

The Holy Spirit is not a thing. He is someone who can speak, be lied to, is grieved. He feels deep pain, great joy, and intense concern for us. He loves us enough to live with our mercurial human emotions. He cares enough to stay with us through the hopeless nights. He is sealed in His believers – for better or for worse.

What kind of a God leaves a throne to live in a clay house? What does He hope to accomplish by being here on earth?

Next Tuesday: What’s He Here For?

photo courtesy Erik Thorson/copyright 2013

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DevotionalsHoly Spirit

The Safest Place on Earth

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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.
Ephesians 1:13

When the Thief Comes to Steal

In his book The Holy Spirit, Billy Graham tells the story of an English missionary who died in India during the early 1900’s.  Immediately his former neighbors broke into his home and pillaged it, stealing the man’s possessions.  The English Consul was notified, and the official went to the missionary’s home.

Since there was no knock on the door, the official simply pasted a piece of paper across it and affixed the seal of England on it.  No one dared to break the seal, because at that time, that seal represented the world’s most powerful nation.  The power of England stood behind a piece of paper on the door.

In the same way, when we are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up official residence within us – effectively “sealing” us for Himself by His power and authority.

The Greek word for “seal” means “to confirm” or “to impress,” and it is used three times in the New Testament in connection with believers.  This sealing represents two important concepts:  security and ownership.

An Irrevocable Decree

Sealing in the sense of security is illustrated in the sealing of Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6:17), and in the irrevocable seal of the king in spoken of in Esther 3:12 and 8:8. The Greek word is used in Matthew 27:65-66 to describe the Roman seal on Jesus’ tomb is the same word used in other New Testament scriptures to speak of the seal of the Holy Spirit.  It meant that whatever was under that seal was not to be opened except by order of the king.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered – I’m Yours

This seal also signifies ownership.  In Jeremiah 32:10 we read that the prophet bought a piece of property, paid for it in front of witnesses, and sealed the purchase in accordance with the law and custom, making him the legal owner.

History tells us ancient Ephesus was a port city, carrying on an extensive trade in lumber.  A merchant looking for lumber would walk through the timber, select what he wanted, and stamp it with his own signet, or sign of ownership.  When he was ready for the lumber, he would send an agent with the signet to locate all the timber carrying his seal.  His agent would then claim and take all the lumber with the master’s mark on it back to the man who bought it.

In the East, a seal on a document was more important than the signature.  The signet used to imprint a seal usually sat in a ring and was inscribed with words or symbols.  It often reflected an office of importance.  It was commonly pressed into clay, because of its resulting permanence, although wax was used, too.  Wax was not as desirable because it was prone to melt in the hot sun.  Clay hardened over time, so that the clay itself would actually have to break in order to break the seal.

We are the clay.  God is the master, and Jesus has bought us.

The imprint of God has been impressed into our hearts, sealing us by the authority of the Lord on High.  We are now His, under His protection.  The power of all heaven stands behind His mark.  He is sealed in us.  He can’t leave without breaking the clay and His promise to never leave or forsake us.  He is with us every step of the way as we walk through this world.

With this understanding, we can better appreciate the words of the apostle Paul:

 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

Not forsaken. Never alone. Under His guard.

Secure in the safest place on earth.

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Devotionals

What’s in YOUR Heart?

 

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And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them.
And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.
-Ezekiel 11:19

Our Heart, the Deepest Place

Anyone who’s taken even freshman biology can probably remember what’s in our hearts: mostly blood, muscle, chambers, and valves. But the heart is also a euphemism for the place where our innermost man lives. It’s the seat of our emotions and the chamber of our most secret desires. The Hebrew word for heart in the Old Testament also denotes the deepest place inside us, the room we rarely reveal to others.

It’s the place we rarely unveil even to ourselves.

The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
-Matthew 15:18-19

The heart is the real us. That can be frightening if we’re honest enough to take a good look inside. It’s so scary we often craft a careful wall of excuses and religious piety to cover our real motives. We may fool ourselves and others, but there is One from whom we can never hide.

The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
I, the LORD, search the heart.
-Jeremiah 17:9-10

It’s a sobering thing to know God searches my heart. I know what’s in there. I don’t even like me when I look inside. It is beyond me that God, knowing what my heart clutches within its walls, still pursues me to gain that fickle devil for His own. He knows the state of my inner man, and He wants me anyway.

For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart.
– 1 Samuel 16:7

Throughout history, God has always reached for the heart of His creation. The Bible tells us:

For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
– 1 Samuel 16:7

God wants our whole hearts – dirt, pain, and all. He loves us, not for what we give or do, but for what we are to Him. When we respond to this love and surrender to Him, He goes to work. He alone can cleanse, purify, and restore us.

It’s this work that changes from the inside out. It’s not about reforming ourselves. That will never happen. It it were about doing everything right, none of us could stand.

Even God’s beloved King David committed two terrible sins: adultery and murder. Although he was severely disciplined for his actions, God later called him a man after His own heart.

How could that be?

With All Your Heart

David was flawed, to be sure. But he ran after God with all that within him. When he fell, he cried out for forgiveness. He sought to be reconciled to God. He surrendered his life to his King.

Jesus told humanity:

YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD GOD WITH ALL YOUR
HEART,
AND WITH ALL YOUR
SOUL,
AND WITH ALL YOUR
MIND.
This is the great and foremost commandment.
-Matthew 22:37-38

This is the great commandment. If we love Him with all that is within us, He will do the rest.

Although David couldn’t trust his own heart, he could entrust it to a faithful Father. David came to understand this one thing: It’s about what’s in our hearts.

It’s about what’s in His.

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