The Holy Spirit

 

Holy Spirit – Lyrics – Jesus Culture – Kim Walker-Smith – in HD

 

Acts 1 records the final words from Jesus before He left for home.

And while staying[a] with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – ACts 1:4-8  ESV

His last instructions were for them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He knew they could nothing effective for the Kingdom of God until the Spirit came.

The Greek text calls it “the promise of the Father.”

The waiting was not a formula, it was just a matter of God’s time.

As a side note – Luke stops using the word “disciples” to refer to the eleven here or to the twelve elsewhere in Acts. He now addresses them as “apostles” and the term “disciple” will now be used when making references to new believers.

They knew little of God’s plan but they knew what the final outcome would be – they were being commissioned to bear witness to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, to the love of God they experienced in Jesus and to the example of life as God intends, demonstrated in Jesus’ own life. They were to do this in Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

There were to start in their spiritual home, then the region around their home and then everywhere and anywhere else around the world.

It is an ambitious mission. One that has been extended to me, a disciple of Jesus. One I cannot successful do or be without the Holy Spirit. I pray for the Holy Spirit to fill me with power to do what He has asked me to do.

 

 

 

 

 

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Wisdom

 

W I S D O M

 

I am looking for wisdom about how to live. I have learned that cherishing Scripture gives me all the wisdom I need. When I first started to post my journals, I started that year with the theme from Psalm 1. Here it is…

Blessed is the man[a]
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
 but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

The idea I get from this Psalm is that if I live my life by default, just drifting, I am going to end up a disaster. But if I purposefully choose not to live or walk outside of wisdom, I am going to be one blessed individual.

So here is a portrait of what a disciple looks like from Walter and Cordelia Knott:

  • verse 1 – a disciple’s pattern
  • verse 2 – a disciple’s priority
  • verse 3 – a disciple’s prognosis
    • Prominence: tree
    • Permanence: unlike grass, bushes
    • Purposefully: “transplanted”
    • Position: “by rivers of water”(unfailing source)
    • Productivity: “bring forth fruit”
    • Propriety: “in his season” (growth, fruit bearing, rest)
    • Perpetuity: “his leaf also shall not wither”
      (we are to be evergreens)
    • Prosperity: “whatever he does shall prosper”
      (whatever – his family life, business life, church life, personal life)

So the pattern is clear. As a thriving disciple of Jesus, I will not heed a voice that does not line up with the Word of God. The sign that I have rejected time in the Word – am I spiritually dry? The sign that I am delighting in God’s Word – I have an increased appetite.  I position myself as a tree, ready to take on Wisdom as it comes to me through the God’s Word and His Spirit.

 

 

 

 

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Lips and Hearts

 

O Lord, I Sing with Lips and Heart

 

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, not of correct doctrine. I think that when talking about Jesus to young people who are searching for truth, there needs to be a moment where I am willing to say to them that if there is a better way than Jesus, Jesus would be the first to tell them to take it.

That might sound like a dangerous thing to say, but would that not be better than to have people who do not believe in what they say they believe in? Would it not seem that the tongue follows correctness, but our hearts follow truth?

This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me – Matthew 15:8  ESV

So when I think about confronting Richard Dawkins, am I not thinking about his heart? I am not looking to argue a point or two, I have to care for the hearts of those who do not know Jesus. What is the point of winning an argument?

And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men – Isaiah 29:13  ESV

 

 

 

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Come near

 

shai linne – The Holy Spirit ft. Timothy Brindle and Leah Smith

 

As I read of the different components that make up the story of the building of the tabernacle, two illustrations caught my attention. The candlesticks and the rings made of gold that were built into the ark so that it could be carried on poles. Those two items have a lot of history coming up and both are relevant in my discovering who I am as a disciple of Jesus.

The candlestick represents the light of God’s Word and Spirit which came to me in the person of Jesus Christ as He pierced the darkness of my world and gave me light so that I could come to a place in making a decision to follow Him. His light directs me in my worship and obedience and offered me comfort.

There was a caution though given to Moses as he was making the items for the tabernacle.

And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain. – Exodus 25:40  ESV

Nothing was left to Moses’ creativity, only the will of God was to be observed. As the Holy Spirit resides in me, I have the law of God in my heart and I live a life of communion with God.

You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.  You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.  And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. – Exodus 25:12-14  ESV

While the rings are a fascinating item to me, obviously the ark itself is of tremendous importance. As the ark represented the presence of God always being with the people, Jesus is always with me. He goes with me wherever I go and stays with me wherever I am staying.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. – Luke 24:15  ESV

Jesus finds a way to draw near to me. It is as if He is saying, “the kingdom of God has come near.” As I enter into ministry, as I pray, the kingdom of God does come near and God’s hopes and dreams for the world come near, Jesus comes near.

 

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Everything I have

 

Acapella – Everything We Need

 

Everything I have, I give to Jesus, because everything I need, He gives to me.

The story of Jesus and how He dies and how He is buried fulfills so many of His sermons and parables that dealt with money, and based on those teachings, Jesus died with no material possessions. Jesus’ testimony includes Nicodemus and includes Joseph who both gave to Jesus, at the time of His death, everything He needed for a proper burial.

More importantly for me though is that both Joseph and Nicodemus were secret followers of Jesus. Yet, when it mattered most, they not only gave of their possessions, they removed their cloaks and openly declared their love for Him.

I may choose to be a secret disciple for some time.  That is okay, but I can’t remain a secret disciple of Jesus for long. Everything I have belongs to Him.

 

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