Not a Holy It

I like this article from Charisma magazine and thought it would be a good reminder for us.. regardless of our denominational disposition.

THE HOLY SPIRIT is NOT AN "IT"
-by J. Lee Grady.

We charismatics celebrate the Holy Spirit, yet our theology of the Spirit is often off balance.

Two popular charismatic speakers stood on a stage two years ago and decided they should demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. One guy pretended to throw an imaginary "fireball" at his friend, who promptly fell over as if he had been zapped by the divine power. Then, feeling equally playful, the guy on the floor stood to his feet and threw the "fireball" back at his friend—who fell after the "blob" of God hit him.

Everybody laughed and had a hilarious time at this outrageous party. There was just one problem. The Holy Spirit is not a blob, a fireball or any other form of divine energy that can be thrown, manipulated, maneuvered or controlled.

This scenario happened in a charismatic church—a place where the ministry of the Holy Spirit is presumably honored and understood. It's incredibly sad that many of us who wear the charismatic label have forgotten what the Scriptures teach about the third person of the Trinity. At the risk of sounding way too elementary, I'd like to offer this basic layman's guide to pneumatology—the study of the Holy Spirit and how He works:

1. He is the Spirit of the Lord. He is not a force (as in Star Wars), a magical power or an "it." The Holy Spirit is God, and we should revere Him as God. The concept of the Trinity doesn't make sense to the human mind. Yet Scripture reveals God as a triune being. As theologian Norman Geisler writes: "God is one what (nature) with three whos (persons). This is a mystery but not a contradiction."
2. He is our Regenerator. Jesus told Nicodemus that we are born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5). True conversion is the most supernatural thing we will ever experience! When a person puts his faith in Christ for salvation, it is the Spirit who opens the heart and quickens divine life. He then indwells us. While this is an invisible process, it is no less miraculous. When we are converted our hearts cry out, "Abba! Father" because the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of adoption" (Romans 8:15); He gives us confidence that we are now children of God.
3. He is our Empowerer. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit we are "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49, NASB). The Spirit who already indwells us fills us to the point of overflowing. Jesus said the Holy Spirit's power would flow out of us like "rivers of living water" from our innermost being (John 7:38). This overflow releases supernatural boldness (Acts 4:31) as well as the anointing for various gifts of the Spirit including prophecy, speaking in tongues and healing.
4. He is the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit has access to all the wisdom and knowledge of God. When we abide in Him, He leads us continually into truth—causing us to grow and mature spiritually. He wants to fill us with the treasures of heavenly revelation. We can fully trust Him because He never does anything to violate the Word of God. As our teacher (1 John 2:27), He knows the difference between truth and error, and those who depend on Him will walk in discernment and avoid deception, pride and carnality.
5. He is our Counselor. This word is also translated "Advocate," "Comforter" or "Helper." The Greek word, parakletos, means "one called alongside to help." It implies that the Spirit comes to our legal defense when we are accused or troubled; it also means He is a close friend who offers encouragement, consolation and direction when we face any difficulty. He is truly a friend who "sticks closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24).
6. He is our Intercessor. This is probably one of the greatest miracles of grace. The Spirit who lives inside of us "intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" (Rom. 8:26). Even when we don't know how to pray, the Spirit prays the perfect will of God. No matter what kind of dark difficulty we face, the Spirit travails for us until we emerge on the other side.
7. He is our Unifier. Like the master conductor of an orchestra, the Holy Spirit pulls together each individual Christian—with all of our diverse gifts—and causes us to flow in synchronization as one body. The Spirit distributes His gifts to individuals (1 Cor. 12:11) and He brings about the "fellowship of the Spirit" (2 Cor. 13:14)— a supernatural, loving harmony among believers that overcomes jealousy, envy, strife and bitterness.
8. He is our Refiner. The Spirit took the form of a dove at Christ's baptism, but He is often portrayed in Scripture as a fire. He is the "refiner's fire" (Mal. 3:2-3) who purifies us of selfishness, pride and wrong motives. The Holy Spirit is indeed the fire of blazing holiness, and He can be both grieved (Eph. 4:30) and quenched (1 Thess. 5:19) when we disobey His promptings.

As we prepare to celebrate the day of Pentecost in less than a month (it's on May 23), let's meditate on all aspects of the Spirit's work in our lives—and invite Him to fill us in a fresh way.

His Glory Awaits

My brother's wife Fran passed away last week. She was 63 years young and left a husband, 3 married children and seven grandchildren. She was a believer.

Today an anonymous commenter left the following at a friends blog who is facing a painful death at the hands of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). I found it to be an uplifting message, especially in light of Fran's passing, and wanted to share it with you.

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There is no death! This does not seem as though Reality to you right now.

Our Lord Jesus conquered death for us. When our temporary flesh becomes no more, the most alive you have ever known greets you and encompasses you. It is like being in Christ Jesus our Lord in a most profound living, indescribable joy.

Love and Life of our Father is so beyond magnificent; you will not want to even consider going back to the clay of yesterday. I tell you, an abounding Glory of Life and Love await you! An incredible warmth of Holy Love of our most awesome Father is nothing to fear, dear sweet one.

You will never trade it to go back into the clay. Fear not, for His Glory awaits those in Christ Jesus, with the death of the temporary body comes Life as you have never believed it could be. A Life that is truly living; you will thrive in Him, who is Life, Love, and Light-Christ. You most certainly will not be alone, nor cold; Glory and you become as one, you live; He lives. You live eternal, just not in the current clay.

Inhaling and Exhaling God

Heard a great sermon from a young preacher yesterday on the breath of God. Here are the three scriptures that he used in his message:

The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. [Genesis 2:7]

This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. [Ezekiel 37:5]

Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit". [John 20:22]

Love the imagery of how we inhale God's Spirit into our lives - that is the first half of the message. The second half was how we exhale God's breath in the things that we say and do. I think that the world is longing for the breath of God.. even if it comes from us. Reminds me of this great scripture in the seventh chapter of John's gospel:

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Again we see the another symbiotic relationship - when we are thirsty we come to God for a drink that others might drink from that same living water as it flows from our innermost beings. Amazing!

Building Inner Strength

Riding down the road today I began thinking about these two passages from Galatians that deal with the way that believers build inner strength:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (5:22-23)

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (6:7-9)

In the first passage we get a peek into the character of God in the Christians life. The second passage tells us how we can develop those inner qualities.

To be patient we must sow seeds of patience when we are tempted to be impatient. To be strong in love we must defy the gravity of hate when we lift the barbell of love. When we exercise self-control we sow seeds that will make us spiritually stronger. It is true with each aspect of God's fruit.. we reap what we sow.

It is not a matter of fleshly works that we figure out with our heads - it is simply responding to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our heart. We are growing spiritual fruit with each seed that we sow.. we are growing in the ways of the Spirit as we, in faith, plant spiritual seeds. It is a kingdom thing.

Instructions from the Cross

Many have written about the last seven things that Jesus said while He was hanging on the cross. I think that, in a sense, Jesus was not only setting an amazing example for us but He was also giving us instructions for living. In the following brief sharing I will try to look at those things he said in light of how He instructs us to live"

"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

In saying these words Jesus was giving us a true picture of what forgiveness looks like. He was telling us that our forgiveness is not dependent on the nature of the heinous act that is perpetrated against us or even if the offender really knew what they were doing or not. Hanging there on the cross Jesus simply forgave.

"Woman, behold, your son!" ... "Behold, your mother!"

Jesus so loved His mother.. a sermon in and of itself. In these verses we see that Jesus looked past His excruciating pain and showed care for Mary as he entrusted her to his friend John. It reminds me how at the beginning of humanity Cain, speaking of his murdered brother Abel, challenged God saying: "Am I my brother's keeper?" From the cross Jesus seems to be answering Cain's question.

"Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

What can be said about the thieves on their crosses that hasn't been said before.. one cursed at Jesus and the other simply asked Jesus to remember Him when He came in His kingdom. And Jesus assured the latter of Paradise. It is almost too simple for even me to accept. Maybe that is the instruction in this verse - keep the gospel simple.

"I am thirsty."

Jesus speaks to us from the cross of His humanity, His suffering and His pain.. and in this verse of His thirst. He reminds us of His description of the poor being those sick, imprisoned and thirsty.. and of His instructions to care for such as these. When we care for them He tells us that we care for Him.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

These are difficult words to read.. something deep inside me resonates with what Jesus is saying and how He is saying it. Many wax theological about this and point back to Psalm 22 and seem to think Jesus is just fulfilling prophetic scripture. I think that He is giving us a glorious example to follow when we are in pain. He shows us that trusting the Lord sometimes involves questions and sometimes involves feeling alone. His words comfort me.

"It is Finished."

In these three words the Son of God settles salvation and ends the reign of Satan on earth. The world has been different since this moment. Because Jesus finished what He started people have hope. In these words Jesus instructs us to endure and finish the course we are on until that day when we can say, like Paul, that we have finished the race.

“Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit”

With His dying breath Jesus instructs us about living. In a sense He is instructing us to commit ourselves each day to the Lord. He instructs us to trust the Lord even when things are the darkest.. even when the pain seems more than we can bear.. even when everyone has forsaken us. I think that there is no better way to live or die.

Making His Ways Ours

The twenty-first chapter of proverbs speaks to us about how our ways are not like the Lord's ways. In this chapter we discover that God's ways are patient ones bearing with us as travel life. It speaks to us of His heart for the poor and His desire for us to be kind, work hard, speak positively and not complain.

"The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs te heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin." (v1-4)

I love the way that these verses blends the ways of the Lords with the ways of a person. I think that it is so wonderful how God is portrayed as more of an influencer than a controller. He is interested in working with us to refine our attitudes, strengthen our innermost being and bring us to a place of humility.

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death." (v5-6)

I have often thought of how the ways of kingdom living have no shortcuts. We can not get to where God wants us to be when we use sinful shortcuts. I think that even prayers can be an attempt at shortcutting God's purposes when we offer them for selfish purposes.

"It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. ... It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman."(v9, 19)

I think that child or husband could be substituted for wife.. living with a complainer can be hard. That said I have to say that I live with a non-complainer - Ann could spend her days bemoaning the wheelchair she spends so much time in or the physical difficulties that she daily wrestles with but has chosen a path of being positive. Is so appreciate my wife's inner (and outer) beauty.. her discipline and attitude often puts this complainer to shame.

"Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.” (v13)

I have had a lot of dialog with my friends about whose responsibility it is to care for the poor. I consistently say that it is "our" responsibility. I hope that one day we believers will put the government out of a job - even if it is just a little bit.

"Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. ... The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back." (v17, 25-26)

I have been concerned for some time at the growing fixation on pleasure in our society. It seems that the days of people working hard and supporting their families have given way to video games and online social networking. I pray that America will one day regain the prominence we once had in research, development and industry.

"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor." (v21)

I love how righteousness and kindness are linked together in this verse. Possibly kindness is an evidence of real righteousness.

"A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride." (v22-24)

I think these three verses all involve our speech. I can often tell when I am most proud when I pay attention to what I say.

"No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord." (v30-31)

I sometimes think that I am a pretty smart person.. I have lived so much of my life from my brain.. but so often life reminds me that I am not very wise about the most important things in life.. it is why I so desperately need to seek the Lord. Our ways are not His.. our love is not like His.. His ways do not fail.

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Please click here to catch some of my other ponderings on the book of Proverbs.

Listening to Your Emotions

This ten minute video features Dr Matthew Elliott talking about his book, "Feel: The Power of Listening to Your Heart." I like the focus in the video on listening to and not following our emotions.. I use emotions and not "heart" because I think that it is a clearer term.. so often in scripture the heart is mentioned as a reference to our innermost being.. the place where the Holy Spirit lives.. that part of us that we should be following. Here are a few clips from Dr Elliott from his post on the Jesus Creed blog:

I was with a woman this morning who lost her son to tragedy three years ago. This intense, strong, vibrant follower of Jesus told me that she had almost left the church because people spoke theology and empty Christian platitudes to her instead of feeling and weeping with her. It was terribly empty. She found comfort from those who would share her pain. That is the way God made us.
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We think our job is to control our feelings and in our church culture we are uncomfortable when people feel deeply. In our desire to distance ourselves from feelings, we do great damage to souls and our own ability to feel love and compassion.
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Sometimes we get so caught up in the doing we forget that, to God, the core issue is the state of our hearts. Feelings have much to say about the true state of our hearts, that is why they are so prominent is Scripture
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Our most powerful witness is often not what we say but how others see we feel our faith. The world is not asking us for perfect answers and ultimate logic. What people are asking Christians is: "Do you love me? Does the life you say you have in Christ bring you the joy and hope I want in my life? Can I see it on your face?"

The imagery of "feeling and weeping" with someone is one that many feel so uncomfortable with. In a sense I think that feeling another's pain is a way that we can love them. I have often cried with others and have had folks cry with me - in each case I have felt a bit more whole.. a bit more human.. a bit more loved.. a bit more connected to God. I think that people need us on many levels.. my prayer is that each of us will be open to the Holy Spirit's ministry of loving others in this compassionate way.