Category: Holy Spirit

Seventh grade boys (and others) who conclude that the good news about Jesus Christ is true also want to understand the truth of God’s desire for relationship with us. Someone might say, “I’ve searched my Bible and the term ‘relationship’ is not found. Why such an emphasis on an absent word?” It is true, some translations do not use ‘relationship’ in the Old or New Testaments… but don’t miss what God’s story is all about.

In Genesis, God’s fellowship with man was unbroken until sin interrupted it. From then on, Scripture shows God’s work to restore relationship through His Son. In Revelation, the picture is painted of the Son and His Bride (us) being united as one. God will not settle for less.

The Father, Son, and Spirit are in perfect harmony… and have always been. On earth, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit and constantly communicated with His Father. He tells us His God is our God and His Father is our Father. The Father, Son, and Spirit make relationship possible.

My dad still raises cows in Tennessee. He understands the role of shepherd more than I do because he has a unique relationship with his animals. They know his voice; he calls them by name; they depend on him.

Jesus says we are in relationship with Him as sheep are related to a good shepherd. It is a beautiful analogy… for like sheep, we are not too smart. Without our Good Shepherd we are bound to wander into dangerous places. But no enemy can snatch us out of the strong hands of the One who loves us. Why would we ever want to follow another voice? We walk with the One who chose to lay down His life for us.

Jesus describes ‘relationship’ in a more powerful way when He tells us we are the children of a perfect Father. The connection between parent and child reflects God’s heart toward us. He loves us! He especially yearns for the lost. When a prodigal son or daughter returns home, the Father celebrates… family is being restored!

Because Jesus died, rose, and ascended to the Father’s right hand, the Holy Spirit has come to teach us to walk in relationship with God. Christ said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7) We praise God that we have everything we need to walk in the reality of His love. (see Ephesians 1,2,3)

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us for His own glory and goodness.” II Peter 1:3

“I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me – just as the Father knows Me and I know My Father – and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:14

“Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Luke 15:22-24

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!” I John 3:1

My doctors vary in opinion about me leaving the country with low blood counts. One seems genuinely excited and offers to give names of foreign colleagues in case I get in trouble. Another tends to worry a bit more, but is encouraging nonetheless. Sometimes I remember to bring them souvenirs.

Because my bone marrow is so compromised, I must receive platelets every week and red blood cells every two weeks. Consequently, we always schedule infusions as close to the end of a trip as possible. After getting home from Ecuador in June, fellow travelers dropped me off at the clinic on their way home from the airport. I thank God for friends… and for blood and platelet donors.

Not all cancer patients are followers of Jesus, but you might be surprised to see how much faith and kindness fills waiting rooms. I sometimes think our country could learn lessons about how to get along if more time were spent among the sick and dying. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic… race matters little as we all have brokenness in common.

The morning after we returned from Israel, I entered the room where patients wait to have blood drawn and sat between an older African American gentleman and a younger Caucasian patient. In the course of our conversation, we learned that the older man regularly drives his brother, a veteran of Vietnam, to the hospital from the north Georgia mountains for treatment. His brother is one of thousands who contracted cancer or other deadly diseases from exposure to Agent Orange.

As the three of us visited, I marveled at the way strangers can naturally praise God in the course of common conversation. Each of us encouraged the others.  When the younger patient was called over to the nurse’s station, the older gentleman pointed at him walking away and quietly said to me: “That’s a good man… the kind of man you want by your side.”

This is the witness God loves to see in our confused, angry world. Jesus, who also lived in a confused, angry world, let the character of His Father outshine the darkness of the enemy. He was (and is) full of grace and truth. Jesus is Truth… so He is always righteous and just. But the sons and daughters of Adam can never measure up to God’s holiness, so He offers grace… and, thankfully, His resource is boundless.

Our young married friends Slava and Alina visited our home on a recent Sunday, telling of efforts to bring the lost sheep of Belarus into the Kingdom of God. Someone asked: “How do you share Jesus?” Slava answered: “In Christ, we have all been given blessings from the Holy Spirit. When true love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are observed by our people, they want to know the Source… then we share the Gospel.”

May we understand and remember the blessings we’ve been given… and may the glory of Jesus be plainly seen in this world of people our Father loves.

“From the fullness of grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:16-17

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” I Corinthians 2:12

Scripture tells us James the brother of John was put to death by the sword on the orders of King Herod. (Acts 12:1-2) Of the ten other apostles who were alive when Jesus rose from the dead, it is believed that all but one met violent deaths. John was exiled on the Island of Patmos where he received the Revelation.

Of the three confused disciples mentioned last week, tradition says Philip was crucified; Peter was crucified upside down; and Thomas was killed with a spear in what is now India. All eleven were committed to carrying out Jesus’ instructions to take His Good News to all the world.

What transformed faithless, fearful friends of Jesus into bold, confident witnesses? The resurrection solidified their faith… but there is more…

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5)

John the Baptist had predicted what Jesus promised: “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after Me will come One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11)

The Holy Spirit makes the difference! He is the Helper who not only comforts… but empowers. After receiving this promise of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, Peter, who earlier had denied his Lord, clearly proclaimed the fulfillment of God’s Word to thousands. The Messiah had come. He had performed signs and wonders witnessed by many. He had been nailed to a cross which was lifted up by wicked men. He had been buried in a borrowed tomb… but God raised Him to life and exalted Him to His own right hand.

The prophet Joel’s words were being fulfilled: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:17-21)

The Holy Spirit transformed weak disciples into powerful ambassadors willing to give their lives for the Lord… and He does the same today. “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39)

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13

By faith we know that Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected. “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:9-11) This is in the past.

By faith we believe that in the last day we will be changed into the likeness of Jesus with resurrected bodies. “We will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (I Corinthians 15:51-52) This is in the future.

But what about the present?

The Holy Spirit tells us over and over through the words of Jesus and the teachings of the apostles that the resurrection of Jesus impacts our daily living. Because He lives, we live. We were dead in our sins, but God has made us alive in Christ. The power to live comes, not from our determination to follow the perfect laws of God, but through the Spirit of life. “By dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom 7:6)

Because our old selves died when Jesus died, we are now raised to walk in newness of life. “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7) “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4) It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. The lives we live in our bodies, we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. (see Gal 2:20)

When Jesus said to Martha, “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” He was not just forecasting the great miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life four days after he died… He was saying: God is presently in your midst and He holds the power of life. Jesus was and is God in the present.

Not everyone believes Jesus rose from the dead, despite the evidence and believers’ efforts to convince. But if people could see the changed lives of those who used to be captive to sin and empty living, what a witness that would be. “By My Spirit… and with one another… live the resurrected life my Son gives and the world will see Me. Pray His prayers, do His works, love others the way He loves you… and My will shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence… Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” Ephesians 3:10-12, 20-21

We had two guests at our home this past week. Kinsey and Jordan had the difficult assignment of going to Hawaii where Jordan made a presentation at a conference, so Owen stayed with Susu and Opa. The other guest was our Dutch missionary friend Harry who has lived with his wife Dagmar in the Old City of Jerusalem for almost thirty years.

Harry became good friends with ‘almost two-year-old’ Owen over the course of the week. I think he was most impressed with his friendliness. We went to a restaurant Friday evening and as the hostess seated us, Owen waved to every table and said, ‘Hey.’ No matter the age or race or size of the group, someone always waved back and spoke to the little man.

I noticed Harry with the same happy demeanor in our neighborhood. Anytime he would see a person walking or working in the yard he would approach and strike up a conversation. Of course most were probably intrigued with his European accent, but each also appreciated his warm personality.

Isn’t it interesting that at least three of the nine fruit of the Spirit reveal that such characteristics are of God? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) I witnessed a lot of kindness, goodness, and gentleness this week.

Since these attributes are from the Holy Spirit, we know that Jesus illustrated them perfectly. On earth, Jesus was kind, He was good, and He was gentle. Since Jesus is the perfect reflection of His Father, we know that God is kind, God is good, and God is gentle.

One night, we watched The Shack with Harry. If someone unfamiliar with God watched the movie, they would notice kindness, goodness, and gentleness depicted in the characters representing the Father, Son, and Spirit. Harry loved the story.

As we let our light shine, let’s live in the Spirit and reflect the beauty of our Lord.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:3-8