And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you.
Matthew 6:28-30
Fellas, trust me on this one: the woman in your life doesn’t want you to fix her problems; she only wants you to listen and empathize.
So let her talk … Really hear what she’s saying … Really feel what she’s feeling. That’s what she really wants from you.
Perhaps this will help—
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their Master to return…. (Luke 12:35-36)
There is no time off.
Wait time is work time.
Standing ready
Shining brightly.
Finishing well.
Waiting to hear,
“Well done, faithful servant!”
Charles Spurgeon said, “It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but satan’s work is just the opposite of this.”
Oswald Chambers said it even more succinctly: “satan counterfeits the Holy Spirit.”
It’s true that whenever there is an authentic move of the Holy Spirit, satan will try to pervert it or counterfeit it. He wants Christians disempowered, so he will do all that is within his power to get us off track, especially in regard to the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. That’s why Scripture tells us, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, NLT)
Did you know that the Secret Service―who is tasked with tracking down those who counterfeit U.S. currency―spends more time studying authentic currency than they do counterfeit currency. Why is that? Because there are many ways to make a counterfeit bill, but only one way to make the genuine article! So these agents spend so much time handling and studying the authentic, that they can spot a fraud in a split second.
If we are going to test everything related to the Holy Spirit, we don’t need to focus on all of the counterfeit displays, but simply get to know the authentic. Here are six authenticating proofs we can look for to know the baptism of the Holy Spirit in our lives is genuine.
When you bear much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. (John 15:8, AMP)
Notice in the first Pentecostal church how the Spirit-baptized Christians just did ministry whenever and wherever (see Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37). They didn’t form committees or discuss strategies; they just did what needed to be done to make Jesus known.
Things bother us now that didn’t bother us before, because we don’t want there to be anything in our lives that strains our relationship with God (see Galatians 5:16-25).
In Acts 4:8-13 the religious leadership was astounded at how Peter and John showed spiritual maturity beyond their training. The Holy Spirit helped them to pull out and apply Scripture to the circumstances they faced.
In Acts 16:6-7, we see the Holy Spirit stopped Paul and his companions from preaching the gospel. He was directing them to the perfect time and place for their ministry. This reminds me of the Old Testament promise: “Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a Voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)
The Holy Spirit empowers us to tell more and more people about Jesus with greater boldness than we had before (Acts 1:8 and 4:31).
Don’t worry about trying to study the fakes. Get to know the authentic move of the Holy Spirit, and you will have no problem knowing what a genuine move of the Spirit looks like!
I am continuing my series called Come Holy Spirit this upcoming Sunday. If you are in the area, I would love to have you join me.
“True shepherds go to their sheep, where they are, to watch over their souls and equip them for ministry.” —T.M. Moore
Jesus said His sheep knew His voice. Pastor,
Just something to think about…
UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Not Possessed By Possessions
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
Rich in what? Not in possessions, but in personal identity. Our Lord Jesus Christ became poor, not as an example, but to give us the secret of His religion. The religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of personal relationship to God and has nothing to do with possessions. … The disciple realizes that his life does not consist in the abundance of things he possess, because what we possess often possesses us—we are possessed by possessions.
From Bringing Sons Unto Glory
I can’t stand seeing so-called “prosperity preachers” twisting Scripture to make it sound like God is some sort of cosmic slot machine, and if you pull His lever just right financial rewards will pour down on you. Rubbish!!
Chambers said it succinctly and perfectly: The religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of personal relationship to God and has nothing to do with possessions.
There is a toll for divorce, and I think the price is higher than we want to pay. There is a price…
…economicallyWait, spiritually? Here’s what God says—
Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because He pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are His. And what does He want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” (Malachi 2:13-16, New Living Translation)
“I drive out demons by the finger of God.” —Jesus
The finger of God is more powerful than the full armies of satan!
If God’s finger is that powerful, consider this…
You are held in God’s hands.
You are covered by His wings.
You are immersed in His Spirit.
You are hidden in Christ.
Greater is He who surrounds you and lives in You than anything that comes against you!
There are two angels, that attend unseen
Each one of us, and in great books record
Our good and evil deeds. He who writes down
The good ones, after every action closes
His volume, and ascends with it to God.
The other keeps his dreadful day-book open
Till sunset, that we may repent; which doing,
The record of the action fades away,
And leaves a line of white across the page.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Jesus was talking to His disciples about what was ahead for Him, and they responded in an all-too-typical way: “They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what ‘rising from the dead’ meant” (Mark 9:10).
There are times that Jesus interrupts His disciples’ musings with a question like, “What are you talking about among yourselves?” But in this instance, He kept quiet.
Why?
I think Jesus likes for us to ask Him for help.
There is a certain level of pride that says, “I can figure this out all by myself.” This pride leads to ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear (we tend to fear what we don’t know), and fear leads—more times than not—to poor choices.
“They didn’t understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him about it” (v. 32). This fear probably led to their confusion in between the time of Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection.
Think about it, we have two choices:
Oh, for the humility to ask for God’s help when I am confused!
Craig T. Owens 