I know firsthand the difference the Holy Spirit has made in my life. Which is why I’m so excited to kick off a brand new series this Sunday called Out Of The Box: Unleashing The Power of the Holy Spirit.
…the Holy Spirit makes the Father’s love more real
…the Holy Spirit makes the Christ-like life more livable
…the Holy Spirit makes the Bible more readable
…the Holy Spirit makes extraordinary living more attainable!
And this Out Of The Box life is for everyone. A.W. Tozer wrote:
“For the Holy Spirit is not a luxury, not something added now and again to produce a deluxe type of Christian once in a generation. No, He is for every child of God a vital necessity, and that He fill and indwell His people is more than a languid hope. It is rather an inescapable imperative.” (emphasis mine)
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.
Spiritual Overloading
One continually finds an encroachment of beliefs and of attachment to things which is so much spiritual overloading. Every now and again the Spirit of God calls us to take a spiritual stock-taking in order to see what beliefs we can do without. The things our Lord asks us to believe are remarkably few, and John 14:1 seems to sum them up—“Ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” We have to keep ourselves alertly detached from everything that would encroach on that belief; we all have intellectual and affectionate affinities that keep us detached from Jesus Christ instead of attached to Him. We have to maintain an alert spiritual fighting trim.
From Facing Reality
Probably because I’m still studying and preparing for our Overloaded series, but I’ve been especially tuned into to the idea of all sorts of overload… even (especially) spiritual overloading. I never want to fall victim to the same trap the Pharisees were in:
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” (Matthew 23:1-4)
I don’t want to overload myself; nor do I want to overload those I teach. So I’m taking a hard look in the mirror—and listening closely to the Holy Spirit—about those spiritual overloading things that may be crushing me.
If you are going through a difficult place in your life … or if you are trying to process an event that doesn’t make much sense … or if there is a painful memory that makes you wonder, “Where was God in that?” … check out this short video clip:
Now, go eat a cookie and know that God IS working out something good.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Have you ever had someone tell you, “Fake it until you make it”? In other words, you may not feel happy, but just start smiling and soon you will feel happy. Sadly, I’ve heard this type of so-called wisdom given by Christians to other Christians. Phrases like…
Don’t let anyone know that you feel scared, doubtful, or angry.
“Pretending to smile when you’re feeling bad makes you feel worse and be less productive. … [You] can’t just fake a smile and expect to feel good about it or negative feelings intensify.”
If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you should never fake it. Take a quick glance through the Psalms and you’ll see raw, real emotions: anger … depression … anxiety … vengeance … sadness … envy … spite … and many others.
Here’s the deal: You may wear a {fake} smile on the outside, but God knows the {real} emotions in your heart. You’re not fooling Him. And, as it’s been revealed in this study, you’re not fooling anyone else either.
I’ve been studying the lives of the kings of Judah. The last God-fearing king before the fall of Jerusalem was a man named Josiah. He became king as an 8-year-old and really began looking for God as a teenager. Apparently, during all of this time, the book of the Law (the first five books of our current Bible) was hidden away and forgotten. As Josiah started seeking God, he gave orders that the temple in Jerusalem be repaired. During the clean-up work, the workers rediscovered the book of the Law and brought it to the palace. They began to read the Law to Josiah…
When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.
Tearing of the robes is a sign of deep mourning. The words of Scripture cut Josiah like a dagger to the heart because he knew he and his people weren’t living according to God’s standards. He started telling everyone the Scriptural standards that they needed to honor, and had the words of the Law read aloud for everyone to hear. Then in the presence of everyone, Josiah reaffirmed his commitment to be a man who lived by the words of God’s Word.
This got me thinking:
Do I have an emotional response when I read the Bible? Or is it just a mental exercise? Or worse yet, just a meaningless daily habit?
Am I truly sorry when I read in the Bible where I’ve fallen short of what God desires? Or do I make excuses?
Do I ask the Holy Spirit to help me live out what I’ve read in the Word? Or do I convince myself that those parts don’t pertain to me?
Do I share with others what’s been revealed to me? Or do I keep it to myself?
Am I willing to be accountable to others about the changes I need to make? Or am I trying to be a lone ranger saint?
Do I just read the Bible? Or do I allow the Bible to read me?
I’ve read (and re-read) all of Mark Batterson’s books, and with each one, I find such clear-cut biblical truths that I can immediately apply. Soulprint was a little different… I was hooked from the opening paragraph:
There has never been and never will be anyone else like you. That isn’t a testament to you. It’s a testament to the God who created you. You are unlike anyone who has ever lived. But that uniqueness isn’t a virtue. It’s a responsibility. Uniqueness is God’s gift to you, and uniqueness is your gift to God. You owe it to yourself to be yourself. But more important, you owe it to the One who designed and destined you. … You were created to worship God in a way that no one else can. How? By living a life no one else can—your life. [italics in original]
This book was so challenging, and so encouraging at the same time. Mark leads the reader through the different aspects that make up our unique soulprint, which is as unique and individualized as our fingerprint. Using the life of the biblical character David as a backdrop, Mark shows us how to discover our soulprint by…
Reviewing our memories through God’s eyes
Keeping “lifesymbols” around us which keeps our past memories current
Paying close attention to our conscience
Allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the parts of us we cannot see ourselves
To further help in discovering our unique soulprint, the questions at the end of the book will stimulate invaluable introspection and helpful discussion with others in a small group setting.
The back cover of Soulprint says, “God would like to introduce you to yourself.” And that’s exactly what this excellent book will help God do. I highly recommend Soulprint!
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.
A Passion For Christ, Not Souls
The reason some of us have no power in our preaching, no sense of awe, is that we have no passion for God, but only a passion for Humanity….
It is not a passion for men that saves men; a passion for men breaks human hearts. The passion for Christ inwrought by the Holy Spirit goes deeper down than the deepest agony the world, the flesh and the devil can produce. It goes straight down to where Our Lord went, and the Holy Spirit works out, not in thinking, but in living, this passion for Christ.
From Approved Unto God
Wow, tough word. But it’s true: If I love Christ more than my loved ones, I will love my loved ones even better. A passion for Christ will win others to Christ; a passion for souls will only lead to building my ministry.
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.
The Preacher And The Word
Keep yourself full to the brim in reading; but remember that the first great Resource is the Holy Spirit Who lays at your disposal the Word of God. The thing to prepare is not the sermon, but the preacher. …
It is easy to tell men they must be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit; but we have to live amongst men and show them what a life filled with the Holy Spirit ought to be.
From Approved Unto God
My takeaways: (a) My other reading is fine, but it should never take the place of the reading of the Bible; and (b) People would rather see a sermon in me than hear a sermon from me any day.
Even being “Boring” can make the message memorable!
God is Creator, which means His creativity knows no limits. One of the ways I love seeing His creativity on display is in the ways His love story is communicated to humanity. The prophets used some highly creative and sometimes startling ways to get God’s message across. But I especially like how Jesus communicated the message of the Kingdom of God to His audience.
He used…
Seeds and sheep
Farmers and friends who needed a late-night snack
Lost coins and lost sons
Grapes and goats
Pearls and prodigals
Stuffy judges and smart bride’s maids
Bridegrooms and buildings
Banquets and bread
Servants and silver coins
He told people who had gotten locked into an inaccurate interpretation of Scripture, “You have heard it said…but I tell you” just to get their attention.
These simple, everyday, common items reminded people of the eternal message. The objects didn’t become the message, but just a way to remind and reinforce the biblical truth Jesus was sharing.
That’s why I use poker chips … Lego pieces … plastic eggs … bookmarkers … flip-flop key chains … aluminum tabs from pop cans … glow sticks … and even name tags to creatively tell the Creator’s love story in a memorable way.
How are you using God’s creativity to tell His story?
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 Imitating Jesus
God does not expect us to imitate Jesus Christ: He expects us to allow the life of Jesus to be manifested in our mortal flesh. God engineers circumstances and brings us into difficult places where no one can help us, and we can either manifest the life of Jesus in those conditions, or else be cowards and say, “I cannot exhibit the life of God there.” Then we deprive God of glory. If you will let the life of God be manifested in your particular human edition—where God cannot manifest it, that is why He called you, you will bring glory to God.
From Approved Unto God
This so encourages me, because it tells me that every difficult situation I’m in is God-engineered. He put me in these tough spots because He wants the life of Jesus to be seen through me. And He wants to be glorified. If God desires these things, then He will give me His Holy Spirit to strengthen me to shine in difficult places.
I know firsthand the difference the Holy Spirit has made in my life. Which is why I’m so excited to kick off a brand new series this Sunday called Out Of The Box: Unleashing The Power of the Holy Spirit.
Craig T. Owens 