The Holy Spirit continued

A church, any church, that ignores the Holy Spirit, is a corpse. The Spirit is Life. As Jesus said, "But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." Jn.4:23-2. God is Spirit; not a spirit (not one among many.) He the Holy Spirit: God's Presence With Us, unbound by time or space. He is The Comforter Jesus promised: Our Teacher and Guide. He is the One who testifies to our spirit that Jesus is the Christ. "...and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." 1 Corin. 3b.


Some people have become discouraged trying to live the Christian life. Here's the skinny: Trying to live the life without the Spirit just won't work. He is the Enabler. Yes; it's possible to grimly slog along, grinding out the gloomy days, thinking that this is the lot of the Christian. But that's not what Jesus promised. Neither did he promise smooth sailing nor encourage a Pollyanna existence, skipping merrily along flinging rose petals. John 15:9-11, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full." Jesus and the disciples were about to face the most difficult and stressful part of their lives, yet Jesus talked of love and joy in spite of the hardship that would come.

To worship God is to move into the realm of the supernatural; the realm of the 'God Spirit', on the wings of the Truth that Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior. The natural man/woman cannot get into that realm any other way. Although some people will try. A recent poll of members of a mainline denomination (beginning with the letter "P") revealed that about 39% believed there were other ways to get to heaven other than through Christ. As a friend said many years go,"Believing there is no Hell will not lower its temperature even one degree." So even if 100% of that or any other denomination denies Christ it will not budge Him one inch from His seat on the right hand of the Father.



Think about this: If every person in this country who claims to be a Christian brought just one other person to Christ there would not be enough churches to hold all the converts. But first, every one who claims to be Christian should pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit so they can effectively live the Christian life and to witness to the truth. Legalism, a fierce countenance, a judgmental attitude and finger shaking under the nose of an unbeliever will not win one soul. Declaring that this sin or that sin will surely send someone to Hell is not the way to point them to Christ. Being edgy, brittle, acting spiritually superior and smug, scowling and scolding does nothing to woo the unsaved. When others see the love and joy of Christ in you and me then they will wonder where is the source.



People are not frightened or browbeaten into the kingdom. God is love, not revenge.


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Recently while I was walking on our Christian Life Center track, a friend, much younger than I (seems like everyone is younger), passed me. Jokingly I told her I had been in a race in which I was the only contestant but I was so slow I still came in second. She answered, "At least you were in the race!"


I wouldn't mind as an epitaph, "He didn't do much but at least he was in the race." It would say that in spite of my sins, shortcomings and inadequacies I was not content to sit on the sidelines. Once you find the "pearl of great price" you cannot help but want to share it with others.

Father; Please fill me with your Holy Spirit, your love and joy. Please let it overflow into into everyone I come in contact with. Put people in my path who are searching for the Pearl of Great Price but don't know where to look or don't even realize their need. Give me spiritual awareness to recognize them. All for your glory, in Jesus name. So be it.

The Holy Spirit Gifts

Continuing with subject of the gifts of the Spirit begun last week:


(Disclaimer: I do not "know it all" (or even very much) and, heaven forbid, I certainly do not want to come across as a "know it all.") The following is some of what I have gathered from the Word, my own experience and the experience of people I trust.

In the natural world, nearly everyone is happy to receive a gift. Rarely is a gift refused. But, strange as it seems, when gifts of the Spirit are involved, not every Christian views them as something desirable.

Here are only some of the attitudes and expressions I've heard, or discerned, concerning the Holy Spirit:

"That's spooky. I'm afraid of the Holy Spirit.' (A class member in Sunday school)

"Third person of the Trinity; that's all I know."

"Who needs it?"

"Why go there? I'm happy where I am."

From a friend who commented on one of the gifts, her face twisted like she was smelling something really bad, "Speaking in tongues is..." (she shivered and did not complete her sentence.)

" Oh, not that Holy Roller stuff. That's not a part of our church doctrine."

"That sort of thing is too far out. Kind of creepy."

"The gifts were no longer available or necessary after the last Apostle died."

"If it was important we would have heard more about it in church."

"Paul was only talking to the Corinthians."

"That's O.K. for you , I guess, but not for me."
"Not my cup of tea."


"Come now, and let us reason together, Says the Lord,"'' (Isa.1:18) Think for a moment; does it make any sense to suppose God would offer something that would be harmful for us? Of course not. Nevertheless, our gracious, loving God has given us free will and we are free to refuse whatever gift he offers us. Whether we accept or reject the gifts does not affect our salvation which was assured when we accepted Christ as our Savior.
The purpose of the gifts:
To glorify God (Not the individual believer)
To benefit the Body of Christ, that is the Church, the Body of Believers. (Not for self-satisfaction)
To be ministered in love. (Not as a sign of spiritual superiority which was the basis of discord in the Corinthian church)
More next week.
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When I finished my walk at the church track today and came down the stairs into the main room of our Christian Life Center, I saw a mixed group of 2 years old children sitting on sofas very quietly and attentively watching a Dora the Explorer cartoon on TV. I was so struck by the children's beauty and innocence I stood for some time drinking in the scene, trying to absorb it into my memory. A powerful reminder of the words of Jesus: "Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

This and That

My wife's Aunt "Punk" (Mary) makes the best fruit cake in the universe. Saturday she blessed us with one of them. Approximately 6'' in diameter by 3" high, this is a fruity, nutty, dense, al dente delight. Eat your heart out Collins Street bakery! Along with the cake Aunt Punk gave us 2 jars of pepper jelly. The jelly on cream cheese on a cracker: Magnifico!

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Sunday, as on every first Sunday, LaNell and I were privileged to serve communion to residents of The Meadows retirement home. (For new reader's info, the elements are blessed by our clergy.) It was also my turn, in the teacher rotation, to teach. Some of the women and men residents have been Sunday school teachers, most are long-time Christians and all are survivors; an audience I can relate to and identify with. And, in regard to spiritual matters, we agree that we don't know much and are all still learning. As I wrote to a friend recently, the scope of God's word is so vast that I feel after 40 years of study and instruction that I'm still only nibbling around the edges.

At the end of the lesson Sunday I visited the subject of spiritual gifts. We agreed that Jesus is still alive and that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." And God has said,"For I am the Lord, I do not change:" Further, we agreed with 1 Corinthians, "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:"1 Corinthians 12:7. The sum is that God does not change and his word does not change. Jesus, the Giver of Gifts, does not change. The Holy Spirit, also changeless, dispenses those gifts as he sees fit to each believer for the benefit of the Church, the body of believers. That's as far as we got with the time available.

Although Paul writes in Corinthians 12:1 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:" it seems that is how we remain. The subject is avoided, passed over lightly, denied, misused, delicately touched on, or seen as a jumping off place for "fanaticism." Certainly there is the possibility of error by emphasising one area of the scriptures over all else and to neglect Micah 6:8 "What does the Lord require of you but to love mercy, to do justly and to walk humbly with your God?"

I was a substitute teacher for one Sunday for a class of adults. A friend in the class told me later that one member said that my lesson "was over the top." Translation: He was annoyed that I (a perceived "fanatic") had pierced his comfort bubble. Everything in the lesson was scripturaly based and I thought it was quite mild so it was the Spirit and not me that had stirred him. Nevertheless, I was not invited back. Let's talk some more next week about Corinthians chapter 12. I invite you to read chapters 12, 13 and 14 of Corinthians and chapter 4 of Ephesians.
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Vincent Van Gogh, one of my favorite artists, produced about 1600 paintings and drawings before he died. He sold just one painting. He gave many away and bartered with others. He traded one painting for rent payment but the landlady thought so little of it she used it to patch a hole in the wall of her chicken coop. Early in his life as a lay preacher, he ministered to and lived among the poorest peasants. He suffered with severe depression most of his adult life and finally, at age 37, decided he could stand it no longer. In a cornfield , he shot himself in the side but managed to stagger back to his room in the home of one of his benefactors. "I missed myself," he murmured.
He died the next day whispering his last words," There is no end to sorrow."

Since publication of last week's blog the suggestion has arisen that maybe Jesus' words were symbolism wrapped in hyperbole. Maybe, the argument goes, He didn't really mean God would answer our prayers as Jesus stated; it was all a pep talk for the benefit of the disciples. Oh, gag. That reasoning is really limp. Such reasoning may satisfy those who regard miracles as myths and may relieve them of exercising their self-limited faith or abandoning their intellectual doubts.

Followers of Christ know they are in the natural world but not of it. The natural man regards reality as that which he can experience with his five senses. If he is faced with something that defies those senses then, to him, that 'something' is not real. God, for example. God is in the realm of the supernatural and the gateway to that reality is faith.

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is , and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

That is why the person who tries to find God through intellectual reasoning and human efforts will ultimately fail. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, "That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. do not marvel that I said to you 'You must be born again.'"

The Holy Spirit is witnessing to the spirit of every person on earth that God is real and that Jesus is His Son and our Redeemer. We receive that in our spirit when we accept it with child-like faith.

When I was a small child and my father told me a certain tree was an apple tree, I had no reason whatever to doubt him even if I could see there were no apples on the tree. I had absolute faith in my father to tell me the truth. But, as time moved on, that kind of simple faith was overcome by the pressures and battering of everyday living and it did not surface again until I had entered middle age. It was then I opened my heart in desperation and the Holy spirit revealed to me that Jesus is real; that he knows me by name and where I live. He knows all His brothers and sisters by name.

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I have been blessed on two occasions to relieve Believers of the mistaken idea that they had committed the unpardonable sin. In both cases they had carried the burden for many years.

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven men." Matt. 12:31

This passage was Jesus' response to the Pharisee's claim that Jesus was casting out demons in cooperation with Satan when actually it was by the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Pharisees were saying the Holy Spirit is evil. The Pharisee's ignorance of the true meaning of the scriptures and their hatred of Jesus so blinded them that they could not see the Holy Spirit at work.
Today, blasphemy against the Spirit occurs when someone totally rejects the Spirit's witness that Jesus is the Christ. This is the same as saying the Spirit is a liar.
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For study purposes I suggest for your library: Strong's Concordance, The Bible Knowledge Commentary (available separately for Old and New Testaments) and of course the Bible in the version of your choice. I use the New King James but also refer to other versions in modern language.