"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me." (John 15:26, ESV)
Some have called it nesting. I call it unique what happens to a woman once she discovers she is pregnant. Immediately she begins thinking about a home with a child in it. Things in the house begin to be moved and rearranged as she prepares to make room for this new life about to enter her world. As Spirit-filled believers, we, too, need to make room for the Holy Spirit in our lives. Often we pray these short prayers asking for the Holy Spirit to change our lives, homes, and community, but we are so busy living life that we do not give the Life-Giving Holy Spirit the opportunity to operate in our lives. We have our lives all planned out, and too much of our planning excludes the Holy Spirit. What would happen in your life if you acknowledged you were filled with the Holy Spirit and pregnant with the purposes of God? You would make room for this New Life (Holy Spirit) to operate in your world. You would not be thinking just about yourself. You would think about this New Life, the Holy Spirit in you. You would be asking, "What can I do to facilitate the move of God in my life? Holy Spirit, how do you want to move in my home, community, marriage, and children?" Make room for the Holy Spirit
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"I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!" (Mark 1:8, NLT)
What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? Let's take it at face value and then try to 'unpack' it. The Greek word baptizo means to “immerse,” “dunk,” “sink," and “wash.” The one thing that all of these words have in common is completeness. If something sinks in water, it is entirely underwater. If something is immersed in water, it is totally put under the water. If something is dunked in water, it is totally moved under the water so that the water touches every part. To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be totally immersed in the presence of God until God's presence touches every part of that person's life and being. This is what God wants for us! He wants us, as believers, to live immersed in Him. His presence in my life now empowers me to be a witness of Jesus Christ. Mark 16:17 says, "These signs follow those who believe...," and Mark lists these supernatural signs that follow. A person baptized in the Holy Spirit should expect God to do supernatural things through them. A person immersed in the Holy Spirit becomes dangerous to the kingdoms of darkness. They personally conform to Christ in every part of their being. They aggressively pursue freeing others from sin's bondage. They joyfully carry the light of Christ to those oppressed by darkness. They become a picture of God in the earth! "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." (Psalm 56:3, ESV)
Fear is a common human emotion to things that causes us to dread the outcome or become anxious. Everyone experiences fear, but not everyone knows how to face it and overcome it. David, in Psalm 56, tells us the truth about himself: "I get afraid!" Yes, King David, leader of the mighty men, found himself entering into fear. What did he do to overcome and resist that fear? He put his trust in God! The word 'trust,' in our passage, is a beautiful Hebrew word with deep significance. It is simultaneously knowing and experiencing security and an 'all is well' feeling. You do this because you have solid confidence in God. David had trust in God; therefore, he felt safe and secure. Because of his past experience with God, he can confidently rely upon God in the current moment. This is possible because of God's 'Hesed.' Hesed is God's unfailing love and mercy expressed through the covenant from God to David; and David's observation of the covenant with his fathers before him. This perspective leads him to have hope instead of fear! Hesed is not based upon our performance but upon God's lovingkindness! You do not have to earn it. It comes not because of what you have done but because of who He is! In another place, David said, "Some may trust in horses, some in chariots, but we will trust in the name of our God." It matters where you place your trust. Where does your confidence rest? "I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, (1 Kings 2:1–3, ESV)
Before he died, one of David's last words to Solomon, his son, was: "Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord...' It is a beautiful picture of a father's love for his son and his last and most important words to him. David defines to him what authentic manhood is. He says, "Solomon, keep the charge of the Lord!" Most manhood gets defined in our culture by football, fighting, food, and drink. David's definition of manhood is how well you can keep the ways of God. The Hebrew word for 'keep' means to exercise great care over. For David, it is simple: walk in God's ways, and keep His statutes, commandments, rules, and testimonies as written in the law. Do that, and you will prosper! It was the same message when God transitioned leadership from Moses to Joshua. "Be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or the left, that you may have good success wherever you go." (Joshua 1:7, ESV) Embrace God's word and ways like a real man! Show yourself a man! "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." (Jeremiah 1:5, ESV)
God makes no mistakes! You are not a mistake. You are not an 'oops!' God declares to Jeremiah as He declares to all of us, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..." The basic understanding of the word formed is “to create by forming,” “to fashion.” The same word is used in Genesis 2:7, as God is creating man. God formed man out of the dust of the earth. The prophets often used the word as they spoke of the potter forming or fashioning things with his hands. This tells us we are not a mistake no matter how we arrive! It means that before we were in the womb, God was already thinking about us, every little detail. He formed us with purpose, with a divine assignment. For God to say, I knew you; He declares that He knows us in the most intimate way. He knows what we like, what we desire, and what we will think about. He knows us better than we know ourselves. It was the same word used of Moses as He knew God face to face. God has set you and me apart for a specific purpose. We can't see ourselves as insignificant we can only look into God's plan and follow Him. For some, it is being the best mom you can be. To another, it may be a world changer. Big or small, each of us is important enough to God that He would think about us before we were conceived. "But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank...(Daniel 1:8, ESV)
The Christian life requires resolve if we are going to be God's 'set apart' people. The world will always be trying to bring us into its bent ways. And the devil will be looking for ways to get us to defile ourselves. The word defile comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to pollute”. For example, who would want to drink polluted water? No one! We would reject it because it contains harmful contaminants that are not helpful to us. Daniel was seeking to avoid becoming spiritually unclean before God. He did not want God to reject him. Therefore he resolved not to defile himself with food that God declared unclean and polluted. The word resolved comes from a Hebrew word that means “to put,” “to place,” or “to set.” Some translations say that Daniel determined in his heart not to defile himself. Daniel made a decision on his inside that defined what he did on his outside. It is so crucial for Christians to have the resolve not to be defiled by the world's contaminants. To do this requires that we make choices. We chose to take a stand for righteousness. That is resolve. We set our values according to God's word and choose to live by His word. That is resolve. Daniel's life is a beautiful example of how a man lives in a foreign environment, is taught foreign ways, and still makes the right choices in his heart unto God. What is your resolve? |
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