The Counsel of the Devil
Watch out for the counsel of Satan. He counseled Eve in the garden. He counseled Jesus in the wilderness. He comes to you in both your garden and wilderness. His voice raises questions about what God has clearly said. He offers you another way. He appears to bring new light. He hides His dark
Inner Voices
Just as there is a whispering voice of God at work in us, we also have to contend with other whispering voices. Some come from our wounded self. Some come from dark spiritual beings. Some of these voices are reinforced by the culture. They seek to imitate God’s whisper or they want to drown
Rhythms of the Spirit
Life has its rhythms. The Spirit has His rhythms. The art of the Christian life is that we know how to let God blend these two. The Russian saint, St. Seraphim of Sarov, is noted for his statement, “The goal of the Christian’s life is the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Wayward Steps
We followed our own way into the darkness and Jesus found us there and brought us back to the light. We are eternally indebted to the Shepherd who rescued us at such great expense to Himself, though our wandering away was intentional. His love so wants to change our wayward heart and steps. He
Power After
The resurrection did not cure the disciples of hunger for political power, only the Holy Spirit did. A risen Christ, they thought, could take control quickly. This is reflected in “will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel”. Never doubt they were still looking for power that went with chief seats. Jesus
Loss of Love Spawns Disintegration
The thing that makes the world fall apart and civil society disintegrate is the loss of love. Fear and suspicion of other human beings spawns hate and sends love away. Jesus taught us to love all, including enemies. The more we turn on each other with bitter rhetoric, the more love disappears. Anyone
Knowledge into Practice
Don’t worry about what you don’t know, but start acting on what you do know. Why do we wait to act until we get more and more knowledge? Knowledge is inexhaustible. Learning goes on and on while obedience waits in the wings. Light shines all around us while “walking in the light” is postponed.
Fruit Cluster
The Fruit of the Spirit is not a pick-and-choose list. It is not to be, “I have this one, but not that one.” Of course we are not the same in our personalities, but what is spoken of here is the cluster that the Spirit Himself will produce in our lives when we
The Spirit and Self-control
Over indulgence is the mark of our generation. Self-control is not intemperate, it is not given to outburst of anger, it is not given to unbridled consumption. We usually talk about self-control as our human effort; well, here it is about the Spirit’s fruit producing what we cannot produce by our self-efforts. Are we
The Spirit and Gentleness
A big strong man picks up an infant with gentle touch, controlling his strength so as not to hurt the baby. It does not pay to use a “strong hand” in dealing with others. The world is full of folks who are deeply wounded. They need to feel the same gentleness that a child
The Spirit and Faithfulness
The Spirit inspires faith and faithfulness. Faithfulness is faith over the long haul. It is trust on a marathon. Faithfulness keeps its vows and honors its covenants; it keeps its promises to other folks and to God. It does not shrink back from its baptismal pledge. “But my righteous one shall live by faith,
The Spirit and Goodness
We can not all be rich, handsome, or popular, but by the grace of God we can be good. The goodness of which we speak is not a goodness rooted in ourselves. This is speaking of a goodness that flows through us by the Spirit; it is the fruit of Him being in
The Spirit and Kindness
A business person recently said, “I have more problems with Christian customers that I do with non-Christians. They argue over paying some small amount that they actually owe.” In our day of polarization folks are mad at everything and everybody. We were taught to be kind in kindergarten. To say that some of the
The Spirit and Patience
Patience is more than something we generate; it something of the Spirit to which we yield. It is a God-check in our soul to move us away from haste and presumption; it moves us back from angry harsh reactions. He teaches us to wait. He teaches us that we are not in control
The Spirit and Peace
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27 ESV). We live in a time when fear is ever present; fear is often stoked for political purposes.
The Spirit and Joy
We love to be happy; we love to laugh. Joy is deeper than all of that. We have joy because the Lord is with us; we have joy which we cannot fully express. “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him,
The Spirit and Love
The baptism of the Spirit is nothing if it is not a baptism of love (Romans 5:5). The filling of the Spirit is meant to displace everything in our heart, life and actions that is not in accord with love. God is love! The Spirit is God! “Beloved, let us love one another, for
Do to Know
“My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself” (John 7:16-17). When we obey, when we put into practice the teachings of Jesus we discover a deeper knowledge
Show Me Your Glory
The way we see the glory of God is in the face of Jesus. There were glimpses by Moses, Isaiah, Abraham, Elijah and more. All of these encounters pale in comparison to the appearance of Messiah Jesus in human history. Prophets, priests and kings have longed to look at what has now been made
Certain Uncertainty
Unsettling times prepare us for God to plant something new in our souls. It is certain there is going to be uncertainty. Uncertainty is the stuff of life; uncertainty is certain. It is not easy to walk away from the comfortable to the uncomfortable, from the certain to the uncertain, from glib answers to
My spirit and His Spirit
You and I have a spirit. It is who we are; it is our inner self, it is our heart. It is the fountain source of who we are and are becoming. Our spirit is often felt and readable to others. Stressed. Hurried. Angry. Hostile. Resentful. Open. Loving. Caring. Hospitable. Gentle. Kind. My spirit
God Remembers You
God will forever remember you. Your name is written on His hand. You are in His heart. You are ever before His eyes. He will not forget. Humans are way too forgetful. Our preoccupation with the details of our lives may cause us to neglect and forget people that should be near the front
God Forgets Sins
God is love. “Love does no keep a record of wrongs it has suffered (I Corinthians 13:5). We keep careful records of the wrongs we have suffered. All you have to do is lend an ear and we will tell you who did what, when, how wrong it really was and how it made
Avoiding the Cross
We may think that it is easier to avoid our cross than to embrace it. Avoidance is a detour that will take us off the holy path. To get to where the Spirit is taking you requires that you do what you should have done all along, take up your cross. It seems to
Lambs and Wolves
Jesus said, ”I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves” (Luke 10:3 NASB). Those who are one with the Lamb live out their lamb-ness in a world roaming with wolves and lions. Sometimes lambs are persecuted. Sometimes they are mauled by lions and die in the mouth of wolves. Jesus predicted