The Moment You Think...

You have a comeback story of some kind. Maybe it was a moment you stood up to the bully on the playground. It might have been a business venture that turned around because of a decision you made. Maybe you repaired a relationship because of the words you chose to say. We’ve all had moments when we had a come back. But the most incredible come back of all time would be Jesus being killed then rising from the dead.

When Jesus died, the disciples thought it was all over. They were there when he was arrested, beaten, crucified then place in a tomb. There was no question, he was dead and gone. Can you imagine what when through their minds on Friday night and all day Saturday? They thought they had wasted 3 years. They were confused, heartbroken, lost. God had forsaken them.

That may be the way you feel in your story. You are working through the failed marriage, the loss of a career, a horrible doctor’s report or a moment where you are living with depression and darkness. But like the disciples, while you may be living in a valley moment that feels like Friday and Saturday, know that Sunday’s coming.

Then there’s the moment you start to believe things are actually different than you first thought. When you’re talking about dying then rising 3 days later, well that’s a tough story to hear. Some of us believe in Easter but more of a family holiday or a church ritual, not necessarily that Jesus rose from the dead. But the disciples realized it was true! They bet their very lives on it.

Did you know the apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 1 that the very power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you as a believer. Think about that for a moment. The incredible true story of Jesus rising from death is your story as well. Just like Jesus, you can rise from your difficult story because you believe.

Then finally there’s the moment your celebration begins because you know it’s all true. Jesus appeared from between 1-500 people after his resurrection. The disciples are told to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to indwell in them and that’s exactly what happens. We know they were different acting people because of the power of Jesus. In Acts 1, we see a scared, fearful, chaotic group of followers. By Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit comes, the disciples are bold, preaching publicly, and convicting others by their lives.

So no matter where you are in your story, know you can rise through the power of Jesus. In Him, you can have life and life to the full. You can lay your burden down and celebrate in the arms of a risen Savior. But it’s your choice. Choose life and life in Jesus. Blessings on the journey.

Would the Real Gospel Step Forward Please?

My wife and I have an adopted son. Well, not in the legal sense. We came to know Riley in Junior High when he became friends with our youngest son. Riley was at our house often eating with us, for sleepovers. He was in our youth group so we saw him at least twice a week. He lived with us for several weeks after his house burned down. We attended his military graduations. He is part of the Hall family. He has all the rights and privileges a Hall has in our home.

Paul is trying to tell us the same thing when it comes to being a part of God’s family. We have been adopted but nothing we have done gets us in the family. It’s everything Jesus has done for us. See, the Gospel is the good news that Jesus came to earth, died for our sins and rose from the dead. Our belief in that story and faith in Jesus Christ makes us part of the family and makes us right before God.

In the letter to the Galatian churches, Paul is wanting to counter an argument that was leaning toward a “works-based” faith. Paul says there is a fake gospel circulating and the real Gospel is something totally different. So in Galatians 4, Paul teases out the difference between the fake gospel and the real Gospel.

Paul says the fake gospel is all about activity. The real Gospel is about adoption. The fake gospel says that God is only okay with you when you get your act together. The fake gospel is all about do, do, do while the real Gospel is all about what God has done, done, done. See, God did everything needed sending his perfect son, living a perfect life, dying a death we should have, fighting a battle we would have lost in order that we could be adopted and live with him forever. That’s the great, glorious Gospel.

The fake gospel ends at salvation while the real Gospel begins with salvation and continues through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Too many stories end with the salvific moment of accepting Jesus. People tend to believe that’s the end of the journey but truly, it’s only the beginning. When you say “yes” to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is poured into you, he transforms you and allows you to live into the fullness of the Gospel story. Until you understand that concept, you’ll live an empty and unfulfilled life. Then real Gospel is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us throughout our entire life and through him, we can do all things.

The fake gospel constantly works for acceptance while the real Gospel confidently works from inheritance. Paul reminds us that we are no longer slaves but children of God, heirs to the Kingdom. Because you believe in Jesus Christ, you get to live from a declared inheritance. Some 2000 years ago, you got a new name: child of God. You got a new family, a felt security, a new purpose. You received forgiveness, healing and freedom.

The real Gospel is all about adoption and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit allows us to live into our inheritance. Blessings on the journey.

Guardrails.

When you have young children and you and your spouse are going out, kids have questions. “When are you coming home?” “How long are you going to be gone?” “Where are you going?” They have some angst, some worry, some concern. They want to know, how do we get along without you?

I’m guessing the disciples felt the same when Jesus said he was leaving and going back to the Father. And to top it all off, Jesus says in John 16:7, “It’s better that I go away so I can send the Holy Spirit…” Really!!!! It’s better to be without Jesus than with him? Jesus is saying, “It’s better to have God IN YOU than God with you.” Jesus has promised not to leave his followers alone like orphans but the Spirit of God will always be in us for multiple reasons.

When the Holy Spirit is present with us, He convicts us of our sin. Jesus tells us that in John 16:8. The Spirit reminds us we need a savior and his name is Jesus. There are moments we are convicted to say something different or do something different. Some call that our conscious but that’s the Holy Spirit reminding us there is a better way.

How many of us who follow Jesus have spent 6 minutes hammering out a FaceBook response but before we hit send, we deleted it and just said “okay”? How many of us have been tempted to “set someone straight” but held the words back and just smiled? Those moments are Spirit-driven moments where he is guiding us to be more like Jesus.

And the Holy Spirit also confirms our salvation in Christ. He is constantly affirming us to God the Father, reminding us that we are his children. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8 that our spirit joins the Holy Spirit affirming we are God’s children and also in Ephesians 1, Paul uses adoption language to remind us we are God’s sons and daughters.

Finally, the Holy Spirit comforts us in all our troubles. Jesus called him an “Advocate” in John 14 which can also be translated “comforter”. The Spirit provides us the peace that passes all understanding. And you’ve watched other followers of Jesus bear up under enormous pressures. You think that there is no way you could handle what the world is throwing at them. But yet these followers have smiles and joy and forgiveness and a peace. It’s because the Holy Spirit is with them and they are comforted despite the despair.

So how do we connect in such a way as to allow the Spirit to give us that peace we long to have? Well, you certainly have to be intentional about the relationship. You have to place yourself in a spot where you can experience and feel the “wind” of God. So rather than constantly being on your social media, carve out some intentional time to be present with the Spirit. Instead of right before bed and right when you wake up needing a screen in from of your face, why not create quiet moments to be still before God?

The truth is when you’re intentional about the relationship, you don’t get more of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit gets more of you. So the challenge is to carve out time everyday to be in the Word, to be in prayer, and to be receptive to the Spirit of God in your life. Don’t do it tomorrow; start today. Blessings on your journey.

Promises.

You remember back in high school when you were dating someone you thought might be “the One”? You might have given them a promise ring to say I am telling you now I will be yours. Most of those promises went unfulfilled.

But as children of Light, we’ve been given a promise that will be guaranteed every single moment. It’s the promise of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Apostle Peter, when he preaches on the day of Pentecost, moves the crowd so deeply they believe. And truth is, Peter didn’t move them, it was the Holy Spirit in the moment that swayed the crowd to believe the words of Peter about a risen Savior.

So, when they asked Peter, “What do we do?” (Acts 2:37) Peter says they need to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine…the power of the Holy Spirit living within to guide you, steer you, help you, counselor you…be your friend? What a wonderful gift!!

All through the book of Acts, we see baptism paired with the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is that surrendered moment when you participate in the death, resurrection, and rebirth with Jesus (Romans 6). With our public confession, we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit. But we don’t always tap into that power.

Imagine you received a gift to clear some land you just bought. Your wife gave you a brand new chainsaw. You put that on a shelf and a couple of weeks later begin clearing the land. But instead of using the powerful chainsaw, you break out your pocket knife. By the end of the day, you’ve got a stubby knife and bloody knuckles. You had the gift of a powerful tool to use but opted not to use it.

Sometimes, we are like that concerning the Holy Spirit. At our baptism, we are infused with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1). But for multiple reasons, we try to do the work ourself rather than tapping into the power that lives within us. So, how do we know if we are walking in the Spirit? What does it look like to live by the Spirit?

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12-13. In chapter 12, Paul describes the GIFTS of the Spirit and in chapter 13, Paul describes the FRUIT of the Spirit. While each of us have at least one gift of the Spirit, our lives should reflect fruit of the Spirit. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 that we can have multiple gifts but if we don’t have love for others (one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5), it doesn’t mean a thing. We’ve missed the point if the fruit of the Spirit (love, patience, peace, joy, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, goodness, and self-control) is not evident in our daily lives. And it’s the Holy Spirit who makes it possible for our lives to evidence this kind of living.

So, how do I keep step with the Spirit and allow him to transform my life? Peter tells us in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. We are called to repent meaning saying I’m sorry for the way I’ve lived and want to live to God’s glory. We fully surrender our life to Jesus, asking him to take over. We ask God to send his Holy Spirit to guide us and change us. And then believe Jesus is everything he said he is…we claim the power and promise of Jesus in our lives. When you make this move, everything will be different for you. Saying “yes” to the promise of God will give you the life you’ve always dreamed of. Blessings on your journey.

Supernatural Person.

Recently, we had the rolling blackouts with the winter storm that hit north Texas mid-February. Each of us were reminded how much we use electrical power in our lives. There was no power for lights, cooking, heat…we were not comfortable without power.

Spiritually speaking, I wonder how many of us would be alright without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? A.W. Tozer said, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would notice. If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95% of what they did would stop and everyone would notice.” That early church knew if there was no power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives, there was no church.

The Hebrew word and the Greek word for “Spirit” can be translated as “wind” or “breath”. In Acts 2, a mighty wind came on the disciples and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. So much so, they could do many miracles and the church launched in grand fashion on the day of Pentecost.

Jesus told his disciples in John 14 that when he left earth, God the Father would send another one just like him. Jesus was promising the Holy Spirit to be more than God with us but God in us! And we understand through scripture the Holy Spirit is a person. He has feelings and emotions; he has a will and desire; He has intellect and thoughts.

For many of us, we grew up not hearing much discussion about the Holy Spirit. He was part of the God-head but very distant and obscure. But the Bible is clear that he is a person and we can have a deep relationship with him. It’s because of the Holy Spirit that any of us even came to know Jesus and follow him.

So I want to remind us why we know the Holy Spirit is a person that we can interact with and have a deep relationship with. Acts 5 reminds us that the Holy Spirit can be lied to. Ananias and Sapphire sold land and lied about how much of the proceeds they were giving the church. The Apostle Peter knew that and called them on it. Why would they lie? It’s seems to impress the disciples and the church.

So maybe a way to lie the Holy Spirit is to pretend to be more spiritual than we are. Me pretending to impress you seems to be offensive the the Spirit. So praising on Sunday morning but yelling at my family at home seems to be hypocritical. Celebrating communion but holding a grudge in my heart seems to be hypocritical. Saying we’ll pray for someone with no intention to do so seems to be pretending. Looking like you are a great spouse in public but then demeaning your spouse at home seems to offend the Holy Spirit.

And when we live this kind of life, it seems to grieve the Holy Spirit. Paul the Apostle tells us in Ephesians 4:30 that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit. Don’t bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way we live. I mean, you can’t bring sorrow to something that isn’t real. So clearly, the Spirit is a person and our actions can hurt him. Why? Because He deeply loves us and knows us!

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit can be your friend. In John 14:16, Jesus says the Father will send an Advocate. That Greek word can also be translated as “friend”. So, God will send a friend who will always be with you. And more than with you, He’ll live in you.

Real friends lift us up, guide us in decision making, prompt us when something isn’t right, give great advice for living, kick us in the pants when we make poor decisions, and love us unconditionally. That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. He’s our comforter, counselor, helper, guide and friend.

May you be open to discovering the Spirit in your life. May you embrace the friend you have who loves you beyond measure. May you accept the guidance the Spirit wants to give you in this life. Blessings on the journey.