Thursday, June 30, 2005

Fruit of the Spirit

I am reading a book called "The Holy Spirit Makes No Earthly Sense" by Terry Rush. In it, he makes the point that the Holy Spirit dwells in the inner man--that part of us that dies at baptism and is reborn throught spiritual rebirth. That inner person consists of mind, emotion, affection, determination, motivation, conscience, etc. Then Terry points us to Gal. 5:22 and 23--the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Hmmmmm.....lets see. If THOSE are the fruits of the Spirit, how can anyone say that He (the Spirit is only active today thru the written word???? Seems to me, it is the Spirit acting UPON us in our knowledge of the written word that would result in those fruits!!

As I was mulling all of this over today, I began thinking about when Jesus was baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him, and the Voice from heaven says: "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy!" Sure seems like there is a lot of affection and emotion in that statement!!

And from Jayme--Jesus promised that He would send the "Comforter"--it doesn't say He said He would send a book!!

I also find it quite interesting that the one sin Jesus himself names as the "unforgiveable" sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit! "Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven--except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come." Matt. 12:31-32

Romans 8:26 talks about how the Spirit helps us in our weakness. When we can't find the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes with "groanings that cannot be expressed in words". That seems to be beyond the scope of the written word to me!!

Let me just say that I am in NO WAY minimizing the importance of the written Word. Knowing what the Word says allows the Spirit to "bring to rememberance" the things we have learned. He can't help us remember what we haven't learned!

But I still believe He (the Holy Spirit) is so much MORE to us than just the written Word.

It is good for me to use this venue for working through all of this. It helps me to focus and organize my thoughts instead of just being angry.

Father, I pray that you will allow your Holy Spirit to dwell within me ABUNDANTLY! I ask this in the name of your precious son, Jesus. Amen

Grace to you and all kinds of Peace in believing!

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

The Gardener

This morning I was enjoying the great out-of-doors before it got too hot (it's supposed to get to 101 or so today). I have many flower gardens and flowers pots that needed to be watered so they could withstand the heat. As I was watering this morning, I decided it was time to deadhead a lot of plants. I hate deadheading. Usually, most of the bloom is gone, but there are always a few pretty parts left. Now I KNOW that cutting those blooms off encourages the plant to put on even more blooms, but when you cut them off, for awhile there isn't any bloom!

Well.......as I was working at that unpleasant task, I began to realize that sometimes I need to be deadheaded! And perhaps that is what is happening to me right now. God is cutting off some old growth in order to encourage new growth! I pray that I might grow to bloom even more abundantly for Him.

I continue to seek your prayers.

Grace to you and all kinds of peace in believing!

Monday, June 27, 2005

Holy Spirit - Alive or Dead?

I am discouraged beyond words. I went to "church" yesterday and sat and listened to our preacher proclaim that the Holy Spirit does NOT urge, nudge, guide by intuition, or in any other way actively work in our lives. The preacher claims that the Holy Spirit works ONLY through the written word.

So is there a Trinity or isn't there? Or is it just a Duo?

I think back to the many times the Spirit has been active in my life:

Who else whispered the verses in my ear, when I was so discouraged I despaired even of life when I found out my husband (now ex) was abusing my daughter. (i.e. "Joy cometh in the morning." "The Lord's lovingkindesses indeed never cease, His compassions never fail. They are new every morning." "I will restore the years that the locust has eaten." "I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope." "I will bind up the wounds of the broken hearted." "He is faithful and He will bring it to pass." And a host of others. I am NOT downplaying the value of the Word. The knowlege base had to be there--but just because I knew those verses did not mean I could call them to mind in those horrendous circumstances! I could barely put one foot in front of the other!!

Who else danced with me on those dark nights when I could do nothing but praise Him? And who gave me the ability to do just that even though my heart was breaking?

Who held me up when all I wanted to do was lay down and die?

Who brought people into my life at just the right time who would say just the right thing to me?

Who filled up all the other cars so that I had to be the front seat passenger in a van with the man who would become my husband--who loves me and tenderly cares for me like none other before him?

So.... He only works through the written word????

How many of you can share Holy Spirit experiences from your own lives?

As for me, I believe I will claim I Thessalonians 5:19 "Do not stifle the Holy Spirit."

My heart is breaking!! Please pray for me and my husband as we struggle through this.