Tag Archives: Spirit

April 5, 2023 · 10:39 AM

What Makes Jesus So Important?

Jesus shows us God in impressive ways. His willingness to come and live among us, to be like us; this speaks volumes. Nobody can claim to care about us if they are unwilling to spend time with us. Jesus is God with us.

Jesus demonstrates God’s authority over his creation. Who else can demand that a storm be silent, and it is! Who else can walk on water? Who else can multiply a few small loaves and fish and feed thousands?

Jesus exhibits God’s great compassion for people. Not only does he feed thousands in wilderness places, Jesus also heals people. He makes the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers clean. And even more, Jesus casts out demons by the power of his mighty word.

Jesus tells us God’s truth in unforgettable ways. His words speak directly to our hearts. His explanations of life and salvation shed light on our existence and experiences. What he says is truly a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.

Jesus displays God’s great love for us. Who else would drain away his own life in such horrible pain, subjected to heartless ridicule, shamed and shamefully exposed to terrible cruelty. Why? Why should he do that? What has that got to do with love?

Jesus’ suffering exposes the full extent of our wickedness. All he ever did was good. Nobody could make an accusation against him that was credible. Unfairly nailed to those rough timbers, he is an indictment of how evil has so thoroughly corrupted this world. See them trying to kill God, and all the while mocking him. And yet . . .

Jesus brings us into the very presence of God. He makes available to us what we surely do not deserve. He pulls back the curtain on the most holy place and gives us access to God’s throne of grace and mercy and blessing. He erases the stain of evil that each of us bears. For those willing to trust him, he is the Way to be right with God.

Jesus also proves that he is able to do these great unseen things. How can we know that we will go to heaven when we die? How can we know that we will go anywhere after we die? Because God raised Jesus up after he died and he walked away from his tomb, alive forever. We know because Jesus ascended to heaven. He is there now, at the right hand of God in majesty, our Advocate, interceding for us.

Jesus has defeated death and blazed the trail to heaven for us. Now, he beckons us to follow.

Jesus wants us to be sure about these things. He left behind eyewitnesses to testify about his marvelous deeds. After he died and was raised up, they saw him alive, heard him speak, ate with him, touched him.

Jesus pours out his Spirit in the hearts of all who believe in him, affirming the truth about him and his great work. Illuminating the things written in the Bible. Binding together the hearts of brothers and sisters in Christ. Sparking hope in every circumstance, even those that seem impossible.

Jesus promises to return for a great day of triumph. The ultimate homecoming. Suddenly, the trumpet of God will sound. The voice of the archangel will cry out. The Lord Jesus himself will descend from heaven. All who trust him will be vindicated, will be united with God, forever.

Jesus urges us to be ready for that day. Confess him as Lord. Trust him as Savior. Follow him and serve him. Share the hope. Share the victory. Share the glory!

May God make us ready for that great day,

Brother Richard

Leave a comment

Filed under Religion

Tagged as , , , , , ,

March 3, 2023 · 10:17 PM

True Revival?

Many people have been watching the events at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY. After a chapel meeting on February 8, students stayed in the Hughes Auditorium and continued praying, singing, testifying, and reading Scripture. Their gathering became an extended time of worship that lasted for days and attracted large numbers of people. Attendees report a special sense of God’s Spirit moving among them.

Surprisingly, almost exactly the same events in the same location took place fifty-three years ago in 1970 (also in February!). In the months following the 1970 meeting, groups from Asbury visited other colleges and churches from New York to California and even into South America. Revival broke out in more than 130 locations by the summer of that year.

The history of God’s people is filled with spiritual ups and downs, times of wandering away or fading away from the Lord, sometimes over years or even decades, then times of returning to the Lord. This has been the case among Christians for the past two thousand years, and it was true in the Old Testament with God’s chosen people Israel.

Once, when Israel was experiencing a dark time spiritually, they suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Philistines. They foolishly took the ark of the covenant into battle. It was captured by the Philistines, who returned it after several months of suffering God’s wrath. Instead of placing the ark in the temple, where it belonged, the Israelites took it to Abinadab’s house.

The ark of the covenant was the special container made to hold the tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them. The commandments were a reminder of the unique relationship Israel enjoyed with God, and a reminder of their responsibility to worship and serve him only.

The ark of the covenant was at Abinadab’s house for twenty years, a constant reminder to the people that things were not right between them and God. Finally, they began to long for the Lord. They lamented the current state of things. They wanted to return to the Lord.

God raised up a spiritual leader for the people: Samuel. When Samuel saw that the people were ready for positive change, he called on them to put away their foreign gods, their idols, and to worship God only.

Samuel called the people to gather for prayer at Mizpah. When they came together, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. This act is unexplained in Scripture, but it is associated with fasting. Abstaining from food for a time was an established practice often observed during times of prayer and seeking God. By combining these two actions, the people seemed to be expressing a desire for God that was even greater than their need for food and water.

In addition to fasting, the people confessed. They admitted sinning against the Lord. Confession implies a willingness to repent, to turn away from sin. Returning to God requires turning away from sin. Confession can also be positive. God’s people confess their faith in God, expressing their desire to trust him by obeying his commands and following his ways.

When the Philistines saw what was happening at Mizpah, they attacked Israel. The people were afraid, but they continued to follow the leadership of Samuel and to trust the Lord. As a result, God gave them a decisive victory over their enemies and brought peace to their land.

Samuel set up a stone to memorialize the Lord’s work in their hearts and with their hands. He named it Ebenezer, saying that the Lord had helped them to that point.

So, Mizpah led to Ebenezer. In other words, Israel’s meeting at Mizpah inspired them to trust God for victory. Their faith and God’s power resulted in blessings memorialized by the Ebenezer stone.

People are asking if the events at Asbury in Kentucky signal a true revival, an authentic move of God’s Holy Spirit. If it is a true Mizpah meeting that inspires God’s people to trust the Lord for a great spiritual victory, then we will see an Ebenezer stone set up in the future. In 1970, the results were clear. In 2023, we hope and pray to see the same.

Israel’s revival began with a longing for the Lord, a dissatisfaction with the status quo. The next step was putting away the things of the world and worshiping God only. They gathered for prayer, commitment, and confession. And when the enemy responded by attacking them, they trusted the Lord.

There is no guarantee that God’s Spirit will move in a mighty way if we follow certain predetermined steps. God is sovereign. Nevertheless, Samuel’s advice is good. We should gather and pray, commit ourselves to the Lord, and confess our sin and our faith. Only then will we be ready to follow God’s Spirit to victory when he chooses to visit us in an extraordinary manner.

Let’s pray that we are seeing an authentic move of God’s Spirit, one that will result in victories that cannot be explained by the planning and performance of people, but only by the presence and power of the Living God!

May God inspire us and enable us to return to him with all our hearts,

Brother Richard

Leave a comment

Filed under Religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 5, 2022 · 3:34 PM

Satan Is As Real As Evil

A recent news story reported that an after-school Satan club now meets at a high school in Pennsylvania. This is not the first after-school Satan club. Others have already been established at public schools in our nation.

No surprise that one of their core issues is abortion. The Satanists teach kids that they are empowered to end the lives of unborn children. They compare abortion in Satanism to baptism or the Lord’s Supper in Christianity, a solemn ritual – outrageous!

They teach kids a song that includes lyrics saying that Satan is your friend, he wants you to have fun, and there is no hell. The song ends by saying that Satan doesn’t really exist. Sounds confusing and evil.

The Bible warns us that believers have three enemies: the ‘flesh,’ the world, and the devil (Satan). The ‘flesh’ is not a reference to our physical bodies. It is Bible terminology for the corrupt sinful desires that tempt us to disobey God and rebel against him. The ‘flesh’ threatens our peace and blessings from God.

The devil appeals to our ‘flesh,’ our sinful nature, stirring up the desire to disobey God. As followers of Jesus, however, we have crucified the ‘flesh’ with Christ. We are no longer in bondage to the sinful nature. We can choose to follow Christ instead of our sinful desires. We have God’s Spirit in our hearts empowering us to grow in our victory over sin.

The second enemy of believers is the world. In this case, “the world” is not creation, but the cultures, institutions, ideas, and attitudes of sinful humanity. This broken world is like a tide that always goes out to the sea of confusion and destruction. The devil exerts great influence on the world, using it to pull people away from God through skepticism and unbelief.

We face the temptation to be like the lost world around us instead of distinguishing ourselves as followers of Jesus, as a people with an eternal perspective. Jesus warns that the road to destruction is broad and many find it, but the path to life is narrow and difficult and only a few travel its way.

The third enemy of believers is the devil himself: Satan.

In Genesis 3, Satan makes his debut into the biblical account. He appears in the Garden of Eden and tempts Adam and Eve to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit. Sadly, they were easy to persuade. And, sadly, people are still easily led astray by Satan and his lies.

Evil is real. It is not a human or cultural idea that we can redefine. Good and evil are defined by God. The standards for right and wrong are established and uncompromising.

Evil is powerful. We are helpless to stop it without God’s intervention. By any reasonable standard, humanity is not making progress at defeating evil. War, hatred, violence, deception, immorality, they still grow like weeds everywhere. No continent, country, community or culture is free of evil.

Evil is personal. Satan is a living personal being. He is a fallen angel who led a third of God’s angels astray and into rebellion against God. Now he wants to deceive us and lead us into tragic rebellion against God.

We cannot destroy the devil, but we can resist him and his temptations. James tells us that the first step in resisting the devil is submitting to God (James 4:7). With God’s power, we are able to stand against our enemy. Ephesians 6 urges us to put on the full armor of God so that we will stand and not be destroyed (Ephesians 6:10-20).

Once fitted with the full armor of God, we pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers and requests. Our power to overcome is in our Lord. Let’s submit to God, resist the devil, stand against evil, and walk in victory!

May God’s Holy Spirit always inspire us and enable us,

Brother Richard

Leave a comment

Filed under Religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 2, 2022 · 2:34 PM

Praay With All Kinds Of Praayer

The Bible urges us to pray with all kinds of prayers (Ephesians 6:18). What are the kinds of prayer we should be using? A careful search of Scripture reveals at least five general categories of prayer:

Praise God. Praise God for who he is. He is holy. He is all-powerful. He is infinite and unchanging. He is faithful and righteous. God is love!

Praise God for what he does. He creates. He is the Maker of all things. God spoke into existence the heavens and the earth. The Lord made the earth rich in beauty and resources for our benefit.

God made us. He is the giver of all life. He gives us life. We praise him for our lives and for the provisions he makes to meet our daily physical needs. We are blessed by his abundance.

God saved us. He saved us from sin and condemnation. He sent Jesus to die for our sins and raised him up to be our Lord and our Shepherd. God sent his Spirit to dwell in our hearts and to transform us into the image of Christ, empowering us to live holy lives and enjoy God’s blessings to the fullest.

Praise and worship are an inspiring part of prayer.

Repent of Sins. If we deny that we are sinners, we make God out to be a liar. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. He will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Our goal is to experience victory over sin, but when we stumble and fall, we have an Advocate at the throne of our Father: Jesus Christ the Righteous one. He gave himself as our atoning sacrifice. He was raised up and exalted to God’s right hand in majesty. Now he always intercedes for us.

Confession and repentance are necessary for approaching God in prayer.

Ask Favors from God. Ask and it will be given to us. Seek and we will find. Knock and it will be opened to us. For everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. To the one knocking it will be opened.

God is our loving Father, Abba, who knows how to give good gifts to his sons and daughters. God desires to give his greatest gift of all: himself. Will he not give the Holy Spirit to those who are asking?

We can approach God’s throne of grace and mercy with confidence, believing that he will always do what is best.

Petitions and intercessions are heard and answered by God.

Ask Questions and make complaints. We can ask God our questions. In doing so, we must remember two things. First, never forget all the answers he has already provided. We should not let a mystery overshadow the many important revelations God has given us.

Second, we must trust God to know what we need to know. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may obey him.

In addition to our questions, the Lord will also hear our complaints. Obeying God in a world filled with rebellion and disobedience can be challenging, frustrating, and sometimes depressing. God knows our hearts already. We can pour out our most intimate thoughts and emotions to him.

Questions and complaints are welcomed by God in prayer.

Yield to God. We spend much time in prayer asking God to help us with our needs, to forgive us for our sins, to answer our questions, and to listen to our complaints. We can also bring something to give him: our commitments.

We can promise God to worship him and to walk in his ways, to obey him and to serve him. The Lord makes commitments and promises to us. We can make commitments and promises to him, agreeing in prayer to honor him in our hearts and in our households, through our worship and while we work.

Covenants and commitments can be made with the Lord both publicly and privately, both by individuals and by groups.

The various categories of prayer are not like the major parts of a car. A car needs an engine, a transmission, a body and suspension, an interior with seats and all the necessary controls for operating it on the street. If any of these things are missing, the car could be dangerous, or not function at all.

The different types of prayer are more like assorted colors of paint on the artist’s palette. The colors serve the painter. One picture may be dark with gray, black, and red. Another painting is bright with vivid yellow, green, and white. Our circumstances and mood will determine which types of prayer we use on any given day. Different prayers will use different categories, serving the one who has come to speak with the Lord.

We should be comfortable with all types of prayer. When the mood is right or the circumstance appropriate, we should be capable of praising, confessing, asking, or yielding. If we learn to use all the categories of prayer, we will enjoy a deeper and more satisfying dialogue with our Maker and Savior.

Bowing on our knees or standing with hands raised, joining together with other believers or alone in our prayer closet, speaking out loud or silently in our hearts, in public or in private, in sorrow and in joy, in the morning and in the evening, in the Lord’s house and in the world, we pray without ceasing. We pray believing. We pray in the Spirit with all types of prayer!

May God inspire us to commune often with him in prayer,

Brother Richard

Leave a comment

Filed under Religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 11, 2019 · 11:52 AM

The Power And Presence of God In Us

The life of Jesus is an astounding move by God to enter history and share the joys and sorrows of humanity in the most personal manner possible. Jesus forged a path to total and eternal victory and freedom through his life, death and resurrection.

God’s next move is also stunning. He sent his Spirit, his personal presence, to live in the ‘heart’ of every follower of Jesus. Whether leader or laborer, man or woman, young or old, God is with his people always through his indwelling Holy Spirit.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians is comprehensive. God’s Spirit begins before people are saved by enabling each one to understand the deadly outcome of disobeying God (sin) and the amazing salvation available through God’s grace. Jesus told his followers about this work of the Holy Spirit. He said that the Counselor (God’s Spirit) will convict people of sin (John 16:8-9).

The Holy Spirit is intimately involved in salvation by faith in Jesus, the “new birth.” When a man named Nicodemus questioned Jesus, the Lord assured him that he could only enter God’s kingdom by being born again. When Nicodemus hesitated, Jesus assured him that the Spirit is like the wind, invisible yet working to bring new life in God’s people (John 3:1-16).

The moment a person exercises saving faith in Jesus Christ, that new believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). God’s Spirit takes up residence in the Christian’s life (1 Corinthians 6:19). The presence of God’s Spirit in a life is a seal of God’s ownership and a ‘down payment’ on the eternal inheritance that awaits all God’s sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The New Testament contains four commands related to the Holy Spirit. First, believers are charged to be filled by the Spirit, speaking to one another with songs, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus to God the Father, and submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord (Ephesians 5:18-21).

Second, followers of Jesus are instructed to walk by the Spirit, so that we do not fulfill the desire of the ‘flesh’ (our broken human nature that urges us to rebel against God). If we are led by the Spirit then we are no longer trying to please God by following rules and regulations, which is futile. Since we live by the Spirit, we keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25).

Finally, Christians are given two warnings about the Holy Spirit. Believers are not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. We must not ever use unwholesome, angry, and abusive speech. Instead, we are to use our words to build up one another according to the needs at hand, forgiving one another as God, in Christ, forgave each of us (Ephesians 4:29-32).

The other warning is not to quench the Spirit, or not to put out the Spirit’s fire. Joyful living, constant prayer, giving thanks in all circumstances, receiving God’s prophetic word, these things fuel the refining and empowering fire of God’s presence in our ‘hearts.’

May God’s Spirit fill us and empower us to live in victory,

Brother Richard

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Religion

Tagged as , , , , ,

November 16, 2019 · 9:31 PM

Wind, Fire and Tongues: God’s Spirit In Us

God’s Holy Spirit is his invisible, personal, powerful presence in the world today. The Holy Spirit is not a mysterious impersonal energy force that binds the universe together. God’s Spirit is like Jesus, a co-equal and eternal part of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God’s Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament as early as creation. Early in Genesis we read that God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters, then God spoke. Later, God’s Spirit empowered select individuals to prophesy and to lead his people. God promised that one day all his people, young and old, men and women, small and great, would be filled with his Spirit.

Jesus affirmed God’s Old Testament promise about the Holy Spirit. After his resurrection, he assured his followers that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, then he departed.

At the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, Jesus’ followers were waiting in Jerusalem as the Lord had instructed. Suddenly there came a noise from heaven like a rushing violent wind. Something like tongues of fire appeared, separating and resting on each of them. They were all filled with the Spirit and began speaking in other tongues.

At Pentecost, God portrayed the powerful presence of his Spirit in three important ways: wind, fire, and tongues. Earlier, Jesus told Nicodemus that God’s Spirit is like the wind. We cannot see the wind, but we see its effects. God’s Holy Spirit is invisible, but we can see the lives changed by his presence.

Wind also reminds us that air is necessary for life. We must breathe the air or die. In the same way that our physical bodies must have air to live, our souls require the presence of God’s Spirit, the wind of God, to give us life. Without the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit, our spirits are dead.

In addition to wind, God’s Spirit was portrayed as fire. When God brought the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt, his presence led them at night, appearing like a pillar of fire. When the glory of the Lord settled on Mt. Sinai, at the presentation of the 10 Commandments, God’s glory appeared to the people as a consuming fire.

Our God is a consuming fire. The fire of his holy presence burns away all that is corrupt and sinful. God’s Spirit refines us, making us pure and holy as he is holy.

The final representation of God’s Spirit at Pentecost was tongues. In the Old Testament it was common for people to prophesy when God’s Spirit came on them, to speak the word of God boldly, giving the people supernatural revelations from heaven.

At Pentecost, Jesus’ followers miraculously spoke in languages from throughout the world, languages they never knew before. This amazed Jews who were in Jerusalem from various countries. They all heard Galilean followers of Jesus speaking in their various native languages.

Jesus’ followers at Pentecost spoke the mighty deeds of God boldly and openly. The tongue is an appropriate symbol for God’s Spirit because he enables God’s people to speak the wonderful things of God in a powerful manner.

God’s Holy Spirit is our wind, fire, and tongue. He gives us new life (eternal life), he refines us (makes us holy), and he enables us to speak boldly for the Lord (witnessing). What a blessing it is to have God’s Spirit in our lives!

May God’s Spirit always inspire and empower us,

Brother Richard

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

February 3, 2018 · 12:38 PM

How Can We Be Alert In Prayer?

Does your mind wander when you pray?

Praying alone in a quiet place can be a relaxing activity. In fact, it can be easy to doze off. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane the night before his arrest, he asked his disciples to watch and pray with him.  They fell asleep . . . 3 times.

Being informed can make us alert. What if Jesus’ disciples had known that an angry mob with torches and clubs was coming to take Jesus away by force? I doubt if they would have fallen asleep!

The Bible urges us to be alert in prayer: “With every kind of prayer and petition, pray in the Spirit at all times; and to get this done, be alert by using all perseverance and prayer for all believers, and for me, that a word will be given to me when I open my mouth to boldly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:18-19).

Persistent prayer for all believers is one way to stay alert in prayer.  Pray for all Christians everywhere, those you know and don’t know, those you like and don’t like, those in your local church and not, those in your denomination and not, those in your country or culture and not. That’s a tall order!

There are tens of millions of Christians around the world, we cannot know each one personally. Instead, we must learn what we can about believers in faraway places so that we can pray for them.

God’s Spirit may stir in us a special interest for certain communities or circumstances. For instance, we may have a special compassion for persecuted believers.

Then it says, “and for me,” that is, pray for me. In addition to praying for all believers everywhere, we should also pray for individual believers we know personally.

But what about people who have not yet been saved? Shouldn’t we pray for them?

When Jesus saw crowds of folks looking like sheep without a shepherd, he had compassion on them. He urged his followers to pray to God, not for the lost sheep, but for believers to do the gospel work.

In the instruction above, the writer asks his readers to pray that he will be bold in making known the mystery of the gospel. A mystery in the Bible is not something that is difficult to understand. It’s something impossible to know until it is revealed. The gospel is the revelation about Jesus, that he died and rose again so that we can be forgiven and have eternal life.

The best prayer for lost people is prayer for saved people to be bold and share the gospel. We need prayer for boldness to witness because our natural disposition is to keep quiet about the gospel. Telling others about Jesus requires the inspiration of God’s Spirit.

Pray for God to give you the same concern for others that Jesus has. Compassion for others will keep you alert in prayer.

May the God’s Spirit inspire us to share in his great harvest,

Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under Prayer, Religion

Tagged as , , , , ,

April 6, 2017 · 11:32 AM

Can Jesus Get A Witness?

Jesus encountered a man who was demon-possessed. The man was so dangerous that people quit trying to help him. They avoided him. But Jesus set the man free.

The man is so grateful to Jesus and so impressed with his power that he wants to go with Jesus. But at this point Jesus does something a bit surprising.

Jesus does not allow the man to come with him like his other disciples are doing. Instead, Jesus instructs the man to go home and tell how much God has done for him.

The man does what Jesus asks. He goes and tells all over town how much Jesus has done for him (Luke 8:39).

This account shows that our Lord does not always send his followers to faraway places in order to tell others about him. Jesus wants us to reach out to people across the street as well as around the world. We cannot all travel to far-away places but we can all speak to our friends and neighbors.

This episode illustrates another very important point. Jesus sends the formerly demon-possessed man out with no training. He does not teach him a gospel presentation or provide him with pamphlets. How will the man know what to say?

Jesus gives the man a very simple instruction. He directs the man to tell others how much God has done for him. In other words, just give a personal testimony.

A personal testimony about how God has worked in someone’s life is compelling. The Apostle Paul was a great teacher and preacher of the gospel, yet he often used his personal testimony as a tool for reaching out to others.

Any believer can construct a short, simple and effective personal testimony. Think about something that God has changed in your life. Practice telling others about the “before” and “after” of what God has done.

Your testimony may use this form: “I used to. . . . But now I. . . .” Perhaps you used to have no desire for church, but now you love the fellowship with other believers and the joy of worshiping and serving the Lord.

Maybe you used to be confused by the Bible but now God’s Spirit is enabling you to understand and apply Scripture in life-changing ways.

The formerly demon-possessed man sure had something remarkable to tell! Our story may not be as dramatic as his, but it is just as important. Jesus has liberated every believer from sin’s eternal punishment.

After telling about the change in your life, make a clear statement giving God the credit. All of this may take just a minute or two.

Finally, after sharing a personal testimony, extend some sort of invitation. Invite your listener to church. Or, ask if you can pray for him. Maybe you are attending a Bible study and you can invite him to join you.

In some cases, you may even sense that he is ready to be saved. If you are comfortable doing so, lead him in a sinner’s prayer. If not, urge him to meet with your pastor or Sunday school teacher or other leader in the church.

Go tell how much God has done in your life. Amazing things will happen!

Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under Religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,