Jesus, The One and Only

Posts tagged ‘Holy Spirit’

“Listening and Answering”

Aren’t you glad the Lord listens!  Aren’t you glad the Lord answers!  That’s relationship :)  It’s very difficult to have one without the other in any relationship!

Don’t know about you but it’s very frustrating when there seems this tension in relationships sometimes when it appears that people listen but they don’t answer?  In those instances of constant ignoring, we may remove ourselves because it appears to be no relationship at all :(

There is one constant in our lives and that’s that the Lord listens to our cries, He answers and He is the constant in an inconsistent world.

“After 3 days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions … and all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:46-47)  Not only does Christ speak but He listens!  And there is nothing wrong about asking questions… apparently intelligent and full of wisdom that others were astounded at His wisdom and His answers!

What’s on your heart today that you want to share with the Lord?  After you let Him know, now listen and hear what He says!  That’s relationship :)

Vicky

Category:

90 Day's with Jesus

Tagged with:

Blessed Are They Who Believe

In continuing our story… The angel tells Mary that the “Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God”.  (Luke 1:34-35 NIV)  Also, the angel tells Mary her cousin Elizabeth, who was in her old age and unable to conceive, was in her 6th month of her pregnancy!!   Mary knew that what the angel told her was true and rushed to Elizabeth’s house in Judea.  Upon her arrival and greeting Elizabeth, “the baby leaped in Elizabeth’s womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (vs. 42)

I can only imagine the excitement and some of the apprehension Mary must have felt, not to mention what Elizabeth had gone through since she was already 6 months pregnant.  The best I can relate at times that I know the Lord has done something on my behalf or shared with me and I want to go tell someone… someone who could understand what I had just experienced.  How about you?

When the baby leaps in Elizabeth’s womb, she proclaims over Mary “blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear!” (vs. 42)  Then Elizabeth says “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (vs. 45)

There are so many great, wonderful, powerful and extraordinary scriptures in the bible but this one has become one of my absolute all time favorites. 

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!”

Previously in vs. 38 Mary tells the angel before he departs from her after that initial meeting, that “I am the Lord’s servant.  May your word to me be fulfilled!”  Mary knew that she could trust what she had heard from the angel, because she knew that she could believe and trust God! 

When we learn to trust in what the Lord speaks to our hearts, when we learn to look to the Lord, when we learn what it is to have even a tiny bit of the Father’s heart overshadow us, I believe our relationship as servant turns into a relationship of friend!  And the dynamic of that trusting relationship causes our belief to reach a more intimate place that we may not have experienced before.

I hope one day to that this scripture will become a favorite of yours!

Vicky

Category:

90 Day's with Paul

Tagged with:

Adam & Eve in garden of Eden

Image via Wikipedia

“In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.”  (1 Tim. 5:25 NIV)  

Beth shares a couple of wisdom principles :

  • “Keep yourselves pure” (vs. 5:22) – Paul told Timothy to stand as a guard over purity in his own life.  I must take responsibility for purity in my life.  You must take responsiblity for purity in your life.
  • “Turn away from godless chatter” (vs. 6:20) – If we are believers in Christ, we are sacred temples of His Holy Spirit.  We have a choice as to what crosses the threshold and finds a place in our temples.  Paul exhorts believers to discern a line in conversation that should not be crossed.” (1)

When I think of purity, my thoughts take me back to a time when life was good for Adam.  He was walking blameless with God in the Garden of Eden.  When he ate from the tree of good and evil, life became difficult for him and Eve.  I believe God didn’t want them to know good AND evil… I believe God only wanted them to know GOOD!!!!  Why else could they eat from any tree in the garden except that tree? 

What did they do when they became aware of the evil they did,  they hid from their sin, they were ashamed and purity they once had become tainted.  BUT when you and I take responsiblity of our lives as Beth says, we can again have purity of fellowship and no longer have to hide and be ashamed.  That’s the place to REST!  That’s the place to ATTAIN!  And when we do and recognize it, the “chatter” stops and we will start learning to discern the line “that should not be crossed.

Vicky

(1) Paul, 90 Days in His Journey of Faith / Beth Moore / B & H Publishing

 

 

 

 

Category:

90 Day's with Paul

Tagged with:

“Battle Lines”

“Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.” Eph. 6:10-13 MSG

There are battles going around us all the time; between right and wrong; concerning truth and righteousness; against sickness, disease or addictions; to protect the innocence of neglected and/or abused children; as well as the battles we have in our every day lives that we struggle with.  When the enemy tries to attack, we should know how to STAND in the battle and what battle weapons do we use.  Beth shares four great truths and reminders for any battle the enemy wages. 

  1. “Realize your natural limitations”  We can not enjoy spiritual victory without actively calling on the power of God.  We are only strong when we are “strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.” (vs. 10)
  2. “Remember the “full armor” (vs. 11) “Paul encouraged us to use every weapon available.’ ‘Trust me when I tell you that after at least 6,000 years of practice on human targets, your enemy won’t waste arrows on well-armed places.  He will aim for the spots you and I leave uncovered.”
  3. “Recognize your real enemies”  The struggles of warfare we experience do not originate with spouses, in-laws, neighbors, coworkers, or any earthly foe.  Spiritual forces of evil exist.”
  4. “Realize your enemy’s limitations” Eph. 1:13 says that “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation – in Him when you believed – [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit”.   We have been sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).  The enemy has no power over us and scripture tells us to resist and he will flee. (1)

I’m adding a 5th one…You are not alone!  There are so many others who are available to stand with you, pray and believe with you for victory!

Maybe you have some battles you’re facing and/or need to overcome.  Remember you are never alone!  First step as mentioned above is that you can have victory by calling on the name of the Lord who will give you the strength that you need.  I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for all those who have supported me over the years BUT most of all the strength that God has given me over and over and over again for whatever challenge I have been confronted with!

Next time we’ll discuss the full armor!

Vicky

(1) Paul, 90 Days in His Journey of Faith / Beth Moore / B & H Publishing

Category:

90 Day's with Paul

Tagged with:

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.