Tag Archives: Spirit

Listen

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listenOne of the pieces of advice that I offer to people quite often is to trust your gut.  Listen to what you gut tells you.

Why do I say that?  Why do I recommend that?  Well, I believe that all us, within us, have a conscience.  Now we are all broken and make mistakes and are prone to choose wrong. But, I also believe that each of us has within us a conscience that will let us know that somethings are just wrong.

That is part of God’s image within us, that the fall has not corrupted.  That is part of what God has made that is good.  And yes, sin has greatly affected us, part of God’s goodness remains.

And, for those of us that are Christians, we have within us the spirit of God.  God’s spirit lives within us, it calls us, convicts us, challenges us, comforts us, draws us to Himself.

God’s spirit within us will lead us.

Listen to it.  Listen to what God is trying to say.

Listen.

Hear what happened to Paul today in Acts 17: 16-20:

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”

Paul listened.  His spirit was provoked.  He was faithful.  And God did great things.

Today, what is God wanting to do in you and through you?  Are you listening?  Do you hear?  Listen for God.

Listen.  And you will hear.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

When Words Fail Us

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This past weekend at Camp Wesley Pines, all the families were sitting around eating ice cream and the camp director asked me if I liked to hunt.

I told him I have no problem at all with eating deer, or squirrel, or rabbit, or whatever. I just can’t think of a more miserable activity (for me) than hunting.

Because in my limited experience hunting involved a whole lot of sitting still and being quiet. And those are two thing that I do very, very poorly. The idea of being still and quiet for hours on end sounds like pure torture to me.

But, as much as I hate being still and quiet, there are times, times of prayer, times of reflection, times of awe, times of hurt, times of mystery when we just come before God, and we are quiet.

Our words fail us. We don’t know what to say. And you know what? That’s ok. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 8:26-27:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

God knows your needs. God knows your hurts. God knows your pains. God knows your fears.

God knows.

When you are at a loss for words, God knows. When you don’t know what you need, God knows. When you aren’t even sure what to pray for, what do, what to say or how to say it, God knows.

Today, you don’t have to worry about what you have to say to God. Just come before Him. Sit before Him. Come into His presence.

And even be quiet, if you want. You don’t have to say anything at all.

Sometimes the most important prayers have the fewest words said. God knows what we need. May come before Him today with joy, hope, and peace.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Think About It

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There’s the old joke, that really is true, when you ask a man what he’s thinking about and he says nothing, he really means it.

He’s not thinking about anything.

Hard to believe, but true! Sometimes we just turn our brains off!

But, in our lives, we all focus on something. We all have our mind on something. Our minds return to something.

What is that thing for you? Where does your mind return? Where does your mind roam? Listen to what Paul says in Romans 8:5-7 today:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

Those that live according the flesh set the minds on the flesh. Those that live according to the spirit set them minds on the spirit.

Today, is our mind, are our thoughts on the things of flesh, or thing things our God. Where ever our mind and our thoughts are is where we will be.

Today, what do you think about? Today, where’s your head at?

What thoughts feel your down time? What do you feel your minds with? There’s an old computer saying – garbage in, garbage out. Whatever you program a computer to do, it will do. Even if it’s garbage.

The same is true for our minds. Are we choosing to focus on the things of God or the things of the flesh? What are we putting into our minds today?

What are we thinking about?

As we grow closer to God, may we focus on the things of the spirit, and ma we find life there!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Closer than You Know

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Jesus Christ walks with us through every day of life. Every day. There’s not a day that passes that He is not part of. He never leaves our side, in the good and in the bad. He is our closest friend, and closest companion.

Listen to what Paul says today in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17:

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

In this passage today, Paul says something – that Jesus Christ Himself, and God the Father, they will give us comfort, hope and through grace.

By the way, anytime you hear the word grace, think Holy Spirit. Why? Because we receive grace through the Holy Spirit. So today, we have the comfort and hope of the Father and the Son through the presence of the Spirit.

In other words, today, no matter where you are in your life; God is wrapping you in His arms. He is embracing you. He is pulling you to Himself. He is walking with you, He has never left you, He is with you, He love you.

Today, feel Him embrace you. Support you. Love you. Carry you. When you think it’s tough and troubled, stop. Breathe. And look for God’s presence. It’s there.

Even if you don’t see it at first. God is closer than you know. He is with you. May you know His power and presence today.

Different

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This morning as I was reading through of the passages of scripture that we all have heard a lot and that we know pretty well, the Fruit of the Spirit, I was struck by the last verse in that section in a way that’d I’d never noticed before.

Paul writes this:

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.

and this:

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

As I read this, I began to think about that notion of crucifixion. This notion of putting to death these things.  That we are supposed to die to our sinful passions and desire.

In short that we are supposed to be different.  As Christians, as those that follow Christ, we are called to be different that the world.

We are called to be different than the culture.

We are called to live, to love, to serve, to be different than the culture we are in. Different from the world.

We have a different Lord – so we have a different calling and a different way that we are supposed to live.  Not a life of self righteous judgment, mind you, but a life of love and service.

But, it comes back to that truth. We are called to be different. To put to death the past and it’s desires and live in the newness of life Jesus offers.

Today, are we different? Are we different than the world?  Do folks notice something different about us?  Do folks wonder what makes us different?  Why we have hope, peace, and joy?  Why we love?

Are we different?  If we are led by the Spirit and have put to death the old, we will be.

May we be different for our Lord in this day!

How to Pass a Test

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One of the things that worries me, that worries many of us, is this, how will I be ready when a test comes?

None of us look forward to tests, want tests, desire to be tested.

We all want peaceful, calm, easy lives.

That’s something we all really, really want.

But, we all also know that a time of testing and trial will come. It’s something we all face.

Today’s readings seem to fit together (to me) in a way that showed me some truth about testing that I needed to be reminded of.

First, the Psalmist in Psalm 105 talks about the faithfulness of God, and recounts all God had done. But, he says in the Psalm

17 He sent a man before them, *
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They bruised his feet in fetters; *
his neck they put in an iron collar.
19 Until his prediction came to pass, *
the word of the LORD tested him.

Testing will come, even for God’s people.

Just because you love God and He loves you, that doesn’t mean that testing won’t come. Don’t regard your tests as a failure. Don’t thing you’ve done anything wrong. Don’t think you’ve failed. Test come to us all.

Then, in Zechariah, the Lord says these words to His prophet:

“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

The Lord has just given him a calling to go and proclaim God’s Word. But, before he does, the Lord reminds him – it’s by God’s Spirit that he will accomplish what God has for him.

That really nailed me this morning. So often I try to pass those tests on my own.  I try to beat back tests and trials and temptations on my own.

By my will.

My strength.

My might.

And, I fail.

But the Lord reminds us, not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.

The surest way to fail whatever test we face today is by relying upon our ability.  Our strength.  Our will.  We simply can’t do it alone.

How to pass a test?  The Lord.  His Spirit.  His life.  His power.  Through Him.

We will face tests, each day.  May we remember that it through Him and in Him, we can come through theses tests and cross over to new and abundant life.