Category Archives: Holy Spirit

Prayer ~ O Gracious Light

 

O gracious Light
Pure brightness of the everlasting Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
And our eyes behold the vesper light,
We sing praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O giver of life,
And to be glorified through all the worlds. [Amen]
~ Phos Hilaron

This is attributed by some to the martyr and bishop Athenogenes (d. c. 305), who is said by tradition to have sung this hymn (“O Cheerful Light”) as he was burned for his faith.

I John 1:5 ~ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

John 8:12 ~ Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I Peter 2:9 ~ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Revelation 22:5 ~ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Thankful Thursday ~ Various Gifts

 

Romans 12: 3-13 (ESV)

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy in proportion to our faith; if service in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

 

I am thankful for these and others whom God has put in my life that have used their gifts at various times and in various ways that have taught me, encouraged me, corrected me, served me, forgiven me, and blessed me. Thank you Lord for the model you have given us on how the Body of Christ can function with each one helping the other serving you to the measure of their faith. Thank you for your great mercy and love toward us…

To read more Thankful posts head on over to Sting My Heart….

Tuesdays ~ In Other Words

 My husband and I had an interesting conversation about this Mary/Martha experience. Two of the questions we asked were,

Did Martha have to be at Jesus’ feet to experience intimacy?

This incident happened before the Holy Spirit indwelled believers. Jesus was asking Martha to be with Him while He was there. This was the better part. She was not experiencing Him in the kitchen. She was bothered and grumbly. Her service wasn’t unto Him. She was consumed with her task and that Mary wasn’t helping her. He was with them physically for a short time and Mary chose the better part.

What is the difference in our situations from Mary & Martha’s experience?

Today with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have the opportunity to have intimacy with Jesus when we are doing service He has called us to do. We can experience intimacy in the kitchen as well as sitting quietly in worship through reading His word, in the livingroom.

It’s not just the kitchen that keeps us from sitting at Jesus’ feet. Any care of the world can keep us from experiencing our rest in the Lord. Also, it doesn’t have to be one or the other, the kitchen or the livingroom. I think it’s more about where God wants you to be and entering that place with Him. We can have intimacy in the middle of a battle.

Mathew 11:28-29 ~ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light.

Entering God’s rest is being where God wants you to be empowered by His Spirit. It does not mean the absence of difficulties. God’s rest is filled with battle, enemies, obstacles and danger. Moving forward to accomplish everything He has given you to accomplish with His power allows you to enter His rest. When we yolk up with Jesus we will have intimacy in the most unlikely places and experiences.

If you’d like to read more thoughts on this quote head over to Joy in the Morning.

Blessed Quietness ~ Ferguson ~ Hymn

 BLESSÈD QUIETNESS

Manie Payne Ferguson   (1850 – 1932)

Born: 1850, Car­low, Ire­land.

In 1886, Ma­nie and her hus­band The­o­dore Poll­ock Fer­gu­son found­ed a miss­ion in Los An­ge­les, Cal­i­for­nia. This event­u­al­ly ex­pand­ed in­to what was known as the “Pen­i­el” miss­ions along the West Coast of Amer­i­ca, and in Af­ri­ca, Asia, South Amer­i­ca, and else­where. The main fo­cus of the miss­ions, es­pe­ci­al­ly in lat­er years, was min­is­try to sin­gle women.

 BLESSÈD QUIETNESS

Joys are flowing like a river,
Since the Comforter has come;
He abides with us forever,
Makes the trusting heart His home.

Refrain

Blessèd quietness, holy quietness,
What assurance in my soul!
On the stormy sea, He speaks peace to me,
How the billows cease to roll!

Bringing life and health and gladness,
All around this heav’nly Guest,
Banished unbelief and sadness,
Changed our weariness to rest.

Refrain

Like the rain that falls from Heaven,
Like the sunlight from the sky,
So the Holy Ghost is given,
Coming on us from on high.

Refrain

See, a fruitful field is growing,
Blessèd fruit of righteousness;
And the streams of life are flowing
In the lonely wilderness.

Refrain

What a wonderful salvation,
Where we always see His face!
What a perfect habitation,
What a quiet resting place!

Refrain

I have never sung this hymn but the words are so powerful I wanted to share them. I loved the story of the hymnwriter starting missions and especially caring for single women…

Ht: Cyberhymnal

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ ~ John Piper

 

Yesterday I went to the dentist. My dentist is a sweet lovely young lady but I do not like going to the dentist! They put this thing in my mouth to hold it open and I thought I was going to die…I couldn’t flex enough to swallow.

I, being the shy person I am, pulled it out of my mouth and handed it to the dentist and said, “This isn’t working for me, I’ll just open my mouth wide for ya!” Since I made it through the appointment without crying or passing out I decided to reward myself with a trip to my favorite store in Washington, Goodwill. What’s the point of this story… “wait for it.”

Goodwill has afforded me many books I wouldn’t be able to pay full price for (at least in the quantity that I hoard books) Yesterday I gleaned several good books. One of them was Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper. I just have to share part of his Acknowledgements with you. It’s something we can all identify with if we belong to Christ.

I owe the writing of this book to Jesus Christ. He died in my place, the righteous for the unrighteous. God counted him, who was sinless, to be a sinner, so that in him I, who am a sinner, could be counted righteous. He opened the blind eyes of my heart and brought me to faith and repentance. By his Spirit he has come to live in my heart through faith, and is slowly working his character into my stubborn will. Not only that, but this Jesus Christ created the world, including me, and holds it in being by the word of his power. Every breath I take, every beat of my heart, every moment of seeing and hearing, every movement of my mind, is owing to the sustaining grace and creative power of Jesus. All other acknowledgments and thanks are secondary and dependent on this one.”

I actually had bought and paid full price for this book in Camarillo 2 weeks ago. Before I cracked it open to read, I found out one of the ladies in my Bible Study group was going to be baptized. I decided to gift the book to her for her baptism. A book called Seeing and Savoring Christ seemed like an appropriate Baptism gift.  I’m “tickled pink” that I got to replace my copy today at a bargain price. I also picked up 3 devotional books by Hannah Hurnard and a book called “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew ~From Fox Hunting to Whist ~ the Facts of Daily Life in 19th~Century England by Daniel Pool. Ahh, but I digress…”all of this is secondary and dependent on this one.”

Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the fistborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Blessings on you as you See and Savor Christ today!

God’s Power In You ~ The Holy Spirit

 

My weekly Bible Study using the book Seeking Him (Experiencing The Joy Of Personal Revival) by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom is down to the final 2 lessons. This week’s lesson is on the Holy Spirit. I wanted to share some of the material here.

Whether you realize it or not, the Holy Spirit is actively involved in every dimension of your Christian life, from before the point of your conversion until you get to heaven. We were never intended to live our lives apart from Him. In fact we cannot live the Christian life apart from Him!”

“Christian maturity cannot be attained by trying harder or doing more. God has not dangled the prospect of an abundant life before us then set us loose in a maze to try to find our way through. The Holy Spirit acts as our guide and our companion – the One sent from heaven to lead us home. He enables us to obey God, empowers us to become like Jesus, and fills us with supernatural power for work and for witness. We should, therefore, learn how to listen to Him, how to follow Him, how to rely on His power, and how to walk in His fullness.

I especially love the phrase…”the One sent from heaven to lead us home.” What a comforting thought that is for me. I like to have someone that I trust to lead me. I need help to get home. Praise God Almighty he has me covered from the start to the finish. That gives me lots of hope.

Here are a couple quotes from C.H. Spurgeon on the subject of the Holy Spirit:

“Blessed Spirit of the Lord, forgive us that we have done such despite to you, by our forgetfulness of you, by our proud self-sufficiency, by resisting your influences, and quenching your fire!”

“We must have the Holy Spirit’s power and presence, otherwise our religion will become a mockery before God, and a misery to ourselves.”

May we learn to rely on the One sent from heaven to help us here on Earth.

John 14: 15-17 (ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

Here are some great passages on the Holy Spirit. Check them out and be encouraged!

Ezekial 36:27, John 14:26; 16:13, Acts 1:8, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:26-27, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11, Galatians 5:22-23