Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Quotes of the Week 14

I’ve subscribed to a daily email of Puritan readings from Grace Gems recommended by Dianna at Forgiven. This was one of the readings this week that will be my Quotes of the Week…

From a devotional by John MacDuff, Day 22.

(J.C. Ryle, “Heirs of God” 1878)

“As many as are led by the Spirit of God–they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

All true Christians are under the leading and teaching of a power which is Almighty, though unseen–even the power of the Holy Spirit. They no longer turn to their own way, and walk in the light of their own eyes, and follow their own natural heart’s desire. The Spirit leads them. The Spirit guides them. There is a movement in their hearts, lives, and affections, which they feel–though they may not be able to explain; and a movement which is always more or less in the same direction.

They are all led . . .
away from sin,
away from self-righteousness,
away from the world!

This is the road by which the Spirit leads God’s children.
Those whom God adopts as His children–He teaches and trains.
He shows them their own hearts.
He makes them weary of their own ways.

They are all led to Christ.
They are all led to the Bible.
They are all led to prayer.
They are all led to holiness.
This is the beaten path along which the Spirit makes them to travel.
Those whom God adopts–He always sanctifies.
He makes sin very bitter to them.
He makes holiness very sweet.

When they are taken into the wilderness, and taught to see their own emptiness–it is the leading of the Spirit.

It is He who leads them to Mount Sinai, and first shows them the law–that their hearts may be broken.

It is He who leads them to Mount Calvary, and shows them the cross–that their hearts may be bound up and healed.

It is He who leads them to Mount Pisgah, and gives them distinct views of the promised land–that their hearts may be cheered.

Each and all of God’s children is the subject of these leadings.
Each and all is led by the right way, to bring him to a city of habitation.

Settle this down in your heart, and do not let it go: the children of God are a people “led by the Spirit of God,” and always led more or less in the same way. Their experience will tally wonderfully when they compare notes in Heaven.

“I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” Proverbs 4:11

“In your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed.
In Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.” Exodus 15:13

Before I Retreat…

…here are a few more views from our road trip and overnight news!

I could have screamed “stop” every few minutes as we drove on these country roads in Eastern Washington. I love to see these old barns.

I thought of my friend Judy from Mennonite Girls Can Cook and her beautiful blog “My Front Porch” when we passed this sign.

We had dinner with our son at this Mexican Restaurant in Chewelah and we will return here on future trips to this area.

And now for our breaking overnight news…

Appearances can be deceiving! This is our Kenmore Elite 3 door refrigerator manufactured by LG.

Doesn’t she look like a perfect appliance? Pretty on the outside but we are totally in the dark on the inside!

We had quite a frightening discovery last night before we went to bed. I opened the refrigerator and smelled a very strong odor that smelled like electric wires burning. I called Dear downstairs and we investigated further and realized the lights in the refrigerator were not going off when the doors were closed and had produced an amazing amount of heat that started melting the plastic light compartment. With difficulty Dear disconnected the fixture and removed it totally from the refrigerator. We were so glad that we realized what was going on before we went to bed for the night. It could have easily resulted in a fire. The food items that were close to the light fixture were quite hot to the touch.

I think you can easily see the burn marks on the sockets.

If you look on the inside of this plastic light unit you can see all the melting of the plastic. We are in the process of filing reports with consumer product safety commission and talking with Sears on what our next steps should be. We hear that if Sears doesn’t agree to fix this problem as a product defect it will cost us $500 to fix it. We are not sure we want to invest the $500 for this 6 year old unit. I’ve been out looking at new units. In the meantime we are in the dark and we use a flashlight if we need to. But…my refrigerator woes hold nothing to the other news that we received today.

UPDATE: Bloggy friends are the best! Sam from Eastern Washington emailed me with information and a recall phone # for my refrigerator issue and I called and a new part has been ordered and a technician scheduled to come out and replace the part in our refrigerator. We’ll be asking him some burning questions when he gets here! Thanks Sam from Eastern Washington!!

For those of you that are still reading, life has been tough this week for my loved ones and in turn for me . I realized tonight as I made yet another “comfort meal” how hard things in the body of Christ affect all of us. There is joy in the midst of the sorrow but we suffer none the less with those who are grieving. A young man died unexpectedly and my brother’s church community is coming together to hold each other in their grief. My brother will probably perform the service for this dear friend of his sons.  We know he is with Jesus but the earthly shock still needs to be absorbed. A little baby girl in the womb is struggling to stay alive and we pray for a miracle that she will survive. Another dear one is losing all her hair after her 2nd chemo treatment and staying brave and trusting in her Lord. So many things to pray about. I said today that our prayer lists are heavy but God is good and I am so grateful that Jesus is our advocate at the right hand of God and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…

Whitsunday Hymn ~ Charles Wesley

Away With Our Fears, Our Troubles and Tears

Away with our fears,
Our troubles and tears.
The Spirit is come,
The witness of Jesus returned to His home;
The pledge of our Lord
To His Heaven restored
Is sent from the sky,
And tells us our Head is exalted on high.

Our Advocate there
By His blood and His prayer
The gift hath obtained,
For us He hath prayed, and the Comforter gained;
Our glorified Head
His Spirit hath shed
With His people to stay
And never again will He take Him away.

Our heavenly Guide
With us shall abide,
His comforts impart,
And set up His kingdom of love in the heart.
The heart that believes
His kingdom receives
His power and His peace,
His life, and His joy’s everlasting increase.

The presence divine
Doth inwardly shine,
The Shechinah shall rest
On all our assemblies, and glow in our breast;
By day, and by night
The pillar of light
Our steps shall attend,
And convoy us safe to our prosperous end.

Then let us rejoice
In heart and in voice
Our Leader pursue,
And shout as we travel the wilderness through;
With the Spirit remove
To Zion above,
Triumphant arise,
And walk with our God, till we fly to the skies.

The Power of the Holy Ghost ~ Hymn

 

The Power of the Holy Ghost

Come, Spirit, come in mighty power,
As on the blessèd day of old
When fell the pentecostal shower
That gathered thousands to the fold.

Refrain

Nothing but the power of the Holy Ghost
Can sanctify and keep through a Savior’s love,
And light within our souls the flame
That burns on the altar of Heav’n above.

O for a mighty rushing wind
To fill this consecrated place,
That sinners lost might seek and find
The gate of hope, the door of grace.

Refrain

O for a power that heals the heart,
That takes away the dross of sin,
That we may, like the world, depart,
And let the King of Glory in.

Refrain

Dear Savior, from Thy throne on high
Now grant the power for which we call,
Till shouts of rapture fill the sky,
And Thou, O Lord, art all in all.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is a Christian holy day commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Jesus Christ. It is also known as Whitsunday, or Whit Sunday.

Acts 2:1-21 (New Living Translation)

1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and women alike—
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.’

Dwell In Me, O Blessed Spirit ~ Hymn

Dwell In Me, O Blessed Spirit

Dwell in me, O blessèd Spirit,
How I need Thy help divine!
In the way of life eternal,
Keep, oh, keep this heart of mine.

Refrain

Dwell in me, oh, dwell in me;
Hear and grant my prayer to Thee;
Spirit, now from Heav’n descending,
Come, oh, come and dwell in me.

Let me feel Thy sacred presence;
Then my faith will ne’er decline;
Comfort Thou and help me onward,
Fill with love this heart of mine.

Refrain

Round the cross where Thou hast led me,
Let my purest feelings twine;
With the blood from sin that cleansed me,
Seal anew this heart of mine.

Refrain

Dwell in me, O blessèd Spirit,
Gracious Teacher, Friend divine,
For the home of bliss that waits me
O prepare this heart of mine.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby (1820-1915)

Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayer ~ Hymn

 

Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayer

Spirit divine, attend our prayer,
And make our heart Thy home;
Descend with all Thy gracious power;
Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Come as the light! to us reveal
The truth we long to know;
Reveal the narrow path of right,
The way of duty show.

Come as the fire and purge our hearts
Like sacrificial flame,
Till our whole souls an offering be
In love’s redeeming name.

Come as the dew, and sweetly bless
This consecrated hour;
May barrenness rejoice to own
Thy fertilizing power.

Come as the dove, and spread Thy wings,
The wings of peaceful love;
And let Thy Church on earth become
Blest as Thy Church above.

Come as the wind, O Breath of God!
O Pentecostal grace!
Come, make Thy great salvation known,
Wide as the human race.

Spirit divine, attend our prayer;
Make a lost world Thy home;
Descend with all thy gracious powers,
O come, great Spirit, come.

Words: Andrew Reed, June 1829

My heart goes out to the people of Poland this morning who have lost so many of their leaders in this gruesome tragedy. May God’s Spirit comfort them in their loss and may their hearts turn to God for comfort and peace.

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, Alone

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, Alone

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, alone,
Can turn our hearts from sin;
His power alone can sanctify
And keep us pure within.

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, alone
Can deeper love inspire;
His power alone within our souls
Can light the sacred fire.

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, can bring
The gifts we seek in prayer;
His voice can words of comfort speak,
And still each wave of care.

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, can give
The grace we need this hour;
And while we wait, O Spirit, come
In sanctifying power.

Words: Fan­ny Cros­by, 1885; some hymn­als show the au­thor as Fan­ny’s pseu­do­nym, Hen­ri­et­ta Blair. The hymnal I found this hymn in did show the author as Henrietta Blair.

I added the photo of the stream with running water after our sermon this morning about the Holy Spirit.

John 7:37-39 ~ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

God, The Hope of Those Who Pray ~ Hymn

God, the Hope of Those Who Pray

God, the Hope of those who pray,
God, our Help where here we stay,
Life of those who pass away:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Hear us for the men who fight
For our honor and the right,
Shield them with Thy glorious might:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Father, Thou Who lovest all,
Help them when on Thee they call,
Ever keep them lest they fall:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Christ, who died to right the wrong,
Make our brothers brave and strong,
Though the war be fierce and long:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

By Thy cross, O Christ, draw near
Those who die, that they may hear
Thine own voice, and have no fear:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Holy Spirit, come, we pray,
Guide our country day by day
In the high and holy way:
Hear us, Holy Spirit.

Make us all a worthier race,
Formed and strengthened by Thy grace,
Make this world a holier place:
Hear us, Holy Spirit.

words by Harold Trask, 1915