Tag : holyspirit
Tag : holyspirit
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV).
What does it mean to have Holy Spirit power? This past weekend we celebrated Pentecost—the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. A day that commemorates when God freely gave His Holy Spirit to anyone who believed in Him. This power is available to all of us right now. Romans 8:11 tells us that all those who place their faith in Jesus are immediately and permanently indwelled with the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit convicts, teaches, equips, and empowers us so we can bear witness and reveal His life to others. It strengthens us daily in every situation we face.
Soon after Peter was empowered, he preached his first gospel message saying “repent” (which means to change your mind), be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. It is that simple. As believers, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each of us for some benefit. We are all parts of one body, the body of Christ. We are all baptized into one body and made to drink of one Spirit. This faith preserves the life of God in our souls. In Acts 1:8, Jesus says you will receive power when, not if, the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be His witnesses to all the ends of the earth, We are called to witness and rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When a person repents of their sin and believes in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit enters their heart, and the believer is spiritually united with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They become part of the body of Christ and Christ lives in them. What a beautiful gift available to us all!
For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired (1 Corinthians 12:12-18, NIV).
Categories: Blog
I hurried to finish a paper for one of my classes before a lunch meeting. It was completed—or so I thought—but something prevented me from turning it in. I heard in my spirit, Wait. Look over the paper again when you get back from lunch. So as much as I wanted to check this paper of my school to-do list, I listened and reviewed my paper more thoroughly when I returned home. That’s when I found several mistakes—some of which were glaring. I thought, I am so glad I listened to that voice. I am sure the mistakes would have hurt my grade.
The question is: “Who was that voice?” Was that just me being wise? I don’t think so. I was ready to submit the paper and something stopped me. I believe it was the voice of the Holy Spirit because I regularly pray for God to give me what is needed to be successful in school, and He knew that the paper still needed tweaking.
I think the LORD is constantly speaking through His Holy Spirit but we need to tune into that frequency. It’s an impression or the small still voice that says, “Don’t say what you’re thinking” or “You need to pick up the phone and call your friend.” It’s the voice that provides a word of encouragement for someone else, using you as a conduit. You ask, “Where did those words come from?” but you obediently deliver the message.
The Holy Spirit speaks often and He guides us through life when we let Him. John 16:13 says, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
In a Christianity.com article on “The Ten Roles of the Holy Spirit in the Lives of Christians,” it says the Holy Spirit is: 1) A Helper who teaches and reminds; 2) Convicts the world of sin; 3) Dwells in believers and fills them; 4) Is a source of revelation, wisdom and power; 5) Guides to all truth including knowledge of what is to come; 6) Gives spiritual gifts to believers; 7) Is a Seal in the lives of believers; 8) Helps a Christian with weakness and Intercedes for them; 9) Makes believers new and gives eternal life; 10) Sanctifies and enables believers to bear good fruit.[1]
Tomorrow is Pentecost, the day where in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit filled the early believers. He’s still with us today and I want all He can offer, don’t you? Come Holy Spirit!
If you feel you are missing out on what the Spirit has to give, pray to receive the Holy Spirit. He desires to make your life fuller, and will even guide you on the smallest of details like fixing typos on a school paper.
[1] Penny Noyes, “The Ten Roles of the Holy Spirit in the Life of Christians,” https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/10-roles-of-the-holy-spirit-in-christian-life.html
Categories: Blog
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20, NIV)
Every couple of months I drive about forty minutes to a good friend’s house so we can pray together. She and I fellowship over lunch (she’s a great cook), and we catch up on each other’s lives, but the focus of this time together is prayer. We pray for our families, we lift up our ministry concerns, and we intercede for our country. Even though we both have busy schedules, this time of prayer is a priority.
As I was reading in the book of Jude today, I felt the Holy Spirit confirming that He is pleased with this commitment. Jude 1:20 says, “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit…” In Jude 1:22 it says, “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others…”
That’s a part of what we do in this time of prayer. We pray for family members who are not followers of Jesus, and ask to be merciful to others. However, the main focus of our prayer is to ask for God’s wisdom for many life scenarios. We don’t want to do anything in our own power.
Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” And there is a sense that the LORD is with us when I pray with my prayer partner.
What about you? Do you have someone you can pray with, a person you trust, with whom you can be totally transparent? If not, ask God to reveal who that individual is in your life and set up an appointment to pray. There is power in numbers.
Categories: Blog
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).
With a “Type A” personality, it’s difficult to go into an event like the National Religious Broadcasters Convention (NRB) and not push. Push to make contacts. Push to get shows done. Push to attend every event possible. However, while it’s taken a number of years to get to this place, I’ve learned to let the Holy Spirit lead.
Before NRB, I prayed for divine appointments and for God to place people in front of me. I asked the LORD for a couple of specific meetings, but did not fret if they didn’t happen. What I’ve found is there is less stress and disappointment if we release our schedules to God, and let Him move on our behalf.
One example. I saw First Baptist Church Dallas pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffers, walking around. I have always wanted to meet him so I could tell him that my great-great grandfather, Abram Weaver, was the second pastor at First Baptist Dallas. I also wanted to share with him that I admire him for being willing to mingle with the people, even though he is a well-known pastor and Fox News expert. I prayed that if I was supposed to speak to Jeffers that God would place him directly in front of me.
And that occurred. It’s as if the LORD said, “Here you go. Now what are you going to do?” So I did take a moment with Jeffers, and he was gracious.
While at NRB, I had a book signing at the Expo for my latest book, The Root that Never Died: A Christian Woman’s Journey Back to Her Hebraic Heritage. Because the book was written during the pandemic, it never gained much traction, so I prayed that God would open doors for this book at NRB. I am thankful for my POP Team members, Dr. Lynnette Simm and Rosemary Legrand, who helped tremendously with the book signing. Dr. Lynnette even placed the book in author, speaker and actress Priscilla Shirer’s hands saying, You really need to read this book!
On one of our POP Talk television shows, we interviewed best-selling author of political thrillers, Joel C. Rosenberg. Like me, Rosenberg had a Jewish father and a Gentile mother, but considers himself Jewish, as I do. I wanted to give him a book, but prayed that someone else would open the door, so I wouldn’t appear to be pushy. Amazingly, the LORD placed Rosenberg’s publicist, Larry Ross and his fascinating wife, Autumn, at our table for a Media Leadership Dinner two nights before the interview. So when it was time to speak to Rosenberg, Ross said, Lisa, tell Joel about what you are studying. I was able to share about my work on a Doctor of Ministry in Messianic Studies, plus that gave me an opening to hand him The Root that Never Died. Whether he read it or not, I don’t know. That’s another prayer…
When we let God guide us, I believe it’s more exciting. Instead of choosing how we want a scenario to play out, we see how creative our LORD is. He thinks of ways to connect us with people that we never would have fathomed.
Do you hand your schedule over to God? Do you trust Him with your connections? I’ve found it is more interesting and fulfilling to let Him lead.
Categories: Blog