Spreading Power

When they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of Jesus. Act8:15-16

It is not enough to be born again or water baptized. There is more. Evidence of God’s favor upon the Samaritans was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is not to say that they were not already saved. It is to say there is more than salvation. God revealed He was moving and confirming new people groups by demonstrating His Spirit upon them.

How much of God do you want? Do you want the minimum? Or do you want everything He wants to give you?

The Power of the Spirit was transferable. Those that had the power of the Holy Spirit laid hands on them and they received. A disease spreads by contact, occasionally at proximity. Do you have this power? If not, let me know, I will pray, others with it can lay a hand on you. If you do, who have you given it to?

What God gave the Sons of Men

The Heavens are the Lords but the Earth He has given to the sons of men. Ps115:16

Imagine you had a rich father. A really, really rich father. When you turn 18, he buys you a house. Your name is on the deed. “This home is yours. It is fully furnished. You can do with it what you want. But anytime you want my help, just ask. You know I would love to help. If you get hungry, ask and I will send food. If you make a mess, ask and I will send a maid. If something breaks, ask and I will send a repair man.” But in your rebellion he make a disaster of the house. Parties are every night. People are drinking and doing drugs. In a matter of days the place is a dump. Who’s fault is that?

God has lovingly furnished Earth perfectly for us. Any time we need His help, we can just ask. That is what prayer is.

Heaven is Gods house. There His will is perfectly done. Earth is our house. It is where mans will is done. Heaven has no rapes or child molesters, no murders or beggers. Earth has all manner of ailments. Why? That is the big question isn’t it? Why does a good God allow such a wicked Earth? The answer is simple, because He has given earth to the sons of men.

Get Everything

Having nothing yet possessing everything. 2cor6:11

                The rich man that has Christ has no more than the poor man that has Christ. For both have Christ. And Christ is everything…

                In Jesus is the fullness of God. All exist in Christ. All was made for Him, by Him and through Him.

                A man with a great imagination has nothing. He cannot hold it. He cannot keep it. It is not measurable or tangible. It cannot be quantified. That is wealth in this life. The spirit cannot hold it or keep it or measure it. If the spirit is all that is eternal in a person all else is unimportant.

                The thief has no concept of true value. They taint their eternal soul for a temporal material that they can’t keep. 

                If you want everything, get Christ. Joy, peace, forgiveness, love and all manner of goodness is in Him. In the age to come, we are joint heirs with Jesus. He shares everything with us for all eternity. Get everything. Get Christ.  

Heaven and Earth

Faithfulness springs from the ground. Righteousness falls from the sky. Ps85:11

 

      We have a choice to be faithful. That springs from the earth. It is up to us to be consistent. Think for a moment of all that comes from the ground. The plants can be counted on to clean the air. Their seeds reproduce after their kind. The insects eat the same food, travel the same paths. Mammals live in their predictable places, mate in foreseeable times and then return from to the dust. The ground teaches us that the earthly may be faithful.

     Man can only do his best. At best a man can be faithful. He can honor his word. He can be true to who he is and was made to be. He can acknowledge and be loyal to his Maker. At worst a man can be unfaithful. Unfaithful not only in lies but in cheating on his God. Unfaithful in forsaking the God that made him and giving Him no acknowledgement for it.

     What does not spring from the Earth is Righteousness. There is nothing any earthling can do to be right with God. Right standing does not come from the earth, rather it comes from the sky. God bestows it. God gives it. It comes from Him. It is His opening the door of Heaven that allows us to come in, not us pushing the door open.

      There is a junction where Earth meets Heaven. It is where our faithfulness meets His righteousness. Have you come to this point? Are you faithful to God? Have you received His righteousness?   

 





Empty Envy

Do not envy the wicked or want to be with them. Pro24:1

Our culture is very backwards. We admire actors and singers. In ancient days those were often slave roles. We have contest to “go back stage” and get to meet big time artist. The goal for many is to be like our pop stars or just be with them. This would be fine if they were not so vulgar.

What are the topics of our weekly top ten? Fornication, lewdness, and riotous living. They brag of how many women the sleep with, how much the get drunk and how much pride they have. It is poison. And we like rats pursue it.

There end is destruction. If you see someone walk off a cliff, why follow them? Fame is a lie. It is no more fulfilling that winning a video game. Why do so many celebrities overdose? Why do so many go to rehab? They are empty. They are just humans. It is noble to pursue a goal. There is value in the journey. But how sad when it is reached only to find it is vain? It leaves one at the top of an empty, ugly mountain.

I do not want the celebrity life. I do not want the nothingness of the drunk and party lifestyle. I do not envy  them. I have more. I have God, a beautiful, wonderful wife, excellent kids, and a job a love. That is the precious life for me. I do not envy the wicked, I follow those with long track records of godly living.

My Foes will Fall

When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Ps27:2

As a kid playing baseball my dad taught me to run out everything. After the ball leaves the bat, take off. Don’t watch the ball, watch your first base coach. It was a good lesson for life. I looked silly when I hit an obvious foul ball. But I remember one little league game, there were 2 outs, 2 runners on and we were down by two. It was the bottom of the last inning and I was up. I knew I could win it for us if I hit a homerun. I had never come very close to knocking one over the fence. The pitch came. I swung with all my might, pulled my head. I barely nipped the top of the ball, it was a little slow dripper right to the pitcher. But I took off in full stride. It should have been an easy out. Then magic happened. The pitcher slipped. The third baseball ran for the ball, he grabbed it and threw with all his strength. The ball flew 5 feet over the first basemen’s head. I rounded first. As I approached second I was being waiver to third. At full speed I approach third base. “Get down, get down, slide, slide;” the third base coach commanded. Foot first I slid. The third basemen ran off the bag trying to stop another terrible throw. I popped up to hear the coach screaming; “go home, go home.” As quick as I could I sprinted to home. Homerun! Not really there were 3 errors on the play. But we won.

I expect, rather I know my enemies will not succeed. It is not about me or about them, it is about God. I am on His side. Those who oppose me, oppose Him as I align myself with His purpose and commands. “Good and bad” are not Bible categories. “Righteous and unrighteous” are. It is being on Gods team that matters. It is not your power. I hit a dribbler, an easy out, but with my enemies mistakes it was a game winning homer.

Those against you will not prosper. They come for evil. They come with bad intent. But the bad will come upon them. Goodness and mercy follow me and they confound my opponents.

God wants you to get Good Sleep

If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Pro3:24

Here is a promise for every night of your life, for every 20 minute power nap and 5 minute dozer. God assures us that we will have good rest.

Sadly there are many, many restless Christians. Stop believing your old habits have any power over you. Some say; “well I never slept well.” Well good friend, a lot has changed. The fear of death and Hell, the guilt and shame of your sin should have kept you up. You were under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and a slave to sin. But now, you trust God. What is on your mind? What is so pressing to take precious sleep?

God rested. He did this as a pattern for us to follow. Be godly, sleep well. If you are one that does not sleep well, take a few minutes and memorize this verse. Read the chapter over and over. Write down any fears or stresses you have. Tell God He can deal with them tonight or the two of you will deal with them in the morning. Rest is serious business. Invite God to be involved. Good sleep demonstrates your trust in God. He wants you to have a good night’s sleep.

Our Boasting

We boast that we conducted ourselves in simplicity and godly sincerity. 1Cor1:12

                Christians are to boast in the funniest things. Things like the cross. The most violent, dreaded death, we exalt. Things like being weak. For in our weakness God is strong. Things like living simple and being content.

                It is contrary to the world in what we don’t boast in. it is not the flash and bang that we are so accustom to in our day. It is not being skilled or talented, for those are but gifts from God. It is not in what we have done or could do, we boast in our God all the day long. He gets the glory.

                God is actively against the proud but lifts up the humble. People still don’t get it. To be great in your own power is just that, your own. And you are weak and insignificant on your own. Like an ant on this earth is far greater than a human in the vastness of this universe. Your glory is a kids momentary sparkler in light of the Sun.

                The best a man can do I live by a code. To be principled is never small. If God sees, if God is watching, He is looking for those that live for the eternal. Live simple. Live sincere.  

How to speak to Angry people

A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger. Pro15:1

I know a lot of people that have drama. When some of the young people from the church come to my house in Moreno Valley they hesitate; “there is a lot of bad neighborhoods over there.” I respond; “not for me.” I don’t have trouble. People don’t “bang” or “maddog” me. If they start I greet them with a smile and a ‘how are you?” that defuses hostility very quickly.

The Ephirimites loved to fight. Twice they were offended because they were left out of the battle. When Gideon took his 300 and slaughtered 135,000 Midiniates the Ephrimites were furious. “Why did you not tell us?” If they could not fight alongside of him, they wanted to fight with him. Gideon used a gentle answer and pacified them. “You helped in the follow up. You killed their most important kings. You are glorious. You are honored.” With that they left satisfied.

However, years later when Jepthah had to defeat the massive army of the Ammonites the Ephrimites were left out again. When they complained Jepthah was in no mood to put up with them. He had just lost his daughter. With harsh words a civil war kicked off that ended in the death of tens of thousands. This happened all because one leader would not give a soft answer.

What do you want? How will you get it? Giving rough answers is rarely the best way. It is like yelling at a ref in a basketball game. They have never overturned their own call. Offending peoples pride only turns them to reinforcing their own prejudices. We must be wise and meek in turning them. Find common ground. See the good they do. None of that involves compromise or lack of integrity. It simply means better form. I encourage you today, be right but also speak right.

Get Mad

The Holy Spirit came upon Saul and he became angry. 1sam11:6

A very nice pastor once told me it is never ok for a Christian man to be angry. I was quick to disagree. I am no Ned Flanders. “Show me one place the Bible says it is alright to show anger.” That was easy for there are many of them. “Be angry….and sin not.” Not to mention the above passage. I then asked him; “who gets angry the most in the scripture?” He hesitated to answer. I smiled. Is it not God Himself?

Anger is but a fuel. It is neutral. Motivation is not wrong in and of itself. Even more than why are you angry is what will you do with your anger? Is gasoline wrong, how about hydroelectricity? Neither of course. Feelings are neutral, it is by our words and actions that we are judged.

Saul needed to act. He needed to rally the army. He needed to wage a difficult war. For such a task, God gave Him divine anger. This feeling of anger was a direct result of the Holy Spirit coming upon Him.

Good men are not good if they are not angered at grave evil. What makes you mad? Do not feel guilty for your feelings. Some are angry at a dead beat dad or an alcoholic mother, that is worthy of angst. As you inspect why you feel angry, be more concerned with how it affects you and what you do with it. Saul set his people free. He served others. What will you do? Who will be helped by your anger?