Ascended and Glorified

I think that I am getting a deeper understanding of faith.

As Christians we know faith, it is fundamental to our view of life and the world since Jesus became a vital part of everything for us. Our understanding grows - faith grows as we grow in our "knowing" God, the God of all Creation, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit who guides, teaches, counsels, and comforts us daily.
 
This present time of my growing in faith is through my seeing more of the "bigness" of God. Some guys were talking about God's bigness and how He created all the stars on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14); He simply stretched out His hand and put them in place, even a thousand light years away, because He chose to, and it was in His design.
 
"It is I who made the earth and created humankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshalled their starry hosts" (Isaiah 45:12).
 
"He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south" (Job 9:9). 
 
The Bear and Orion are about 800 light years distant from Earth (at approximately 9.5 trillion kilometres or 5.9 trillion miles for one light year). The Pleiades are about 444 light years. These distances are beyond comprehension, nevertheless our God created, (Genesis 1 and 2), and will do so again (Revelation 21:1). He is omnipotent, all powerful, (Matthew 19:26); when His Word says He did these things, we can totally believe that He did. God is also omnipresent, this means that He is present everywhere, all the time (Psalm 139; Matthew 28:20). Awesome.
 
Over the years I have heard many people teach about "faith"; mostly they talked as though faith is like a muscle and if we "huff and puff" enough it will grow stronger. I believe that faith comes from knowing Jesus and growing in Him, more and more.
 
Through Jesus we can know God personally and relationally in our spirit (Matthew 6:9; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:17). We know Jesus as our Saviour and Shepherd (Luke 1:47; John 10:11) and even historically, and by learning more and more about Him from the Bible and the many resources available to us, and too, by hearing His voice in our own heart, and experiencing His touch in our life. All this will grow our faith. 

While I was reading the words "ascended" and "glorified", many Scripture verses and earlier understandings came together for me. Suddenly I saw Jesus as endless, and also His Kingdom, and His presence in the world and in us. Bigger, present, working, effective, without limit.
 
Sometimes I (briefly) think God is not doing enough, even though I know this is an untrue and disloyal thought. Things are getting worse - beyond our earlier troubles, we are now watched by more cameras everywhere and live with high inflation right around the world. It seems that every aspect of our worldly life is being corrupted or controlled, and we can do nothing about any of this.
 
Happily we are assured that God knows and cares (1 Peter 5:7), therefore He must be allowing all this terrible sin in the world, just as He did for ancient Israel: "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people .." (2 Chronicles 7:13).
 
In the Old Testament we see that God wanted to change people's hearts: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). But the people wanted material prosperity and prestige and worldly power. 1st Samuel 16:7 reminds us: ".. the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart".

Jesus' apostles asked: "Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6): material prosperity and prestige and worldly power!
 
Is our God, even today, still waiting for His people to change their hearts towards Him and away from the world, our comforts and our flesh?
 
Jesus assured the Jewish leaders that He and Father God were always at work (John 5:17). Happily the evidence of the "ascended" and "glorified" Jesus doing "greater things" (John 14:12) is all around us. We need eyes to see.

 
Jesus is the centre of everything. "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:16). I smile as I remember this favourite verse. My Bible college theology teacher tells us: "Jesus is always the answer! Even now He sits on His throne sharing His Father's 'Lord(ship) of all creation' (Acts 10:36), and His principal activity is intercessory prayer" (John Yates, 2024); Jesus prays for us, His people, without ceasing (Hebrews 7:25). There are so many testimonies to the timeliness and power of His prayers.
 
When we are saved, Jesus becomes central to us, each one. We Christians call this our "first love"; that time when our "new life" (Acts 5:20) is truly new, and such a delight after how life was before Jesus came and took us to himself. We got to know the "ascended" and "glorified" Jesus. He is God in fullness. Having completed our Father's work on Earth; He was crucified on a cross and gave His life blood to pay the full price for our wrongdoing, our sins - for all sin, for all time. Jesus died and was buried; yet, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, He triumphed over sin and death (Romans 6:4, Ephesians 1:18-20) and rose again to life (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Jesus brings us into His family, we become children of God (1 John 3:1).
  

Even more, Jesus comes to live inside each one of us. This is part of the promise of salvation under the New Covenant (Acts 1:8). We become God's "dwelling place" (Revelation 21:3), His "temple" (1 Corinthians 3:16). This is spiritual. Every Christian is a "living stone" (1 Peter 2:5), a part of the very fabric of God in the world.
 
"God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). When Jesus "ascended" and was "glorified" in Heaven, things became new. His work on Earth was complete, our work just beginning. We are to be His "ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20) and His workers here (Matthew 10:8; 1 Corinthians 3:9). By His Spirit Jesus gives us the grace, strength and power to live for Him, (Galatians 5:16-26). But we have to choose and act, develop new habits and make effort.
 
We can only do any of this with God's strength, in Jesus Christ by His lovely Holy Spirit, our teacher, counselor, comforter and guide (John 14:26). And for this we need faith, God's kind of faith (Mark 11:22), the "certain" kind of faith that our Father has (Hebrews 11:1).
 
"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you" (Romans 8:11).
 
Praise Jesus, despite how things appear, we have His constant help. Even now He intercedes for us from the throne room of God. He will guide us to act in our world today, just as He led those early Christians in the New Testament of our Bibles. Let us press on in prayer and keep seeking Him (Matthew 21:22; John 16:24). Let us cling to the faith given to us by our lovely "ascended" and "glorified" Jesus. Amen.
 
How many heroes of the faith do we know? We have read the Bible and books and biographies about people called to evangelise or minister healing, start an orphanage or a refuge, or to give scones to strangers in city streets.
 
Right now, many people are starting home churches or another ministry. This may seem counter-cultural in these days of mega churches and magnificent sound systems, TV and Internet broadcasts, well resourced programs and huge mailing lists, but it is totally in line with the Bible's teaching. We are all called to minister (Ephesians 2:10).
 
It is also a big change for the person; they will (even more) give their life to Jesus. Christian work is not just Sundays, it involves being ready at any time to help people, sometimes with urgent needs, or perhaps to open one's home, week after week. It will often mean keeping one's job, like Paul (a maker of tents), to provide income (Acts 18:3) because any giving received may be needed for ministry to others (Acts 20:35).
 
What we do may affect only a few people, but these few will receive the greatest blessing known to humankind; they will encounter Jesus! (Matthew 5:8; Mark 1:15; Revelation 3:20).
 
Even more, there will be a need to pray for all those who participate in the work, just as Jesus prays for us. These are not "our" people, they belong to Jesus, We simply share with Him in His "ascended" and "glorified" work of interceding for His church and the world.
 
Jesus calls on each one of us to disciple others. Discipling is not much seen in the church today; our call to this essential task is largely being bypassed. My reading of Scripture tells me that we all have a duty to individually teach and encourage others and help them to grow; and also that we never outgrow our own need to be discipled too. 

In the early church, Jesus' people would gather to share together and encourage one-another (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 14:26). They mostly met in homes (1 Corinthians 16:19; Philemon 1:1-2). The Bible says they also met in Synagogues and I can see how this would be. In our newlywed days when Trish and I were new believers, we thought of ourselves as charismatic Christians. We would attend church as was "normal" for our denomination, and afterwards, at cup-of-tea time, we would "gather"; then we would encourage one another, share thoughts, Scripture, songs, prophetic words and prayers. These times, and our prayer meetings and times of ministry, were profoundly rich and satisfying. We were "being church" together.
 
We were aware that we had been "baptised in the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:8; Revelation 22:17), just like the first Christians in the "upper room" at Pentecost (Acts 2:4). We had been given "gifts of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) and were learning to minister in these gifts. We would "one another" one another (Acts 2:42-47). We knew we had been "set free" (Galatians 5:1), we were "alive in Christ" (Colossians 2:13), and living "life in the Spirit" (Matthew 10:8; Acts 19:6). We called this "every member ministry". Our Bibles assured us that all this was normative Christianity.
 
"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, Jesus' words).

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8, Jesus' words).

 
The early church did not have dedicated "church" buildings, professional pastors and "leaders", nor "worship" teams. Neither did they have "services" where a lay congregation were served structured deliveries from-the-front. There were no professionals, no "lay" people, no pre-arranged content, no "front", and certainly no stage. Be assured though, the people would have come prepared; early on I was taught to ask: "Lord Jesus, what would you like me to bring to the prayer meeting, (or group, or Bible study)?" He would always give me something, a Bible verse, a thought, a prayer, a teaching, a song. Then I would find that others would also bring something towards that same "Holy Spirit theme" that day; Jesus prepared us and equipped us for what He wanted us to discuss.
 
(We did not copy what "the church" or other people or groups were doing, we sought (and still seek) Jesus’ guidance as to what He wanted us to do).

 
The "ascended" Jesus was "glorified" among us, simply, without fuss and from love. Praise Jesus for His constancy, all this still continues to this day.
 
Amen. 

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 4:8-11).
 
Yes. Amen.
 
Favourite Bible Verses -
 
"For in Him we live and move and have our being .. For we also are His children" (Acts 17:28).
 
"These whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified" (Romans 8:30).
 
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God Has Thoughts For You

Growing in Jesus is awesome. I find that I am often encouraged because I have been given a new and brighter view of life by Holy Spirit. The newness and brightness comes because I see that view in the light of Jesus.

Lately I have been pondering the reality that God thinks about me, about each one of us. The Bible makes it plain, over and over again, that God, who we know as Father, who has the whole Universe and billions of people to manage, thinks about me (and you) so often that David said His thoughts "would outnumber the grains of sand" (Psalm 139:18). I am able to share in King David's delight as he wrote his psalms, in knowing how God was thinking about him.
 
"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count" (Psalm 40:5 NASB).
 
"How precious concerning me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand .." (Psalm 139:17-18).
 
I am writing this at our favourite camp site by the sea in our Southwest. Soon I will walk along the shore as the sun goes down, I will come away with sand all over my feet and will be thinking about God's thoughts. Just on my feet will he hundreds and hundreds of grains; how many are there on this one shore? O Lord Jesus, how wonderful!
 
This is inspiring to me, very affirming. Somehow I am assured that I belong, that I should be here, right where I am. And also that I am heading in Jesus' right direction for me, towards the ".. knowledge of the Son of God, becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).
 
God Himself has thoughts about me, about you. Many English Bible translations use the word "plans", and the Amplified who want to be truly clear, says "thoughts and plans". God's thoughts are continuous since before we were born (Galatians 1:15). I am only just recognising this. His thoughts concerning me are not angry or judgmental thoughts about the rotten things I have done. No, He has forgiven those and they are now "behind His back" and "as far as the East is from the West away from Him".
 

"'For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'" (Jeremiah 29:11).
 
This is very good news. This means that all the other "not good" thoughts which come to my mind are being placed there by someone who is not God; that "someone" can only be Satan so I can immediately cast them off (2 Corinthians 10:5).
 
All this helps me to understand how God is .. He throws His shadow over us, each one, His covering, His tent, His care and thoughts and plans.
 
God is For Everybody: Even as we pray for and care for one another we are sharing in the thoughts God has for those people. We may think of the people of Israel at this time as they are being attacked by Hamas. But even more, God's thoughts are for all the billions of people in the world, each one separately. His thoughts may be for every Israeli but at the same time God has thoughts and plans for us, and for each of the Hamas militants and those supporting them, morally, spiritually or financially.
 
God's Bigness: For months I have been pondering how big God is; times like this help me see that His bigness is beyond imagining and is simply awesome, (also, they help me to know "fear of the Lord"). When we get a touch from God, when something supernatural happens which we know can only have come from Him, we know that at that very moment He is especially thinking of us. Then we realise that He will have had many thoughts for us leading up to this moment; he hasn't just helicoptered in to help now and then will fly off to help someone else. No, Jesus assures His people that He is "with you always" (Matthew 28:20), with everyone, all the time, awesome!
 
The Lord's Prayer: Now is a time when people are remembering the Lord's Prayer, I am encountering this everywhere I go. This is a collective prayer, and also Jesus teaching each one of us to pray to "Our Father". We call out to our Abba Daddy to "give us this day our daily bread", asking Him to think of us and everything we need to sustain us, "spirit, soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23) as He has covenanted to do (Luke 12:22-34). The Lord's Prayer is for everybody on Planet Earth, because Father God is Father to us all, even unbelievers; He created us, each one, for His own purposes, even when we are wandering in a wilderness away from His path (Luke 1:79).
 
God's Spiritual Gifts To Help Us: Jesus wants us to share in His work on the Earth. This is spiritual work; He gives us spiritual gifts.
 
Note: You may have been taught that the spiritual gifts described in the Bible are not for today but were only for the apostolic age while the church was being formed. I have studied this teaching and find it wanting. What I find clearly stated in Scripture is this: Jesus helped many during His three ministry years on the Earth. He performed all kinds of miracles for all kinds of people as He saw our Father leading. After being crucified and rising from death Jesus told His people, (not just the disciples and later Paul), that He would soon leave them to be with our Father in Heaven and that He would send another "helper", "advocate", "comforter", God's Holy Spirit (John 14:15), to empower the believers so that they could carry on His work here and even do "greater works" than He had done (John 14:12). We are to "go into all the world" (Matthew 28:19-20) and do this, having "rivers of living water" (John 7:38) flowing from us to bring "salt" and "light" to others (Matthew 5:13-14). My understanding is that the "greater works" are possible because we are many millions in number and can minister in countless places to vast numbers of people at the same time; Jesus, in His humanity, was only at one place at any time. (See 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14, Hebrews 2:4 and more).
 

Here is a lovely testimony:
 
For a long time, my wife Trish and I studied under a couple who taught Jesus' spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:1,3). We were taught to listen with our spiritual ears (and an open heart), and to hear God speaking, sometimes for ourselves and more often to "strengthen, encourage and comfort" other people (1 Corinthians 14:3). The teaching couple had seen that the prophetic gifting is a theme in the Bible, but not often seen among Jesus' people in our city in our time. They sought out teaching for themselves, being careful to choose teachers whose theology and lives were clearly Bible based and centred on Jesus. The prophetic is a Holy Spirit gift, and Holy Spirit always reveals Jesus.
 
We were called the Eagle School Of The Prophetic and we all grew over those years; we saw miracles as Jesus' love and life were imparted to a great many people.
 
For several years one lively local church would hold a week of tent meetings by the river in the centre of our city. Besides the big marquee tent there were smaller ministry tents, one was for prayer for healing, another for tea, coffee and cool drinks, (we would bring home-made muffins and scones to go with people's cuppa), another may hold helpful Christian resources, mostly to be given away. Our tent was for people to come and hear what God had to say to them, their own personal word from Jesus. Trish and I were part of this ministry. We saw miracles, we saw Paul's words come to life: ".. our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction" (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
 
One man came to us who was a surprise; he was clearly very well off, his bike would have cost thousands and his Lycra and sunglasses hundreds more. He was not Christian and told us that he did not know why he had come to our tent. We were in small teams. Sometimes the person coming to us would share their story but often they would not know what to say or to ask. This man was quiet. We all sat for a few minutes then the person whose turn it was to pray prayed a simple prayer asking Jesus to let this man know His word for him. After a brief silence one of us spoke and drew a clear word picture, then the next spoke a different picture, then the last of our trio, once again, spoke a third different picture. Immediately I saw that all three pictures for this man contained the same message: the man was much admired and had great worldly success but his personal life and his relationships were empty; all the precious things of life seemed to have passed him by; Jesus knows and understands isolation and loneliness and was ready to come alongside this man and bring him into His life and His family of believers.
 
The man cried, great deep sobs. It was so good to hug him, here was new life. This man now knew that he was in God's thoughts and His love. We passed him on to another person who was gifted in presenting Jesus' gospel and suggesting ways that people can find a suitable local church. That man left our tent with a much lighter step than when he arrived. Jesus had been love and salt and light to him by using us (Matthew 5:13-14; John 7:38).
 

That man had told us that he did not know why he had come to our tent. I believe that our Father sent him there so that He could "reveal His thoughts" to Him (Amos 4:13), and begin to give him a "full life" (John 10:10).
 
We often saw tears it that tent, and in the many other times we ministered Jesus in this way, we also saw great joy as people heard the thoughts God had for them; God was waiting until the person inclined their ear and was ready to hear. We were simply Jesus' servants. Every Christian can see Jesus at work in this way: ".. with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction". We were, and still are, available, we have learned from the Bible and the vast Christian literature, we listen and obey. This is very satisfying work (Ephesians 2:10), bringing God's thoughts to our neighbours and our brothers and sisters (John 13:34; Romans 13:8; Galatians 6:2).
 
Recently I was in a devotion with friends. One of us began by saying "God is truly relational", (she is a very relational person, thoughtful, kind and a great mixer). We all nodded our heads, "yes, we see the same thing" we seemed to be saying, "we all see this in our Jesus". I find it hard to make friends, even to mix in a crowd of strangers is so difficult; I see myself as being shy but also as trying to be helpful and to show Jesus' generous heart that He has given me. So I am excited about the "thoughts" verses I have been finding in my Bible; God's thoughts for us are completely part of who He is and who we are in relationship with Him. God created the Creation so that He could be relational towards something "other" and share His glory (Jude 1:24). That "other" is us, people, humankind.
 
All this encourages me to keep going, to keep walking in Jesus and continue in fellowship with His people. "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6-7 ).
 
Eternally God "is", He calls Himself "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally loving, giving, sharing. This relationship within the Godhead is so special it has its own name, "perichoresis". Now God includes us in His love and thoughts. We are "born again" (1 Peter 1:23) into Jesus and His church where we learn to get along together, to "one another" one another, "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).
 
Amen.
 
Favourite Bible Verses
 

"He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals His thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord God of Hosts is his name" (Amos 4:13).
 
"May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word" (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

 
"See to it that no one takes you captive by hollow philosophy and vain deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8).
 
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
 
"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body - whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink" (1 Corinthians 12:4-13).
 
"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.  For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.  But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort" (1 Corinthians 14:1-3).
 
Hallelujah! Praise Jesus!
 
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Holy Spirit: Power

We Seek To Satisfy

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8 Jesus speaking).

Do you ever feel powerless? There is so much change in the world, things are moving so fast in our cultures and our lives. Many find this to be frightening.

Our TV listings show this too, here are a few of the many "powers" movies recently offered in our city; "supernatural" powers are central to all the hope in these stories: powers, strengths and abilities beyond physics or human physiology or what science can explain:

"Edge of Tomorrow" - "a soldier fighting with aliens is in a time loop"

"The Mask" - "A bank clerk is transformed into a manic superhero".

"Twelve Monkeys" - "Bruce Willis is sent back in time to stop a deadly virus"

"The Host" - "A dysfunctional family rescues their daughter snatched by a mutated amphibian monster". Winner of 18 awards!

"Inferno" - "a race .. to foil a deadly global plot".

Fiction is seeking to fill our need for hope and comfort when all about us seems to be out of control.

Our local classical radio station showcases "video games" music; these games feature titanic struggles against vast supernatural forces; they are played by millions.

Our Certain Hope

Our desire, really our great need, is for more power and more strength than we can find in our mortal selves. Where can we look? To science? To sports research? No, there is not enough there.

As always, there is hope. Countless times our lovely Bible College theology teacher assured us: "the answer to every question is 'Jesus'".

We live in a fallen world of sin where Satan's lies flow towards us and around us (John 8:44).

But our reality is that Jesus, the Saviour of the World, not only saved us and brought us into His family, also He lives inside us by His Holy Spirit (John 1:12; Romans 8:15; John 14:17); His intercessory prayers and His endless grace flow towards us and around us all the time (John 1:16).

Jesus has defeated Satan and sin and death, including that in you and in me, we appropriate the joy and peace of this victory as we cleave to Him (John 15:11; John 16:33).

Yes. Jesus does offer "power" to His people, power to heal, transform, deliver, persevere, supply, to stand, even to prevail; the same mighty power which raised Jesus from the dead and took Him into the Heavenly places where He now rules with Father God (Ephesians 1:19-20; Hebrews 4:14).

The practical result of our salvation is a change, an amazing growth in our person. It is our experience of our salvation that satisfies our mind and brings our certain hope in Christ.

But let us remember, this mighty power is not universally available. Jesus died so that "resurrection power" (Philippians 3:10) might be released (Romans 15:17-19; 1 Corinthians 2:4). Jesus became weak and submitted to false accusations, not just from the evil Roman authorities but also from His own Jewish people, He was humiliated and beaten, then killed, for the sins of others, for our sins; killed by crucifixion, the cruellest and most awful death which could be devised at that time.

"For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God" (2 Corinthians 13:4).

Jesus' wonderful work in the world (John 5:20) is to continue after He rose to Heaven (John 14:12)

Our Bible is the "living Word of God" (1 Peter 1:23), it is Jesus in written form (John 1:1). Jesus told Paul, and thus tells us today: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

It is God's grace which is the emphasis here, not some quality or action of Paul, or of me or you! 

And note too; God’s grace and power, which are sufficient for us, come with a big condition .. they are only "made perfect in [our] weakness"! We are again reminded that it is "Christ in us, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

Holy Spirit Baptism

Holy Spirit baptism brings God and each one of us together in a way we could not imagine. God comes inside us (John 14:20) and His Holy Spirit is united with our human spirit. We are thence-forth "God's temple" (1 Corinthians 3:16) on the Earth (1 Corinthians 6:19), we have truly become a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Holy Spirit brings gifts to us, "spiritual gifts" (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), for us to use in the service of God and humankind (Genesis 1:28).

(1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Message) "God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. 

God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind them all. 

Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. 

All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! 

The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. 

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when".

One of the first things I remember (as a new Christian and where I was involved): A young woman was in a wheelchair, her life was a constant struggle, she was very much part of the life in that church community. This young woman would often come to our prayer meetings and would ask for prayer for healing. One time a number of us were praying for her healing and that she could leave her wheelchair. I felt a very strong call to pray that, in her inner person, she would find peace, "the peace of God" (Philippians 4:7). I was at the outside of the group and not one of those laying hands on her, (I felt small and insignificant). Why was I being asked to pray this seemingly "partial" prayer when everyone else was praying for a full healing? The "big" prayer was covered by several in the group. I obeyed Jesus and prayed His prayer.

The next time I saw this young woman she was sparkling, transformed. I believe that Jesus had given her peace (John 14:27). Our local supermarket gave her a job helping customers to bag their shopping, she had a bright and cheerful word for everybody so became a wonderful ambassador for the shop. Everyone knew that she was Christian so she also became a glorious ambassador for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20). It was not my prayer, it was Jesus' love and power at work.

(There may have been several praying for her peace, not just me. We don't know because we don't need to know. Jesus is the faithful one (Revelation 1:5)). I do not know why Jesus did not get her out of the wheelchair, but He did give her new fullness of life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

I don't know why the gifts in us do not always appear to work, despite our seeming faith and the clarity of what the Scriptures say! I do not know why He has answered only many, but not all, of the prayers or commands I have seen and shared in. I cannot tell you why Jesus has healed only some of my illnesses and maladies, (some quickly, others after months or years). 

But I am so grateful for what He has done, He has added many new seasons to my life over many years. At the same time I always carry around the "thorn[s] in my side" (2 Corinthians 12:7) which helps me to remember that I belong to Jesus and that He is in charge.

I have a friend who is a great man of prayer. He suddenly began to have trouble sleeping. Despite much prayer this difficulty persists. He accepts that it is from God, like Paul's "thorn"; and when sleep won't come he gets dressed and walks his neighbourhood, praying. Blessings abound from this (2 Corinthians 9:8), most of which will not be recognised as coming from Jesus, but Jesus is able to work in that neighbourhood and in the Christian church because of all the prayer.

Some Gifts

"Words of knowledge" are a Holy Spirit gift (1 Corinthians 12:8), a part of the prophetic gifting which Paul wants us all to have (1 Corinthians 14:1-5). I hear so many stories from Christians who have been in conversation with a troubled person; they have become aware that what they are saying is totally beyond what they could know or communicate, so it was Holy Spirit speaking into the trouble and bringing His healing. Jesus at work today through His people.

Anyone who has been set free from an evil (demonic) spirit will know that these spiritual gifts from Jesus (Matthew 12:28) are a blessing for all humankind.

Do these testimonies seem small, even insignificant? I don't think so. Christians are in almost every people-group on our planet. Lots and lots of workings of God’s Holy Spirit power through all of Jesus’ people will make vast changes in the world, just as our Lord Jesus always intended (John 14:12). Our God is very big!

Praise Jesus. Amen.

Favourite Bible Verses

"For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,  to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills" (1 Corinthians 12:8-11).

"You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him" (Acts 10:37-38).

"My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of  God"  (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

"Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope" (Acts 2:26).

"And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,  who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.  And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all" (Luke 6:17-19).

After these verses come the Beatitudes where Jesus, in simple yet beautiful words, describes the Kingdom of God and how we are to respond to it.

Permalinks

"Life In The Spirit" PsalmsOfJohn Series

"Holy Spirit: Baptism"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2021/07/holy-spirit-baptism.html

"Holy Spirit: Power"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2021/07/holy-spirit-power.html

"Holy Spirit Life"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2021/07/holy-spirit-life.html

And soon to be updated:

"Authority: Life in the Spirit"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2024/05/authority.html

Praise Jesus. Amen.

Holy Spirit: Life

Disciples

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Since Pentecost Sunday I've heard people, and particularly Christian leaders, saying things like: "without the Holy Spirit people cannot pray right, cannot minister right, cannot live right". Their clear desire is to see more discipleship in Jesus' ecclesia, His gathered ones (Matthew 28:19).

"live" and "life" are very big words, they include so much. Once we are saved our lives are being "brought to fullness" in Jesus (John 10:10; Colossians 2:10). "Fullness" is one of my favourite Bible words, I see it as including "complete, active, transparent, clean, precious", and that would be a lovely place to be. Certainly all the "fruit of the Spirit" words would be included in such fullness of life.

When we are "baptised with the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5), our relationship with our God moves from our outside, from being something external that we can put on and take off, to being internal, that is, a part of us all the time. No wonder the Bible describes us as a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This is a radical change and will bring us much more into the nature of the "image and likeness" of Elohim God that we were created to be (Genesis 1:26), and more into "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13) that Jesus has planned for us all (Philippians 1:6).

"And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high". "For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:5 Jesus speaking).

Jesus promises us "power"; we see that that power comes when Jesus baptises us with His Holy Spirit. Our capacity to follow Jesus (Mark 1:17) and play our part in His work (Matthew 5:16) is multiplied and we are grateful: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20).

I often think about Adam and Eve in their early years, that lovely time before they believed Satan, sinned and fell so terribly (Genesis 3:7-19). Humankind were the last element of the Creation. Everything else was created so that we would have a really great place to live the "fullness" that God planned for us.

Like Adam and Eve, Trish and I are a "garden" family, Trish is a creative and very enthusiastic gardener and our place is always beautiful. The birds and bees love it too. Many of our children and daughters-in-law have caught this passion and their gardens too are full of life and colour.

Adam and Eve will have had a "full life". God put them together, I cannot imagine a better matchmaker; theirs will surely have been a "marriage made in Heaven"! Good marriages are one of those "greater-than-the-sum-of-their-parts" things we sometimes encounter. More than Adam and Eve enjoying just one another, God was their intimate friend and they spent time with Him every day. Family was a reality too, God made it clear that the couple would have babies and become a big family, even that they would "fill the Earth" (Genesis 1:28). They had work, to care for the Creation and to name every kind and species of life; we know that work is good for us, we wither without something meaningful to do.

In every culture we enjoy our food, regardless of where in the world we live; people love to get together around a table and share meals; Adam and Eve will have been the first to be blessed by the bounty of nature in this way, they had (almost) the whole garden to select from. Their climate must have been special too, (they were before the Flood of Noah's time; the weather we know is post Flood); Adam and Eve needed no clothing, neither did they feel any lack. A great marriage and a great life!

Time and again the Bible gives accounts of full lives of God's people when they follow His way. As we grow in Christ likeness (Ephesians 4:11-13) we also will be blessed (Luke 12:37).

Fruit

When Trish and I were new Christians we knew "Life In The Spirit" classes where the baptism in Holy Spirit was explained in Biblical terms, and also its impact on the believer, and the church, (and the world). The classes were frequently offered and brought understanding and much joy to many.
We also learned that our God is looking for obedience in us, and that obedience yields the fruit of faithfulness. The Christians we know are distinctive for the Holy Spirit fruit we see in them (Galatians 5:22-23), fruit which comes from living with, and for, the God of all Creation.

The world has no good explanation for any of the "fruit of Holy Spirit", but these fruit are seen everywhere in Scripture because they add such quality to our lives. I think of these nine words as "God's words". Atheists and others use them extensively, as though they are their own, but no, these words, and everything they represent, come from God.

Here are some Scriptures about our "full life" when Holy Spirit comes to us; nine big "fruit" words:

Love - "I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:26 Jesus' words to our Father).

Joy - "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).

Peace - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

Patience - "And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him" (2 Peter 3:15).

Kindness - "In the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7). 

Goodness - "I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another" (Romans 15:14). 

Faithfulness - "It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it" (3 John 1:3).

Gentleness - "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near" (Philippians 4:5).

Self-Control/self-restraint/temperance - "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin" (Romans 7:14).

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Thank you Jesus for your great love for us, each one.

As Jesus' people we can know that we are close to God, trusting Him, even so close that we can call Him "Abba Father" (Romans 8:15).

Because Jesus is in us (Colossians 1:27) we are equipped to be in great relationships within our community, and have the gifts and the fruit to rejoice in worthwhile work for our lovely Lord forever (Ephesians 2:10).

Praise Jesus. Amen.

Favourite Bible Verses

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority" (Colossians 2:9-10).

"Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). 

"We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,  but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,  beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;  by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;  by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;  through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;   as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;  as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:3-10).

"But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good - crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives" (Galatians 5:22-25 Message).

"But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25 Amplified).

Bless Jesus.

Permalinks

"Life In The Spirit" PsalmsOfJohn Series

"Holy Spirit: Baptism"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2021/07/holy-spirit-baptism.html

"Holy Spirit: Power"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2021/07/holy-spirit-power.html

"Holy Spirit Life"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2021/07/holy-spirit-life.html

And soon to be updated:

"Authority: Life in the Spirit"

  Link - https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2024/05/authority.html

Praise Jesus. Amen.