December 12

“Christianity is not moral platitudes, lofty intentions, and noble thoughts.  The fundamental characteristic of God’s kingdom is power....If you only have the appearance of godliness without any corresponding spiritual power (2 Timothy 3:5), ask God to cleanse you of your sin and to fill you with His spirit so that your life is characterized by power.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 11/24

If I were to sum up in one word the power that 2 Timothy 3:5 is speaking of I’d have to say it is Love.  To be cleansed of our rebellion against God fills us with His Spirit, but if we continue to sin we block the power of Love from being released through us.  I think it would be helpful if we substituted the word “sin” with the word “fear”,  for fear is the opposite of Love.  Whenever we do not love someone we are in essence saying that we fear them.  Our behavior toward them will be to protect ourselves.  If every time I have a negative thought I were to attribute it to fear, I would realize that the only solution is Love since Love casts out fear (1 John 4:18) and covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).  This is why we must give the Holy Spirit complete reign in our life.  It is only by His Power in us that we are enabled not to be afraid (trust) and thereby to love (obey).

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

June 1

“Then came Pentecost, and these same disciples came to know Christ as inwardly revealed, as one in union with them, their very indwelling life...One will alone animated them, and that was His will.  One interest alone was dear to them, and that was His.  They were made one with Him.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 6/1

Grasping this idea of being One with God is difficult if you have no clue to who God is.  I think this is why so few seem to achieve this concept.....we attempt to grasp it in order to achieve it when that was not God’s plan at all.  God makes us one with Him.  We can’t think ourselves into that oneness.  We cannot really know who God is until we’ve been made one with Him.  We’re always getting the cart before the horse!  At Pentecost the disciples were baptized with fire.  They did not baptize themselves....they were baptized by the Holy Spirit.  God had a plan for them and therefore baptized them with His Spirit so that they could carry out His plan for them.  He will do the same for us when we acknowledge His residence in us.  But then we must let go of the reins so that the “horse” can get before the “cart”!

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1:8