October 30

“You are children of light, now walk as such.  That is, be what you are.  In our relations with God this is especially necessary, because these all exist in the unseen spiritual region, and can, of course, only be real to us as our faith makes them so.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 10/11

Hannah also writes in another devotional for today:  “Someone has said that the only thing necessary for the children of God to do in order to enter into full possession of their inheritance in Christ is simply to be what they are...”  God reveals Himself in what I call real-time.  Our world is increasingly eliminating our face-to-face encounters with people.  Everything is being automated--no longer does a real person answer a business phone and our banking is done at a machine.  Even our groceries can be paid for at a machine.  Add to that e-mail and texting and we have very little actual contact with people.  In the past, at least handwritten letters allowed the recipient to “see” and “touch” something that was actually of that person--not a facsimile.  I can only image what effect this will have on the next generation.  What I’m getting at is this.....It is the nuances of our interaction with people that helps to shape us into who we are.  If we are treated kindly we will more than likely grow up to be kind people.  If we are treated badly, we will either grow up to behave badly ourselves or develop some sort of mask to cover up the low opinion we were given of ourselves.  In the same vein, by interacting with God in faith, we can’t help but become who He says we are.  So we must have face-to-face contact with God and then believe we are who He says we are.

“Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fullness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”  Psalm 16:11

May 11

“...on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to the church, ‘which is the house of God,’ to abide in her midst forever.  But in individual experience, the power of it is not always known, and each soul needs to come to its own Pentecost. The conscious presence of the abiding Comforter is not realized by every Christian.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 5/10

Hannah calls this consciousness the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I’ve often wondered if the denominations that believed the baptism of the Holy Spirit was a separate event from salvation were correct in their assertions.  Hannah’s explanation answers this question for me.  It’s not that we receive a separate or fuller filling of the Spirit, because if you are saved you have all the Spirit you’re ever going to get.  Rather, I believe, as Hannah asserts, it’s a consciousness of the presence of the Spirit within.  Just like in baptism where you are immersed in water, you are immersed in the Spirit and His presence cannot be escaped--you are aware of Him and all that He is:  Comforter, Counselor, Sanctifier, Sustainer.  All believers have the Spirit but not all are conscious of Him.  This may account for so many ineffective Christians and those who are considered carnal.  By not being conscious of the presence of the Spirit you will continue to be conscious of your “old man” and be influenced by it.  Between the two who do you think would be better to pay attention to?

“Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”  Psalm 16:11

January 4

“When was the last time you were physically affected by the reality that almighty God just spoke directly to you?  John lost all physical strength...Paul fell to the ground...Moses trembled...Peter fell down at Jesus knees....”  Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-By-Day

I stopped reading the above devotional at this point and became lost in the image in my head.  I realized that I couldn’t say, based on what happened to John and Paul and Moses and Peter, I’d ever been in God’s Presence.  I’d been on the fringe peering in, observing God, but I could not say I was actually IN God’s presence.  I then saw myself receiving the federal jury duty notice in the mail the day before and feeling anxious, going to the kitchen and finding something to eat to relieve the stress I was experiencing.  The thought of having to drive to Baltimore in rush hour traffic for the 5-week trial, of being asked to help decide another’s future, was overwhelming to me.    As soon as these thoughts presented themselves, it was as though a curtain was opened to me and God was revealing that the anxiety I was feeling was not due to the stress of the impending circumstances, but instead that I had been standing in His Presence at the very moment I felt most helpless!  But instead of running to God for help I ran to the kitchen to find my strength.  What God had just shown me was that when I feel helpless--which is why I feel anxious--I am actually in His Presence and that my response should be to worship Him as the saints of old had!

“Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for ever more.” Psalm 16:11