Incarnation is For Me

How would I make it through life without the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of me? I don't do so very well with the Holy Spirit so I do not like to think how awful I could be without the guidance and love of God actually permeating my body and soul.

Young people and adults with certain kinds of personalities tend to see the world in specifics. so, when they hear that "Jesus is in their heart" an image springs to life in the mind of a tiny Jesus sitting down in the living room of the heart to chat with God or read the Bible. Some might even look down their shirt to try to find Jesus peeking out at them.

Before the Day of Pentecost came with its powerful manifestation of God in the lives of several thousand new believers there was rarely ever any outward sign of God's presence with people. A few very special people like Abraham, Moses, David and Elijah had the Spirit with them but not in them. When the Spirit came upon one of the famous people in the Bible he or she did something remarkable and even miraculous. However, the promise was given by God that some day every believer would have the Holy Spirit.

Joel 2: ²⁵ “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm—
my great army that I sent among you.
²⁶ You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
²⁷ Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the LORD your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

²⁸ “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
²⁹ Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

This is a wonderful passage that many believers read and prayed to see. When Jesus in John 14 was telling His students to prepare for His leaving He said that Joel was going to come to pass soon.

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

With and In You!

They knew He was the result of the Holy Spirit's coming to Mary and now we shall be able to be visited by that same Holy Spirit who will be a dwelling place for us and we shall be a dwelling place for the Spirit.

Earlier in John 14 when Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many dwelling places..." the flocus is not on heaven but here and now. The dwelling place is the heart. The Disciples will be able to dwell/live in the Spirit. Not only that but the Holy Spirit with dwell/live in them. The many dwelling places are all the hearts of those who know Jesus.

That is a wonderful promise so grab it and love it.

I Love Christmas Carols

I went over to the Blue Ash Chili place near my home in Mason today for lunch. The place was empty because I got here late and everyone had already eaten and gone back to work. But that was nice because it was nice and quiet.

As I sat down the refrains of a beautiful Carol came over the speaker system. I just laid back into my booth and listened as Sandy patty sang. Before long the Holy Ghost Chills started flowing from deep within the bowels of my heart and then tears of deep joy crept out of my closed eyes.

I can be a bi of a Scrooge at this time of year if I get caught up in the frenzy of running about and spending money like a mad man or ad man. This year I left Scrooge at home and allowed my spirit to drink deeply from the well of Incarnation joy that beautiful music and a quiet heart would bring.

I repent of allowing the anxious antics of the agnostic and atheist fringe groups to steal my peace and gratitude. I repent of inability to savor each Christmas carol and happy kid. I repent of being Scrooge before he was convicted by the Spirit. I WILL sing JOY TO THE WORLD and really mean it.

Great Christian Leaders

How would you describe a successful Christian leader? Take a look a the list below and choose the ones you think are indicative of a successful Minister.

Number of people he/she won to Christ
Number of people in his/her following/church
Size of his/her ban account
Popularity of hits on Google
Number of persons trained to minister
Knowledge of the scripture
Speaking ability
Recognition by secular media

Read these and rank them according to their Spiritual Success before you read the enclosed story.


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The most powerful preacher in the 1800’s had a voice strong enough for 20,000 people to hear without amplification. He was heard by almost one third of the total population of the United States during the time of the Founding Fathers. Yet, few now know his name and his current influence is negligible. One of the great preacher’s contemporaries was a man whose legacy is well known worldwide. His preaching was good but not great and he felt like a failure after hearing the great preacher speak. What was the difference?

The man who changed Christianity did more than preach. He also built systems or wine skins that included personal skills, mutual confession, accountable and supportive. They had relationships that were Transformational. The groups were not dependent upon one gifted “personality” but a team of lay leaders. The classes, groups and structure influenced every dimension of a person’s being; mind, will, emotions, relationships and spirit. They built resiliency, maturity and healthy lifestyles.

George Whitfield’s powerful voice and gifts as a speaker may have been a curse rather than a blessing. He spoke persuasively and God blessed the masses for a moment. Unfortunately, it did little to transform the churches or the nation. His legacy is negligible. Had we been alive during his time we would have probably voted him the best preacher in the English-speaking world. We do love big stars.

John Wesley, on the other hand, was convinced that he had to train and equip believers to do the work of the ministry. He wrote training manuals and he established practical training groups he called “classes”. He was a fervent preacher who spoke with fire but also designed fireplaces into which the embers were placed for ongoing usefulness. He developed workable “methods” that made a difference in people’s lives. Wesley built individuals and groups that met and practiced spiritual disciplines each week. He demanded and received practical, skill based relationships. His methods changed England and continue to change to the world. His new name: Methodist.

Whitfield has been forgotten but Wesley is famous as the founding genius of Methodists, Salvation Army, The Nazarene Church, small groups, lay education, Alcoholics Anonymous, outreach to the poor, etc. His legacy is enormous and will continue for many years. Whitfield is gone and almost forgotten for he did not write, train or build systems. Mr Wesley continues to move the world through the systems he introduced.

A transformational system must include ongoing relationships and the development of habitual healthy patterns, rituals, activities, interactions books and training materials. Go to the Sweeten Life VIP Family Care web for materials.

Blocks to Intimacy

We all know what Ants in the Pants do and why they are so hard to get out and enjoy the picnic. We go out to a nice, shady spot and lay out a blanket with some good things to eat and drink. Then, we wave goodby to the blanket and go off for awhile to play ball or fish.

When we return we are thirsty and hungry so we sit down, lie back on one arm and get a cold drink. Just as we get close to relaxing or even snoozing a bit before lunch we feel an itch in the socks and pants. All of a sudden we realize that the ANTS discovered our plot to relax and came up with a devious plan to thwart it. We have, ANTS in the PANTS and they are determined to stay there no matter how hard we work to get them out so we can relax.

Getting down to real prayer and listening to God is similar. We sit down determined to focus on God and His word only to discover there are ANTS in our head. (I wish I could make that rhyme.) These ANTS are

Automatic
Negative
Thoughts

"Yikes, I forgot to call my Doctor and set up an appointment. That will not take a minute so i will call right now."

"Wow! I hope I can hit the golf ball straighter tomorrow. I am tired of hooking so much and buying all those new balls. I wonder why I am hooking. Ohm stop that and get back to business with God. OK Lord, I am going to really focus now and nothing is going to stop me. NOTHING!"

(A VOICE arises from deep within: "Who do you think you are kidding? You hypocrite. You are just trying to show off for God. You know that golf is more important than prayer. So stop acting like you are some kind of saint.")

Does this resonate with you? Man oh man I have encountered these kinds of voices in my head all my life when I tried to pray and meditate. But maybe I have learned a few things:

1. These voices are common to every Christian no matter how mature, spiritual or sinful.

2. The default condition of the brain is to fill any quiet time with defensiveness, old tapes, self condemnation and ANTS!

3. We cannot argue with these thoughts. The answer is Jesus not my arguments.

4. Every time one comes up simply thank God and turn toward Him. Use each interruption as an opportunity for positive thoughts instead of negative thoughts.

5. Do not allow the ANTS to stop your attempts to pray and meditate.

6. Resist the devil and he will flee!

7. Have fun!

Go to Sweeten Life for more assistance.