Friday, October 4, 2024

 

 

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.  (Acts 5:32)

 

 

"…the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

 

Obedience to God is the evidence that we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

Obedience happens over time.  Obedience happens over months, years, and decades.

 

The particular type of obedience of which Peter and the apostles spoke is the kind that arises out of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

 

This is not a “grit-our-teeth-and-bear-it” obedience.

 

Rather, this is a joyful “glad-I-can-help” obedience.

 

It takes time, and practice, to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us.

 

The key is to keep on practicing.

​

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Thursday, October 3, 2024

​

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”  (Luke 11:13)

 

 

Many of us have difficult asking for help.

 

Pride keeps us from admitting we need assistance.

 

Jesus declared that our Father is eager to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

We cannot earn the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives; we can only receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.

 

Without the Holy Spirit, our lives will belch out noxious fumes.  We may not notice them ourselves, since we tend to leave them in our wake where they become an unpleasant plume behind us.

 

The Good News is that our Father is ready, willing, and eager to bestow upon us His Holy Spirit.

 

So, we have a two-fold challenge.  

 

First, we must ask our Father to fill our lives with the Holy Spirit.  

 

Second, we must receive the Holy Spirit into our lives…purely as a gift!

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

 

And immediately something like scales fell from (Paul’s) eyes, and his sight was restored.  Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.  (Acts 9:18-19).

 

 

The conversion of the Apostle Paul was quick and dramatic.

 

One moment Paul was striding toward Damascus in order to arrest the followers of Jesus.  The next moment, he was a follower of Jesus, proclaiming the Good News.

 

Sometimes conversions happen fast.

 

Sometimes they happen more slowly.

 

Many of us have known individuals who have been converted to Jesus over the course of many decades.

 

Even Paul took some time to “digest” what had happed to him.

 

Paul reported that after his conversion he “went away at once to Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.  Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem…”  (Galatians 1:17-18)

 

Conversion has been described as a, “Change of heart followed by a change in direction."

 

For some of us, the change of heart and direction have happened in a moment, like a ball changes direction as it rockets off a sluggers bat.

 

For others of us, the change of heart and direction have required more time, like a giant ship lumbering around in choppy waters.

 

What matters is not the speed of our conversion.

 

What matters is that it has indeed occurred, and we are now following Jesus.

Blessings, 

Pastor Karl

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

​

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  (Romans 8:9)

 

 

The Apostle Paul declared that we have been converted from being powered by the flesh, to being powered by the Spirit.

 

In a single verse Paul uses three different terms for the Holy Spirit: (1) Spirit, (2) Spirit of God, and (3) Spirit of Christ.

 

How might we intentionally make the Holy Spirit the one and only fuel that powers our lives?

 

We might begin by listening to the Spirit as He speaks to us through the Bible.

 

While the Spirit speaks to us inwardly, this still, small voice will always be in line with what He has spoken to us through His Holy Word.  Therefore, the Bible is a great place to begin.

 

In its simplest form, spirituality is nothing more than our striving to live out what we believe.

 

Practice always involves mistakes.

 

Fortunately, our mistakes lead to learning.

 

In the case of being converted to running on the power of the Holy Spirit, our mistakes lead to a deepening maturity of faith.

 

We can begin by reading Paul’s words that follow the verse above.

​

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl

Monday, September 30, 2024

 

For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.  All these things evil things come from within, and they defile a person.  (Mark 7:21-23)

 

 

In my time driving a truck I learned one of the cardinal rules when making a delivery: after backing into the loading dock, always turn off the engine!

 

Why?

 

You don’t want to make people sick (and angry) with noxious exhaust fumes.

 

Just as internal combustion engines run off of some sort of fuel, so also human beings run off of one type of fuel or another.

 

In some countries, gasoline and diesel are referred to as “spirits.”  Interesting!

 

Some fuels (spirits) produce noxious and dangerous fumes.

 

Many of us remember the “conversion” of gasoline engines from “leaded fuel” to “unleaded fuel” in an effort to lessen the pollution being spewed out of exhaust pipes.

 

Even as engines can be converted from one fuel to another, so also human beings can be converted to run off of a different Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

 

When we are converted to Christ, and we begin to “run” on the power of the Holy Spirit, we cease to belch out noxious fumes.

 

Instead, we bring a holy fragrance to those around us.

 

We need to be diligent in ensuring that, each and every day, the Holy Spirit is the “spirit” that is driving us on.

 

As Jesus points out, we can tell by looking at what flows out from our hearts.

​

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl