Can't Help But Hope

Colossians 1:27

In the midst of troubled times, when economies are shaking, prices are sky-rocketing and investments are vanishing, it is easy to grow distressed. Even believers, washed in the precious blood of Christ can find themselves looking at the stormy waves and ignoring the sleeping Savior inside of their vessel. It is easy to forget that we have Him, not only in our boat so to speak, but living in our hearts, and He is our provider.

While the world can find little to be hopeful for, the Christian need look no further than Christ’s finished work, being manifested in their very life. The mystery among the Gentiles is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It is such a mystery because it defies all natural laws. Only with Christ can you find peace in the storm. Only with Christ can you see the problems that befall our nation and have no fear for tomorrow. He is not around you, or near you, for that would be too far away. He is in you, reminding you that His grace is rich (verse 27)!

Jesus told His disciples that the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer was to convince, or convict them of righteousness. This does not mean that He is in you to tell you to live righteous every day. If you could just ‘live righteous’ by being told to, then the 10 Commandments would do just fine, but we know that Israel had those and didn’t live righteous at all. Jesus further explains it when he tells you why the Spirit convicts of righteousness:

“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more” (John 16:10).

The Holy Spirit must remind the believer of their righteousness because without Jesus standing by us in the flesh, it will be easy to feel that He is not with us at all. The Spirit works constantly to convince the believer that they are the righteousness of God in Christ, even if they don’t feel like it.

Christ in us is as our hope for all of glory. When we acknowledge that He is there, in spite of our circumstances, we are bringing His glory to light, allowing Him to control our circumstances. Many Christians wander through this life subject to the same things that their worldly counterparts suffer through because they do not rest in Christ’s finished work in their life. Be reminded today that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Need hope? Look inside and find Jesus.

Zechariah told the Israelites to turn to the strong hold when they were in need. Jesus is that strong hold, anchored in Calvary’s cross, unshakable in times of shaking. The prophet completes the statement with, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee” (Zechariah 9:12). I love the phrase ‘prisoners of hope’. When you view Christ as your hope of glory, you become a prisoner to that hope. You can’t help but hope!

Remember who you are in Jesus; and remember who Jesus is in you. Christ is in you, even if you don’t feel like it. The Holy Spirit is proclaiming that you are righteous in Christ. Don’t worry about the shaking, for He is greater than it all.

The Desire of All Nations

Haggai 2:7-9

With the worsening of economies, the rising prices and the instability in the markets, the world feels a level of insecurity that it is unfamiliar with. Believers rest in their Savior, knowing that God has it all under control, but the unbeliever has no such faith. What can be shaken, is being shaken, as God said that He would do (verse 7). The things that are of Him, namely the gospel of His grace and goodness, cannot be shaken so they will remain in this final hour (Hebrews 12:25-28).

The thing that every believer looks forward to, and most unbelievers think is a joke, is the arrival of Jesus Christ. Haggai called Him, “the desire of all nations” (Haggai 2:7). What a wonderful description of our Lord Jesus. Even those who do not realize that they are seeking for Jesus are doing so every time that they try to find happiness in the things of this world. All of these things shake and fade away, and man must replace the joy that went with them. They are seeking after what Jesus offers, whether they realize it or not. As Simon said to Jesus, “All men seek for thee” (Mark 1:37).

God gives a further promise in the next verse of Haggai, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts” (2:8). Everything belongs to the Lord. This world has its system of finances and government, but it all belongs to God. Even the silver and the gold, which is the monetary system of this world, is all in the hands of God. His desire is not only to bless His people with spiritual things, but to bless us financially as well. Some try to argue that this silver and gold is symbolic, but there was actual silver and gold in the temple and it is the temple that God is speaking of.

Finally, a great promise that is being fulfilled even now: “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:9). Paul declared that as believers, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The glory of the great temples of yesterday cannot compare to the glory of having the Holy Spirit reside within the heart and life of a child of God.

You do not find the presence of God in a church building, you find Him in your heart. The desire of all nations is Jesus, and He lives within each believer. The latter is better than the former because in the past, prior to Calvary, the only place where God could be approached was within the walls of the physical temple. Now, because Jesus has provided a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20), we can draw near to God because of His residence within our own body. We are not “little gods”, but we belong to a “big God”!

If you find yourself lonely today, or bogged down with the cares of this life, remember that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He lives and dwells within you and He is ready to provide His temple with whatever it takes to bring it glory and honor.

Don’t Forget That Your Sins Are Gone!

2 Peter 1:3-9

Peter tells the believer that they have been given a “divine nature”, which is the very nature of God. With that divine nature in every one of us, our lives are now elevated to a position that they could never have been prior to our conversion. Because of this new position, we are expected to see “all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (1:3), at work in our lives.

Notice that the things pertaining to life and godliness only come out of us as we increase in the knowledge of who God is within us. From this knowledge we then see the following progression in our lives: diligence, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity. As these fruits grow in your heart, they guarantee that the believer will never be “barren nor unfruitful” (verse 8).

Peter is basically stating the same thing that Paul did regarding the fruit of the Spirit. These wonderful by-products of knowing the Lord should always be springing up within the heart of the redeemed. Fruit grows naturally, and needs only the God-given elements to do so. No coaching or prompting on our part makes the apple tree give apples, so no prompting or works on our part makes the heart produce fruit.

Why tell us that these things should be in our life if they must be brought out by the Spirit? If they are not there, then how can our knowing that we lack them help us to bring them out? Peter answers this question in verse 9:

“But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

If the believer lacks any of the virtues listed in verses 5-7 it is not because they are not consecrated enough. It has nothing to do with their works or their effort, but rather they are blinded as to who they are in Christ, and they have little spiritual insight into their position in Him. Furthermore, they have forgotten that the blood of Christ has taken their sins away.

So many problems could be avoided by all of us if we would remember on a daily basis that we are forgiven of our sins. The knowledge of forgiveness silences the voice of condemnation in our heart and lets us live free in the wonderful grace of God. When we recognize that we are forgiven, our spiritual eyes are opened and we see God’s purpose for our lives. His fruit begins to explode in every area of our being and we walk in the “exceeding great and precious promises” (1:4).

Remember that your old sins are gone and walk free in these sweet promises of our Father. Have a great day believer!

The Out-pouring of the Spirit

Joel 2:28, 29

The events of this passage of scripture have partially come to pass. Peter quotes it in Acts 2:17, stating the “afterward” to be “the last days”, when on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 in Jerusalem who were waiting on the promise of the Father. We have had nearly 2000 years pass since Peter stated this, and we still hear talk of the “last days”. This is because the era of the “last days” began with the ascension of Christ, though the “last day” is yet to come.

Since we are in these “last days”, the out-pouring of the Spirit is still happening. The Holy Spirit has already arrived on the earth, empowering the church, but every believer can have an outward manifestation of this power in their life. Joel said that it would cause “your sons and daughters to prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). Even the servants and the handmaids can now receive this mighty manifestation (verse 29). It is not confined to the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, because Peter took the gospel of grace to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, in Acts 10, and after he preached of the forgiveness of sins through Christ, “the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word” (Acts 10:44). These same new converts then begin to “speak with tongues and magnify God” (verse 46).

The Holy Spirit enters the believer at conversion, and He manifests Himself as Comforter in their life, walking with them into every area, providing the reaffirmation that they are the righteousness of God (John 16:10). He wishes to provide them with all spiritual gifts as well, and the believer is encouraged to pray for the best of those gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31). The Spirit manifests the various gifts so that the believer can profit from them (1 Corinthians 12:7), and it would do us good to look at the list of those gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.

One gift is given to all believers to use as a prayer language, to build them up, and to glorify God, and that is the gift of tongues. Three times in the book of Acts, the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit into believers lives was accompanied by speaking with other tongues (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6), and Paul told the Corinthian church that when you use this gift you speak directly to God and that it is done to build up your spirit (14:2, 4). Paul also encouraged the believers to pray in tongues whenever they wanted, or even to sing in tongues in like manner (14:15), and he was proud of using tongues (14:18). He also knew that not everyone would agree with this usage, so he instructed the Corinthians that if someone chose to be ignorant regarding these gifts, “let him be ignorant” (14:38), but to “forbid not to speak with tongues” (14:39).

The Holy Spirit is still touching lives and entering into the heart of everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. When the Law was given on the first Day of Pentecost, 3000 people were killed. When the Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, 3000 people were saved. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit!

If you are not seeing the manifestation of the Spirit in your life through the gifts, there is no condemnation to you. You are not “doing something wrong”. Simply ask for the Holy Spirit to manifest in you. Your heavenly Father always gives to those who ask (Luke 11:13).

Slow to Leave; Quick to Return

Ezekiel 10:4, 18, 19, 23, 24; Acts 2:2

The glory of the Lord rested on the mercy seat, between the two cherubims, on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark itself sat in the back of the temple, in the most Holy Place, and was visited only once per year by the High Priest. This glory was often characterized by a cloud, and all of Israel knew that this was the very Spirit of the Lord.

Ezekiel saw a vision of the final moments of the presence of the Spirit of the Lord in Jerusalem. Having shown Ezekiel the debauchery that was taking place in the temple; idolatry, prostitution and blasphemy (Ezekiel 8), God is now ready to depart from the temple, emptying it of His presence, making room for the enemy to ransack and destroy it. In light of how bad things have gotten, you would think that God would run out as fast as possible, but His slow movements speak of someone who does not want to leave, but would rather stay as long as He can, speaking just a bit longer.

He starts in Ezekiel 10:4, “over the threshold of the house”, which is the doorway into the temple. Then He proceeds outward, “Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims” (Ezekiel 10:18). Now outside of the main room of the temple, the Spirit is hovering near the cherubims that were present at the event, who now fly out the east gate of the temple, with the glory “over them above” (verse 19).

Next we find God’s glory over the heart of Jerusalem, “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city” (Ezekiel 11:23). Still slow to leave, the Spirit takes one more look at Jerusalem before going up from the mountain, back into heaven (verse 24).

Just over 600 years later, after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes His triumphant return to Jerusalem. The book of Acts records the way that He arrives as, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). He comes in a hurry! There is no slow arrival. Some say that He had to be begged in by the prayers of the 120, but that is not true. He waited until, “the day of Pentecost was fully come” (Acts 2:1), so that He could arrive on time.

Some say that if you are not very careful you will run the Holy Spirit off. I have heard it said that any foolishness in a service, even down to someone chewing gum will run the presence of the Lord out of the house. I say that if chewing gum ran the power out of a service, then there wasn’t much to begin with! The Holy Spirit was slow to go and quick to return. Don’t be deceived into believing that He is quick to leave you now. In fact, He will not leave you, nor forsake you. He will stay with you through all things because He is your comforter, and He is always pointing you to Jesus.

Go in the assurance that the Holy Spirit is in you as a child of God. He is not looking for some excuse to leave you high and dry, but rather, He is looking for another excuse to bless you. Take the abundant grace and dwell in it.

Stir Up The Gift

2 Timothy 1:6, 7

From time to time, it is necessary for us to “stir up” that which is inside of us. Paul tells Timothy to “stir up the gift of God” which is in him. This is the only usage of this phrase in the Greek in the entire New Testament, and it means “to rekindle anew” or “to enflame one’s mind or strength or zeal”. When Peter makes a similar statement in 2 Peter 3:1, he uses a different word in the Greek for “stir up”, meaning “to wake one’s mind”. Peter is saying “wake up”, while Paul is saying, “fire up”!

I believe that the gift or at least a portion of the gift, which Paul is speaking of in this text, is the gift of speaking with other tongues. I lean to this belief because it is the one gift of the gifts of the Spirit that the Bible specifically says can be used whenever you like (1 Corinthians 14:15), and it is the one that is used to build up the speaker (14:2).

The encouragement to use the gift is followed by, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). “For God…” shows us that the previous verse is linked to this one. Whatever the gift is inside of Timothy, it holds the answer that overcomes the spirit of fear. In that gift, is the power and love and sound mind that Paul says that we have received.

When you pray in tongues, you are communicating with God in your prayer language. You are praying in words that you do not know, and it is the Spirit in you that is making intercession (Romans 8:26). These prayers can be long or short, there are no rules that govern how you pray in your own prayer time, but they will always edify and build you up. The reason for that is found in verse 7.

God has not given us the spirit of fear, so any fear that we have cannot be from Him, but must be from the enemy. Instead, He has given us power, love and a sound mind. These three gifts from God are stirred within us every time that we “stir up the gift”.

God’s power begins to move in situations when we pray in the Spirit. That power enables us to do what we could not do on our own, independent of fear of failure. This power overcomes the enemy and glorifies the Father.

The love of God flows outward from us whenever we stir up the gift, for He teaches us to love in ways that we do not know. You cannot love by force, there must be something that motivates you or “turns you on” to love something or someone. Christ is that something and praying in the Spirit stirs His love up in you.

Finally, the sound mind is such a glorious promise, because the battlefield of the mind is where so many saints are losing. The phrase in the Greek actually means “self-control”. Many people have told me, “Pastor, I feel like I am losing control. I can’t even think straight.” This is an attack of the enemy meant to frighten and confuse. Use your prayer language to bring sanity back into your soul, and watch as your mind calms and begins to think on the things of the Spirit.
I pray God’s abundant blessings on you today as you walk in Him.

The Spirit of Anti-Christ in the Last Time

1 Samuel 2:12-17

The high priest of Israel at the time of this text was a man named Eli. He had two sons that were priests as well, but who had no relationship with the Lord. Nothing is more dangerous than people in leadership that “know not the Lord” (verse 12).

According to chapter one, their names are Hophni and Phinehas. Hophni means “fighter”, while Phinehas means “mouth of brass”. Both boys use their position as priest to their gain, meeting the people at the altar and taking their sacrifices away from them before they can offer them to the Lord. The priests were allowed to have whatever was left over from a sacrifice for their own consumption, but to take it raw, before it could be offered, kept the offerer from receiving absolution from their sins. This form of raw or sodden meat was off limits, but the two brothers didn’t seem to care.

When Israel came out of Egypt, God told them to eat the lamb of the Passover, “roast with fire, not sodden”. They were to eat it cooked, not raw. The reason for this is that the lamb was a type of Christ, who must be consumed as a crucified Savior. Only the finished work of Jesus, not the life of Jesus, will change lives. Many are asking what Jesus would do or say, but the greatest question should be, “What DID Jesus do at the cross?”

These two priests represent the spirit of anti-Christ in this final hour. John said that in the last time there are “many anti-Christ’s” (1 John 2:18). We often view the Anti-Christ as the one who comes during the Tribulation, but the Bible never refers to him by that title. Rather, in this final hour the anti-Christ that John is speaking of will take away the power and authority of the real Christ. Unfortunately, we are seeing less and less of the crucified Christ with His loveliness and cleansing power. It is not because Jesus is less powerful, but because our combative spirit and mouth of brass has thrown law and works at the comers to the altar for so long, that the people have begun to despise the entire process (1 Samuel 2:17).

In your walk today, recognize that the cross of Christ is a finished work, with no assistance needed from you. Do not give that grace to yourself only, but be ready to share it with everyone that you come in contact with. If you have been hearing the “fighter” and the “mouth of brass”, then salvation has become less about resting in His finished work, and more about doing something to please God. Relax in His presence today, with the only laboring that you do, being the labor to enter into rest (Hebrews 4:11).

Open the gift of righteousness which Jesus paid for, so that you could have abundant life. May His grace and peace follow you today!

(Need more information on today’s topic? Contact the ministry and ask for Pastor Paul’s sermon, “The Spirit of Anti-Christ in the Last Time” on CD. It is our gift to you! God bless.)

Our Helper

Romans 8:26, 27

When you have a big job to do, isn’t it nice if someone comes to help you complete it? With an extra set of hands, you have twice the labor being performed, cutting the work time in half and you have someone to fellowship with as you finish the project. In some respects, the Holy Spirit is in us as a helper; quick to pick up the areas in our life where we lack and are slacking and it is certainly nice to have some fellowship along the way.

In many other ways, the Holy Spirit is in us doing absolutely all of the work, because the task at hand is quite literally, out of our hands. Our sicknesses and our infirmities are possessions that we would rather not have, and sometimes they are things that we don’t even know that we possess until it is too late. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to deal with those infirmities as they arrive, making intercession for us “with groaning that cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).

The groaning that are going on in us are on our part and not the Holy Spirit. He is perfectly capable of uttering whatever He needs to say, but we do not always know what it is that needs to be said. This is why we have the marvelous gift of praying in other tongues that we can use whenever we so desire. As we pray in tongues, we are praying the language of the Holy Spirit. Though unknown to us, it is His language and it ministers the things that only He knows.

We would all be quick to admit that the Holy Spirit knows everything that is going on in both our spirit man and in our physical bodies. There is not one blood cell that He does not have in His sights. Since He knows what we can’t, the Holy Spirit must intercede in areas that we do not have knowledge. When we pray in tongues, we are praying that area aloud, joining our faith with the intercession of the Holy Spirit. Jude called it “praying in the Holy Ghost”, which causes you to edify yourself “on your most holy faith” (Jude 20).

A second role of the Spirit in our hearts is to intercede for us according to God’s will for our lives. In this role, He is not only addressing the physical needs of our bodies, but He is positioning us for God’s best blessings in our lives. In other words, the Holy Spirit never goes to sleep on the job, but He is always looking out for our best interests.

It should be a blessed consolation to know that God has provided you with two wonderful gifts: the ability to pray in tongues over your situation and have the Holy Spirit working for you and the knowledge that at every moment of the day, the Holy Spirit is interceding on your behalf to His Father regarding every area of your life.

You should regard yourself as very special in light of all that God has done and is doing for you, even as you read this. You must be greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved for God to take such a keen interest in your very best. Hallelujah!

The Manners of the Spirit

Luke 9:51-56

On His way to Jerusalem, for what would be the final moments of His life, Jesus passes through several villages in Samaria. None of these villages receive Him with hospitality, which infuriates at least two of His disciples, James and John. These two “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17) ask Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the people, “even as Elijah did?” (Mark 10:54).

The precedent that they are working off of happened in the very land of Samaria in 2 Kings 1:10. The prophet Elijah was dwelling on a mountain-top when an army from Samaria came to enquire of him. He called down fire from heaven on them in order to prove that he was a prophet of God, and then did it to the follow-up army as well. James and John feel the rejection of the Samaritans toward Jesus and wish to prove to these people that their Savior is the very Son of God. What better way to prove that God’s power is on them than to do what Elijah did?

Jesus does not condemn the action of calling down fire by Elijah, but he does tell James and John that they do not know the manner of spirit that they are being influenced by. How could the manner of spirit in Elijah that called down fire from heaven be proper, but then it be the wrong influence in the disciples? In this passage, we see the change of God’s treatment toward humanity under the New Covenant.

God poured out His wrath and His judgment on mankind from Mt. Sinai all the way through the Old Testament. People died wholesale as God swung a sharp sword of justice through nations, towns and villages. When Jesus came, the Bible says that He brought “on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). This “peace” was not between rival nations, nor was the good will between men; but rather the peace was with God and the good will was “toward men” from God. In other words, when Jesus arrived, God was sending us an emissary saying, “The war is about to be over at the cross”. When Jesus said, “It is finished” that war ended!

The manner of the Holy Spirit under the New Covenant is not the destruction of men’s lives but the saving of them. God is not against us, for He has exhausted His anger in the body of Jesus at the cross. Now, because of the arrival, perfection, death and resurrection of Christ, God has had His justice appeased, and His love for mankind shines through because of the cross. It is out of God’s character to kill men now, for He killed His Son at Calvary. In fact, if God is killing men for sin and destroying lives for their rebellion, He must apologize to His Son for the cross; because Jesus was supposed to bear all of the judgment (John 12:32).

The Holy Spirit plays His role perfect: He sheds forth the love of God into every area of our hearts (Romans 5:4); He helps with our infirmities and sicknesses by interceding to the Father on our behalf (Romans 8:26); He convicts us of our righteousness, reminding us of who we are in Christ even when we fail (John 16:10) and He guides us into all truth (which is Jesus), (John 16:13).

In light of how proper His manners are, let’s not mix covenants and place the Holy Spirit in the role of murderer and destroyer. When the church falls into this pattern, she knows not what manner of spirit she is of (Luke 9:55).

The Holy Spirit’s First Work

Romans 5:5

This verse marks the first usage of “Holy Spirit” or “Holy Ghost” in the entire book of Romans by the Apostle Paul. Until this point, he has proven man’s guilt by sin; shown God’s justice system of the cross; explained that righteousness comes only through faith; and elevated grace to its position of abundance. Now, with all of the foundational work done, Paul shows us the third member of the God-head for the first time.

What would you suppose the first work of the Holy Spirit might be in the believer? Some would say that He is here to bring power to the saint, so that they can cast out devils or perform miracles, and while those things are true and good, it is not what is mentioned as His first role. We know that it is first, for this is not only the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the entire book, but it follows Paul’s instructions on how we know that we have justification and grace:

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand” (Romans 5:1, 2).

Having shown us justification by faith and peace with God, Paul explains that our standing is in grace by faith. Now, we need something inside of us to assure us that we are everything that Paul just said that we are. That something is the Holy Spirit who is in us initially to show us that “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts”. How is that love shed abroad? “By the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5).

Isn’t it fascinating to know that the primary reason that the Holy Spirit is in you is to reinforce how much the Father loves you? Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be another Comforter, to walk with us and guide us. What better way to comfort than to remind us that we are deeply loved by our Daddy Father!

We need reminded that we are loved because the enemy constantly wishes for us to forget it. He spoke to Jesus in the wilderness, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:3). Why didn’t he say, “If thou be the beloved Son of God”? That is what God had just said of Jesus to close the third chapter, but Satan leaves that powerful word “beloved” out. He never wants to remind you that you are loved, so the Holy Ghost has to!

Each day of your Christian walk, the Holy Spirit will spread the love of the Father into the further reaches of your heart. Do not be fooled by preaching that tells you that the Holy Spirit is searching the dark corners of your heart to find hidden sins and bring them to light. Jesus died to take away your sins, and His work is a finished work. The Holy Spirit does not come in and do the excess work that Jesus failed to do when you were first saved. That is sacrilege! Instead, the Holy Spirit is here to show you, one step at a time, just how much your Father cares for you.
You are greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved!

The Rest and the Refreshing

Isaiah 28:11, 12

This marks the first prophecy in the Bible regarding speaking with other tongues. We know that the “stammering lips and another tongue” refer to this beautiful gift because Paul quotes this passage in 1 Corinthians 14:21, “In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord”. The translators added the words “men of”, taking the original meaning away from the text, but Paul is referring to men speaking with unknown tongues (1 Corinthians 14:1-22).

When a believer speaks with other tongues, they are not speaking to someone else, for no one else would understand what they are saying. They are speaking things that are mysteries to themselves, but they are being directed at God (1 Corinthians 14:2). This speaking can be done as prayer or even as a song (14:14, 15), and it is always done to edify the speaker (14:4). To edify means “to build or repair or to grow in wisdom”, so by speaking with other tongues, the believer is building up themselves.

The Apostle Jude instructed us to do as much, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 1:20). How do we “build up” or “edify” ourselves? We do this by praying in the Holy Ghost which is praying in tongues. Paul told young Timothy to “stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). The gift that is inside of us that we can stir up at will is the unknown tongue. It is ours, so let’s use it!

Isaiah tells us that speaking with other tongues will be both a rest and a refreshing, but that many people “would not hear” (Isaiah 28:12). Paul envisioned as much when he said, regarding spiritual gifts, “But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:38). Let us that have ears to hear pay close attention to what the Spirit is saying to us as He gives us instructions for our rest.

Each believer can walk in and function in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. You received the Comforter when you invited Jesus into your heart, but there is always more fullness to be had. Paul told the church at Ephesus to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), denoting that there is more filling to be done, even after we are saved. Even the disciples and apostles, who had been present out the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, needed a re-filling of the Spirit from time-to-time, as Acts 4:31 bears out.

Don’t let detractors discourage you from using your prayer language. If you wish to use tongues as edification and you are not sure about it, ask the Father and He will freely give the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13), but don’t shy away because you think that it is not for you or even that it is off-limits for the church in general. Some site Acts 2 as evidence that tongues is only to be used to preach to people of other languages, but a close examination of that chapter will show that when the strangers in Jerusalem heard tongues they heard of “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11). When it came time to hear the gospel message, which led 3000 to salvation, they heard Peter preach a message to them; with no indication that he preached in tongues (Acts 2:14).

You have instant rest and constant refreshing at your disposal; believe it or not.

The Holy Spirit's Cue

Acts 10:43, 44

Peter’s sermon to the house of Cornelius was not one born of excitement on Peter’s part. He had refused to take the gospel to the Gentiles, for fear that they were unclean and thus unworthy to receive the good news. When God finally got through to the Apostle, he was eager to share the faith with whoever would listen, and the great 10th chapter of Acts bears out this highly anticipated sermon.

The Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles in this chapter, just as He had fallen upon the 120 on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Peter knew that they had received the same revelation of the Holy Spirit because he heard them speaking with other tongues and he knew that they must have received of the same Spirit (Acts 10:46). What brought this great revelation of the Spirit to the house? Of course it followed the message that was delivered by Peter, but at what point in the sermon did the Spirit enter? The answer to that question is key in understanding the role of Christ’s finished work in everything that the Holy Spirit does.

Peter’s sermon begins in Acts 10:34, and continues through verse 43; a relatively short span of scripture. In my Pentecostal background, of which I am very proud to claim, we would take portions of this sermon and hold them up as great ways to describe the Holy Spirit. For instance, I remember hearing verse 38 quoted many times as an example of the power of God. It reads:

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

That is a power verse, pointing us to the awesome works of Jesus; how He did good things and healed people because of the Holy Ghost and power that rested on Him. However, if you will notice, there is no response on the part of the Holy Spirit when Peter says this. Instead, the sermon continues. Now notice that the scripture gives you the exact moment when the Spirit arrives in the room, “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell…” (Acts 10:44). What words was Peter speaking when the Holy Ghost fell? Perhaps we should read verse 43:

“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

The moment that faith in Jesus and His finished work is mentioned, and the fact that this faith brings complete remission of sins, the Holy Spirit shows up. It is as if the Spirit has been waiting in the wings of the stage, listening for His cue so that He can rush in and save the day. His cue then, as well as now, is the finished work of Jesus being glorified. When Jesus is lifted up as the sacrifice for sins, the Spirit arrives with power to change lives. Jesus said that the role of the Spirit would be to glorify Him (John 16:14). As Jesus is lifted up, the Spirit manifests Himself to do the work. Peter learned that lesson in that moment; let’s not forget it now.

We Are the Branches

John 15:1-8

Jesus may have spoken the words of the 15th chapter of John while standing beneath the gate to the entrance of Herod’s Temple. Herod had built a golden vine that stretched across the top of the gate and had instructed that the gate never close. Perhaps using the golden vine as an illustrated sermon, Jesus shared with His disciples that He was the “true” vine, in contrast with Israel, while the Father was the husbandman of the vineyard. This puts Jesus in the position above the gate, as the entrance to the Father.

While Jesus is the vine, you and I are the branches on that vine. He gives us the promise that if we abide in Him, we will bring forth much fruit. This promise is so wonderful because it means that believers produce good works because of Jesus; not because of their efforts. When someone speaks of the necessity of bringing forth fruit, they may refer to your increased works; but in reality, they are speaking of more of Jesus showing forth in you.

Jesus declares us clean, “through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). This cleanliness is a permanent position due to the finished work of Christ. If Christ declares me clean then I am clean no matter what my circumstances may say. The Prodigal Son was declared a son of the Father the moment that He returned home; and the shoes and ring and robe were his proof. However, he still smelled of the pig pen, and he looked like one too! The words of forgiveness and love that were given to him from his Father provided the cleanliness of spirit that he so badly needed.

If you are not producing the works of righteousness in your life, no amount of effort on your part will begin to bring forth a harvest. Instead, you should hear the words of Jesus as He speaks of His love and grace into your life. As you hear of these things, you will be abiding in His finished work, and He will bring forth beauty from your ashes. Many believers are bringing forth no fruit at all, and they are often removed before they had to be, so that they do no damage to the body of Christ (John 15:2); while others bring forth some fruit, but not much. Christ purges them so that they will produce even more for the kingdom.

When you bear much fruit for the kingdom, you bring forth much glory to the Father (John 15:8). This fruit manifests itself as, “the fruit of the Spirit”, which is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23). Notice that it is the “fruit”, not the “fruits”, for these things come in equal measure by the Holy Spirit. We cannot walk in one but not in the other but we need not fear, for the Holy Spirit knows how to grow us in each one at the right pace.

If you wish to see more fruit in your Christian walk then see more of Jesus! As you witness Him and His finished work, you are allowing the husbandman of the vineyard to prune away your self-dependency, leaving you only with Christ in you. RELAX…fruit grows naturally, not by screaming at the tree.

You Are Anointed

1 John 2:20-27

Much is made of “the anointing” in many circles, with many different types of anointing being described. Some speak of singing anointing, teaching anointing, prayer anointing, etc. There is nothing wrong with describing these things as being done in an anointed manner, but it does make it sound like the anointing is a tangible thing that rides on other things, making them better or more useful. Actually, the anointing that is spoken of in the Bible is a smearing, meaning literally that in the Greek.

When John writes of “an unction from the Holy One”, his word ‘unction’ is the same word as ‘anointing’. He does not specify that this anointing is on the preacher or the teacher only, but that it is smeared on every single believer. This anointing assures that the believer, “know all things”.

I may not know much, but I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know it all! How can we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit and thus, “know all things”? John is addressing the influx of false teachers that was infiltrating the church, denying the finished work of Jesus Christ (verse 23), and some were denying the teaching of eternal life (verse 25). John said that they were there to “seduce you” (verse 26). “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:27).

The smearing of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to assure us of truth, so that we do not fall into error. John was encouraging the church to let them know that they had inside of them all that they needed to keep from being led astray. You have the identification of the Holy Spirit inside of you that teaches you what is right and wrong. Too often in the church, we think that they way to get people to live right is to shove as many rules and regulations in front of them as possible. Truthfully, many pastors trust more in their ability to get people to live right than they do the Holy Spirit inside of that person.

We are learning more every day about God and His goodness and love toward us. It is for this cause that we are sure that we do not know it all and that there is much more about our Lord that there is to learn. John’s writing is not to say that we do not need preachers and teachers, for the body of Christ grows and learns by fellowshipping and the sharing of doctrine (Acts 2:42). John is reminding us that we are all equal when it comes to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. From the newborn saint to the veteran of the cross, we all have the same smearing of the same Holy Spirit. We need only to listen to His voice as He ministers His truth into our lives.

Jesus said that His sheep know His voice (John 10:27) and that they would not follow the voice of a stranger (10:5). When Jesus speaks in your heart, it always ministers grace and love to you, edifying you, and lifting you up. The voice of condemnation and fear cannot be Christ, for it goes against His finished work (John 3:17), so avoid that which drags you down. When you are in error or following after that which is harmful, the Holy Spirit will lead you back to Christ, for that is always His primary purpose (John 16:14). The unction of the Spirit is to cause you to see Jesus, and no voice of the enemy will ever do that.

Can't Help But Hope

Colossians 1:27

In the midst of troubled times, when economies are shaking, prices are sky-rocketing and investments are vanishing, it is easy to grow distressed. Even believers, washed in the precious blood of Christ can find themselves looking at the stormy waves and ignoring the sleeping Savior inside of their vessel. It is easy to forget that we have Him, not only in our boat so to speak, but living in our hearts, and He is our provider.

While the world can find little to be hopeful for, the Christian need look no further than Christ’s finished work, being manifested in their very life. The mystery among the Gentiles is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It is such a mystery because it defies all natural laws. Only with Christ can you find peace in the storm. Only with Christ can you see the problems that befall our nation and have no fear for tomorrow. He is not around you, or near you, for that would be too far away. He is in you, reminding you that His grace is rich (verse 27)!

Jesus told His disciples that the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer was to convince, or convict them of righteousness. This does not mean that He is in you to tell you to live righteous every day. If you could just ‘live righteous’ by being told to, then the 10 Commandments would do just fine, but we know that Israel had those and didn’t live righteous at all. Jesus further explains it when he tells you why the Spirit convicts of righteousness:

“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more” (John 16:10).

The Holy Spirit must remind the believer of their righteousness because without Jesus standing by us in the flesh, it will be easy to feel that He is not with us at all. The Spirit works constantly to convince the believer that they are the righteousness of God in Christ, even if they don’t feel like it.

Christ in us is as our hope for all of glory. When we acknowledge that He is there, in spite of our circumstances, we are bringing His glory to light, allowing Him to control our circumstances. Many Christians wander through this life subject to the same things that their worldly counterparts suffer through because they do not rest in Christ’s finished work in their life. Be reminded today that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Need hope? Look inside and find Jesus.

Zechariah told the Israelites to turn to the strong hold when they were in need. Jesus is that strong hold, anchored in Calvary’s cross, unshakable in times of shaking. The prophet completes the statement with, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee” (Zechariah 9:12). I love the phrase ‘prisoners of hope’. When you view Christ as your hope of glory, you become a prisoner to that hope. You can’t help but hope!

Remember who you are in Jesus; and remember who Jesus is in you. Christ is in you, even if you don’t feel like it. The Holy Spirit is proclaiming that you are righteous in Christ. Don’t worry about the shaking, for He is greater than it all.

The Desire of All Nations

Haggai 2:7-9

With the worsening of economies, the rising prices and the instability in the markets, the world feels a level of insecurity that it is unfamiliar with. Believers rest in their Savior, knowing that God has it all under control, but the unbeliever has no such faith. What can be shaken, is being shaken, as God said that He would do (verse 7). The things that are of Him, namely the gospel of His grace and goodness, cannot be shaken so they will remain in this final hour (Hebrews 12:25-28).

The thing that every believer looks forward to, and most unbelievers think is a joke, is the arrival of Jesus Christ. Haggai called Him, “the desire of all nations” (Haggai 2:7). What a wonderful description of our Lord Jesus. Even those who do not realize that they are seeking for Jesus are doing so every time that they try to find happiness in the things of this world. All of these things shake and fade away, and man must replace the joy that went with them. They are seeking after what Jesus offers, whether they realize it or not. As Simon said to Jesus, “All men seek for thee” (Mark 1:37).

God gives a further promise in the next verse of Haggai, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts” (2:8). Everything belongs to the Lord. This world has its system of finances and government, but it all belongs to God. Even the silver and the gold, which is the monetary system of this world, is all in the hands of God. His desire is not only to bless His people with spiritual things, but to bless us financially as well. Some try to argue that this silver and gold is symbolic, but there was actual silver and gold in the temple and it is the temple that God is speaking of.

Finally, a great promise that is being fulfilled even now: “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:9). Paul declared that as believers, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The glory of the great temples of yesterday cannot compare to the glory of having the Holy Spirit reside within the heart and life of a child of God.

You do not find the presence of God in a church building, you find Him in your heart. The desire of all nations is Jesus, and He lives within each believer. The latter is better than the former because in the past, prior to Calvary, the only place where God could be approached was within the walls of the physical temple. Now, because Jesus has provided a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20), we can draw near to God because of His residence within our own body. We are not “little gods”, but we belong to a “big God”!

If you find yourself lonely today, or bogged down with the cares of this life, remember that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He lives and dwells within you and He is ready to provide His temple with whatever it takes to bring it glory and honor.

Don’t Forget That Your Sins Are Gone!

2 Peter 1:3-9

Peter tells the believer that they have been given a “divine nature”, which is the very nature of God. With that divine nature in every one of us, our lives are now elevated to a position that they could never have been prior to our conversion. Because of this new position, we are expected to see “all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (1:3), at work in our lives.

Notice that the things pertaining to life and godliness only come out of us as we increase in the knowledge of who God is within us. From this knowledge we then see the following progression in our lives: diligence, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity. As these fruits grow in your heart, they guarantee that the believer will never be “barren nor unfruitful” (verse 8).

Peter is basically stating the same thing that Paul did regarding the fruit of the Spirit. These wonderful by-products of knowing the Lord should always be springing up within the heart of the redeemed. Fruit grows naturally, and needs only the God-given elements to do so. No coaching or prompting on our part makes the apple tree give apples, so no prompting or works on our part makes the heart produce fruit.

Why tell us that these things should be in our life if they must be brought out by the Spirit? If they are not there, then how can our knowing that we lack them help us to bring them out? Peter answers this question in verse 9:

“But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

If the believer lacks any of the virtues listed in verses 5-7 it is not because they are not consecrated enough. It has nothing to do with their works or their effort, but rather they are blinded as to who they are in Christ, and they have little spiritual insight into their position in Him. Furthermore, they have forgotten that the blood of Christ has taken their sins away.

So many problems could be avoided by all of us if we would remember on a daily basis that we are forgiven of our sins. The knowledge of forgiveness silences the voice of condemnation in our heart and lets us live free in the wonderful grace of God. When we recognize that we are forgiven, our spiritual eyes are opened and we see God’s purpose for our lives. His fruit begins to explode in every area of our being and we walk in the “exceeding great and precious promises” (1:4).

Remember that your old sins are gone and walk free in these sweet promises of our Father. Have a great day believer!

The Out-pouring of the Spirit

Joel 2:28, 29

The events of this passage of scripture have partially come to pass. Peter quotes it in Acts 2:17, stating the “afterward” to be “the last days”, when on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 in Jerusalem who were waiting on the promise of the Father. We have had nearly 2000 years pass since Peter stated this, and we still hear talk of the “last days”. This is because the era of the “last days” began with the ascension of Christ, though the “last day” is yet to come.

Since we are in these “last days”, the out-pouring of the Spirit is still happening. The Holy Spirit has already arrived on the earth, empowering the church, but every believer can have an outward manifestation of this power in their life. Joel said that it would cause “your sons and daughters to prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). Even the servants and the handmaids can now receive this mighty manifestation (verse 29). It is not confined to the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, because Peter took the gospel of grace to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, in Acts 10, and after he preached of the forgiveness of sins through Christ, “the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word” (Acts 10:44). These same new converts then begin to “speak with tongues and magnify God” (verse 46).

The Holy Spirit enters the believer at conversion, and He manifests Himself as Comforter in their life, walking with them into every area, providing the reaffirmation that they are the righteousness of God (John 16:10). He wishes to provide them with all spiritual gifts as well, and the believer is encouraged to pray for the best of those gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31). The Spirit manifests the various gifts so that the believer can profit from them (1 Corinthians 12:7), and it would do us good to look at the list of those gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.

One gift is given to all believers to use as a prayer language, to build them up, and to glorify God, and that is the gift of tongues. Three times in the book of Acts, the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit into believers lives was accompanied by speaking with other tongues (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6), and Paul told the Corinthian church that when you use this gift you speak directly to God and that it is done to build up your spirit (14:2, 4). Paul also encouraged the believers to pray in tongues whenever they wanted, or even to sing in tongues in like manner (14:15), and he was proud of using tongues (14:18). He also knew that not everyone would agree with this usage, so he instructed the Corinthians that if someone chose to be ignorant regarding these gifts, “let him be ignorant” (14:38), but to “forbid not to speak with tongues” (14:39).

The Holy Spirit is still touching lives and entering into the heart of everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. When the Law was given on the first Day of Pentecost, 3000 people were killed. When the Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, 3000 people were saved. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit!

If you are not seeing the manifestation of the Spirit in your life through the gifts, there is no condemnation to you. You are not “doing something wrong”. Simply ask for the Holy Spirit to manifest in you. Your heavenly Father always gives to those who ask (Luke 11:13).

Slow to Leave; Quick to Return

Ezekiel 10:4, 18, 19, 23, 24; Acts 2:2

The glory of the Lord rested on the mercy seat, between the two cherubims, on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark itself sat in the back of the temple, in the most Holy Place, and was visited only once per year by the High Priest. This glory was often characterized by a cloud, and all of Israel knew that this was the very Spirit of the Lord.

Ezekiel saw a vision of the final moments of the presence of the Spirit of the Lord in Jerusalem. Having shown Ezekiel the debauchery that was taking place in the temple; idolatry, prostitution and blasphemy (Ezekiel 8), God is now ready to depart from the temple, emptying it of His presence, making room for the enemy to ransack and destroy it. In light of how bad things have gotten, you would think that God would run out as fast as possible, but His slow movements speak of someone who does not want to leave, but would rather stay as long as He can, speaking just a bit longer.

He starts in Ezekiel 10:4, “over the threshold of the house”, which is the doorway into the temple. Then He proceeds outward, “Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims” (Ezekiel 10:18). Now outside of the main room of the temple, the Spirit is hovering near the cherubims that were present at the event, who now fly out the east gate of the temple, with the glory “over them above” (verse 19).

Next we find God’s glory over the heart of Jerusalem, “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city” (Ezekiel 11:23). Still slow to leave, the Spirit takes one more look at Jerusalem before going up from the mountain, back into heaven (verse 24).

Just over 600 years later, after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes His triumphant return to Jerusalem. The book of Acts records the way that He arrives as, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). He comes in a hurry! There is no slow arrival. Some say that He had to be begged in by the prayers of the 120, but that is not true. He waited until, “the day of Pentecost was fully come” (Acts 2:1), so that He could arrive on time.

Some say that if you are not very careful you will run the Holy Spirit off. I have heard it said that any foolishness in a service, even down to someone chewing gum will run the presence of the Lord out of the house. I say that if chewing gum ran the power out of a service, then there wasn’t much to begin with! The Holy Spirit was slow to go and quick to return. Don’t be deceived into believing that He is quick to leave you now. In fact, He will not leave you, nor forsake you. He will stay with you through all things because He is your comforter, and He is always pointing you to Jesus.

Go in the assurance that the Holy Spirit is in you as a child of God. He is not looking for some excuse to leave you high and dry, but rather, He is looking for another excuse to bless you. Take the abundant grace and dwell in it.

Stir Up The Gift

2 Timothy 1:6, 7

From time to time, it is necessary for us to “stir up” that which is inside of us. Paul tells Timothy to “stir up the gift of God” which is in him. This is the only usage of this phrase in the Greek in the entire New Testament, and it means “to rekindle anew” or “to enflame one’s mind or strength or zeal”. When Peter makes a similar statement in 2 Peter 3:1, he uses a different word in the Greek for “stir up”, meaning “to wake one’s mind”. Peter is saying “wake up”, while Paul is saying, “fire up”!

I believe that the gift or at least a portion of the gift, which Paul is speaking of in this text, is the gift of speaking with other tongues. I lean to this belief because it is the one gift of the gifts of the Spirit that the Bible specifically says can be used whenever you like (1 Corinthians 14:15), and it is the one that is used to build up the speaker (14:2).

The encouragement to use the gift is followed by, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). “For God…” shows us that the previous verse is linked to this one. Whatever the gift is inside of Timothy, it holds the answer that overcomes the spirit of fear. In that gift, is the power and love and sound mind that Paul says that we have received.

When you pray in tongues, you are communicating with God in your prayer language. You are praying in words that you do not know, and it is the Spirit in you that is making intercession (Romans 8:26). These prayers can be long or short, there are no rules that govern how you pray in your own prayer time, but they will always edify and build you up. The reason for that is found in verse 7.

God has not given us the spirit of fear, so any fear that we have cannot be from Him, but must be from the enemy. Instead, He has given us power, love and a sound mind. These three gifts from God are stirred within us every time that we “stir up the gift”.

God’s power begins to move in situations when we pray in the Spirit. That power enables us to do what we could not do on our own, independent of fear of failure. This power overcomes the enemy and glorifies the Father.

The love of God flows outward from us whenever we stir up the gift, for He teaches us to love in ways that we do not know. You cannot love by force, there must be something that motivates you or “turns you on” to love something or someone. Christ is that something and praying in the Spirit stirs His love up in you.

Finally, the sound mind is such a glorious promise, because the battlefield of the mind is where so many saints are losing. The phrase in the Greek actually means “self-control”. Many people have told me, “Pastor, I feel like I am losing control. I can’t even think straight.” This is an attack of the enemy meant to frighten and confuse. Use your prayer language to bring sanity back into your soul, and watch as your mind calms and begins to think on the things of the Spirit.
I pray God’s abundant blessings on you today as you walk in Him.