I've several thoughts about postings, first is this one which is a continuation of my study of the Holy Spirit flowing from the New Testament Book of Hebrews. More about that below. I also want to post on Signs and Wonders, and on Faith. Those will come later.
Hebrews 10: 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," 17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
Two things we can conclude (other than the obvious that Hebrews in general is talking about the supremacy of Christ as our only sufficient High Priest). One is that the Holy Spirit is being quoted. The second is that the quotation comes from Jeremiah 31:33-34. Jeremiah's "Thus Says Lord" is a reporting of what the Holy Spirit has said. One could read it "Thus says The Holy Spirit." If you read then what the Holy Spirit says, it greatly expands our knowledge of His character. Of course He is one with God the Father and God the Son in the Trinity so He is not speaking of Himself
John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
The conclusion I have drawn is that when Jeremiah says thus says the Lord throughout the book, he is in fact saying thus says the Holy Spirit. What is important about this. It is important to expand our understanding of the Holy Spirit, to get Him out of our little "Dove" box. The Holy Spirit is truly a Holy and Awesome member of the Trinity. Gentle yes, but capable of great passion and even anger. Bringing comfort, but also judgement. Not so one dimensional after all.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
On Max Lucado and other miscellaneous stuff
I started reading another devotional by Max Lucado today. He is such a good communicator. He draws word pictures that bring aspects of God's grace sharply into focus. Today I read a selection about the disciples asking Jesus who was to blame for a man's blindness. Lucado focused on the aspect of the blind man being within earshot of the disciples as they asked their question. Max was exploring how we as Christians size up and label people and then deal with them or dismiss them according to the label we've given them. I confessed and asked God's forgiveness for that. Also I asked to be led by the Holy Spirit to not label people, but to see them with eyes of compassion. Compassion is a commodity that is in short supply in this world. I would like to be a vessel of that commodity. However, as with Paul, I find myself doing the opposite of what I desire. I desire to be compassionate, but too often find myself dismissing with labels. Lord God help me to see as you see.
My daughter who is on the mission field is doing better this week. She is seeing God move on those they are officially and unofficially ministering to. We prayed for her language skills and got almost immediate feedback that the Holy Spirit is giving her utterance in a known language. One that she has studied extensively and used in this country and another where it is spoken, but the new opportunity is in a country where it has developed quite differently. At any rate, God is blessing and moving her to greater usefulness as she depends on Him.
I am following with some interest the Southern Baptist Convention this week in San Antonio through Wade Burleson's blog. Interesting reading that. It seems that there's a battle going on for the soul of the SBC seminaries. I recall several years ago the battlefield was the same, against a very liberal drift in the seminaries. That battle was won, but now the pendulum has swung to the opposite pole and there is a very restrictive type of conservatism which to my mind has more to do with some private interpretations of doctrine by cessasionist theologians. Of course cessasionists believe that the work and power of the Holy Spirit ceased after the first century AD. The problem in the SBC is that a few are trying to cram this one narrow view down the throats of the entire SBC. One major problem is that the Holy Spirit didn't catch a shuttle off the planet in AD100. The Almighty Third Person of the Trinity has never left nor forsaken us, although many have left and forsaken Him. I am afraid that cessasionists are those who don't want the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, because they can't control Him, they fear and reject Him ( Acts 7:51 "You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you."). The Holy Spirit can be resisted. In my previous post on "The Holy Spirit Moses Knew." I have shown that the Holy Spirit has been present from the very creation on the planet, went through the wilderness with the Children of Israel. Thus it was He who gave the Law to Moses and later it was He who sent Christ into the wilderness to pass the tests that the first children failed. Christ said it was better that He go away so that the Holy Spirit would come to us. Are we suddenly so much more spiritual than even the apostles, that we don't need the ministry and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives? How can even one sinner be convinced to repent and turn to Christ without the Holy Spirit. How can the Church thrive without the edification of the Holy Spirit through the Ministries and Gifts that He gives to the Church? Why would anyone who is teaching students at a professional level be afraid of unknown tongues? It can only be that they are afraid themselves to submit to the Lordship of Christ and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Has that which is perfect come? Then why is the Church such a mess? Pray for the SBC; it is a wonderful evangelical organization with such potential to reach much of the world for Jesus. Pray that the leadership will cooperate with, not resist, the Holy Spirit.
My daughter who is on the mission field is doing better this week. She is seeing God move on those they are officially and unofficially ministering to. We prayed for her language skills and got almost immediate feedback that the Holy Spirit is giving her utterance in a known language. One that she has studied extensively and used in this country and another where it is spoken, but the new opportunity is in a country where it has developed quite differently. At any rate, God is blessing and moving her to greater usefulness as she depends on Him.
I am following with some interest the Southern Baptist Convention this week in San Antonio through Wade Burleson's blog. Interesting reading that. It seems that there's a battle going on for the soul of the SBC seminaries. I recall several years ago the battlefield was the same, against a very liberal drift in the seminaries. That battle was won, but now the pendulum has swung to the opposite pole and there is a very restrictive type of conservatism which to my mind has more to do with some private interpretations of doctrine by cessasionist theologians. Of course cessasionists believe that the work and power of the Holy Spirit ceased after the first century AD. The problem in the SBC is that a few are trying to cram this one narrow view down the throats of the entire SBC. One major problem is that the Holy Spirit didn't catch a shuttle off the planet in AD100. The Almighty Third Person of the Trinity has never left nor forsaken us, although many have left and forsaken Him. I am afraid that cessasionists are those who don't want the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, because they can't control Him, they fear and reject Him ( Acts 7:51 "You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you."). The Holy Spirit can be resisted. In my previous post on "The Holy Spirit Moses Knew." I have shown that the Holy Spirit has been present from the very creation on the planet, went through the wilderness with the Children of Israel. Thus it was He who gave the Law to Moses and later it was He who sent Christ into the wilderness to pass the tests that the first children failed. Christ said it was better that He go away so that the Holy Spirit would come to us. Are we suddenly so much more spiritual than even the apostles, that we don't need the ministry and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives? How can even one sinner be convinced to repent and turn to Christ without the Holy Spirit. How can the Church thrive without the edification of the Holy Spirit through the Ministries and Gifts that He gives to the Church? Why would anyone who is teaching students at a professional level be afraid of unknown tongues? It can only be that they are afraid themselves to submit to the Lordship of Christ and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Has that which is perfect come? Then why is the Church such a mess? Pray for the SBC; it is a wonderful evangelical organization with such potential to reach much of the world for Jesus. Pray that the leadership will cooperate with, not resist, the Holy Spirit.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
The Holy Spirit Conference at Trinity Church
I was able to attend the first night of the Holy Spirit conference Sunday night. Dr Larry Kefauver kicked off the conference and his being there was what drew me there. I was a member of Trinity when Larry was in transition to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I cannot say we were close, but I admired his teaching. More lately I have enjoyed some of his writings, such as the series on Smith Wigglesworth. Check here for some of his books: http://www.strangdirect.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17667&cat=0&page=1
Sunday night Larry lead us into the presence of the Holy Spirit in a very powerful way. Hopefully the podcast will be available at Trinitytoday.com soon. I checked tonight and the link is not working.
Got a call from my wonderful younger daughter who is on the Mission Field overseas. This is her first long distance mission trip and she's a little homesick, so she called today. It was good to hear from her and cheer her up a little. Will be in prayer for her. If you're reading this and are a Christian of faith, I would ask you to pray for her and the rest of her team of fellow college students; that they would be strengthened and encouraged, that they would quickly pick up the dialect of the language, which is quite different than what they studied in school, that they would be able to boldly proclaim God's word to those they're ministering to. Pray for strengthening, encouraging and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Also pray for safety as they travel in-country.
Sunday night Larry lead us into the presence of the Holy Spirit in a very powerful way. Hopefully the podcast will be available at Trinitytoday.com soon. I checked tonight and the link is not working.
Got a call from my wonderful younger daughter who is on the Mission Field overseas. This is her first long distance mission trip and she's a little homesick, so she called today. It was good to hear from her and cheer her up a little. Will be in prayer for her. If you're reading this and are a Christian of faith, I would ask you to pray for her and the rest of her team of fellow college students; that they would be strengthened and encouraged, that they would quickly pick up the dialect of the language, which is quite different than what they studied in school, that they would be able to boldly proclaim God's word to those they're ministering to. Pray for strengthening, encouraging and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Also pray for safety as they travel in-country.
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