Tag: Gifts of the Spirit

Gifts To Do What Needs To Be Done

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It was my observation while reading a blog entry posted by Sarah Torbeck (CatholicMom.com), she presented an excellent story about Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who was imprisoned by the German Nazi’s at the age of 52. I have adapted a portion of Sarah’s post for this essay.

Corrie Ten Boom wondered if she would be able to suffer without betraying her Lord Jesus. She described a conversation between herself as a child and her earthly father: “Daddy,” she had said one day, “I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.”  “Tell me,” Her father wisely responded, “when you take a train trip from Haarlem to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?”   “No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train.”  “That is right,” he replied, “and so it is with God’s strength. Our wise Father in heaven knows when you are going to need things too. Today you do not need the strength to be a martyr. But as soon as you are called upon for the honor of facing death for Jesus, He will supply the strength you need — just in time.”   “I took great comfort in my father’s advice,” Corrie told her audience. “Later I had to suffer for Jesus in a [Nazi] concentration camp.” This is a good example of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Is it real? Yes — it is like a nitro injection for a gas operated engine.

Peter said — Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial [or crazy trial] when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ [it might be an accusation, a false charge, a demand for improper action] you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (Paraphrased from 1 Pet 4:12-14)

Acts tells us — Ananias departed and entered the house [Ananias was looking for Paul]. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. (paraphrased from Acts 9:17)

This infilling came from God, on God’s timetable, not Paul’s timetable. God knew Paul needed the power tools that came with the infilling of the Spirit. He prepared Paul for leadership.

Jesus said — I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—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 [indwelling] and will be in you [infilling] (John 14:16-17).

Acts tells us — brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. (Paraphrased from Acts 6:3)

This filling was for people who needed spiritual gifts to serve God’s people so the Apostles could continue their leadership tasks and not be distracted by administration issues. These men were team players.

Jesus said — When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27).

We are filled by the Spirit with truth to speak.

Jesus said — when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine (John 16:12-15).

We are filled with the Spirit in power and given Gifts to do what needs to be done. He fills us, the Spirit directs us, we move. As we diminish control, the Spirit increases control. The gifts granted by the spirit fulfill his mission, in his time, for his purpose. We should feel extremely blessed to be a part of the event. We need him to minister to others, he does not need us to act.

I choose Jesus.

Things that Matter

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Written by Dan

It has been my observation – Paul tells us of the great race we are all engaged in, he often reminds us that every person who is involved in this competition needs to exercise self-control in all our thoughts and actions. We all know that in a human operated Tucson 10K Foot Race, the winner gets a medal. For us Christians, participating in the race that Paul speaks of, the prize is unique – it is imperishable. So then comes the question – what kind of things transition me into a top performer? Perhaps a better question is – what things will cause me to be the most useful to God’s mission here on earth? In a word – the answer is self-control.

In Galatians 5:22 we learn this discipline of self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. This transfers management of “self-control” from me to God’s Spirit. The spiritual power we gain from self-control happens when we respond to the word of God, knowing that greater joy will come through self-control, when we trust the Spirit of God to give us fortitude, and when we embrace God’s glory in his victory over our life. The mechanics of this action is simple — our will yields to his nudge both from his voice and from the scriptures. This is a demonstration of God in us working his plan (implied in Philippians 2:13).

Paul is telling us there are strong urges that we have to manage if we are going to move like a winner and graduate into the crown of righteousness. The urges we have to control are the impulses to do things that will weaken our zeal for God, our earnestness in prayer, our hunger for Scripture, our longing to love, our passion for holiness. How do we resist? We yield to Jesus. Consult often with the Holy Spirit about how to proceed.

Galatians 5:1-12 says — It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words. I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (NIV).

So, the mature Christian asks, what will improve my prayer life? What will draw me into God’s word? What will strengthen my compassion for others? What will help me grow? This is a call to order, a review of the impulses, habits, and practices of my life that interferes with my hunger for God. Paul brings up circumcision because it is a trip line in our race. People will work extremely hard to impose their definition of spiritual walk on you if you permit them to. They will spend a bunch of time wanting you to conform to their view, so they are comfortable their view is the right view. The larger the crowd believing a given point, the higher the probability the view is the correct view. Huh? This is a fallacy in logic. Think about this. How are laws built on public opinion working out for you?

The deeper truth – We start out in the race, confident, running a good pace. Then we are sidelined by some crazy teacher who throws up a little dust in the air and obscures our view of the goal with a new rule to follow – if we want to be ‘really spiritual’. I am convinced that kind of human objective followed by persuasion and distractions do not come from the Spirit of God. Any time you hear something new, take the time to dig through the word, looking for evidence that the message aligns with things the Holy Spirit has already stated. We are wise to avoid the ideas that pull you into confusion, whatever that may be, so we can avoid the trip wire (see Gal 5). Our self-control should focus us squarely on the things that matter.

I choose Jesus.