Tag: Holy Spirit

True Freedom

Posted on by Dorci

“Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17


God, in His grace and mercy, put in the hearts of men and women to establish a nation that would be free to worship Him without outside influence. 

Free to believe in the one, true God, free to follow Him, free to call on Him, free to have and read His Word, free to gather together in His name, free to obey Him rather than our sinful nature, and free to tell the world the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It would seem we’re at a crossroads in our country right now. Sin abounds because the Spirit doesn’t.

But there is hope.

There is anger and violence in the streets.

But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Bitterness and unforgiveness grows.

But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Sin and lawlessness spread.

But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

The world doesn’t need more fun programs, or coffee shops, or topical, feel-good messages, or a weakened, compromised, watered-down version of the Word of God so no one’s offended.

It needs the power of the Spirit of the Lord, and by Him to know Christ and the freedoms He gives.

It needs us to put away the old self and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

It needs us to stop being influenced by the world so we can influence it for Christ.

It needs us to walk in newness of life, a life of obedience to Christ, so we don’t grieve the Holy Spirit, and instead be filled with Him.

And by the power of the Spirit of the Lord in us it needs to hear that Christ loves them so much that He died for them to forgive them of their sins, to restore their relationship to God, to give them a new heart and a new mind, and to fill their hearts with love and peace and forgiveness.

It needs to hear that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” Romans 10:15

God gave us a land with freedoms to give the chance for every heart to be free. But so many hearts are painfully held captive to sin, and the enemy is having a field day.

I believe God is calling His children, for whatever time we have left, to boldly speak His name, and in His Spirit, free as many of those captive souls as possible, so they, too, can be filled with the Spirit and true freedom.

And we are here now for such a time as this.

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:14-15


Oh Father, forgive us for allowing the comforts of the world make us complacent. Please forgive us for any sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Fill us with your Spirit and give us a heart of love for the lost and a vision of how you would have each of us reach the world around us. Whatever you have us do, may we be careful to continue to do it in the strength of your Spirit and not in our own. Thank you for this unique nation you’ve given us, where we’ve been afforded so many freedoms, freedoms we have largely taken for granted. And thank for the freedoms you’ve given us in Christ, to love you, to serve you, to carry out the good works you’ve prepared for us to do, and to know that someday we’ll live with you forever.  In Jesus’s name we pray, amen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Praise and a Father’s Day Prayer

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy and precious name. You indeed have been a Father to us and have called us your children. Thank you for setting us apart and blessing us with every spiritual blessing. Thank you for loving us, sacrificing for us, teaching us, being patient with us, gifting us, and being with us at all times, never leaving or forsaking us.

Thank you for setting us apart and for sanctifying and preparing us. Thank you showing us your way, Lord, and for empowering us with your Spirit to do all things. Even as we go through suffering, you help us go through it with your peace and even with a deep and abiding joy knowing you’ve prepared a place for us where there is no more suffering, only eternal life in your presence and the fullness of your love and joy. We are forever grateful.

Thank you for wrapping your loving arms around us and having your eyes upon us, for knowing what we need even before we ask, and for providing for us in miraculous ways. 

We thank you for the earthly fathers and father figures you’ve given us, too. We pray each one would look to you for wisdom to be the godly fathers you’ve called them to be in every stage of life, knowing you are the perfect Father.

We give you our hearts and lives in worship, Heavenly Father, for you are worthy. 

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for All the Saints

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you.  We lift up your righteous and holy name above all names as the one true God, the maker of heaven and earth, the one who created us to have relationship with you, to know you, to commune with you, to be a grand part of your creation that would glorify your goodness and beauty and grace. 

Father we pray for all the saints. We pray you would consecrate us, that we would understand you have made us a holy people that are meant to be separate from the world, that is, to live in a different way, to have a different perspective, to see people and circumstances through your eyes rather than as the world sees. 

We pray you would lovingly convict each of us of any sins we’ve allowed as we’ve become complacent, and that we would repent, turn, and do the right thing, live the right way so that we would honor the calling you’ve so graciously given us. 

As we do that, let us be a light in the darkness, shining brightly for the world to see what true love and grace and forgiveness are so that many come to know you through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

We pray you would encourage us and fill us with joy that we might have strength in the face of the enemy, and with your peace that passes all understanding no matter what storms rage around us. 

We pray we would be one just as you and your Son are one, and that we are all one in you. 

We pray we would be filled with the Holy Spirit, that we would worship you in Spirit and in truth. 

Let us remember who we are in you, Lord, that we are children of the King, holy and righteous because, through your Son, you have made us so. 

Sanctify us that we might live as your chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that we might speak of the praises of the One who has called us out of darkness into your marvelous light.  

May we empty ourselves and let you fill us up with your Spirit who gives us everything we need to live in these hard times, and not only to live, but to prosper and to be victorious. May we come together and live for you and you alone, and bring you all the glory due your name. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

Tongues of Fire

Posted on by Dorci

“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 
Luke 24:49

Luke records these as some of the last words spoken by Christ before He ascended into heaven.

Other apostles recorded some of the acts Jesus said they would do in their ministries, but they could go nowhere and do nothing until they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

And once the Holy Spirit filled them – watch out.

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Acts 2:1-4

This ragtag group of people who had hid in the upper room, afraid that the soldiers who came after Christ might also come after them, suddenly changed into a group who immediately began speaking “great things of God” in languages from all over the region. 

The sound was so loud that people came to see, and hear, what was happening, and hearing the Lord being glorified each in their own language, they were amazed.

Peter, who had just weeks before claimed he didn’t know Christ as He hung on the cross, now stood as he was filled with the Holy Spirit, “raised his voice and addressed the crowd,” proclaiming the prophecies of Joel, confronting them with putting the Messiah to death, witnessing to His resurrection, speaking the prophecy of David, and declaring that this Man – the Lord – was now at the right hand of God. And because of the power of the Holy Spirit, the people were convicted, and the Church grew by 3000 that day.

That first Pentecost was a small seed of what God would do through the disciples and the early church as they were empowered by the Holy Spirit.

In the Spirit the disciples were one in heart and mind, witnessed boldly, spoke with authority, prayed in faith, saw visions, prophesied, healed the sick, cast out demons, time-warped, performed signs and wonders, gave glory to God, and remained steadfast in their obedience to Him even when faced with jail, flogging, and death.

And when they were punished they entrusted themselves to their Lord.

On at least one occasion while in jail they prayed and sang hymns to God (Acts 16:25), and on another “left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” (Acts 5:41)

And all these years later, nothing has changed. We still need the empowering and leading of the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s will.

So why don’t we see the magnitude of the miraculous works the early church experienced?

Have we run ahead of the Lord, instead of praying for and relying on the empowering of the Holy Spirit to do His work, His way, and in His time? 

Are we trying to do spiritual things in our own strength, using only talents and human knowledge instead of our Spirit-given gifts and godly wisdom? 

Have we been grieving the Holy Spirit by some ongoing sinful attitude or behavior?

If there’s ever a time we need the Holy Spirit to move in us and among us to do a mighty work, it is now.

On this Pentecost, I pray again for revival of my own heart and for the hearts of all God’s people. That as fellow citizens of the household of God we will recognize the gift we’ve been given in the Holy Spirit and wholeheartedly recommit ourselves to the Lord, praying our way through each day and night, yielding our wills to our Lord and Savior, putting aside the flesh and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

That as one we will burn with a Spirit-driven holy passion of faith, trust, and boldness in our witness of Jesus Christ and the hope we have because of Him.

* * *

Heavenly Father, for the sake of the lost and for your glory, we put aside confidence in anything of ourselves, and we give our lives to be walking, breathing manifestations of the Holy Spirit, that we might move, serve, and worship as one body.

* * *

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Let’s Make Like a Tree…

Posted on by Dorci

I love trees, and today in the U.S. it’s Arbor Day, a day marked for celebration of trees (traditionally by planting a tree) and all the good they do for the environment around them. 

God uses trees throughout His Word, beginning and ending with the Tree of Life, and many other references throughout.

Today, though, I thought about how God tells us, in the Psalms and in Jeremiah, how we can be like a tree, sustained and fruitful even in hard times. 

Jeremiah records God’s word to His people:

“This is what the Lord says:

‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in Him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.’”
Jeremiah 17:5-8

At one point in history, God’s people demanded Samuel appoint them a king instead of looking to God as their King. The first king they put their trust in was Saul, and we know how that ended.  And for hundreds of years God’s people put their trust in, and were ruled by kings.

Even today, a lot of people (sometimes even God’s people) are trusting in men and women in office to fix things, to make bad situations good, to make wrong situations right.  And there seems to be no shortage of people willing to promise to do those things. 

But that never ends as well as we’d like because people are just people, and the world’s system is not God’s. Let the world have the world.

We have God, a Savior, a Lord, who can do much more – He can make our hearts right.

Jesus tells us “’Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.” John 7:37-39

So, we might not be able to plant a tree today, but let’s be a tree and leave the world’s ways (sorry, I couldn’t help it!).

Let’s plant ourselves by the living water by putting our faith in Christ and Him alone and receive from Him rivers of living water, the Holy Spirit, continually moving through us, nourishing us, sustaining us, and producing in us fruit and all kinds of good things to benefit us and those around us, no matter the circumstances, with no end to its abundance.

Thankful Thursday – Pie

Posted on by Dorci

Isolation can give us a lot of time to think, and sometimes there’s nothing more dangerous than being inside our own heads.

We can start looking around, comparing our situation, our lives, to others and feel like we’re coming up short. Our piece of the pie seems like a sliver, and other’s a whopping piece with ice cream, or whipped cream, or both, slathered all over it.

And the truth is, we all have things in our lives we wish were different.  

There is much that others enjoy as a given part of life that I will never know.

At the beginning of Psalm 73, Asaph ponders the prosperity of those who are wicked. Though they live foolishly, they enjoy good health, they have no troubles, they aren’t plagued by common human burdens (he thinks).

And here he was, he thought, keeping his heart pure and his hands innocent, and yet every day brings a fresh round of pain and affliction.

Until, he says, he entered the sanctuary of God.

We he got his focus off himself and onto God, then he understood the final destiny of the wicked. Ultimately, all they had gained will come to absolutely nothing when they face God at the final judgment.

And finally Asaph writes, “My flesh and my heart may fail…”

There is much discussion about what Asaph meant by this. Did he mean his flesh and heart failed him when he fell into bitterness and envy of others? Or did he mean that eventually his flesh and heart will fail when he dies and moves on from this life? Maybe both.

“… but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

Asaph is finally able to take a wide and godly perspective and realize that because he has God in his life, he doesn’t have just a sliver of pie, or even a big piece. He actually has the whole pie. 

Yes, his own heart may fail, but God is His strength, and His portion, his inheritance, in this life and in the next.

Forever.

Yes, I may have missed out on a lot in this life, and maybe that’s a good thing because it showed me how much I needed God.

But God (Elohiym – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is my portion. And when everything in this life is gone, I will still have my Portion. I will have my relationship with God through Christ, and the faith and character and everything else He’s built on that Foundation through the many years I’ve walked with Him.

And it will last forever.

So the reality is, I haven’t missed out on one bit. I have God and all He is! And if you know Jesus, so do you. We have the Creator of the universe, our heavenly Father, the keeper of our souls and the One is able to make all grace abound toward us and bless us abundantly, our Lord and Savior and Friend and Brother and Co-Heir in the faith, Jesus, and our Comforter and Peace Giver, the One who seals us for eternal life, the Holy Spirit.

We can never come to the end of the list of His blessings. And anything we missed in this life that He deems important He will more than make up for in the next. 

So instead of focusing inward or outward, let’s look up.  We have more pie than we could ever eat.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Salvation

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you.  We praise you for your sovereignty and your holiness.  We praise you for your gift of salvation, for your forgiveness, your grace, and your mercy through your Son, in whom you have made all things possible.  

Lord Jesus on this day we remember your triumphal entry into Jerusalem, that you fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy, and we praise you and thank you that you revealed to us who you are, in those moments and in our hearts, and for your eternal salvation.

We remember, too, that there were shouts of “Hosanna!”- “Oh save!”, and that many people looked to You to save them from the suffering in this life, but didn’t see that Your kingdom was so much more that that. They didn’t see that Your kingdom was an everlasting kingdom, that You were, and are, and always will be the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and that You’d come to die in their place to save them from the penalty of their own sins, to give them an eternal victory, a life after this life.

Lord, we pray for salvation. Many will be listening to pastors all over the world today and in the days to come, looking for a savior in the midst of the suffering we’re facing. Many will be looking for someone to fix the world. Oh Lord, help them to not settle for redemption in this world only and miss the eternal redemptive work you desire to do in each of their hearts.

We pray you would pour out your Spirit, that you would soften hearts and open spiritual eyes to see their need for an eternal Savior. We pray, in your grace and mercy, you would grant repentance, that people will turn to you and pray for forgiveness for their sins, and receive You, Lord Jesus, as their own Lord and Savior.  

We praise you for the great work you are doing and will do. Help us continue to be a light, revealing your love, grace, and mercy. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.  

Keep Growing and Growing and Growing…

Posted on by Dorci

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to them who are of the household of faith.”
Galatians 6:7-10  AKJV


It is a long and tedious process to produce the perfect grape. It is three years from seed to harvest and involves soil cultivating – different soils for different grapes, perfect planting, temperature and wind control, proper sunlight, protection from pests and disease, watering, and pruning.  Oh, the pruning.  Pruning is so important that pruning contests are held to reward the best pruners. It takes a lot work to produce a fully mature, sweet crop of grapes.

Jesus said “I am the vine; you are the branches.” John 15:5a

The branches on grapevines can’t get tired, but we can. And as we endure years of tending and watering and pruning and waiting and not yet seeing the fully mature faith we desire, we might be tempted to give up. And right about the time when it looks like nothing is happening, it’s time to prune. Pruning is painful and sometimes all we see is that something is gone.

What we don’t see is what’s happening underground. Beneath the surface the roots are growing deep and strong, feeding on the nutrients in that perfectly fertilized and watered soil. And the stronger the roots, the stronger the grapevine will be.

So, let us not be weary in well doing…”

That word “doing” is a prolonged form of the word to do. To keep doing for an extended period of time.  It also means to abide.

Keep going, keep growing, keep doing well, keep holding onto Jesus, the Vine, until harvest time.  Yes, it’s hard, yes, it can be exhausting, yes it might look like nothing is happening except that so much has been taken away, but good things are coming if we don’t give up. We’ll see some fruit in this life, but the full harvest comes in the next. One day we’ll stand before our Heavenly Gardener and reap what we’ve sown.

So whatever season we’re in, let’s keep doing good to others – sowing to the Spirit – as God gives us opportunity, producing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and eventually the harvest of a sweet, fully mature faith.

Spiritual Olympics

Posted on by Dorci

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 

Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

 

Next year will be the Summer Olympics. A time when athletes will put to the test everything they’ve been training night and day for, sacrificing their lives for, restricting their diets for, enduring injuries for as they’ve fallen down and gotten up over and over so they will be perfect. 

In the same way, we who have been following Christ have a proving ground right now to put into practice what we’ve been learning.

The world is stressed out and we’re all going to cross paths with that stress one way or another, whether it’s from within or without.

And there is no better opportunity than right now to put to the test the faith we’ve been learning, the trust in Christ we’ve been practicing, the filling of the Holy Spirit we’ve been training our ears and hearts and minds to hear.  

So let’s run the race with the right garments:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3 12-14

Path of Faith

Posted on by Dorci

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 

But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary (against them).

Now in the fourth watch of the night (3am-6am), Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 

And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” 

And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:22-31

The changing picture at the top of this page always has some sort of path or road which represents the paths we take in the changing seasons of our spiritual lives. 

In this scene in the book of Matthew, we see Jesus telling Peter to come to Him on some undefined, invisible path on the water while the winds raged against them.

And Peter, precious Peter, has enough faith to step out of the boat and to actually start walking toward Jesus on this invisible path.

But halfway through, his faith moves from Jesus to the wind and the waves, and he begins to sink.

I can’t blame Peter too much.  Being willing to walk on water is amazing enough, but he got out of the boat when the wind and waves were so strong they were tossing them around. And this was no gentle rocking. The word “tossed” means pain, toil, torment.

Just as Jesus called Peter to walk a path of faith, He calls us to come to Him, to focus on Him and not the pain, not the toil, and not the torment.

When storms come and the winds of circumstance come against us, we might not see a clear path, and that is when, more than ever, we need to look to Jesus, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, walk toward Him a path of faith.