Flying Closer to the Flame

The tile of this blog entry comes from a book by Charles Swindoll. "Flying Closer to the Flame" is all about having a passion for the Holy Spirit. Allow me to share with you some thoughts from the very 1st chapter - "Let's Get Reacquainted with the Spirit."

"Miss Thompson had a tough task. Her Sunday school lesson plan called for teaching her primary class about the Trinity. It was difficult enough holding their attention with stories and creative object lessons, but when it came to keeping them interested in the identity, attributes, and purpose of the Father, Son, and Spirit...well, that was next to impossible.

While thinking through her lesson, she had a creative thought: She would use a big, thick pretzel, with its three holes in the middle. Perfect!"

After going through her lesson and having the kids recite the names of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - she asked little Johnny to come forward and present the names to the class. All went well until he referred to the latter as God "the Holy Smoke."

Sad to say, but many people in our churches have great difficulty in explaining the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. In fact, depending on your church of choice...you may not hear much teaching on the Holy Spirit.

Why is it that the common Christian is unaware of the ministry God's Spirit has in their life?
Why is it that most believers have never experienced anything outside of salvation in regards to Holy Spirit?
Why do some denominations reference Him more?
What does it mean to be "baptized" in the Spirit of God?

I'm not going to spend my time today answering all of these questions but to encourage you to read the Word. God's Word has much to say about the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus spent a great deal of time before His crucifixion explaining that the Spirit of God would come and that His disciples would do great things. On the day of Pentecost they experienced just that: The Holy Spirit came upon them and the Gospel was proclaimed to every people group represented and 3,000 souls were added to the church.

The point is that we can learn all that is available to us but theology alone will not explain the work of God's Spirit in your life. No - you must experience the Holy Spirit as well. You must believe what God's Word says and put it into practice.

Here's what we know:
He is God
He possesses all the attributes of Deity
He regenerates the believing sinner
He baptizes us into the body of Christ
He indwells all who have been converted
He seals us, keeping every believer securely in the family of God

Here's what we can experience:
His work of testifying to things of God
His interceding on our behalf
His ministry of revealing the things of God to us.
His work of giving discernment in our lives (to "test the spirits")
His ability to gift us for God's work.

The list goes on and on. However, for many of us, our experience is a short list. I hope that after reading this today that you will seek to know and experience more of the Holy Spirit in your life. There is a world of unlimited possibilities available to us when we become acquainted with Him. That's a promise...not from me but from Jesus.

Ask, Seek, Knock...

Anyone who asks - receives
Anyone who seeks - finds
Anyone who knocks - the door is opened

"...how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" {Luke 11}