One of the greatest attributes of this blog for me is that I get to share a lot of fresh thoughts and insights. However, there are times when I need to bless you with the thoughts and ideas of others. Since becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers has been a part of my daily devotionals. "My Utmost for His Highest" is a collection of sermons that God has continually used to stir my heart.
The Life To Know Him
"...tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49)
"The disciples had to tarry, staying in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, not only for their own preparation but because they had to wait until the Lord was actually glorified. And as soon as He was glorified, what happened? "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear" (Acts 2:33)...The Holy Spirit has been given; the Lord is glorified - our waiting is not dependent on the providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness.
"The Holy Spirit's influence and power were at work before Pentecost, but He was not here. Once our Lord was glorified in His ascension, the Holy Spirit came into the world, and He has been here ever since. We have to receive the revealed truth that He is here. The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive reviving life from our ascended Lord.
"It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives through the Holy Spirit. We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ - it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.
"The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not make you think of time or eternity - it is one amazing glorious now. "This is eternal life, that they may know You..." (John 17:3). Begin to know Him now, and never finish."
~ Oswald Chambers - My Utmost for His Highest - May 27 - Discovery House Publishers
No comments:
Post a Comment