Gentle Giant

Ever since I first got saved, I’ve always been intrigued by the Holy Spirit, yet He remained such a mystery to me.

Jesus is like my best friend; I can tell Him anything, anytime, and always run into His arms for refuge.  God, the Father, is my Daddy who gives me such peace and whom I have nothing but the utmost respect for.

But how does one become intimately connected to the Holy Spirit?  He’s sweet and sensitive, kind and gentle.  At the same time, He’s this dynamic force of power that can totally zap you!

I know a lot of people (myself included) misunderstand Him.  To the uninformed onlooker, people who are completely yielded to the Spirit might seem crazy, weird, and off their rockers.

But the truth is the Holy Spirit brings a divine, beautiful, and rich order everywhere He goes.  He’s so good, He can bring order in a way that seems chaotic.  Being controlled by the Spirit is being totally free.  Totally free to be totally submitted.  See what I mean?  It’s hard to understand, but it’s true all the same.  

God gave absolute power to absolute purity.  The Holy Spirit brings with Him a realm of unlimited possibility, unlimited wisdom, unlimited potential.  In our finite world, how can we relate to One such as this?

But thank the Lord, He gives us His Spirit freely and without measure (John 3:34).  Do you want to know the great secret to accessing the things of God?  Simple! Just receive it!  Take it by faith.  Believe God is who He says He is, and He will reward you when you earnestly seek Him.

When Jesus arose from the dead, He came to the disciples and gave them this long awaited gift: Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said (John 20:22).

The disciples didn’t have to do a laundry list of tasks before receiving…then it would no longer be a gift.  They just received this amazing and beautiful gift by relaxing and letting Jesus do all the work! As a result, they were totally transformed from the inside out!        

When you want to give someone you really love a really special gift, do you go and hide it in the depths of the ocean and say “Ok, I’ve got your gift for you, but you have to go on a long and arduous journey to find it!”?

That’s just ridiculous!  If anything, you’ll hand deliver the gift yourself and make sure you’re there to see that person’s face when he gets it.  

If you want to go deeper with God, the best way to do it is to enlarge your capacity to receive from Him and just relax.  You’re not being greedy or demanding.  You’re being humble and totally surrendered.

The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you (2 Corinthians 13:14 MSG).

True Humility Roots Out Self-Righteousness & Pride

If there is anything that is truly icky, gross to God, it is that horrid monster of self-righteousness which is rooted in pride (Isaiah 64:6).  And there is no place for it in the new-covenant believer who is a recipient of the most beautiful Grace made available by the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, King Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Pride is a killer.  It literally destroys souls and cuts one off from God, which is the worst kind of death there is.

False humility, too, is rooted in pride, and its results are quite the same.

But true humility prepares you for all sorts of honors (Proverb 29:23).  This is the way to the Tree of Life, to enjoy the riches of God’s Grace and sit at the feet of Jesus forever, getting blessed and blessed and blessed and blessed.

I’m so blessed to know Him!  What an honor!  The God who created the universe, the very King of Glory, wants to have a rich relationship with me??  Does He even know who I was?  Does He know the kind of thoughts that have crossed my mind?  Or the types of words that have come out of my mouth?

Thank God for His Blood which cleanses my soul.  Thank God for His mercy which begins afresh each day.  Thank God for His love which totally disarms me and causes me to rest in security no matter what!

Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable when you haven’t had a bath in weeks (Proverb 30:12 MSG).  We see by this scripture that self-righteous pride is built on some sort of deception.

I asked the Lord, “Is there any way to prevent prideful thinking?”

He said, “Oh yes, you must have a passionate love affair with Truth.”

Strong words for Truth, huh?  But there is so much wisdom in them.  If you only know Truth in your head and not in your heart, then it won’t change a thing!  And what is Truth supposed to be anyway?  How can you know the Truth let alone have a passionate love affair with it?

In Pilate’s discourse with Jesus, they touched on this matter:

37 Then Pilate said, “So, are you a king or not?”

Jesus answered, “You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”

38-39 Pilate said, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-39 MSG)

The best way to know the Truth is to know the Person of Truth, Jesus Christ.  The best way to get to know Him is to listen to His voice through the Word of God.

Just open up the Bible and be open and receptive to whatever He wants to show you.  The more you get to know Him, the more you want to know Him.  The Truth can stir up so much passion inside you that you actually can have a love relationship with Truth!