Tag: power
Day 2–No Fear!
Scripture reading for June 9: 2 Timothy 1:6-7 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the Gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Romans 8:15-17 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by Whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, . . “
Fear is a spiritual force that comes to torment us with doubt and unbelief. An acronym that I have borrowed from others is ‘False Expectations Appearing Real’ and our enemy Satan likes to draw our minds away from trusting in God and His Word. Satan uses thoughts and our senses to steal our peace, make us react in haste, and lose self control. He paralyses us with tormenting fears of failure, punishment and rejection by man and God.
Tormenting fear is not from God. The Holy Spirit produces in us the qualities of God which are power, love, and a sound mind. The apostle John stated that God’s perfect love has cast out all fear. He stated that fear has torment because of fear of punishment for sin and Christ Jesus lovingly gave His body and blood to pay for our sins. (1 John 4:18) Since we have His Spirit in us, we can fan into flames the Gift of God which is given to us by the Father to empower us for His service. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of adoption that affirms our true identity as sons and daughters of God. This identity brings freedom from guilt and fear of rejection.
First responders, especially, need regular reminders of their identity and worth. Those in law enforcement regularly face attacks on their identity and even attacks on their lives. Those in the fire and medical service also face derision from hurting people under influences of drugs, alcohol, anger or fear. The Holy Spirit in us affirms us and gives us a sound mind to work from.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for affirming us regularly as Your children and helping us to rest in all that Jesus Christ has done and is doing for us daily. Help me to live in the Spirit of power and love and a sound mind today as I serve You and others. Amen.
Fanning the Flame!
Scripture reading for October 2: 2 Timothy 1
“I thank God Whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God, Who called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” 2 Timothy 1:3-9
Paul was writing for the last time to Timothy, his ‘beloved’ son in the faith and now the pastor at Ephesus. Paul would soon become a martyr and wanted to give a final word of encouragement. He reminded Timothy of his own prayers for him and the memories of his family and their legacy of faith. He encouraged Timothy to fan into flames the gift of God, (The Holy Spirit), which had filled Timothy as Paul laid on his hands at ordination. The Holy Spirit would bring boldness and power to love each person and to wait on the Lord and pray for direction and ministry results. (Acts 2:3-4)
Timothy had evidently battled with fear of man and sometimes lacked confidence to speak out in sharing the Gospel. Paul admonished Timothy to boldly share his own testimony of Jesus, regardless of the consequences. Paul shared that the God Who had called both of them would fulfill His purposes and show grace. Their calling was an ancient calling, known and proclaimed before the ages began. God would be faithful as they stood firm in faith. A faithful congregation in heaven would welcome them home one day!
How does Paul’s final instructions impact your world view of our life purposes? What steps might you take to fan into flame the Holy Spirit in your daily walk? Are you living in fear of suffering for sharing your faith?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit to live inside of me and leading me in a life of service, good works, and sharing the Gospel. As I pray and read Your Word, ignite a flame of love for others, holy boldness, and powerful witness that all might be saved and receive this Gift! Amen!
Power to be Christ’s witness!
Scripture reading for November 5: Acts 1-4
I was saved as a teenager in a little country Methodist Church in rural Iowa. I gave my life to Jesus but did not know about the Holy Spirit or His work on my behalf. I went to college, got married and began to build a family and farming business, still unaware of His presence and power. I rededicated my life and my wife got saved in our mid-twenty’s and we began to hear about the Holy Spirit. The people we were studying the Bible with were different. They had power in their lives and were full of joy. The talked about being filled with the Holy Spirit and we heard some of them praying in a different language. We even heard them singing in other languages as they worshiped and it sounded like heaven!
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
This experience began with a promise and command from Jesus right before He ascended into heaven. He ascended into heaven and two men dressed in white told the disciples that this same Jesus would come back in the same manner as He left them. They were to wait for the Promise of the Father as Jesus had told them! (Luke 24:49-53)
On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4, the disciples were all together when suddenly the wind began to blow inside their upper room ! Tongues of fire entered and rested on each one and they all began to speak with other tongues and glorify God. They went out from that room empowered to speak in other languages telling the wonderful works of God to those in the temple. Peter stood up and preached and 3000 repented, were saved, baptized and told to receive this Gift of the Father! (Acts 2:38-41) The church was born and powerful witnesses are still spreading the Gospel throughout the world!
Let me encourage you to seek the Lord for this power. Simply ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11:9-13) The Holy Spirit is our “Helper” sent from the Father to live in those who believe on Jesus Christ. (John 16:7-15) He takes the Word of God and reveals it to us. He is our Counselor. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He is with us to strengthen us and enable to be a witness. We receive Him when we repent and are born again. We are filled with Him when we seek the Lord Jesus for that power. May God empower you with the Gift of His Holy Spirit! (Ephesians 5:18)
Sunday rest: a fire in our bones!
Dear Friends,
God called His people to regularly gather and study His Word and hear it declared. In the Old Testament, It was read to them out loud because there were few copies. God’s Word is our necessary food and brings revelation and vision. His Word was likened by Jeremiah to a “fire in my bones.” That “Fire” is available to all believers who will receive the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts by faith.
Jeremiah was called to preach the ‘Word of the Lord’ to God’s people. (Jeremiah 1:4-5) On one occasion, he stood outside the temple and spoke that Word to those who were entering to worship. On other occasions, he would use an object lessons. The Word of God would bring light to the people who heard it, but the same Word would harden hearts of those rejecting it. Jeremiah preached to a back-slidden people who rejected his ministry and God’s Word, even seeking to kill him.
Jeremiah got tired of the rejection, plots of murder, and reproach. He wanted to quit preaching the Word of God. But as he tried to do that, he found that the Word was like a fire in his bones! (Jeremiah 20:9) That fire is the power of God to produce what God desires from His Word! (Isaiah 55:10-11) No Word of God is void of power! Jeremiah went on to state that the Lord was with him like a mighty warrior! (Jeremiah 20:11) He knew through the Word of God that all his enemies would stumble and be defeated. God would give him the victory!
Today, take His Fire into your bones by allowing God’s Word to reside in your heart. God’s Word brings faith to accomplish all that is written! It will move you forward in discouraging situations and overcome opposition! It will empower you to love those in opposition. Love never fails!
In the Fire of His love, Pastor John
The Cloud of Glory and Fire!
Scripture reading for March 7th: Numbers 8-11, Colossians 1
Colossians 1: 9-13 “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
When you love someone, you want to please them. Pleasing the one you love requires that you get to know them. When the One you love is God, getting to know Him Who is infinite, is a daunting task and knowing how to please Him is challenging. Paul’s way to help the believers at Colossae, was to pray for them to be filled with a knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This kind of understanding can only come by revelation through the Holy Spirit. This is the light of God’s Truth. This is the only path to pleasing God and bearing fruit in good works. God supplies the knowledge of His will and then empowers us through the Holy Spirit to grow and produce fruit. This is the fire of God’s glory in us. To God be all glory for qualifying us to share the inheritance of the saints in light!
Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Prayer: Father God, as Your child, I want to please You! Fill me today with a deeper knowledge of Your will and give me spiritual wisdom and understanding to bear fruit for Your glory. Strengthen me with power in my inner man so that I might have patience and endurance as I run this race of faith. In You all things were created and they all hold together. Lead me with Light and Fire!
Numbers 9:15-17 “On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped.”
Exceedingly abundantly!
Scripture reading for February 4th: Exodus 13-15, Psalm 114, Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:14-21 “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Paul again breaks into prayer for the Church, God’s chosen vessel to manifest His glory and mercy to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places. Paul humbly bows his knees before the Father God, and asks that the saints would be strengthened with power in their inner man to allow Christ to dwell within them and manifest the fullness of His life and love. God’s amazing love and limitless power are beyond natural human comprehension. Paul admitted that God could do far more than whatever he or we could ask or think. We are limited in our flesh. But through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can have revelation knowledge and be filled with the fullness of God–beyond what we could knowingly ask for. Our God is amazing and there is none like Him!
Exodus 15:11-12 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them.”
Prayer: Father God, I bow my knees before You, the Holy, Holy, Holy Father Who is Love Himself. I don’t know how to ask for all that I need or what You want me to have. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and reveal to me how to pray and by faith be filled with the fullness of God. I believe that nothing is impossible with You. Do in me exceedingly abundant revelations of Your love and mercy.
Psalm 114:7-8 “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, Who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.”
A Gospel of full conviction
Scripture reading for June 14th: 1st Thessalonians 1
Key Scriptures: 1st Thessalonians 1:2-7 “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our Gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the Word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and to Achaia.”
Paul commended the Thessalonian believers for their strong stand of faith and steadfast hope in Jesus Christ as Lord. He was convinced that God had chosen them for salvation through the Word of Christ that he and other brothers had preached. This Word came to them not just as words preached, but with the power of the Holy Spirit bringing a deep conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment. This godly conviction brought godly sorrow for sin and repentance as they received the Word of God with joy in the Holy Spirit. Their example spread to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia and brought many into Christ’s fellowship. Conviction is the necessary precursor to repentance which brings salvation and deliverance from God’s wrath.
1st Thessalonians 1:9- “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, . . “
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the ‘full conviction’ of the full Gospel that brought me to know my need of repentance and faith. I give myself to use as an instrument to preach the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and full conviction, offering deliverance from Your wrath.
1st Thessalonians 1:10 “. . and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, Jesus Who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
A new chapter of the Story
Scripture reading for April 6th: Acts 1
Key Scriptures: Acts 1:1-5 “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, ‘you heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. “”
The book of Acts is a continuation of Luke’s eyewitness account of the events and acts of the Holy Spirit through Jesus’ disciples following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. He wrote these accounts to Theophilus, whose name means “lover of God”. He was a Gentile convert to Jesus and Luke wrote to give greater understanding to the Gentile church of how our Lord empowered witnesses to take the Gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth. Acts is the historical record of the growth of the early Church after the Promise of the Father came upon them. This book has inspired believers throughout history to be filled with the Holy Spirit and allow God to use them to further His mission to reach the ends of the earth before Jesus returns. It records the acts of the Holy Spirit, mentioned over 50 times, through Jesus’ followers. In a sense, it is still being written until Jesus returns.
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for sending the Promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit to empower me and all Your disciples to reach the ends of the earth. Use me to add to the “acts of the Holy Spirit” in my life on earth and to multiply disciples who will take the Gospel of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:10-11 “And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, Who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Promise, power, preaching!
Scripture reading for April 5th: Luke 24
Key Scriptures: Luke 24: 44-49 “Then He said to them, “These are My Words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the Promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
While He was with His disciples, Jesus Christ had repeatedly explained the Scriptures and plainly told them of His coming death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. Now, after the resurrection, on the evening of the third day, Jesus met with His disciples and showed them His glorified body of flesh and bones. They were full of joy and amazement but struggled to believe it was really Him. Jesus then again explained everything about Himself from the Law and Prophets, opening their minds to understand. He explained the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins that was for all nations and peoples, beginning with the Jews in Jerusalem. He declared them “witnesses” and told them to wait in Jerusalem until the “Promise of My Father” came upon them. This would clothe them with the power needed to fulfill His mission of reaching the lost world.
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for fulfilling all the Scriptures, which are Truth. Thank You for Your amazing plan to reach the whole world with Your appointed “witnesses”. Fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit and power to do Your will on earth as in heaven! I open my mind and heart today to better know You through the Scriptures.
Acts 2:38-39 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.””
Fanning the flame!
Scripture reading for January 12th: 2nd Timothy 1
Key Scriptures: 2nd Timothy 1:6-10 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in the suffering for the Gospel by the power of God, Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the world began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, . . .”
In his last letter before leaving this world, Paul affectionately addressed his son in the faith, Timothy with a reminder. Timothy had come from a line of people who were marked by their faith in God. Timothy also had come to faith and had been ordained by Paul through the laying on of his hands and had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and a holy calling to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit enabled Timothy to be bold and powerful in loving God and sharing God’s love with a hurting and sometimes hateful world. Paul reminded him of this Gift and encouraged him to fan the flames of God’s passionate love and power through the exercise of this Gift. Suffering would result, but life and immortality would flow for Timothy and those who received the Gospel message and God’s purpose would be fulfilled.
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, Thank You for the Gift of Your Holy Spirit to give me boldness, power, and passionate love for You and for Your people. I want to fan into flames the Gift You have provided and that is in me. Give me more grace and power to live a holy life and reach the lost!
Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”