Category: Jesus Speaks

The Holy Spirit

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

                “I still have numerous things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you in all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of mine and declare it to you” (John 16: 12-15.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Shortly before Jesus was crucified, he foretold of the arrival of a mysterious entity known as the ‘Holy Spirit;’ after the resurrection he ascended in to heaven and fulfilled his promise to every believer by sending “the Spirit of Truth.”  For nearly 2000 years, Jesus has been seated in glory at the right hand of God; and for 2000 years there have been countless genuine confessions of faith.  With every confession received, a gift has been given; the faithful obtain the indwelling of the fullness of God’s Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, the desires of Christ become intuition; his path becomes transparent; evil is exposed by the divine light of the living God.  Finally able to distinguish the truth from the lies, the newborn child of God recognizes counterfeit prophets and artificial religions; the inner Spirit also boldly declares the authority and authenticity of a single book; the Holy Bible.  Ignorance is no longer an excuse, as God Himself directs the steps of His Faithful followers.    

                Many years ago, a friend invited me to attend a church service.  Near the end of the service, there was an opportunity to approach the stage and publicly profess a faith in Jesus Christ; I chose to accept the invitation.  Afterwards, I was given a bible; however I was afraid that the church might be a cult.  Therefore I didn’t trust the accuracy of the bible they had given me.  So I made my way to the local bookstore and asked one of the employees where I could find the “original bible.”  With a confused look she replied, ‘Let me get another employee who’s a Christian; she’ll know more about this than I will.’  When the Christian girl returned, I explained my situation to her; “I want the original bible.”  She replied, ‘Well it doesn’t really work that way.  The original bible is in a different language’ (a language I did not understand.)  [Note:  She did impress upon me that the English translations were very accurate.]  After our discussion I had one of my first experiences with the Holy Spirit.  A voice suddenly spoke from my heart; a voice I didn’t hear with my ears; and yet my mind clearly comprehended what was said; the voice said, “You’ve always been too smart for your own good; just read the bible I gave you.”  God had communicated with me through the Holy Spirit.  I began reading the bible He wanted me to read; the bible I had received at my conversion (being easy to read and understand, it proved to be exactly what I needed.)  With every flip of the page I grew closer to God.  Without the Holy Spirit I might have fallen victim to my own arrogant pride.

                The Holy Spirit is an essential component of our faith; without it we are blind, ignorant and lost.  But God, in His great wisdom has said, “I will not leave you orphans.”  The Spirit proclaims God’s desires on this earth; He testifies of what is true and helps us to choose what is good and avoid what is evil.  Believe in Jesus Christ, and you will enter in to fellowship with the living God.  Receive His Holy Spirit and you as well can share in the knowledge, power, and love of your Eternal Father, and His only begotten Son.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we love You, and we thank You for sending the Holy Spirit.  Continue to speak to us and to guide us in the ways of righteousness.  With every breath, may we draw nearer to You.  Lead us, that we might do Your will in this place, and bring glory and honor to You and to Your Son.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you. 

Practicing Compassion

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

                And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.”  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, “Where have you laid him?”  They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”  And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” (John 11: 28-37.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS   

               Upon arriving, Jesus observed Mary and Martha weeping over the loss of their brother.  He was therefore filled with compassion and empathy; his heart was grieved and he began weeping with them.  His tears however, weren’t shed for Lazarus (whom he would soon raise him from the dead); instead, Jesus cried because he shared in the pain of those who were mourning.  Concerning compassion, God has no equal; He’s filled with it.  Compassion is defined as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate their suffering.”

                One day I happened by a man named Eric.  He was sitting outside of a coffee shop, slouching in a chair; he looked more dead than alive.  His skin was pale and clammy and he was sweating profusely.  His clothes were ragged and he badly needed to shower.  Having witnessed his pain, my heart was moved with compassion.  I sat down and began talking with him.  He informed me that he was withdrawing from heroine and was very sick.  I took him out to eat and gave him some clean clothes.  I also spent some time ministering to him.  As his condition worsened, I drove him to the hospital.  I sat with him in the emergency room for hours; and even accompanied him in to see the doctor.  He was treated and released.  Before dropping Eric off, I bought him his prescription, and made sure he had enough food for the evening.  Nearly a year later, Eric showed up at the coffee shop to say hello.  He told me that after our interaction, he had nearly died of a heart infection and was hospitalized for an extended period of time.  He thanked me for my efforts, and said that without my assistance, he might not be alive.  He was grateful that (‘even when his friends had abandoned him’) someone had cared enough to help.  Despite thanking me, I reminded Eric that it was God who deserved the credit; for it was God who had filled my heart with compassion; and in turn, it was the Lord who had moved me to act.  Without God’s mercy and love, I would have kept walking, just like everyone else.

                Because Jesus Christ is filled with compassion, his followers share his emotions, cares, and concerns.  In turn, He moves human beings to accomplish great acts of mercy and love.  The closer we grow toward God, the more compassion we will feel for those who are hurting.  God carries the wounds of the world around with Him every day.   When a person is beaten, the creator feels every strike.  When someone is sick, our Father feels their pain.  When an individual is hurting, God inspires others to comfort them.  Wherever mercy and love abound, the Spirit of God is at work.  Where there is indifference and a lack of compassion, there is an absence of God.  There are so many broken people in this world who need to be loved.  May God’s compassion lead you to act; may you feel what God feels; may you see with His eyes; may you be filled with mercy, and may God use you to relieve the suffering of others.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we desire to know You and to be filled with compassion.  Inspire us; that our hearts may be sensitive to those who are hurting.  Give us the strength to be kind to those who are in need.  May we love our families, our friends, and even those considered to be complete strangers.  May we be used to express Your merciful benevolence.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

Religious Hypocrites

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

            Then he said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive great condemnation” (Mark 12: 38-40.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            Jesus warned his children to be wary of the Pharisees who were abusing their positions of religious authority in order to amass large quantities of wealth.  Outwardly they appeared Godly; they wore the robes of holy men and made long prayers in public for all to see; yet privately they would seize every opportunity to abuse those who were helpless.  Jesus said that they “devour(ed) widow’s houses.”  In the ancient world, widows were very easily exploited.  As a mandatory condition for marriage, a man had to build a house for his bride. If the husband passed away, then the wife would inherit the home.  With no enduring source of income, widows were often forced to sell their homes in order to survive.  A number of the religious Pharisees who claimed to be Godly would therefore exploit the widow’s circumstances; paying far less for the property than it was actually worth.  Many, including these widows were being victimized because they trusted in the outward appearance of Godliness.  Jesus clearly spoke of a day when such vile individuals would be judged for their misdeeds.

            Many years ago, I worked as a sales representative for a tile company.  Having recently become a Christian, most of the other employees were aware of my conversion.  One day, the Pastor of a world famous church located just up the street walked through the front door.  After he and his wife had made a small purchase, they pulled around to the back to pick it up.  As I headed to the loading dock with the sales slip, one of my co-workers (who was not a Christian) contemptuously remarked, “Isn’t that your pastor friend’s car; the one that costs over a hundred thousand dollars?”  Sure enough; there it sat, washed and waxed; in all of its splendor.  My heart was filled with anger and sadness; knowing that he had likely been using God’s name for personal profit. Concerning judgment, the words of Christ were eventually realized, when a few years later, this man and his family lost everything.  His mega church, with all of its expensive buildings, statues, and complexes went bankrupt. In a few short months the church dissolved and the entire establishment was sold to another institution.

            In his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ staunchly warned his followers to avoid hypocrites; especially religious hypocrites who would seek to exploit others and to use God’s name for personal profit.  As Christians we are not to be deceived by the superficial appearance of Godliness.  Rather, we must test everyone to see if what they do is truly of God.  If what a pastor, a teacher, or a preacher says on stage is not synonymous with who they are in private, then perhaps they cannot be trusted.  

            “Lord Heavenly Father, please reveal to us the areas in our lives where we are being hypocritical; and help us to change.  May we always accurately represent You in every area of our lives.  May we be loving, giving, and caring; in public and in private.  Help us to recognize false teachers and religious hypocrites, that we may guide others away from them and toward You.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank you; and we ask and we pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.