Skip to main content

Here and Now

    Worship conferences, mission trips, revival gatherings, etc. all bring in people from around the world hoping to experience Christ. Many believers show up to get a special encounter with God. They think that these things will give them a fresh revelation that they would not otherwise have access to.

    While those things are all well and good, I think that people can use these attractions to chase a ghostly impression of the Holy Spirit. Why do they believe that they have to go looking for Jesus when He is right here with us all the time? When we are born again He lives in us. We do not serve some elusive God that requires us to come search for Him only in the holiest of places. He goes where we go. We take Him with us everywhere.

    If you are seeking God there is no reason that you won't find Him. You don't have to go look for signs and wonders or some gigantic conference to find Him. He is there even when you don't feel Him, if only you'll look. We have Jesus at our disposal at all times. Also, although mission trips are wonderful, we don't have to go out to other places to spread the word about Christ. It starts here and now with those around you. Jesus always meets us right where we are at.

Matthew 28:20 And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (ESV)

Colossians 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (ESV)

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own (ESV)

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (ESV)

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (ESV)

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (NIV)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

1 2 3, Count on Me

     I am thankful to say that for the first time in my life I am surrounded by friends and a community who I know will always build me up and point me in the right direction. More importantly, I know that they will always be honest with me. Honesty is a rare trait these days and I think it to be (combined with love) the most important thing to have in any relationship.    The Bible instructs us to speak life and truth into one another. To be honest and point each other to Christ when we are failing to see straight. I cannot emphasize how much I have grown since having access to that kind of community. Being in close friendships where I am able to be completely honest about my life, my struggles, my thoughts without fear of rejection or judgement is monumental alone. But take that a step further. I have been blessed to have friends that I can not only share my most intimate thoughts with, but they additionally are on their toes looking out for me and honest wh...

Don't Read This!

     It's amazing to me how God so often uses moments in our daily lives to teach us something instead of the moments we might expect (in church, through Christian friends, etc.). I'm a big believer that God can use anything and anyone to teach us something (See Numbers 22:28 where God actually used a donkey to speak to Balaam). This last week, something a coworker said to me in casual conversation really struck my heart and has had me thinking since then. She told me that she quit smoking by buying herself cigarettes and keeping them with her and telling herself, "you can have one if you want. But do you really want it?"      I found this passing statement proved a brilliant point about human nature. I don't think anyone would disagree with me when I say that we as humans want what we are told we can't have. Tell a kid he can't have the cookies in the cookie jar and all he's going to want is those cookies. But I believe this concept is particularly...

A Life of Servitude

   When we are living in the Kingdom of God, we have to abide by a completely different lifestyle than that of the world. The word tells us that to the world, the wisdom of God seems like foolishness. It is completely counterintuitive! Today, I think of this in the context of leadership. To the world, to be a great leader you are often taught to assert yourself and do whatever it takes to get on top. In the Kingdom we are taught that being recognized as a leader means putting yourself below others and letting God raise you up as He chooses to. Luke 14:11    For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (NLT)          So what does that look like? Well, it looks a lot like Jesus. During His life on earth, Jesus never asserted Himself over anyone-- even though He is the true King over all!! That's crazy humble. The mere fact that He even came down to earth in the form of a man is mind-b...