Power for Kingdom Living
If you want to experience God’s presence, if you want to understand His ways and counsel, and if you want to live in His power, you are going to need the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit. For some this statement sounds boring and theological. For others it might be off-putting, and sound too “charismatic.” For yet others, it is intriguing and enticing. For everyone – it’s true.
Only the Holy Spirit can reveal, communicate and empower the Kingdom of God in and through you.
The book of Luke makes it clear that Jesus did His ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was/is the Son of God – fully God. And, He was/is the Son of man – fully human. He lived and experienced life just like we do – Jesus was fully human. However, He was also anointed (enabled) by the Holy Spirit to experience, understand and live in the Power of the Kingdom of God.
“God anointed Jesus...
God's Ways Are Redemptive
One thing we can learn from political campaigns is that whatever skeletons a candidate may have in his/her closet will be brought into the public sphere. Things that person has done and things that have been done to the person will be exposed. Mistakes and bad decisions made will become fair game for media and water cooler discussion. It can be a very scary thing to be promoted in the public sphere.
Thankfully the Kingdom of God is different. It is redemptive at its core. The very things that have brought us shame and/or bondage, when meaningfully touched by God, become places of freedom, testimony and God’s glory. When God redeems an area of our lives, we are given fresh authority to stand and to impart to others, hope, courage and overcoming power in that very area . If you have been set free from an addiction, if you have received forgiveness and grace to change a sinful practice, if you have been healed in your soul or body – you have a new...
What Kind of Spirit Do You Want?
Many people recognize a general brokenness in their own lives, and also sense it multiplying through our culture over the last 50 years or so. We have developed an expansive vocabulary related to different forms of dysfunction, addiction, and mental health. Most people seem to feel a need for help from beyond themselves to develop healthy and free lives. Often, they are on some kind of spiritual quest. In many circles it has even become quite chic to pursue spiritual things. For what kind of spirit and spiritual experiences, however, are people looking?
There is a (sometimes subtle) natural draw to seek spiritual growth primarily for the purpose of self-improvement, personal influence, or power. We can be tempted to use the spiritual realm, trying to get it to submit to our own personal wills. The temptation is to look for spiritual power that will help us get what we want. So, we may turn to impersonal expressions of faith/religion to boost our sense of self – a kind of...
