In Spirit and Truth

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." —Hebrews 12:1, 2 Look before you leap! Great words of advice for those who may have a tendency to be impulsive. However, it is often used as an excuse for those who are overly analytical. Last week we spoke about those whom we consider to be people who "know God." One of the qualities they share is that they do not talk themselves out of following the nudges of the Holy Spirit. It may appear to the casual observer that these people make decisions on a whim, but these that know God are truly looking before they leap. What sets them apart from most of us, is the thing at which they look before leaping. We feel a nudge or a hint, a whisper

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." —Psalm 32:8 "There is no one, in all of history, who has known God any better than you can know him." Last week I introduced this quote and listed several people that I look to as examples of what it means to know God. This week it is your turn. Who do you think of as an example of someone who knew God. What is it about their lives that inspires you? Were they a great servant, or a great teacher? Did they die for the sake of Christ, like the disciples; or live a full life poured out as a sacrifice for those Christ loved, like Mother Teresa? Once you have identified the qualities and actions that set them apart in your mind as Godly, ask yourself how they escaped an ordinary life? How did they achieve the extraordinary life of Faith that captured your attention? As I have looked, over the years, at these giants in the faith, I have identified three things that

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." —John 16:13-15 For those of you who do not know, I grew up in the home of a United Methodist Evangelist. My father travels around the United States visiting churches of all sizes. He still travels approximately two hundred days a year. Of all the sermons I’ve heard him preach, and of all the statements I’ve heard him make, one stands out in my mind. It is a phrase that I hope I will never forget. "There is no one, in all of history, who has known God any better than you can know him." I think of Adam and Eve who walked in the cool of the evening with the manifest presence of Go

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far has the LORD helped us.'" —1 Samuel 7:12 Long before Scrooge came on the scene, Ebenezer was around. Ebenezer is a word that means “Stone of Help.” Ebenezer was a large stone that Samuel set up to serve as a reminder to the people of God that it was the Lord who had brought them success. Whenever they walked by that stone, they would remember that they lived in peace and safety because of God’s action in their lives. On several occasions in my life, God has done something significant, and I have said to myself, “This is something I will never forget!” But day moves on to day, year on to year, and inevitably the significance of that day or event slips away. I may still enjoy the benefits of God’s action that day, but often God is forgotten. Samuel understood this, and so he selected something lasting, in his case, a stone. Then he made a memory, a ceremony to

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; theyonly saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth." —Hebrews 11:13 The past few months I have immersed myself in the songs produced by the slavery of a people. Many of these people were enslaved by those who at the very least called themselves Christian. In those circumstances, it would be very easy, and even excusable, for those slaves to shun Christianity, and look with mistrust to God. Yet these songs are filled with hope and trust in God. They serve as examples for us, that even in the midst of oppression and slavery, one can trust in God and worship him for his faithfulness. They looked back in scripture and saw that God had delivered a people from slavery before, and they trusted that he would again. Let us learn from those who have gone before us. Those who had nothing can teach us everything! Ou