Friday, November 07, 2014
"Most Christians, however, do not relate to God as if he is a dynamic personal Presence in their lives. Jesus made some truly astounding promises about the Holy Spirit - ones so astounding, in fact, it is tempting to not even take them seriously. He told his disciples that if they understood what was being offered to them in the Holy Spirit, they would have been glad he was returning to heaven if that meant getting the Spirit (John 16:7). Having the Holy Spirit in them, he said, would be better than having his bodily presence beside them.
Think of the absurdity of that statement, on the surface! How awesome would it be to have Jesus as your ministry companion? What if an application for your next youth pastor landed on your desk, and you saw that it was from Jesus? Sure, that's far-fetched. But if it were true, you'd be overjoyed. Are you just as excited that you and your people have the Spirit of God? Do you see the Spirit's presence in you as an advantage to having Jesus' presence beside you? If not, doesn't that show you how far removed we are from the reality of what Jesus promised to us?"
A super long excerpt from this article:
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/what-s-better-than-jesus-beside-you
i have often wished to have Jesus beside me, to see exactly what He would do in certain situations. so this article really struck me. so then why am I not as excited to have the Holy Spirit living within me!! Well, that is a question that I don't know the answer to yet : /
"How would your relationship with God change if you saw his presence with you as a real person? What if you understood that feeling of conviction as his actual voice? What if you saw sin not so much as breaking a law but more as grieving someone? How would your Christianity change if you saw that when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he was the one bringing the promises of Scripture to mind to comfort you?"
just some food for thought...
avoid the aliens;
1:23 AM
