Repentance

Let us review of some of the things that we have found that block us from the Holy Spirit's power in our lives. Things such as pride, bitterness, and focus. Acts 2:38 says, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (NIV) He say's it again in Acts 8:22. So here's another one we can add to the list of things that block us from the Spirit.To repent means to feel sorry or to have regret for a past action. I believe this is a great first step. We need to realize our mistakes and humble ourselves. This may have been another reason that the people in Acts 8 did not receive the spirit right away. I have been inventorying my own life and I've been pursuing the wrong things. I've been trying to become great in the name of God rather than pursuing his greatness. I wanted to see God do great things through me instead of just allowing him to be great. I've been seeking to become greater. He must become more, I must become less. Forgive me, Lord, for my self-centeredness.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Change your world III

So, going along with the same scripture we looked at in the last blog; Acts 8:9-24, and remembering our quest to have the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we saw that Simon had pride and bitterness in his life that blocked him from the receiving the Holy Spirit. Why do you suppose the others didn't receive the Spirit? I'm not a theologian and I probably have more questions than answers so bear with me. Does this mean that, in order to receive the Spirit, I need to have someone lay hands on me to receive the Spirit? I don't find this to be biblical. When the Spirit first came nobody laid hands on anyone. Here's what I'm thinking; these people believed in Jesus but they were still following Simon. He had built up a following. Look at vs. 10 and 11 again. I think they were distracted by Simon. Just him being there took their focus off where it should have been. They placed their trust in a man, not in God. Translation; when we put our trust in anything other than God we have effectively shut the door on the Holy Spirit to work in our life. So what is your focus on? Are you being distracted? If so by what? What is it that you are focusing on whether intentionally or not?
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Pray for Moore, OK

I want to take some time to send up some prayers for the folks in Moore, OK. This tornado was devastating to a lot of people and I think they could use as many prayers as possible. Especially for the families that have lost loved ones, and the relief effort, and the workers that are there helping, and those that will be going out to help them. I can't imagine what it would be like. Nature may have had her fury, but this didn't take God by surprise.  He is more powerful and we can trust that he is. Psalm 46:1 says "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." God Bless you all, Moore, OK. We will be praying for you.
Pressing on with Excellence!!
 Keith

Change your world II

Do you think it is possible to believe in Christ and be baptized and still not have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life?  I do, I also think it is biblical. Take a look at Acts 8: 9-24. What I want to look at here is what blocked these people from receiving the Spirit. Remember our quest was to find things that we can do to have the power of the Spirit in us. I think for Simon His first issue was pride. My version reads, "Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great." Verse 10, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power" (NIV); the Great Power. I think it could have even been his fault that they all didn't receive the Spirit right then. Later, in vs 23, Peter says, "For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." (NIV) These two things, pride and bitterness, will keep you captive to sin. Also, I think they will block you from the power of the Holy Spirit. So here are two things that could, and potentially do, block us off from the Spirit. Do you have pride or bitterness?  Ask God to show you if have these. The first part of change is realizing that you need to change. 
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

    

Change Your World

 I've been trying to figure out what the key is to drawing upon the power of the Holy Spirit, because I'm convinced that if the power of the Holy Spirit was in our lives it would change our world. So, for the next few blogs we will explore this issue. I've written before about the fruit of the Spirit and I believe that these fruit are the what of the power; meaning, that if we have the fruit of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, and self control, that is how the power is manifested in our lives. So, what would your life look like if no matter what happened you had the fruit of patience. Can you imagine having peace most of the time? Or being kind and loving? How would your life look if you had goodness and gentleness, faithfulness, not to mention self control. See, if Christ followers had this power, and we do, it stands to reason that we are wasting our lives if we don't utilize it. This is not self help, this is a God intervention that allows us to be different from the world. So, we will explore what it takes to tap into His power. Are there things that we can do? Romans 8:6 is my life verse and I think it is the answer. But how do we do this? That is what I will be writing about over the next few weeks.
Pressing on with Excellence!!
Keith

Others

Do you ever wonder if you are having an affect on others? I know that if you want to, that it starts with a relationship. People are more apt to take your advice if you show you really care. I met a lady where I work about four months ago and she is a sweet lady. She had a physical problem and had started to let herself go down hill. They moved her from independent living to assisted living and she developed some resentment. I had been in to do some work for her and had given her a few rides to get her hair done and had developed a friendship with her trying to encourage her through this time. She had been eating alone and not cooperating with the care givers and kind of bitter. Last week I took her to get her hair done and on the way back she asked me if I thought she should go to physical therapy. I told her that she should go every chance that she got. Since then, only because I told her to, she has been going and all of a sudden she is starting to eat meals at the dining room instead of in her own room. She is having better days and is more cheerful. I believe God works through us to affect others. Most of the time we don't even know it, but once in a while he gives us a little glimpse and it
has an affect on us also. What relationships are you investing in?
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith