For some reason, the opening quote struck a chord in my spirit and here are some random thoughts around it…
I’ve been on my faith walk since I accepted Jesus on a whim in my buddy’s dorm room in 1979. My life wasn’t going very well back then and I thought I’d give Jesus a shot. Shortly after being born again, I had an encounter with Christ in my own dorm room. He stood in the whitest of white light. I couldn’t see him but I could…if that makes sense. I remember telling Him I loved Him.
And that was that as I quickly returned to my old behavior and brushed off my encounter with Christ as a dream and/or a fluke.
For the next eight years, I tried living life on my terms and things only got worse. Funny how God brought Lori into my life a few months after I got saved–she was literally, not figuratively, a God-send. Although she accompanied me on my “crazyville” journey, she didn’t enable me. She served as a guiding light helping me discern right from wrong…even though I didn’t listen to her half of the time.
Then in August of 1987, I hit my rock bottom as my “wrongs” had far outdistanced my “rights.” The selfish sickness of addiction was trying it’s best to take my life from me and in a state of desperation, I turned back to the “White Light” and asked for His help. The next day I went to a hospital for treatment of my addictive disorder.
Since that time in my life, I’ve stayed sober by slowly but surely drawing closer to Him and His “rights” while distancing myself from the world and its ever shallow “wrongs.”
The Holy Spirit will not flow through us if our flesh is filled with desires of the world, i.e., lust, greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride (the 7 deadly sins).
Do you proclaim to be a believer and a Christian?
Is the Holy Spirit freely flowing through and from you?
If you answered yes to the above–good for you!
If you answered no, inventory the following:
- Â Note any and all behaviors not conducive for allowing the Spirit to flow through you freely.
- Â Note any and all thoughts not conducive for allowing the Spirit to flow through you freely.
- Â Note how much time you are spending in His word each day compared to how much time you spend in the world’s word (social media, news, etc…) Time spent with Him is proportionate to time spent being able to be a vessel for Him.
Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
