11-24-25<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like a superhero character who is not aware of his powers, or like the movies\u2019 Pa Kettle who was once tossed unjustly into the town jail and missed the point of his friend the jailer \u201caccidently\u201d dropping the cell keys in front of the iron bars, many Christians don\u2019t realize the gifts, blessings, and rights God has granted them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Power, too. And authority. Being blessed, and the right to bless. The ability to do \u201cgreater things\u201d than Jesus did \u2013 as He promised (John 14:12) when He said He was leaving the earth but be succeeded by the Holy Spirit. The very Spirit of God, to live in our hearts. Humbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That manifestation of the Triune God was indeed sent on the Day of Pentecost, and lives today in the hearts of born-again believers. \u201cOur elder brother Jesus,\u201d as evangelist R W Schambach used to call Him, said He was ascending to Heaven but be followed by \u201cOne who was greater,\u201d the Spirit. And do \u201cgreater things,\u201d beyond the attributes listed above. Also the power to heal; to forgive in the name of Jesus; to exercise gifts of wisdom and knowledge; to receive supernatural giftings of faith; to work miracles; to to speak prophetically; to discern spirits; to speak in unknown tongues and to interpret tongues and supernatural, edifying words of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These gifts are called Gifts of the Spirit. They are apart from one\u2019s salvation (assurance of eternal life) but are God\u2019s provision for Jesus-followers. Who would reject gifts\u2026 especially from God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet many Christians do reject them. They are too shy to claim them. Or are embarrassed to exercise them in public. Or are \u201chappy enough\u201d just loving church. I can share that I have experienced them, in ways I did not expect or rehearse. I have prayed for people in turmoil and found myself knowing things they had not shared\u2026 but speaking them in prayer broke through their angst and blessed them tremendously. I have been aware of afflictions people had but were chary of detailing; how did I know? The Gift of Knowledge, and their souls were blessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When my son Ted was being born (my wife having been in hospital only for tests) I drove through the night, emotionally unsure, praying through my tears, unable to form my prayers, realizing my words were confused, too self-conscious to form my pleading\u2026 but then I let my heart cry out in words not familiar to me, but aware that I connected with the Throne by the Holy Spirit. I knew that I knew that I knew that God knew my desires and heard my cries. Peace that passed understanding. That has been my closest experience with that particular Gift of the Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tongues are not the greatest (but not the least) of the Gifts, however often there is too much emphasis, by those who embrace it and those who decline its exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the larger sense, all of the Holy Spirit is ours. When God sees the born-again believer, He sees the Jesus in our hearts \u2013 and so does the devil, who wages war on us to the degree we are indwelt by the Spirit. It is simple: if we sin after conversion, God no longer sees us, but the Jesus who lives in us. We are \u201ccovered by the blood\u201d He shed on the cross, and that\u2019s all God sees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was a new Christian I prayed with a friend and addressed God humbly, as a sinner, ashamed of my low standing, conscious of my offenses\u2026 and my friend stopped me and said I was reminding God of things He promised to forget (throwing my sins \u201cinto the sea of forgetfulness\u201d); as a follower of Christ it was the shed blood of His Son that God saw when He dealt with me ever after. Not my sins and faults and dirty rags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Realize your super Powers\u2026 pick up those keys\u2026 open the Gifts\u2026 let Jesus into your life in ways you never dreamed of\u2026 ask for the Holy Spirit\u2019s guidance and comfort and Power. Christianity is the only place in life where to be Power Hungry is a good thing. Its potential awaits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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