I ain't afraid of no Ghost! Or am I?

I have been reading a book called Forgotten God by Francis Chan.  It doesn't imply that God is missing, although that is what I thought when I picked it up.  But it talks about this person, the Holy Ghost (or Spirit)!  He explains how we are missing out on the Holy Spirit being active in the church.  Francis spends alot of time developing the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and the believer of the NT times.  Then he goes on to define the Holy Spirit.  He continues to develop the theology of the Holy Spirit and then...I get to Chapter 4.  And then...I get to page 84.  Here is what he says:

Right now I want you to take a break from reading and some some time asking yourself why you want the Holy Spirit.  Is it for power?  Is it for your own betterment and purposes?  Or is it because you want to experience all that God has for you?  Is it because you love the church and desire to be a better servant to your sisters and brothers?

So I stopped.  I said, "Okay.  I am going to stop reading and really ponder what Francis is writing."  So I stopped at the very first sentence.  Here is some of what I recall my thoughts were: 

• Lord, work in me and straighten me out give me Your Spirit.
• With Your Spirit, I can do all things!
• Father, bring the Holy Spirit to Your church, so I can see it grow.
• Holy Spirit, work with in this situation to resolve the feelings I have.

Did you notice a trend?  Did you notice what I was asking this Holy Spirit, this "Ghost" to do.  First, let me say, I do believe in the Holy Spirit.  Totally.  But what I was asking for were selfish things.  Look at the two statements after the first sentence.  Yes....some of what I asked was for power for me.  I asked for ability.  I asked for the future to be seen by me.  I asked the Spirit to work within me and another person.  Those things I mentioned are "spiritual" for the most part.  We ask that from God and they are not necessarily "bad things".  We have all said things like that.  But what got me, what convicted me, and what I hope will convict you is that last two sentences:  Or is it because you want to experience all that God has for you? Is it because you love the church and desire to be a better servant to your sisters and brothers?

I don't believe what I asked was for either of those things.  My heart was dislocated from God's Spirit.  My heart was only asking for a partial grasp of the Spirit instead of the fullness and "sold out" life that listens to the Spirit.  Where is your relationship with the Holy Spirit?  Are you afraid what He can do for you?  Have you said, "I ain't afraid of no Ghost!", but in reality you truly are?  Take advantage of what the Spirit of God wants to do in your life.  He wants to take it up a notch.  Because He is God and there is no other.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:4 (NIV)

Click on this video to introduce you to Forgotten God.

6 things about family and future

Inspired by another blog, I am answering the questions about my family and future:

Tell us more about your family. (Married, siblings, etc)

1. Are you married? Yes.  I love my wife, Marie!
2. Do you have brothers and sisters? I have one brother who is five years younger than me.  No sisters.
3. Where do you live and what type of house? I live in Southern California, in an unincorporated area of Riverside.  I have a two story house in an average neighbrohood.
4. How about mom and dad? My mom and dad live in the community where I grew up in.  I work for that particular city.
5. Are you in school? I will be returning to seminary this fall.  Hopefully, I will.
6. Do you have children? Yes.  I have two daughters and one son.  By the end of this year, I will have a total of 5 grandchildren from each one of my children.  I love to spoil them!

The Future

1. Where would you like to “be” ten years from now? (if the Lord hasn’t returned) – I will be 50 in 10 years, so I hope that I will be living in a newer home or remodeled my current home.  I would pray that the church I am apart of will be transformed.
2. Marriage? I will be married to my same beautiful wife.
3. Do you plan on having children? Already had them and don't think I will have anymore at the age of 50.
4. Having a job? Begin to think about retirement and dedicate myself to working more at the church.
5. School? Prayerfully, be able to teach at a school or conduct workshop or leadership meetings.
6. Where do you want to live? I want to live where God wants to put me.

One of the best Mother's Day Messages...

This video definitely should hit your heart on what we are supposed to do. It is worth watching.

Cover

Recently, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs announced a solution to some signal problems with Apple's Iphone 4.  The solution is a free protective case.  Some expected refunds or perhaps something of significant value such as some free Itunes would have been a preferred method.  While I don't know how common this problem is, the fact that Consumer Reports would not recommend a purchase is significant. But here's the problem.  The case only covers the problem.  It masks what the problem is which is the design of the antenna on the phone.

Thousand of years ago, there was a man and a woman who lived in a perfect world.  They had everything they wanted.  Perfect weather, food, and just a perfect life.  Then one day, they gave into temptation.  They ate of the fruit from the tree of knowledge.  When they did, they noticed something different about themselves.  Their minds had been altered and they would never be the same.  They could no longer look at themselves with purity and holiness, instead their minds became full of sin.  So in order to hide their sin, the Bible says this:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.  ~Genesis 3:7

They tried to cover their sin themselves.  But the sin was still there.  We try to cover up our sins.  We make excuses, mask the symptoms, blame others, and deny we have problem.  We hide them by saying we are "saved" or that we are a "Christian", we "go to church", we "pray" but in reality God knows that your sin is still there.

The solution is not to cover your sin, but to change your life.  In order to do that, you need Jesus.  You need a new life.  2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says:

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

Don't "cover" your sin, let God create a new life in you.  Jesus wants to give you eternal life, all you have to is to admit your sin, believe in Christ, and confess your sins to him.  Steve Jobs still has a problem with the phone when you take the cover off.  Do you have a problem you are covering up?

The Pain

One of the "products" of getting old is pain.  Things that weren't a problem before are now a problem.  I am currently experiencing back problems and other physical problems that I didn't have before.  I feel as though I am in a lot of pain.

My son had just come from running and he had a shirt on that said this: 

What does that mean?  Pain can make us weak.  We don't like to be weak.  Weak makes us incapable of performing at our best!  My son said that what it means is, "It [pain] makes us stronger!"  Think about that "pain makes us stronger".  What are you doing with your pain?  How can your pain make you stronger?  Jesus' death was painful, yet it made the whole world a lot stronger than before.  When Paul was suffering with pain, Jesus gave him a few words.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.   2 Corinthians 12:9

How is the pain your going through making you more powerful in Christ? Maybe right now, you don't know Christ and you are experiencing pain...physical, emotional and spiritual pain.  God's grace is found in the person of Jesus Christ.  He endured the pain for you on the cross, so that you can have a relationship with God right now.  Do you want to be forgiven?  Do you want eternal life in heaven?  Just repeat this short prayer and mean it from your heart.  God will hear you.

God, I am sorry for what I have done.  I have trusted in myself instead of you.  I now want to change my life.  I want Christ to be the center of my life.  I ask for your forgiveness, love, and healing.  I know that Jesus died for me on the cross for me.  I now turn my life over to you and will follow you now even when I don't understand it.  Thank you for hearing me.  In Jesus name.  AMEN!

If you said that prayer, welcome to God's family.  I encourage you to email me or contact a local church and tell everyone about your new life.  The pain can now be handled by the freedom we have in Christ.