Category: Holy Spirit

Which Is Easier …Visible or Invisible

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? (Mark 2:9)

It’s easier to say the words, “Your sins are forgiven,” because that’s something invisible and impossible to disprove. But it’s harder to say, “Take up your bed and walk” because, if the man does not get up, then the one who said the words would look like he didn’t have any power or authority to heal. On a deeper level, it is harder to forgive sins, because only God can forgive sins-at the cost of Christ’s death on the cross. So the logic here is that, since Jesus can do the visible miracle (heal the paralytic), this is evidence that he also has the power to do the invisible miracle (forgive sins).

Mark 2:10-12 goes on to say, But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins-he said to the paralytic- “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose immediately picked up his bed and went before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus’ healing of the paralytic verifies that he also has divine authority to forgive sins.

Which is what brings me to this part. The salvation message, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life in heaven, an eternity with Christ Jesus and our Father God. We can’t see Jesus with our natural eye, the Holy Spirit is (the invisible) active force that convicts us of our sin, reveals Jesus, and draws us into salvation. It begins with him convicting us, making us aware of our sin and our need for a Savior, opening our eyes to the reality of Jesus. He gives us understanding, allowing us to comprehend and believe the truth of the Gospel, our hearts become pliable, instead of being hard. Then He seals and secures us the moment we receive salvation. He takes up residence in our lives as a “seal” or guarantee of eternal relationship with God. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven “like a dove” and rested on Jesus when he was baptized by John the baptist. (Matt. 3:16) The Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on the followers of Jesus as a rushing wind and tongues of fire. (Acts 2:1-4) Also read (Acts 16:5-15).

If reading this has caused a tugging in your heart knowing there is a need for change in your life, that is evidence of the Holy Spirit speaking directly to you and there is a prayer you can say to assure your eternal relationship with God.

Jesus, I am a sinner in need of a savior. I believe in my heart that you are the Son of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead that I may be forgiven of my sins and have eternal life with you. I turn from my sins and invite you into my life, I confess You as Lord and Savior. Thank you for convicting me, saving me and giving me eternal life, In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Spiritual Maturity

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Milk and meat are referenced in the Bible as metaphors for spiritual maturity. Milk represents the foundational teachings of the faith, while meat represents deeper theological truths. The scriptures encourage new believers to consume milk but warn against remaining on a milk-only diet for to long. Here are a few scriptures referencing milk and solid food: 1 Peter 2:2, Heb. 5:12-14, 1 Cor. 3:1-3

As a mature believer how can we help the new believer in Christ Jesus?

Just as a newborn baby needs milk for nurturing their physical body and to grow so does a new baby Christian need spiritual milk to grow in their faith, the basic truths of the gospel. We would never expect a baby to be able to eat a steak weeks or months into their life, we should not expect a new Christian to be able to obtain more than the basics in the beginning of their walk with Jesus. We need to be gentle with them, protecting and nourishing by instructing them with love and compassion, helping them to know Jesus and to become who God has called them to be.

As they grow in their knowledge, we still show that same compassion by incorporating commitment. Letting them know we are still here, but now we are backing up and allowing God to grow them through conviction. Like a baby that is becoming a toddler they are learning to walk on their own without holding our hand, yet if they fall we are there to help them back up. Staying committed to helping them is so very important because without it, the baby would stay a baby and the new Christian would remain in their current state as well. Don’t leave them to have to fend for themselves when they haven’t even learned to come to the table by themselves. If we say we are there for them and willing to help be sure your actions back your words. Our goal is to get them to the place where they learn to put their trust in God not us. Teaching them to be obedient by living and acting on the Word of God that we have been feeding them, our compassion toward them, as well as our commitment to them. Moving them over to solid food, allowing them to come and sit at the table on their own.

Finally they grow to where they are now on meat, the solid food. This is where their trust has been confirmed and the convictions they are experiencing are moving them in the direction the Spirit of God is speaking to them. They have a real understanding and are surrendering and being obedient to God on their own. This does not mean the Christian will never fall again, nor be in need of being picked up. Life has its challenges for every believer young and old.

Our final goal is to get from just hoping in God to expecting. Expecting that what His Word says is truth. Hope says, “Maybe” being expectant says, “I know.” Expect God’s Word to work, that is what changes results.

We are ALL called to the same thing. Accept, Grow and GO.

Accept …the truth (Jesus Christ) through faith, Grow …in our faith, Go …help other to do the same.

Fill My Cup, Lord

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37)

There is a song I really feel fits this topic by Jessy Dixon; Fill My Cup, Lord. The lyrics go like this: Like the woman at the well I was seeking for things that could not satisfy and then I heard my Savior speaking “Draw from My well that never shall run dry” Fill my cup, Lord I lift it up, Lord … Come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven, feed me ’til I want no more …Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole. There are millions in this world who are craving the pleasures, earthly things of gold, but none can match the wondrous treasure that I find in Jesus Christ my Lord. Fill my cup, Lord I lift it up, Lord …come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven, feed me ’til i want no more. Fill my cup, Lord fill it up and make me whole. Here’s my cup, fill it up and make me whole.

Sometimes we need to have our cup filled back up. We find ourselves going along day by day pouring out of our cup and then suddenly one day we realize that our cup it empty. Maybe your running on empty or life just hit you with some news that requires a big drink from that cup, but when you reach for it there is nothing left. Have you ever been dehydrated? Completely depleted? You know that feeling? I do. In the summer especially when outdoors working in the heat, if I am not replenishing what I am using I will become dehydrated I will soon have a headache and become weak in my body. When we are spiritually dehydrated we also become weak. Weak in our minds forgetting what the Word of God says, how we are mighty warriors, we are more than conquerors, we are overcomers. We don’t have the ability to continue being those things because we need His strength, we cannot do these things in our own strength, it only comes from being filled with the living water, Jesus Christ.

If you are feeling weak, depleted, thirty and cannot go any further you need to ask, fill my cup, Lord. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He promises that anyone who believes in Him will have “rivers of living water” flowing from within.

Only Jesus can quench your spiritual thirst. If you have been thirsting after something, yet find yourself never satisfied can I suggest to you right now to ask Jesus to give you the life-giving water (Jn.4:10) this is not water for your physical body, this water will cause you to never thirst again, it is life-giving water that will give you eternal life. (Jn. 4:13-14). If you will pray this prayer, you can have this living water.

Romans 10:9-10 tells us if we acknowledge our sins, believing in the resurrection, and surrendering to Jesus by confession of our mouths we will be saved from spiritual death.

Jesus, I am a sinner in need of a savior. I believe in my heart that you are the son of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead that I may be forgiven of my sins and have eternal life with you. I turn from my sins and invite You into my life, I confess You as Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me and giving me eternal life, In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Be Still

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

It’s time to release control again, quiet my mind, and find peace. In Hebrew, “be still” is raphah-meaning to let go, relax, and surrender the need to strive. How many of you are striving for one thing or another right now in your life? What’s going on in your mind over and over that you just never really seem to have a real peace? What are you holding on to that needs surrendering? For me I find myself in this place more often than I’d like to admit and more often than I ever should be.

Sitting on a rock at a fresh stream of water reminds me of Jesus my Rock, Living Waters refreshing my soul as I still my mind to the sound of the bubbling brook. I realize at that moment I don’t have to carry the weight of everything myself. This is where I release all the heaviness and I find strength in the resting. Inhaling the words “Be still” and exhaling “and know that I am God.” There is where my peace is.

I have to have these moments alone with God. Being alone in general is not enough, I need deliberate time and away from everything, no phone, all distractions, just focusing on God’s presence.

Sometimes I journal the things that are stressing me out, then I will pray over them and ask God to help me surrender them to Him. I rarely go back to that paper simply because it works. I give it to God, He takes it and it’s finished, time to move on. Knowing He is God allows me to spend my time reflecting on His power, and love for me instead of my problems. It also allows me to see how small my problems are in comparison to how big our God is. I was just praying tonight with a group of people from an outreach ministry I am involved in and that was my prayer, “God these things we are seeking you for are small in comparison to how big you are.” When we can look at it in those terms we can find rest in Him.

My prayer for everyone reading this including myself is this. God help us to stop, to be quiet, to be still, and to remember to know that you are God and that you are all-powerful, You are all-sovereign. Amen

Confession Of A Sinner

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38)

David wrote Psalm 51 for the music leader, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.

Here is the entire Psalm written in simple, modern everyday English:

Have mercy on me, God, because you are so loving. Because you are so merciful, please wipe away all my wrongs. Wash me clean from guilt and make me pure from my sin. I know exactly what I did wrong, and I cannot stop thinking about it. I have done evil, and I only sinned against you. You are perfectly fair to judge me for what I did. I have been a sinner since the day I was born. But you want truth and honesty deep inside my heart, and you teach me wisdom there. Wash me, and I will be cleaner than snow. Make me happy and glad again. Ignore my sins and wipe them all from your memory. Create a pure heart in me, God, and give me a new, faithful spirit. Please do not the throw me away or take your Holy spirit from me. Give me back the joy of your saving grace, and make me eager to obey you. If you do this, I will teach other sinners your ways so they will return to you. God, save me from my guilt, and my tongue will sing loudly about how good and right you are. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proudly praise you. You do not really want animal sacrifices, or I would gladly bring them. The true sacrifice God wants is a broken and humble heart. God, you will not look down on a heart that is sorry for its sins.

This is a prayer of forgiveness and repentance written by King David. In it, he asks God to wash away his mistakes, fix his broken heart, and restore his joy.

I know we read here about having the Holy Spirit taken from David, yet Christ had not come yet, therefore the Holy Spirit did not dwell within anyone at this point in time. What we have here is God’s anointing on David. Ps. 32:1 states, Forgiveness of sins anticipates the sacrifice of Christ as the ultimate basis of forgiveness according to, (Romans 4:7-8). Also (Ps. 51:7) Hyssop alludes to cleansing ceremonies that point to the final cleansing from sin through the work of Christ (Heb 9:19-28). Which now takes me to (1 John 1:9), “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse of from all unrighteousness.” Now, thanks to Jesus dying on the cross, rising up from the dead and sending His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we can have EVERYTHING God promised. One last, but not final scripture I want to share is (Romans 10:9-10), “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved”.

Christ promises us the conqueror’s reward: communion with himself and the white raiment of victory. Our name is secure in his Book of Life, and he will confess our names before the Father, since we have confessed Jesus. (Rev.3:5)

With King David, he found forgiveness from the Father through his confession. With us we to have forgiveness through confession with the Son and eternal life.

If any or all of this resonated within you, you to can confess your sins and be forgiven. There is nothing like letting the past go and getting a fresh new life an everlasting life. Love covers a multitude of sins, and while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That’s unconditional grace my friends. You cannot earn God’s love by good behavior or human perfection, it had to come one way and one way only, through the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, a sacrificial love. He did it for me, He did it for you.

The Dilemma of Quitting

If I say, “I will not mention him or speak anymore in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. (Jer. 20:9)

God does not allow Jeremiah to stop preaching. He has put this burning fire and desire within him that if he were to try to stop it would be to painful, the words are in him and they have to come out. He has enemies and Jeremiah’s ministry was a fight. People whispering behind his back, turning his words against him, planning terror for him on every side. They were watching for his fall, hoping for an incorrect prediction. God did give Jeremiah a heads up in the beginning that these things would happen by saying, “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:19).

I’ve been in a battle for quite some time it seems, because my perception of life is very different than that of many. I hear things from God that cause me to say or not say things, act or not act regarding certain situations and because of that people have turn their back on me, or talked behind my back, left our relationship, tried to attack me in ways that completely blow my mind. But then, I am reminded of Jeremiah and all he went through all because God had put the fire inside of him. As much as he wanted to quit, as much as I want to quit at times, because the battle is raging all around me, I cannot and neither did he. There is this unquenchable, unshakeable truth inside of me, a pressure like feeling that no matter how bad I want to quit, I cannot. Just recently it was so bad, that I to like Jeremiah had wished I had never been born. People can be so hateful at times and you wonder why am I doing this? That is why. Be the difference, be the light in a dark world. Jeremiah’s pain and confusion required both careful thought and a caring heart. Through all the suffering I read about in Jeremiah’s story I realize that I have been given a God-given passion to spread the good news. I know I vent and speak of giving up. I also know there is a fire not easily extinguished. And I know that the God who started this in me will sustain me until he is finished with me, just as the Word in Jer. 1:19. God listens to my prayers, hears the cry of my heart, comforts my soul and toughens me up. He even at times stuns me in how he will subtly change my situation in a different direction just to provide me with a hope to keep going. Jeremiah was not a quitter and neither am I.

No pain …No gain

Discontentment

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ( Philippians 4:11)

Paul’s been through some stuff and he knows what it’s like from every angle of life, yet he knew and talked about being content more than anyone else.

Okay this is straight talk from myself for a minute. Discontentment is a sneaky enemy. I can get angry about something, it’s just there right now, in the moment and that’s that. Or fear, something happens or doesn’t happen and anxiety starts taking over right away, but discontentment hits when I least expect it, everything is just rocking along. My day will be going great, heck I may even be at church praising God and giving Him all the glory for all the good things He is doing in my life, done in my life and gonna do in my life and then like a thief in the night the enemy has come and stole my joy, got me thinking all kinds of things. Likely because I heard someone else talking about something and suddenly I felt I didn’t have what I thought I should have. Like,”Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have so much to take care of around our home, we could be out doing what so-n-so is doing, wouldn’t that be nice?” Or “We sure didn’t think this whole retirement thing through like we should have had we, we would be doing a lot more than we are.” “Dang we are getting old, if we were young like them we could __________fill in the blank.” See how the enemy snuck that one right in there? I just went from being content and I really am for the most part, until the enemy comes along and gets in my head and I decide to entertain those thoughts and that’s all that is, is thoughts. God blessed us with a nice home, we have lived good healthy lives this far, if we would stop allowing busyness to steal our time we would take vacations, even just more day trips. We aren’t in lack, God has been good to us, so how did I suddenly just become discontent?

The Israelites’ journey in the dessert; despite being freed from slavery, they grew dissatisfied with God’s provision and complained against Him. Discontentment will cause us to start grumbling and complaining just like they did. We start acting like God is withholding good things or he doesn’t know what’s best for us. Paul tells us that contentment is learned. Paul struggled with imprisonment and hardship but wrote in (Philippians 4:11-13) that he learned the secret of being content in (any) situation, relying on the strength Christ provides. There is some true gain from having a relationship with God rather than all this worldly stuff that brings about being discontent, (1 Timothy 6:6) “godliness with contentment is great gain”. We need to set our minds on the things above, not on earthly things”(Colossians 3:2). We also need to protect our minds. I once read a book, “Where the mind goes, the man follows” and that is true. Don’t be a follower of the enemy, be a Christ Follower.

Moving Forward

I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:14)

If I am being held back from accomplishing anything, it is because of the battle between fear and faith. I know I have in the past and sometimes still find myself shrinking back in the present just not nearly as much as I use to, limiting my own self by doubting instead of trusting His calling. Because I have always had the people pleasing syndrome, spirit of perfectionism, I have allowed fear and insecurity to hold me back. Fear, failure, judgment, or even the unknown have been reasons for holding me back from stepping into my true identity. I spent a lot of time with the Lord trying to figure out how to move past this. Through much prayer and surrender God blessed me with a new boldness, one that makes me say now “YES I CAN” and “YES I WILL,” I’m not scared. If God called me to it, well he will obviously equip me to achieve the task. I’m moving forward, not backward. I am focused on my future, what’s ahead of me. God has been doing a new thing in me and I am not hiding who the new me is He is creating.

If God is calling you into something new, a new purpose, or bolder version of yourself, He promises He will be your strength. You just need to replace your internal doubts by renewing your mind with what Scripture says about your value and your purpose. Remember we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10) Let your light shine, people need to see it, this is how we encourage others to move out of their fears and doubts, and move into their call, their purpose in life.

Moving Forward With Purpose and Taking People With me

Pick Up Your Cross And Follow Me

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If any would come after me. let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power” (Mark 8:35-38, 9:1)

The cost of discipleship includes being able to follow Jesus and to confess Him courageously. I wrote a couple days back regarding the attacks I had been receiving due to being courageous or my newfound boldness rather in speaking publicly in my blog which breadandwater.blog happens to be reaching people all over the world about Jesus Christ the Son of God. Just because people aren’t beheading me, or imprisoning me for speaking out about Jesus, there are people that don’t agree with me and will say and do things to try to shut me up. That is a type of persecution here in America. Over the past few years I have learned about surrender and that is what it is going to take to pick up your cross; complete surrender to God. It is a daily decision to deny your own selfish desires, put your ego and personal plans to death, (that’s what kind of death he is talking about), then follow Jesus’ teachings no matter the personal cost, that’s obedience. Jesus commands this in the Gospels, it is an absolute requirement for being His disciples, (Matt.16:24), (Mark 8:34) and (Luke 9:23).

Jesus meant that a true follower must be willing to put their old, self-centered life to death in order to live for Christ. Choosing God’s will over our own comfort, reputation, or worldly success. It is a daily willingness to accept the challenges and sacrifices that come with living righteously. It is a willing, active choice of surrender and obedience to God. These are areas I have been trying to exemplify for the past three years. I admit the cross can get pretty heavy at times, but I know the end results of picking it up and carrying it. I have been in another group as an admin. with a lifelong friend of mine for the past 6 years called Encouraging Each Other. I believe the Lord would have me step away from the administration part of that and pour my heart, soul and strength into my Blog. For one, my blog is under the direction of the Holy Spirit, there is an anointing on it and He tells me what to write. Encouraging Each Other can be anything that would lift another person up; such as positive sayings, quotes and testimonies of the wonderful things the Lord has done in people’s lives and I have shared many of those myself and plan to continue to. All of this is absolutely great. Except I believe the direction of my breadandwater blog is going more toward life instruction, growth, relational, and testimonial as well reflecting on the way we are living versus the way God tells us to live and of course the message and the urgency of salvation. I have been blessed to have been an administrator of Encouraging Each Other, one of the greatest parts of it for me, was welcoming new members into the group. I love seeing all the people that enjoy this group and how much it has grown. But, now it is time for me to pick up my cross and follow Jesus to where he is calling me. It has taken me forever to learn Surrender and Obedience and one day I want to hear well done good and faithful servant. As much as I want to see where he is leading me right now.

Now don’t hear what I am not saying as a Pastor I know once, actually many times would say. I am not asking y’all to leave Encouraging Each Other, matter of fact I am not leaving, but I won’t be admin. anymore, nor will I be posting my Blog on there anymore after today, but I will post words of encouragement when I have them and I will definitely be reading yours. I would like to ask any of you who have not already subscribed to my Blog if you find it of interest please do go ahead and subscribe. You will receive an email every time I post by subscribing. Or feel free to just pop in from time to time. I love all of you who are supporting me by reading now, y’all are the best and we are still family. And keep on Encouraging Each Other.

Friends

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Do you have a friend that will stick by you even in your worst times? That’s the kind of friend this scripture is talking about. Proverbs 18:23-19:4, talks about friends & companions. How some, the majority rather only stay close by as long as your fortune is good; in bad times, they disappear. I’ve experienced both as I am sure you have to. I believe that is just life. Take the good with the bad. Though I am very pleased to say, I do have a few select friends that resemble this verse above, I am blessed.

The Bible describes true friendship as a steadfast, loving covenant. Loyalty, speaking truth in love, and offering mutual support in times of hardship. True friendship is NOT a one-way street. Friends should encourage one another, be uplifting when your down, helping us keep our character in tact, when we are losing our whole mind and about to make a huge mistake. Boy, the times I can thank a friend for that one. A loyal friend will love you at all times, no facade needed, they know you and they love you, that simple. They stand by you and have your back when others are attacking you from behind. They are there no matter what the season is that you are in. Of course I personally have not experienced this one, but I hear it on the news a lot, the friend that will lay down his life for you. Give it up to our men and women in blue that every day go out and put their lives on the line for each of us. That is the ultimate example of friendship, laying down one’s life for others, as modeled by Jesus Himself. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” We have a friend in Jesus, unlike any other friend out there. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 talks about his personal relationship with Christ Jesus, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. You can have that same relationship that Paul speaks of by saying this simple prayer.

I believe that you Jesus died on the cross for me and rose from the dead. I ask you right now to come into my life and to forgive me of my sins. Help me Lord to live a life pleasing to you. Thank you Jesus, for laying down your life for mine. Amen

I have a friend in Jesus! Now you do to.