Holy Spirit Archives - My Manna

Mighty Power!

My Manna — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000

“God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7.

Some Christians are under the delusion that in order to be gentle (which is a fruit of the Spirit)-
God expects us to be doormats.
They think we have to allow those with stronger personalities to walk all over us.

Christians who believe this are easily intimidated by loud, aggressive, opinionated people.

When someone challenges their faith, they quickly lose their confidence.
When God asks them to do something, they are haunted by their own inadequacy.

Timothy didn’t have to work at being gentle.
That was his nature.
He struggled instead to find enough confidence to address the strong personalities who challenged what God was doing through him.
He was often afraid.

But Paul reminded his young apprentice that there was no need for fear in the Christian’s life.

Timothy had the all-powerful Spirit of God living within him.
Therefore, those who encountered Timothy encountered God himself!

Paul wasn’t asking Timothy to be obnoxious or contentious.
He was simply encouraging him to have the confidence to obey whatever God asked him to do.

Christians should be characterized by power, not by fear.
Zephaniah 3:14-17; Romans 8:12-17.
We should be able to face any situation with confidence-
– because our God is not intimidated by our circumstances.

If you’re struggling with fear, turn it over to God.
Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of his mighty power!

(PR)

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Be filled with the Spirit!

MyManna — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 22:00:57 +0000

We cannot expect to have the Holy Spirit’s fullness in our lives-
– if we are quite content to live without it.
Check your motives!
If we seek the Holy Spirit merely for our own happiness or comfort or liberty of soul-
– it will be very unlikely that He will be given.
His one passion is the glory of the Lord Jesus.
He can only abide with those who are willing to be at one with Him in this.
“Can two walk together except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3.
But if you are motivated simply by the desire that the Lord Jesus may be magnified in you-
– whether by life or death;
– if you long above all that men should turn away from you to Him,
– then rejoice, because you are near blessing beyond words.
If your motives fall below this standard-
– trust Him to enlighten and purify them.
Offer Him free entrance to your heart.
Consider the Scriptures!
We must not be content to have the Spirit without the Word or the Word without the Spirit.
Our lives must travel along these two-
– as the locomotive travels along parallel rails.
It is only by our devout contact with the Word that we shall be able to detect the Holy Spirit’s voice.
It is by the Word that the Spirit will enter our hearts-
as the heat of the sun passes into our homes when its beams of light enter the open windows.
We need a revival of Bible study.
There is no better way of communing with God than to walk to and fro in your room or in the open air with your Bible in hand, meditating on it and turning its precepts and promises into prayer.
Commit to Christ!
The Holy Ghost is in us, and by this means Christ is in us, for He dwells in us by the Spirit, as the sun dwells in the world through its rays of light.
But we must perpetually yield to Him-
– as water yields to the vessel that holds it.
This is not easy.
It can only be accomplished by incessant self-examination and putting to death our self-life
– that is, making self, rather than Christ, the focus of our life.
We must allow the One to increase-
– while the other decreases.
There is nothing trivial in this life.
A look, a word, a refusal, may be enough to grieve Him in ourselves and to quench Him in others.
Do not shrink back afraid of what He may demand.
He is the Spirit of love, and He loves us too well to cause grief unless there is a reason.
Commune with the Spirit!
Receive Him by faith!
Just as you once obtained forgiveness and salvation by faith, so now claim and receive the Holy Spirit’s fullness.
Wait quietly but definitely before God in prayer, for He gives His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.
Then reverently appropriate this glorious gift, rise from your knees and go on your way, believing that God has kept His word.
There may not be the sound of rushing wind or the tangible feeling of His presence.
Do not look for these any more than the young convert should look to his feeling as an evidence of God’s acceptance.
But believe, in spite of how you feel, that you are filled.
The feeling will sooner or later break in upon your consciousness.
And you will rejoice with exceeding great joy; and all the fruit of the Spirit will begin to show themselves in your life.
Be filled with the Spirit!
(PA)

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Fullness of the Spirit!

MyManna — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 23:00:03 +0000

It was 1903!
Two young men stood perched on a sand dune overlooking the Atlantic.
The place Kitty Hawk, NC on the outer banks.
The boys we remember as Wilbur and Orville Wright.
They were launching a 40 foot long frame that weighed barely 750 pounds.
In a brief 12 second flight of less than a 120 feet the Wright Brothers became the fathers of modern aviation.
Imagine a gleaming metal object sat on our parking lot.
This metallic tube is 185.7726 feet long,
65.2833 feet high,
wings spreading 194.544 feet wide,
and weighing 317520 kg.
That object is called today a Boeing 747-400.
In 1903 there would have been no wildest imagination that such an object weighing (fully loaded) 317520 kg could ever fly.
Strapped to the earth by sheer weight and the law of gravity-
– it would be impossible to ever think it could soar through thin air.
But hundreds of times each day all over the world objects just like it do!
Do you ever feel like you are one of the Wright Brothers sitting at Kitty Hawk with an 317520 kg hunk of metal on the sand trying to get it in the air?
Trying to walk in the Spirit-
– but glued to the ground?
The way to live an unbelievable, incredible life is found in God’s Word.
In fact-
-the secret that sums up Peter’s life, Paul’s life and John’s life.
This same secret summarizes how the galaxy of 1st through 21st century saints have stood alone triumphantly for Christ.
The secret they knew and followed was:
Fullness of the Spirit!
Walking in the Spirit is-
– living in the conscious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ,
– letting His mind, through the Word, dominate everything that is thought and done.
Being filled with the Spirit is-
– the same as walking like Jesus did on earth!

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Detriment of our devotion

MyManna — Wed, 04 May 2016 21:00:13 +0000

The Spirit-filled walk is neither characterized by license nor legalism, but liberty.
Paul stated that we are-
“servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life…Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:6,17).
I believe that our freedom in Christ is-
– one of the most precious commodities we have received from our spiritual union with God.
Because the Spirit of the Lord is in you-
– you are free to choose to live a responsible and moral life.
You are no longer compelled to walk according to the flesh as you were before conversion.
And now you are not even compelled to walk according to the Spirit.
You are free to choose-
– to walk according to the Spirit or
– to walk according to the flesh.
Walking according to the Spirit implies two things.
First-
It’s not passive.
We’re talking about walking in the Spirit, not sitting in the Spirit.
One of the most dangerous and harmful detriments to your spiritual growth is passivity-
– putting your mind in neutral and coasting.
Sitting back and waiting for God to do everything is not God’s way to spiritual maturity.
Second-
We’re talking about walking in the Spirit, not running in the Spirit.
The Spirit-filled life is not achieved through endless, exhausting activity.
We mistakenly think that the harder we work for God, the more spiritual we will become.
That’s a subtle lie from the enemy.
Satan knows that he may not be able to stop you from serving God by making you immoral-
– but he can probably impede your service by simply making you busy.
Our service for God can become the greatest detriment of our devotion to God.

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Be filled with the Spirit!

MyManna — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 16:00:27 +0000

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:17-18).
When we think of being filled with the Spirit-
– we often relate it to an emotional experience or a feeling of euphoria.
But in reality, the word, “filled,” could be translated, “controlled.”
It is a word that speaks of what happens when the wind fills the sails of a boat and guides it along.
So God is saying that-
– we are to let His Spirit fill us and control our lives.
The Spirit filled life is the Christ controlled life!
Another interesting thing about this word is that in the original language-
– it is in a tense that speaks of something that should be done continually.
So you could translate this sentence:
“Be constantly filled with the Spirit.”
This is not a one-time event.
Instead, it is something that takes place over and over again-
– just as we repeatedly fill the gas tanks in our cars to keep them running.
You may have emotional experiences.
You may not have emotional experiences.
But that has very little to do with the reality of being filled with and controlled by the Spirit.
One other thing about this phrase from Ephesians 5:18 is that-
– it’s a command,
– not a suggestion.
The Scripture is not saying, “If it works with your schedule, if you don’t mind, would you please consider maybe letting the Holy Spirit fill and control you?”
Rather, God is saying that He commands us.
He orders us, to be filled with the Spirit!
(PR)

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Back to the basics

MyManna — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 16:00:26 +0000

Thursday, 7 January 2016

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
The Bible says there is only one intermediary between God and man, and that is Jesus.
False prophets and teachers often function like intermediaries.
When God sent the prophet Nathan to David-
– it was for the purpose of bringing conviction in order to establish righteousness.
Bringing conviction is a primary ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The proper use of the gift of prophecy would reveal unrighteousness in order to establish people in Christ.
Once people are living righteously with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will lead them.
False gifts will not promote holiness-
– but often will specify wrong decisions concerning direction in life.
That function is the role of the Holy Spirit alone (Romans 8:14).
Some churches encourage their members, including the immature-
– to come into the fullness of the Spirit with manifestations,.
Why not the fullness of the truth?
It’s the fullness of the truth the Holy Spirit has promised to lead us into.
I’m deeply concerned for young converts in ministries that push for them to seek total manifestations of the Spirit.
Many have not had the time to understand the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets.
The church at Corinth had similar problems.
They were exhorted by Paul to get back to the basics of faith, hope and love-
– and govern very closely the use of tongues and prophecies in public worship,
– because God does everything decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40).
If a person or church is earnestly seeking the Lord-
God will work through the lines of authority He has established in His Word.
(PR)

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But now I do!

MyManna — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 16:00:42 +0000

Monday, 14 December 2015

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Modern approaches to the subconscious can do no more than throw the pale light of information into it.
The message of the Bible, however-
– is not merely information but transformation:
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
So if the Spirit of the Lord is within us-
– there is freedom from the conflict between the conscious and the subconscious.
If such a freedom is possible-
– why do so many live out their lives in conflict?
Because they have never appropriated the power and presence of the Spirit available to them-
– and channeled Him into the deeper regions of their personality through self-surrender.
God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit will never barge their way into any area of the personality.
They come in when we put up the white flag of surrender and, by a conscious act, agree to their residing and presiding within us.
It’s surprising how many Christians say with the conscious mind, “I surrender all,” and yet with the subconscious say, “I want some areas for myself.”
We must take ourselves in hand and decide-
– whether or not we want the Holy Spirit simply to evangelize certain areas of our personality,
– or whether we want Him to occupy our entire being.
If you haven’t properly settled this issue, then ask yourself today:
“Am I just kidding myself when I say I want to be filled with God?
Is there a part of me that says, ‘Come in,’ while another part of me says at the same time, ‘Keep out’?”
The Holy Spirit only comes into the areas where He is freely admitted.
“Father God, You have put Your finger right on my problem.
Perhaps the reason I have never felt the Holy Spirit’s full control is because deep down I never wanted it.
But now I do! My whole being cries out for its rightful Lord.
I surrender now. Amen.”
(PR)

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Glow with His glory!

MyManna — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 16:00:03 +0000

“I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 39:29).
The upper room has been described as “the birthplace of the church.”
Certainly it was there that power was loosed which changed the world.
The upper room was part of someone’s home-
– someone sympathetic to Jesus and His ministry.
Why did the Holy Spirit come upon the disciples in a home-
– and not in a sacred place such as the temple?
If the Holy Spirit had come upon them in the temple-
– then His coming would have been associated with a sacred place, sacred services, or sacred occasions.
The Holy Spirit came in the most common of all places-
– a home, as if He was saying,
– “I am here not just for ‘sacred’ occasions,
– but for all occasions, for all of life!”
The Holy Spirit is not a spiritual luxury-
– to be imported into the unusual-
– but a spiritual necessity for the usual!
He is to be the pulse-beat of all we do-
– the usual as well as the unusual,
– the ordinary as well as the extraordinary.
In the coming of the Holy Spirit, the ordinary and seemingly insignificant things of life are touched with divine significance:
– every bush is aflame with the glory of God,
– every moment is packed with eternity, and
– every contact we make is part of His perfect purposes.
I am so thankful to God that I don’t have to wander from sacred place to sacred place in search of His power.
He comes to me just where I am until my heart glows with His glory!
(PR)

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Give glory to God!

MyManna — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:00:19 +0000

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit…He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).
We may not even realize it.
But the Spirit of God teaches us all the time.
The Holy Spirit can unfold passages from the Bible in an incredible way through our reading and study of Scripture.
Needless to say-
– that is why we should spend regular time in Bible study and memorization.
In doing so-
– we are opening the door for the Spirit to illuminate God’s Word for us.
When I read the Bible-
I don’t have an incredible experience each time.
But I read it because I know I need to, in obedience to God.
It might be that very day or the next day when a situation will arise, and suddenly the passage I committed to memory is activated by the Holy Spirit.
All of a sudden, the Holy Spirit takes that Scripture and uses it to minister to someone.
It’s the Holy Spirit speaking through me, and that’s a wonderful experience.
When I step up to the pulpit-
I depend on the Holy Spirit to speak through me.
Yes, I have prepared.
I have done my homework.
But at the same time-
I want God to speak to the people who are listening.
Sometimes, we will hear speakers and think they are the greatest preachers who have ever lived.
But in reality-
– it is the Holy Spirit speaking through those people to us.
So let’s give glory to God and not to them.
The Holy Spirit will give us the power to live the way God wants us to live.
And He will continue to teach us.
(PR)

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Start with surrender!

MyManna — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 16:00:48 +0000

“Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14).
There is nothing wrong with the desire to have the Holy Spirit’s power in your life!
Sadly-
– however, teaching on the subject too often strays from biblical truth.
In the quest for Holy Spirit power-
– many people follow paths paved with emotion rather than edification!
There is an interesting sequence surrounding the temptation of Jesus.
He was full of the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1-14).
Filling comes with surrender.
Surrender allows the Spirit to lead.
The Spirit-filled believer is an obedient believer.
In a setting of temptation-
He withstood the direct attempts of Satan to get Him to sin.
The Spirit-filled believer also will resist temptation and live a righteous life.
After the temptation-
Jesus is described as returning to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit.” v.14.
It is not incidental that “power” is noted after surrender, obedience and resisting temptation.
There is no short circuit to Holy Spirit power.
One must start with surrender and proceed with obedience.
A lack of spiritual power is not due to a shortage of emotion.
It is a shortage of the Christlike obedience!
If you want Holy Spirit power-
You don’t need to jump and shout!
Follow the example of Jesus.
Do not start with emotion but with obedience!
Ask God to help you follow these steps.
(PR)

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