the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit

If you abide in me…Jesus encouragement to his disciples in John chapter 15.  He uses wonderful imagery of the branch staying connected to the vine for its life and existence.  Cease being connected and the branch dies and is discarded.  So, we strive to be intentional in our “staying connected”.  We may evaluate our lives each day by our attempts to stay focused on Jesus, participate in godly activities (prayer, quiet times, worship, service) and our keeping ourselves from sinning.  BUT chapter 15 follows chapter 14.

In John 14, Jesus says ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,^[e] who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  Jesus says that he will not abandon us as orphans, but that He will come to them and be in them through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  My point is that “abiding” begins with the ever-sustaining presence of the Holy Spirit.  Our part is not “doing” something, rather we are to be good “receivers”.

Benefits of the presence of the Holy Spirit

1.   His presence is continual whether I am consciously thinking about Him or not.

2.   He is “within”.  This means I do not have to go find him.  Jesus said to his disciples that if they understood how the Father would send Holy Spirit to them, they would rejoice.  Jesus said I will no longer be present among you…now I will be in you.

3.   He will empower us to express our love through obeying his commands.  John 14 ²³ Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.

4.   He reminds us of the words of Jesus.

5.   He is a comforter, encourager, counselor and advocate to navigate life’s storms and struggles.

6.   He empowers us to live boldly in witness and worship

7.   He uniquely equips every believer with gifts and purpose to fulfill in the body of Christ

Thank God for His wonderful plan to send the Holy Spirit to his children.  Acknowledge His presence.  Talk with Him and discern how He speaks to you.  Follow the impressions that He gives.  This is exactly how Jesus walked in relationship with His Father.  In Mark 1, Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove.  The next verse says the Spirit led him into the desert where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days.  The Spirit guided Jesus into that desert experience in which we gain encouragement that He overcame temptations.

I truly believe that one of the greatest encouragements for believers is to learn how to acknowledge and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said, “my sheep will follow my voice.”  Paul says that if we follow the Holy Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

Jesus, thank you for your plan to abide in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Holy Spirit teach us how to hear your voice and respond appropriately.

It's Working!

I was talking with another pastor about my work as a city school bus driver.  I mentioned to him of the challenges that the children represent and my assignment to pray for them daily.  I told him that I pray for their salvation, for their parents, for their safety, and that God would change the destructive cycle of broken families.  He also has a passion and the sweat equity of working on the West side of town.  He responded to me and said, “It’s working. Brother Greg, it’s working.  I can tell you, it’s working.”  He was not responding about my prayers, rather he was speaking about the changes that he saw.  He has some stories, but he was speaking by faith…those things that are not presently, but that are real in the future.

When I first heard his response, I thought, “you are wrong, I am with the kids every day.  I see very little change in them.  Many have filthy mouths, they bully with words, and they don’t stay seated.”  Then I heard the words again…”it’s working”.  I knew that God was realigning my thinking to HIS perspective.  As the school year closes, He wanted me to know that intercession mixed with compassion- WORKS.

I think of some of the middles school boys from my bus that I coached basketball during the school year.  Several responded during that time with commitments to the Lord.  That bus route atmosphere has changed drastically.  I think I earned some street cred by investing in their lives.  It sure changed my interaction on the bus in a good way.

I think of the little boy who leaned his head on my shoulder as he exited the bus.  He felt safe and loved, quite unlike his broken home experience.  This is the same child that I have to repeatedly ask to sit down and intervene in his disruptive anger fights…It’s working.  I think of the girl that is bullied because of her weight (she responds defiantly with words and hand gestures) who left the bus crying saying how much she hates riding on my bus.  The next day her brother physically had to put her on the bus.  I told her…”stay near the front, and I will protect you”.  I did.  She smiled as she exited to go to school.  I told her it was going to be a good day…it’s working

Honest, I am not just rambling about stories on a school bus…God wants you and I to hear….ITS WORKING.  Mom and Dad…keep praying for your child that is rebelling and going the wrong way.  God hears your prayers and is making the adjustments in you that will impact your child.  As a wife, trust again and again that God is changing your husband.  God can break the addiction or he will break the man…but God is at work.  Keep praying for salvation for that loved one…if it’s on your heart…its on God’s heart.

Faith is so necessary to walk this life with God.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God.  This means that we stand on the last word that God spoke about our situation until we see it come to pass.  In humility, we allow God to make all the changes in our own lives as He is bringing about our answers.  We may need to become more forgiving, less judging, more compassionate, and more patient in our responses.  These could be keys to seeing the change in those things that we are praying for to come to pass.

Jesus said, “My Father is always at work.”  Be encouraged, if God is on the job….IT’S WORKING.

Lord, I'm gonna love you

Today I took an early morning walk, not that early because daylight was beginning.  An old Keith Green song came to my mind and I sang through it.  It was a great song to “set your mind on things above”

Lord, I'm gonna love You
Yes, I'm gonna love You
Oh, I'm gonna love You Lord
With all that's in my heart

Other verses

Lord, I’m gonna trust You

Lord, I’m gonna thank You

Lord, I’m gonna praise You

Lord, I’m gonna follow You

So, I have some simple questions to for us to ponder today

1.     In “real time” how do we give expression to these ideas?

a.      How am I expressing love to Jesus today?

b.    In what ways do I exhibit faith that shows I am trusting Jesus?

c.    Do I verbalize my thanks or am I just assuming He knows I am thankful and what  or who am I thanking him for?

d.    Do others hear me give praise to Jesus that is authentic?

e.    Am I listening and watching for His voice, so that I follow His lead?  My sheep hear My voice and follow Me.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.   We GET to do this every day!

It truly is a good day that He has made.

Happy Mother's Day

As I was graduating from Beeson Divinity School, they held a luncheon to recognize all the seniors who were graduating.  We could invite a couple of guest to attend the luncheon.  I invited my wife, Pam and my mother to attend with me.  We had a great meal and good conversation with fellow graduates.  Before the guest speaker was introduced,  we went around the room introducing ourselves and our guests that came with us.  This caused great angst for me.  I love public speaking, but internally I freeze when introducing guest.  I rehearse my thoughts and they rush out to quickly. 

My table is next and I am focused on making sure that I introduce my wife, Pam first.  She has won the champion sacrifice of raising 5 of our kids during that last 4 years of study, while I worked 2 part time jobs and attended school full time.  I stand, “My name is Greg Rogers, I am from Plant City, Florida.  I would like to introduce my wife, Pam. And my other wife, Jean?????”  Laughter throughout the room.  I blurted out, “I mean my MOM, Jean Pate.”  I don’t think I heard any other comments from the speaker….I just rehearsed my faux pa.  

The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son!" And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.  Ruth 4:14-17

When Naomi returned to Bethlehem she changed the way she was to be introduced.  She should be called Mara meaning bitter, for her husband and 2 sons had died while living in Moab.  She had no grandchildren or possibilities of any more children.  Only Ruth, a foreign-born daughter-in-law was with her.

But now, Ruth had been redeemed according to their customs by a relative, who became her husband.  They gave birth to Obed (whose name means servant worship) who was the grandfather of King David.

Some thoughts to be gleaned from this passage

1.      Children can bring heartache to moms (and dads).  The biggest heartache is the death of a child before the parent passes.  Naomi lost her husband and both of her boys before they had children.  Comfort those Mothers who have felt the bitterness of loosing a child in death.  Other heartaches come from children making poor choices in life that leave them in broken families, addictions and personal turmoil.  There is hope says Naomi, “there is still a kinsman-redeemer…Jesus”.

2.      Grandchildren can bring renewed life to the grandparents.  The blessing the women gave to Naomi is that Obed would renew her youth.  Joy is like a medicine.  Watch how grandparents faces and attitudes light up when the grandchildren approach.  There is a side note…once a mom- always a mom.  They will still be giving you advice on how the young parents should be raising their child from foods to eat, how to discipline, and healthy living.  Some have withheld visiting their parents because of potential arguments over these types of issues.  Young parents, get over it.  Verbally establish some boundaries of conversations and then let it slide.  Your kids need access to the grandparents…Could you imagine Ruth keeping Obed away from Naomi?

3.      Our verse also says that children are to sustain parents in their old age.  At one time, like during The Walton’s, it was very common for 3 generations to live in the same household or at least in the same cluster of homes.  But today, families just don’t live near each other, mainly because of career choices.  There are few models that children watch to show how we are to nurture aging parents.  So we have a rise in businesses like “Visiting Angels”.  The point is that children will one day bear the responsibility of caring for parents.  This is right and this is good.

4.      Finally, our verse says of Ruth, the daughter-in-law, that she is the one who loves you.  Ruth, as Naomi’s child by marriage was known (introduced) as the one who loves Naomi.  Ruth had declared her love to Naomi, and she also reflected that love in her actions.  A famous phrase around our home is that “your life follows your words”. So, we children need to tell our Moms (and Dads) that we love them.  We also, need to show them that we love them.  Would others introduce you in relationship to your parents as “the one who loves them”?

Make sure you communicate appreciation to your mom on this Mother’s Day.  But also look for other moms who may need that encouragement that there is still hope and strength to make it through each day.

Pastor Greg….I would like you to meet my Mom…she is the greatest!

A Time to Plow

I have an old wooden handled one wheeled plow.  It doesn’t’ need an ox or donkey to pull it.  There is no engine to turn a set of blades, it only has one curved blade.  It’s designed to be pushed, pushed back and forth to move the earth of dirt below.  The first year we planted a garden at this home, I tilled the plot with this plow.  I removed weeds, grass, and lots of rocks with a lot of back and forth effort. Now the ground was reading to receive the seed.

Sow righteousness for yourselves,    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;    for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes    and showers his righteousness on you.  Hosea 10:12

Breaking up the fallow, unplowed ground of your heart is not about working for your salvation.  It is not trying to make a better you.  It is preparing a suitable place for God to work and produce fruit in your life.  It is about recognizing that the normal flow of our lives is toward a self-centered complacency that hardens our heart by the comfortableness of unconfessed sin and a slow building resistance to the Holy Spirit’s nurturing.

So what may the breaking up the fallow ground look like?

1.       It requires tangible effort.  Just knowing the terminology does not mean that you have done the work.  Looking at my plot of untilled soil and thinking about the work that needs to be done, did not make it happen.  I had to put my hand to the plow and exert energy.  I sweated a lot and my hands blistered.  Many are familiar with the verse and think they have fulfilled it by “being open”.  It’s not your brother, or sister, but it is me o Lord, standing in the need of prayer.  When do you give God time to search your heart to see what does not belong?

2.      Expect resistance.  There are weeds that have taken root.  There will be a pattern of living that you may be unwilling to part.  Don’t settle for the “this is just the way I am”.  The ground must be broken in order for the new fruit of the Spirit to be prosperous in your life.  If you are comfortable with little white lies, STOP, because God is NOT.  He can give you the ability to speak the truth.  Deceitfulness flows in the direction of Satan, remove it from your heart.

3.      Expect a harvest….in time.  We are such a quick fix, gotta have it now, and see immediate results culture.  But God’s principles of harvesting and nature require order and time.  The ground is plowed so that the earth is ready for the seed.  But fertile soil produces an abundant harvest.  So also, give the Holy Spirit time to help you identify and remove sin and its effects in your life.  One right decision leads to another right decision.  Walk in step with the Holy Spirit and you will not carry out (bear the fruit) the desires of the flesh.

The end result is a more intimate relationship with the Father.  Our verse says that you will reap the fruit of unfailing love.  You will know that even though God does not approve of any sin, He is deeply committed to you.  There is pain to know that we have chosen so many times to reject God’s way.  But a restored relationship has great joy when the offensive obstacles are removed.  David confessed  and asked that God would restore the joy of his salvation and take not the Holy spirit from him.  Tenderness toward our savior is one benefit from breaking up the fallow ground.

Jesus said the one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.  Your fruitful life is before you.  God has great plans today, tomorrow and the next days for your life.  O that we could see how He plans to use us each day for His glory.