Category: The Holy Spirit

Categories
The Holy Spirit

Whatcha Looking At?

“But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

I’ve read that dog owners start to look like their dogs after a while. I’ve also heard that long-married husbands and wives start to look alike, but I don’t think I believe that one. However, I know from the Scripture that if we focus on the face of Jesus, we will become like Jesus.

Here’s C. S. Lewis’s take on this: “If we let Him—for we can prevent Him, if we choose—He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into…a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly his own boundless power and delight and goodness.”

God intends to transform us. When we accepted Jesus, we were changed, but that was just the beginning. As we continue in our faith journey, we are transformed more and more into the likeness and image of Jesus.

There are no exceptions—everyone who has been saved is in the process of being transformed. For some, the transformation is in quick, dramatic increments. For others, the changes are slow and gradual. Some take a step backward before taking three steps forward. But in the end—do not doubt it—we shall be like Jesus.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, that as we behold the glory of Christ we are transformed more and more into his image. And he reminds us of the Holy Spirit’s role in this transformation. We are being transformed into the image of Jesus by the “Spirit of the Lord.” Through the transformative work of the Holy Spirit, we move from glory, to more glory, to even more glory, becoming more and more like Jesus.

We can focus on our problems, our failures, our wounds, or our fears and miss what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. Or we can focus on the glory of Jesus. Choose carefully. What we focus on shapes our lives.

How amazing is it that we will be transformed into the image of the Son of God? Yes, it’s OK to stop reading and do a little happy dance right now! We will be like Jesus! How much must God love us? And he doesn’t command us to go on a perilous quest in order to become like Jesus. He doesn’t demand millions of dollars from us. We aren’t required to bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. (Thank you, Jesus!) All God asks of us is that we keep our focus on Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in our lives.

Do you hear his voice now? He’s saying, Child, just fix your eyes on the glory of Jesus, and I’ll do the rest.

We’ve already heard from C. S. Lewis. How about a little Max Lucado, too? “The Wizard of Oz says look inside yourself and find yourself. God says look inside yourself and find the Holy Spirit. The first will get you to Kansas. The latter will get you to heaven. Take your pick.”

I don’t need to find myself and I’m not interested in eternity in Kansas. I’m picking the Holy Spirit and heaven. How about you?

Dear God, I am so thankful for the glory of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit that daily makes me more like Christ. Let me move from glory to glory as I fix my eyes on the face of my Savior, until one day I am in your presence in heaven. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Categories
The Holy Spirit

Led by the Holy Spirit

“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:25)

The Holy Spirit is like mission control—he influences every area of our lives. He gradually leads us to be more and more like Jesus. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are changed from the inside out.

As we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, our lives produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These changes on the inside result in changed attitudes and actions on the outside. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, we often try to change our behavior on our own but fail because our hearts haven’t changed.

The Holy Spirit changed Peter from the inside out. Remember in Matthew 26, when Jesus was arrested? Peter didn’t handle it well. He warmed himself at the enemy’s fire. He lied and claimed he didn’t know Jesus. He cursed the crowd and swore at them. His heart was full of fear and his actions revealed the fear in his heart. The chapter ends with Peter weeping bitter tears.

Fast forward to Acts 2:1-4. All the believers were gathered together when suddenly they heard what sounded like a strong windstorm in the room. Everyone in the meeting was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” With the Holy Spirit in his life, Peter was transformed.

No longer afraid, Peter, led by the Holy Spirit, stepped in front of a large crowd and shouted out the message of Jesus. Instead of a fearful, “You’re crazy, I never knew him,” he boldly declared, “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” The Holy Spirit moved Peter from fearful to dauntless.

Peter’s words were anointed by the Holy Spirit and, as he spoke, the Holy Spirit began to convict the hearts of those listening. You know, conviction gets a bad rap sometimes. Holy Spirit conviction is not like a criminal conviction. It’s more like when you think it’s time to teach your kids to tie their shoes or quit wearing diapers. It’s a loving push that says, “It’s time to do better. And I’ll help you get there.”

The Holy Spirit convicted and changed the hearts of 3,000 of the people who heard Peter declare Jesus that day. They believed and were baptized. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, Peter had a part in changing the world.

The Holy Spirit longs to work the same way in our lives today. He wants to change us from the inside out. He wants to guide our steps and anoint our words. He wants to lovingly convict us and help us become more like Jesus. He wants to lead us, anoint us, make us brave, and use us to change the world.

Father, I welcome the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Make me more sensitive to his leading. Help me respond gratefully and faithfully to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Fill my life with the fruits of the Spirit. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Categories
The Holy Spirit

He Still Hovers

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was barren, with no form of life. It was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was hovering over the water.” (Genesis 1:1-2)

Have you ever been in real, true darkness? I once took a tour of a twisting cavern system far beneath the surface of the earth. When we were deep into the caverns, the tour leader turned off all the lights, and we were instantly enveloped in the total and utter absence of light. I could hear people breathing and the drip, drip, drip of water in the distance, but with my eyes open or closed, I saw the same thing—darkness.

This darkness is what I imagine when I read the first two verses of Genesis. God had created the heaven and the earth, but they were not as we know them today. The newly-created earth was a lifeless ball of dirt and stone, covered by a violent ocean, and surrounded by total darkness. There was neither light nor life. It was inhospitable and desolate.

But the Spirit of God was hovering over the chaos and change was coming.

The word translated as, “hovering,” is used only one other time in the Bible. Deuteronomy 32:11 speaks of a mother bird hovering over her young, keeping them safe and teaching them to fly. When Genesis speaks of the Holy Spirit hovering over the earth, it is an image of a bird spreading its wings and caring for its young. Through the Holy Spirit, the darkness on the earth eventually gave way to light, and the chaos gave way to order.

The Holy Spirit still hovers over us today, bringing light into our darkness and order into our chaos. He guides us into God’s plan for our lives and fills us with strength and power.

In those times when our lives seem dark, desolate, and barren, we can remember that the same Holy Spirit who dwells within us brought fruitfulness and life out of a void, barren earth. It’s the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (see Romans 8:11). What the Holy Spirit did during creation and at the resurrection of Jesus, he can and will do for us today.

If you wonder about the role of the Holy Spirit in your life, know he is the one who guides you when you find yourself lost in darkness and chaos. He directs your steps toward the purpose God has planned for your life. He dwells within you and provides the power to overcome any obstacle you face.

Dear God, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to guide me, to help me, and to teach me. I am comforted by knowing the Holy Spirit hovers over me, dwells within me, and brings order to the chaos in my life. Help me lean into the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’s name, amen.