Dirty Bible, Clean Heart

"Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.'...Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." -Gen 15:4&6 "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." -Gen 21:5 We continue our study on waiting by looking at Abraham's life. Let's look at the remaining reasons why God allows us to go through waiting seasons. I think there is much to learn on this topic that will serve as an encouragement in our waiting.  Just keep going, and going... One of the qualities that God works in us during our waiting is perseverance. Some people are naturally inclined to hold on when the road gets tough. There are folks in this world (both followers and non-followers of Jesus) that are incredibly resilient. In spite of  the worst circumstances, these folks, have managed to get through it and become stronger individuals a...

"Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.'... Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."   -Gen 15:4&6 "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." -Gen 21:5 Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? A job, house, a child? Anyone who has had to wait for anything earnestly desired will know how difficult and draining the waiting period can be. Whenever I am waiting for anything, time seems to travel at a much slower rate. The hours, weeks, and months drag on and on and it seems the thing will never come. In reality, however, time is traveling at the exact same rate as before. Outside circumstances did not change but my inward reality did. I now have an expectation for something/someone to come and it is that desire that drives my impatience. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that "To every thi...

Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." -John 21:22 Throughout Scripture, we see a recurring theme where God constantly addresses His followers as sheep and He as our Shepherd (Psalm 23 probably comes to mind). Though I often overlooked this symbolism, I believe that God wants us to know that there are certain characteristics of sheep that are true of us also. The primary one that comes to my mind is this: sheep live in tight-knit communities and often mimic each other's behaviors. Sheep tend to conform to what the rest of the pack does. The same can be true of us also.   So many of our day to day behaviors aren't unique to us but rather inherited from interaction with others. Yet we were designed to follow Jesus and it is only when we do that we find true fulfillment, protection, and blessings in life. However we aren't always good at following Him and many times experience unnecessary burdens ...

"If we think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal power or influence, then our thought will constantly be, how can I get hold of and use the Holy Spirit; but if we think of Him in the biblical way as a divine Person , infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely tender, then our thought will constantly be, 'How can the Holy Spirit get hold of and use me?" -R.A. Torrey After reading Part I of this series, you should be well aware that the Holy Spirit is not an it but a Person . I repeatedly stress this point because so long as we subconsciously think of the Holy Spirit as an it or gift, we will never treat Him as a Person nor seek a relationship with Him. So long as we consider Him a "lesser god" or an experience, we will use Him instead of being used by Him. But the life that Jesus lived on Earth gives us a very different picture of what our attitude towards and relationship with the Holy Spirit should look like. 1 Peter 2:21 states that Jesus is the exam...