“Going Deeper with God” Pt 7:
There’s a story about a missionary who spent many decades serving God on foreign soil ministering to poor and in many cases helpless people. As an old man, he eventually retired and returned to America. As the ship pulled into the dock, a crowd of people were there to greet him, including a reporter from a local newspaper. In the interview the reporter asked, “People are saying you remind them of the great Apostle Paul, what do you think about that?” The missionary, with tears in his eyes said, “I didn’t want to remind people of Paul, I wanted to remind them of Jesus!”
That’s a testimony of “holiness!” To live and act like Jesus in such a way people see Him in us. You may wonder, how exactly can others see Jesus in me? In Tuesday’s devotional (June 9th) the Fruit of the Spirit was listed as found in Galatians 5:22-23. Look them up if you missed that blog. The Fruit of the Spirit define the characteristics of Jesus. Our desire and goal should be to live each of them and as we do, others will know we’re different, for they will see Christ.
“When the Holy Spirit is in control of your life, He’ll become the greatest Navigator you’ve ever had or will ever need. He will take you. He will guide you. He will lead you. He’s gracious. He’s patient. He doesn’t get frustrated and of all the frustrating things that come into your life, none of them come from Him. But He is with you and helping you to handle each one” (from ‘The Shepherd’, by Leanna Brewer).
The Bible says we can tell by the fruit that we bear if we are learning the lessons God teaches us (Matthew 7:16-23). If we’re bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, our patience grows greater when dealing with people who make life difficult. We begin to love and have compassion toward others. We’re willing to forgive because we’re maturing and growing.
We can depend on our new Navigator as He also teaches that there are situations you don’t need to mess with. Just leave them alone. You don’t even have to think about them. Some situations require a quick answer, while others place you in situations where you worry about what to say. The Bible teaches the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say in that moment or urge you to say nothing, just be present. I call that the “Ministry of silence.” Why would anyone want to live without the Holy Spirit abiding within them. Our desire should be, “I WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS!”
Pastor Carnes
