Posts from 2025

Jesus has promised those who believe in Him so much more than most will ever experience. He promises that not only will be do what He did, but that we will do greater works than He did. Jesus knows that this promise is hard to believe, so He begins the promise by twice affirming that what He is telling us is true. This promise is for all who believe in Jesus. Jesus promised that He will cause the believer to…

In any discussion about the Holy Spirit, it is imperative that we remember that He is the Spirit of Grace. Paul points out in the book of Galatians that the battle between the flesh and the Spirit is really a battle between Law and Grace. The Christian life runs entirely on the principle of grace; any hint of law or legalism kills all spiritual power. Like Simon the sorcerer, we can think that we can merit the power of God…

The last step in the pathway to spiritual power is consecration. It is not enough to die to self; I must live for Christ. Consecration is the total devotion of my life to Jesus Christ. It is not just the laying down of MY will, it is the picking up of HIS will. If I desire the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, I must be fully dedicated to Jesus Christ. In Leviticus, we find many pictures of…

There is perhaps no more hated concept in all of Christianity than that of submission. I am not talking about the idea of wives submitting to their husbands; I am talking about submission, period. This is the original sin. Adam and Eve wanted to be gods who could live lives on their own terms. We hate the idea of someone else being able to make decisions that affect us. The concept of submission is all over the Bible. It is…

If I want to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, there must be a definite and complete surrender of my will to the will of God. Simply put, I cannot do God’s will until I stop doing mine. This idea runs contrary to the entirety of human existence and experience. We are accustomed to having our own dreams, desires, wishes, plans, etc. We know that the only way we can achieve them is through the power…

The next step in death to self is meekness. Unfortunately, we once again do not even know what this means! Meekness is often confused with weakness or getting run over; it does not bring to mind conceptions of strength, masculinity, or power. However, meekness requires power. It is properly defined as power under control. A horse that could easily toss you or trample you to death, allows you to ride it. This says nothing about the power, rights, or strength…

We all know that God calls us to humility. However, most of us cannot even give a definition of humility. How can we attain that which we cannot even define? What does it mean to be humble? Pride is simply an inflated view of self; I view myself as being more than what I am in reality. In contrast, humility is an accurate view of self, a view that refuses to obscure who I truly am from others. How then…

If we are truly going to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must change the way we view our relationship with God. We have a few paradigms that are common in Christianity; like rose colored glasses they affect how we see the world and interpret the Bible. We are accustomed to thinking in terms of right vs. wrong, truth vs. lie, sin vs. righteousness, etc. We are not accustomed to thinking in terms of pleasing vs. grieving…

If I desire the Holy Spirit to fill me, there is only one way. It is not necessarily that I need more of Him; I need less of me. It is only in an emptying of myself that I am filled by the Spirit. This death to self is an absolute necessity if I desire to see the power of God in my life. It is important that we begin by looking at what the Scripture means by the self…

Whenever we speak about the Holy Spirit, many different ideas come to mind. Speaking in tongues, emotional experiences, goose bumps, feelings, etc. are all often associated with the working of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to see the power of the Holy Spirit, what is it exactly that we are going to see? What are we looking for? Most Christians today are looking for some type of religious experience. Whenever they have this experience, they call it the…

We are accustomed to only think of the work of the Holy Spirit as power for ministry within the church. However, the Scripture is abundantly clear that the Holy Spirit empowers people to walk with Christ everywhere. Perhaps one of the most unique signs of a movement of the Spirit of God is found in Malachi 4:5-6: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the…

As a father of ten children, I read a lot to my children. When they are young, they like me to read little kids’ books, many of which are designed to teach children lessons about life. Many of these nursery rhymes and folk-tales have tremendous application to the local church, but perhaps none is greater than “The Little Red Hen.” In this story, the little red hen finds a grain of wheat. Instead of eating it right away, she decides…