The Melody of the Holy Spirit

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

“Do you know the difference between thinking about Me and letting My thoughts fill your mind?”

The one is a something; the other is a Someone.

The one is enlightening; the other is life giving.

THE SAFEST PLACE YOU CAN BE

“Visualize it, Jack. God is watching you watch­ing the Mississippi River and wondering when you’ll immerse yourself in His life and experience His peace. He’s a patient God who’s inviting you to lean back on Jesus’ breast, like the Apostle John did at the Last Supper. That’s the safest place you can be—so close to Jesus that your spirit intersects with His Spirit.”

Jack had needed a precise description of the faulty way he looked at the world and his life. Manny had given it to him straight out.

All Jack could do was bow his head and say, “I think I have it, Manny. I need to see everything the way God sees it. That’s the new filter.”

From Finding the Safest Place on Earth, my upcoming novel

WHERE ARE YOU SITTING?

“There was a book written years back called God is My Co-Pilot. That’s a terrible concept. If God is your co-pilot, you’re sitting in the wrong seat. You need to let God be your pilot. He’s the one who flies the air­plane.

“That’s the meaning of our discussion. You’ve been living your life upside-down. You’ve been asking Jesus to be along for your ride, which is why you’ve had so many failures. Jesus must be the King in your life, and you’re along for His ride.”

From Finding the Safest Place on Earth, my upcoming novel

THE MELODY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

You are the song in me today,
With all I think and all I say,
With all events that come my way.

Your melody my spirit plays;
I’ll tune within and humbly praise
Your presence in me all my days.

It’s not what I achieve for You;
I’ll strive no more in all I do.
It’s only what You do through me;
I’ll wait for You on bended knee.

From Finding the Safest Place on Earth, my upcoming novel

NIGHTFALL

Oh my Father, I confess that I was not pure in heart today regarding my relationship with You, nor was I poor in spirit. I did not search for You with all my heart and with all my soul. I did not listen to You through all the watches of the day.

Instill in me a pure heart tomorrow that I may follow You without hesitation or deflection and that I may trust in You with all my heart and all my soul and with all my spirit, as I look forward to that glorious day when I will see You face to face for all eternity.

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? Part 2

From God is Faithful by David Wilkerson

“One day we’ll stand in Christ’s presence and the secrets of redemption will be unveiled.

“Scripture says that on that day our eyes will be opened, and we will behold the Lord’s glory and all our questions will be answered. Our hearts will be set on fire as He opens all the mysteries of the universe and shows us His power behind it. Suddenly, we will see the reality of all that had been available to us in our earthly trials: the power and resources of heaven, the protective angels, the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. As we behold the awesomeness of these things, the Lord will say to us, “All along, my warriors were camped about you, an army of protectors; you were never in any danger from Satan. You never had any reason to fear your tomorrows.” Then Christ will show us the Father—and what an overwhelming moment that will be. As we behold the majesty of our heavenly Father, we will fully realize His love and care for us. Suddenly the truth will come to us in full force: “This was, and is, and forever will be our Father, truly the great I AM.”

“Paul says he “held fast” his word about God’s faithfulness because he did not want to stand in the Lord’s presence, thinking, “How could I have been so blind?” The apostle is exhorting us: “I want to rejoice on that day, when my eyes are fully opened. I want to be able to enjoy every revelation knowing I trusted in His promises. I want to know that I held fast the Word of life in all my reactions to my sufferings, that I fought a good fight, that I proved my Lord faithful.” May it be so for you!”

My footnote: Paul trusted in the Lord, and he was beheaded in Rome. Hardships and death are not the end of the story. God’s story does not include that everyone who believes in Jesus will be spared hardships, disease, and death. If we could figure this out, we’d be God ourselves. One day we’ll understand His ways and say, “Oh, how blind I was then.”

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

I was asked a version of this question yesterday. This is an excerpt from FINDING THE SAFEST PLACE ON EARTH that Manny explained to Jack when he asked that question.

“In Paradise, Adam and Eve had a tight relationship with God and all things were very good. That’s why it was the safest place on earth. But then came The Fall, The Curse, and Paradise Lost. Death, disease, and destruction settled into the natural world, even for those saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“Men and women born-again from being children of Adam and Eve into being children of God are spiritually safe but not physically safe. Death awaits everyone. Diseases ravage bodies. Destruction hits hard through storms, accidents, and wars. In short, Paradise Regained is not the same as the original Paradise. One day it will be so, but not in this world. That’s why it’s the second safest place on earth in the history of mankind. The operative message for the life of a Christian today is given to us by Jesus Himself in the last verse of the 16th chapter of John.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

“The trouble we have comes because we live in a fallen world that’s cursed. We’re saved from the eternal consequences of The Fall. We’re saved into a restored connection and relationship with God. But we’re not saved from the consequences of the evil in this world.

“There are wars, famines, floods, and terrible diseases like cancer. Some bad people do great harm to good people. Some children run away, and some spouses file for divorce. Businesses fail, and jobs are lost. People become addicted to alcohol and drugs and their lives spiral out of control.”

YOU ONLY NEED TO LOOK AT THE WORLD TODAY to see that evil runs rampant throughout it, including the evil of an innocent young child awaiting death in a cancer ward of a hospital. Where does that evil come from? It doesn’t come from God. It comes from Satan. And how did Satan gain a foothold in this world to bring all the misery and disease and death into it? It happened when mankind separated itself from the safety it had at the beginning of creation. It’s the story of Adam and Eve choosing to go their own way and the way of the natural world, where Satan is the ruler, as Scripture tells us. And we are their descendants, and we are just like them. But God, in His mercy and grace, sent His Son, Jesus, to make us right with Him again, as it was in Paradise. So spiritually we can be safe, but we won’t be physically safe until Paradise is fully regained in the world to come.

Now, why does God rescue and heal some people and not others? Is He capricious? I think not. If I could answer that question, I’d be God myself, but I’m not. Only God can answer that question, and He give us glimpses of how He operates when we read Scripture with a searching heart and when we come to Him in the darkness, humble ourselves before Him, and ask with an ear that is more interested in what He speaks to us than our own thoughts or the thoughts of others who think they have the market cornered on explaining what God does and why. I’m not talking about a one-time conversation here. I’m talking about what God says in the book of Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” For David Wilkerson, that was hours each day. That’s why I pay attention to what he said. For me, it’s an hour every morning in communion with Him through reading the Bible and prayer. Yet, I sense that is not enough to understand His ways any more than I do. I need more time with Him. And I’m at a time in my life where I can carve out more time. I must do that.

“If I’m seeing this right, Manny, you’re saying I’ve been putting myself first and Jesus second. What I need to do instead is put Jesus first and me below Him. Is that what you mean by my standing in the wrong place?”

“That’s exactly what I mean, Jack. You’ve been treating Jesus like a puppy dog, asking Him to follow you and protect you. Then, when you find something else you want more, like alcohol, you drift in that direction.

“It will always be that way until you stop asking Jesus to follow you and choose to follow Him for the rest of your days.

From Finding the Safest Place on Earth

“Jack, listen closely. Praying for God’s will to be done doesn’t mean asking Him to follow you and giving Him directions for what you think He should do. It means you seek out His will and follow Him to be His hands extended to others.

“You’ve asked God to come into your world and help you live in it, and you’ll be a shining light for Him. You need to turn 180 degrees and listen to Him say, ‘No, you come into My world, and I’ll show you how to live in it, and I’ll be a shining light for you.’

“There are things we know are in God’s will and things we don’t. Reading the Bible every day and praying continually are two examples of knowing God’s will. Likewise, praying for a family member’s or friend’s salvation are also in God’s will.

“What you don’t know is whether your brother-in-law getting what seems like the perfect job is in God’s will for him or not. You don’t know if praying for your best friend’s wife to be cured of cancer will be what’s best for her. It may be she’ll come to Christ because of her disease, and you’d be praying for her not to be saved. Do you see what I mean, Jack?”

From FINDING THE SAFEST PLACE ON EARTH, my soon-to-be-published book.

My soul is surrounded
by the Spirit of Christ.
Like a fish in the ocean,
or a bird in the air.

“My Spirit is in you.
Feel My presence.
Fill your mind with Me.
Seek My will.”