Thanksgiving

I read the following today about Thanksgiving and it brought a smile to my face. I wanted to share this one with my blog family. If you've heard it, just indulge me. I also wanted to let all of you know that we are traveling for the Thanksgiving holidays and wish your prayers for safe travel. I probably will be away from my computer and maybe a source for one, therefore won't be able to blog with you guys until we return.

Hope you enjoy this little tidbit from Erma Bombeck in October 1992.

An estimated 1.5 million people are living today after bouts with breast cancer. Every time I forget to feel grateful to be among them, I hear the voice of an eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, "I don't know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!" The kid is right.

Children always put things into perspective for us don't they!! God bless you all and have a great Thanksgiving, remembering that it the God from whom all blessings flow!!

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

I remember while at IBC we would get in the halls of the school and debate about all kinds of topics. It was kind of fun and in a way it taught me a lot about people and even made me dig into the scriptures to know how better to "win the argument." That was important to me then.

One of the hottest topics of that day is still a huge topic argued amongst us. It was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The question was, "Did he indwell us literally or only through the word of God?"

Like so many subjects, I came to the subject with preconceived notions that really skewed my beliefs.
1. If the Spirit indwelt the Christian, then it must follow that I believe in miracles (and everybody knows that miracles have ceased) was my way of handling it. Can any of you relate? 2. I came to believe the "in the word only" theory. It was safe. I could believe in the indwelling without all the miracles.
3. Later I came to believe that the Spirit indwelt the Christian, but He really didn't do anything. This too was safe. I didn't have to believe in the miracles or any outward manifestation of the Spirit. This was a comfortable place to be and really was just a watered down version of what the scriptures say.

I have recently been preaching a series on the Holy Spirit and am amazed at how prolific the Spirit is throughout the scriptures. I have discovered so much and now believe that there is much more than what I have believed concerning the Spirit that is available to us today. I do not pretend to have all the answers, but want to begin to delve deeper into the Holy Spirit of God and learn what He is to do in our lives.

One thing I do know is that the Spirit does dwell within the Christ-follower. Without Him there is no life. Listen to these passages.
(Romans 8:9-10 NCV) "But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. {10} Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God."
(John 7:39 NCV) "Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit."
(1 John 3:24 NCV) "The people who obey God's commands live in God, and God lives in them. We know that God lives in us because of the Spirit God gave us."
(1 Corinthians 3:16 NCV) "Don't you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"