Part 4. The Holy Spirit is the giver of God’s Gifts to us. They are meant to be part of our lives, but do we forget why? What are the Gifts of the Spirit really for? The Spirit gives by His design and with specific intent. We need a change of heart to see the Gifts return.
http://www.audiomack.com/embed4/chrismackinnon/the-spirit-of-gifts
Were you ever introduced to someone who expected you to be far more interested in them than you were? Maybe you bumped into them at a special function or a mutual friend introduced you. Surely you’d heard of them, or from know on you would be glad that you did.
I remember working on campus the summer after my first year in Bible College. It was a weekend afternoon and I had been practicing the piano in a common room. A young man I’d never seen before walked into the room and sat down nearby. After I finished playing he introduced himself and handed me his business card, where he was kind enough to point out the title under his name: “Prophet”. Apparently I was supposed to be impressed.
Many of us don’t really care who is impressed with us. We dress the way we want to, speak the way we want to, and do the things we want to. If some random person we’ve never met before doesn’t like it, “it’s their problem, not mine.” But there is one Person we should want to impress. And though some folks think they’re already doing it, they are actually failing miserably at impressing Him. There is only one way to impress God, and it isn’t what you think.
Part 2. After the Spirit brings the fullness of God’s presence, He brings and teaches Truth. Not everyone readily accepts Truth, though we desperately need it. If we aren’t careful, we will reject it, and in doing so, offer ourselves to disaster.
http://www.audiomack.com/embed4/chrismackinnon/the-spirit-of-truth
In a previous post, I shared about mountains and valleys in our lives. The ups and downs, the good days and bad days, can be likened to the rise of mountaintops and fall of valleys. God doesn’t disappear from day to day, bringing us a good day and then leaving us on our own. When we believe in Jesus Christ, God is with us and in us, through the good and the bad.
Because we think of the mountains as good days in life and with God, and the valleys are our bad days, we have a natural desire to stay on the mountaintops. When we struggle or face pain and troubles, we talk about how we are “low” and want to get back to the good spot, back to the top where everything is better.
Continue reading “Four powerful lessons for life’s difficult days”
Life has its good days and its bad days. Sometimes everything feels like it falls right into place, and we feel good and free. Other days we feel as if the troubles and struggles of life won’t leave us alone. Good days, and bad days. Another way to look at it is like mountains and valleys, with their highs and lows.
We like the good days, so we call them the highlights or the high points of our days and lives. These are our mountaintop experiences and moments. Towering over everything, sitting in the clear, the world seems so simple. Troubles are forgotten in the midst of peace.
If the good days are mountaintops, then bad days are the valleys. Down there it’s harder to see what is going on around us. The sun can be hidden by trees and other obstacles. Dangerous animals, holes and traps lie unseen. In these “valley” days we face the troubles of life, the schemes of people around us, and the pain and darkness of not knowing.
Conclusion. God offers us so much, yet we often settle for the smallest taste. King David made three choices early in his reign that deepened God’s relationship with him and the nation. As David continued to reach for more, God finally promised him the impossible.
Chris MacKinnon 