June 8 | James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask from God, the One who gives everything without reserve, and does not reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without doubt, because the doubter is like a wave…
What’s a Life Empowered by the Spirit Look Like? Summary: A life empowered by the Spirit of God can take the world by storm. But what does this Spirit-empowered life look like? I describe this life and what it can do for Jesus in this world. Introduction In my last…
Summary: Paul talks about walking with the Spirit every day in our lives. Sadly, many Christians do not have a close relationship with the Holy Spirit. In this post, we take a closer look at what walking with the Spirit means. Introduction In my last post, I began talking about…
Summary: When Paul writes to the Galatians and Philippians, he gives discipleship gold and how he describes the Christian life and character Jesus gives us. What can we learn from Paul in these letters? Introduction In my last post, I taught on the Christian character Paul presents in the books…
Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay In our Seek the Gifts series on the gifts of the Spirit, we have discussed some of the preliminary matters about the gifts. We most recently covered the gifts in the Old Testament. We now want to talk about the foundation for using our…
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Many Christians today seem to have an estranged relationship with the Holy Spirit. When we read the New Testament, and even the Old Testament, we see the Holy Spirit doing great things and ministering through Christians in amazing ways. But we don’t see that…
What does 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 mean to you? “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.…
Image by Mauro Borghesi from Pixabay None of the characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit happen in the world around us regularly. We would be more surprised to see any of these nine virtues are characteristics of the Spirit in our world. Even if we do find them in…
Image by Mauro Borghesi from Pixabay How many situations have each of us been in that require God’s grace and power? It’s not easy to have patience with difficult people. Even more, how can we be kind to those who persecute us or treat us rudely? It’s a good thing…
Image by Mauro Borghesi from Pixabay In my last Holiness Matters post, we discussed an introduction to the Fruit of the Spirit. We’ve had a good start into our study of how the Holy Spirit transforms and cultivates his work in us. We will begin with the first three characteristics…