When the Holy Spirit is ignored or rejected, religious people are forced either to do their own creating or to fossilize completely. A few churches accept fossilization as the will of God and settle down to the work of preserving their past—as if it needed preserving....
It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love.
When we encounter a belief system or behavior claiming to be “Christian,” we must ask: Does this produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in me and in the world? If the answer is no, then the Holy Spirit is not...
We want the war horse.Jesus rides a donkey. We want the eagle.The Holy Spirit descends as a dove. We want to take up swords.Jesus takes up a cross. We want the roaring lion.God comes as a slaughtered lamb. We keep trying to arm God.God keeps trying to disarm...
God did not give you the spirit of control over others, nor did God give others the spirit of control over you, but instead God gave you the spirit of self-control, of self-discipline, and self-moderation. Because the Holy Spirit lives in you, you are...
When we think about the Annunciation, this scene between the angel Gabriel and Mary, we think of the faith it took for her to believe that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and that her son, the illegitimate child of an insignificant girl, really...
Restoration is the inworking of God's presence that transforms us with the heart of God, the mind of Christ, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Some people grew up in the Charismatic Movement. I grew up in the Ostrich Movement--stick your head in the sand and ignore the Holy Spirit. Out of sight, out of mind. If you do this long enough maybe he'll go away and you won't have to deal with it. The only problem...