Israel?

Israel was not only a man’s name, but also a descriptor given to Israel's decedents, the people chosen by Jehovah God to do His will, never a land mass. Initially, the chosen people were Jews but later the title was expanded to mean all those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. After the resurrection, God’s chosen people became anyone who accepted Jesus; He then dwelled within them. (Isa. 45:17; Rom. 11:26; Rom. 8:11)

Suddenly

When was the last time you read a scripture and thought, "I just don't understand this?" Occasionally, one of those scriptures for some has been from Acts 8:38-40, "Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea." - Acts 8:38-40 (NIV) It seems clear the two men went into the water, but "suddenly" Philip was taken away and preached in towns along the way to Caesarea. What does suddenly mean. Those seeking wondrous activities of the Holy Spirit propose he was lifted up in the air and flown to another place. I propose a different explanation. Philip was probably not picked up at all, he left the eunuch, exited the road, and continued his journey home, the one he started. Luke's point here is not a miracle to cause belief, but one to explain how the Gospel was preached as the disciples went from place to place. Throughout the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit inspires, convicts, empowers, emboldens, directs, guides, and leads God's servants in sharing the story of Jesus in much of the Roman Empire.

Thirst

In our present culture, we usually underestand the meaning of "thirst" as a desire for something. Perhaps the usual tareget is something to quench our thirst, but the desire can refer to other desires as well. Jesus hoped it indicated a desires for a closeness with God. "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." — John 7:37-39 NASB

Enough

One person said, "The most helpful guide about living a victorious life is this: Holiness is not the pathway to Christ--Christ is the only way to holiness." Sometimes we want to assume the burden of "enough" activity, “If I could pray enough, live purely enough, study my Bible enough, or liver my life holy enough, I wouldbecome hly enough for Jesus to come near. That would indicate to Him that I want to be close to Him." This approach is completely reversed. By ourselves, we cannot do enough to be close to Jesus. Jesus will carry the burden, if we let Him. He accepts the one who understands they cannot accomplish this objective themselves; they must only acccept His sacrifice, and He will draw near. When accepted into the Kingdom, the indwelling Holy Spirit will guide a person along the pathway they so earnestly desire. Prayers will become more effective, guidance is provided for living a pure life, and Bible study becomes clearer. The Holy Spirit helps sanctify us and makes us holy. Yet, we must allow Him to guide us as Paul did. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Blessings

Many times some end their communication with "Blessings." This is generally a wish for the receipient to receive good things. What is the reason to wish other Christians have blessings? First, lets remember the Lord gave himself for us; what shall we give for him? All that we have is not our own but was provided to you by God. So far as we can, we should make the needs of others our own and help them, giving freely and cheerfully in order to accomplish the wished blessing. We should share what He has given us, and in the process, please and honor Him who has made us rich in heaven. Giving for God’s purposes are indeed sacrifices in some way, and this pleases Him. We cannot understand the extent of a blessing that we offer to another person, only the Holy Spirit can use what may seem trivial to be a wonderfiul encouragement to another person. In the end, is not important we recognize the effects of our gifts, but that the Holy Spirit used them to accomplish His goals. Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God. - Hebrews 13:16

Keep on going

There is a song in which part of the lyrics read "if you're going through hell, keep on going, you might get out before the devil knows you are there." When you are going through a dark time—a hard time—it’s easy to project that darkness into the future. The longer you struggle with adverse circumstances, the darker the way before you appears—and the harder it is to imagine yourself walking along bright paths again. A temptation is to give up and let misery ocercome you. It is crucial at such times to remember that the Holy Spirit is the Christian's constant Companion and Adversary. Becuase the Holy Spirit is a part of the Sovereign God, He is able to turn your darkness into Light. When you feel on the verge of sinking in despair, turn to Him for help. Cling to His hand, and walk by faith through the darkness. Do not focus on the circumstances that are weighing you down. Instead, through eyes of faith, look ahead to brighter times, and praise God for them. While darkness is all around, the Holy Spirit can enable you to see the first gleam of dawn on the path before you. Continue walking worshipfully with God—a walk of faith. As you persevere along this path, the dim light will gradually shine brighter and brighter till the full light of day. ". . . the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" Mat. 4:16 (NIV)

Focus

A.W. Tozer said, "We must shift our interest from the seen to the unseen. For the great unseen Reality is God." When we sit, stand, or walk, our balance is controlled by multiple avenues of input. Our inner ear provides one form of input to keep us steady. Muscle memory is also an input, but we rely a great deal on being able to gather input from our eyes. An ear infection or closing our eyes can make it difficult to be mobile. beyond balance, there are the actions in which we choose to be involved. Moving our limbs can be extremely complicated or difficult. Further, our life pathways can become quite complicated. We spend so much time trying to guide or steps by what our eyes see. Several scriptures note that in order to guide our steps appropriately, we need light, spiritual light. We do not see Him directly, but the indwelling Holy Spirit wiil provide this light if we will let Him. "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." Psa. 119:105

Do Not Be Afraid

When Angels displayed themselves their first words were usually, "Do not be afraid. The world of Jesus’ day was filled with fear. The Romans feared rebellion, and their subjects feared Rome’s power. The Sadducees feared the Pharisees, and both were suspicious of the publicans. The hearts of people everywhere were filled with fear and distrust. Life was precarious, and above all, people feared death. The world lives with fear even today. What is your fear? Do you fear the future? Do you fear life’s burdens that sometimes seem almost overwhelming? Do you fear death? Most of us fear everything except God—yet it is God whom we should fear most of all! This type of fear may be best understood as immense respect. "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear." - 1 John 4:18 Jesus can put an end to fear for all who trust in Him. “Do not be afraid, little flock” is a phrase typical of His teaching and preaching (Luke 12:32). He is the answer to any fear you have. After all, God’s power is greater than the powers of evil, and “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future…nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39)

Secret Things

Someone said, "Remember that I can fit everything into a pattern for good, including the things you wish were different. Start with where you are at this point in time and space, accepting that this is where I intend you to be." This can be a daunting opinion to hold. We long to see this all-embracing pattern for good! Sometimes we can’t begin to imagine how the Holy Spirit can guide us to fit all our struggles into such a pattern. Sometimes our circumstances seem like a series of gigantic mistakes; I should have done someting differently, I should have avoided this mess. I need to make a new beginning but how can I begin to correct something I created, something I should have been able to prevent in the beginning. Jesus told His diciples, the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Many times when we try to accept our circumstances as God's will, we feel as if we are against a solid wall. We need to determine to make a new beginning and ask the Holy Spirit to help us make decisions thsat will glorify God. Even then we may perceive that each step forward is accompanied by two steps in the opposite direction, the holy Spirit may be helping us at levels we do not perceive. In these cases, we need to strt anew and continue to follow our understanding of the pathways provided by the Holy Spirit. Even if we could see the all-encompassing pattern, you wouldn’t be able to understand it. Some things—many things—are simply beyond our grasp. We shouild not dwell on what we could have done differently, for that is an exercise in unreality: The past cannot be different from what has actually occurred. NOW is the only place and time to start anew. We need to acccept our present situation and learn from what happened, as best we understand it. We must rust the guidance of the holy Spirit to lead us to eternit y. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Rom. 8:28 (NASB). Cf. Deut. 29:29:  "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." (NASB)

Instruction

Jesus attempted to instruct His disciples on many things. At this time, they needed to gain understanding about the source of living, blessings from God, e.g. manna  compsred to bread of heaven. It was a different concept and they found it difficult to grasp. Many people today like to find the quickest and easiest way to complete undertanding or a specific task. In so doing, the quality and reliability of the effort may becomel, 'not very good,' and failure may come quickly. Sometimes we avoid a concern for value. Perhaps the item we acquire is a trial exercise and we aren't concerned about how long it lasts, we will chose something else next time. Value seeks the best possible product for the length of time needed the price paid. Sometimes paying a bit more for a higher quality product will delay the cost to replace it very soon. It is an exercise in the reason and the longevity one expects when spending the resources they control. A slightly higher price for a product, an item, that lasts longer before needing replacment, is likely a money saving purchase and has greater value. Jesus' activites were ones that last for eternity, but came at a great physical cost for his earthly existence. When He finished His work on earth, Jesus was to leave His disciples. This was best for them, but they could not yet understand all the details, this would come when the Holy Spirit empowered them to understand and act. Concerning the bread, Jesus needed them to understand his actions were greater than the delivering of Manna. "Many of His disciples said, "This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?" Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again?"" John 6:60-62

Weakness

As believers, we are to follow Jesus’ instructions. Our love for God is not exhibited by how well we talk or how loudly we shout, but by how obedient we act. Three times in John 14, Jesus said that those who love Him will keep His commandments (vv. 15, 21, 23). It is apparent that this message is very important! Jesus said the commandments were His commandments. He personally owned them, so when we reject them, we reject Him. Biblical knowledge is critical, but it is not the ultimate test of your love for God. Knowledge is a means to an end; the end is obedience and glorifying God. As believers, we receive help from the Holy Spirit to keep Christ’s commandments. Jesus knew we would need it! Another time, Jesus would tell His disciples, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matt. 26:41). We also struggle with this issue. Our spirits are often willing, but our flesh is always weak. He prayed to the Father and promised to send us “another Helper.” The word “another” implies that the next Helper would be like Jesus, who was the first Helper. Jesus is the embodiment of truth, and the Spirit is the empowerment of truth. The Spirit indwells every disciple of Christ. So be filled with the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, and do not quench the Spirit.

Understanding empowerement

The things Jesus did were meant to provide insight into how God the Father viewed his creation. Jesus would say I and the Father are one (Jn. 10:30) and, "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me," (Jn. 5:30). We further learn that the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus (first verses of Isa. 11; 42; 61). Whether by calming the storm, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind or raising the dead, or casting out demons, Jesus displayed the sensitivities of God the Father. Jesus said, “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). He’s not like other miracle workers who do amazing things and then life proceeds as it always has. No--to Jesus, his miracles were a sign indicating the coming of the kingdom of God. They were a foretaste of what the kingdom was going to be like. And this sets Jesus apart from others, a practice his apostles will continue after His resurrection. One person has said, "Jesus saw his miracles as bringing about something unprecedented--the coming of God’s dominion. He didn't merely see himself as a worker of miracles; he saw himself as the one in whom and through whom the promises of God come to pass. That’s a not-too-thinly-veiled claim of transcendence." The empowering presence that enabled Jesus lives within each Christian now. The Holy Spirit will empower us to do Jesus' will. We just need to understand what He wants at any given time. This understanding will begin as we reach out to other people.