The Wind Among The Tombs

Raised in the south I heard a lot of old time religion, which I’m glad because I knew Jesus early on and didn’t go through what a lot of people do, in some ways, worse perhaps because a lot of that theology was just wrong, and limited God. I knew there were people who didn’t believe Jesus went to hell. Not for Himself but for us. Lets look at it, the verse says,

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Acts 2:27. It is also prophesied in Psalm 16:10 and 89:48. Clearly, He went there, He defeated, death, hell and the grave. He took back those keys from the devil and gave us back Adam’s authority over everything.

It is why He tells us to bind and loose and that we can trample on serpents and scorpions, and we need the Holy Spirit to do that. Just as He knew His body would not be left to decay, and His soul not left in hell. Your soul is your mind, will and emotions, connected to your spirit. The Holy Spirit is your Spirit to varying degrees and the more you submit to Him, you will bypass a lot of that negative emotional anger and stress, and receive His peace. You have to submit your will, Jesus was obedient to death, we can resist even that as the Rapture nears. Your mind has to be renewed, to be like Christ.

Some of the ministers back in the day, God bless them, meant well but may not have even understood the soul. Jesus was supposed to be tossed into the garbage heap with the others that were crucified. Joseph of Aramathea provided Him a tomb. It protected His body. Though some will disagree that He was born again, it is just symbolism, for the power of the Holy Spirit would raise Him and force open that stone, just as a womb gives up the child. I have an upcoming post based on a verse about the wind and womb.

And if you think that’s stretching the analogy, what about the fact He was swaddled, wrapped in linen and put into a manger made of stone. See the similarity? Real mangers weren’t just fluffy beds of straw. Jesus was born to die so that we might live. And live abundantly. It also compares to the cocoon and the butterfly, and the butterfly is symbolic of resurrection our new life. 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

The flesh is corruptible, Jesus was not from the seed of man but incorruptible through the Spirit. The Father would never have left Him, though He lovingly gave Him to the world. He turned His back once, and Jesus ransomed us once and for all, anyone who would receive Him as Lord. We’ve already talked about how day and night were counted differently, Lazarus had been there long enough to start decaying, Jesus would not. The Holy Spirit came rushing through scattering demons and holding Jesus, just like He did the madman, only Jesus was in His right mind. He returned to His body, burned through grave clothes, folded His napkin that covered His face as a sigh of His return and He will return.

As we look forward to Sunday morning. let us remember to celebrate a moment of communion wit Him and remember the horrors of the week, from betrayal by a friend to the depths of hell. He went through it for us. We should be more than grateful and more than humble, honestly, I am always amazed at what He did, and I have so often wished He hadn’t had to endure it, but at the same time I know what we would face with out Him, it is fitting to remember the marred face from the cross but even more so to behold the radiant one of the risen Lord, I am glad the wind was among the tombs. Rebecca Jones /pexels

Cruel Wind / Savor the Sorrow

It was a cruel wind that blew the Jesus was crucified. Evil surrounded Him as He willingly gave His life for us. No other one has ever been worthy or acceptable in our place. He took the wrath of God for us, in our place to set us free. It was a cruel wind, a cruel fate that He did not deserve, but chose so that He could redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. Cursed is one who hangs from a tree.

I thought I was going out on a limb to write, encourage, even minister to women, to pray for the sick. But it was He who went out on a limb and more for me. It was a cruel wind as the crowd roared to crucify Him, even one of the condemned beside Him knew He was innocent.

The pain, torture and sheer agony he endured from the garden of Gethsemane to the cross, to hell to get the key and back to the tomb to be raised. It was a cruel wind that touched His bloodied brow torn by a crown of thorns, that stripped Him of robe and His dignity, that plucked His beard. And that tore open His back, mangle His face.

It took the strength, every ounce of it by the Holy Spirit to take that agony, to watch the Father look away, for the earth to shake and quake and the sky to darken. It was finished. Why do we think we can do anything more? His sacrifice was complete and we can do nothing without Him, and we need His Spirit and power to over come the same enemy.

Savor the sorrow, is a line from Come to the Table, a Michael Card Song. I never knew what that meant until I really followed Jesus, there have been agonizing moments, painful ones, James says to count it joy, and it’s hard to. But that’s what Jesus did, even why He refused the drink, offered to ease pain,though it was tainted. He needed to experience every awful moment and endure it to save us, He counted it joy, kept His mouth shut. Something I have trouble with.

For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross. We are His joy, and if we are following Him, walking in His footsteps, even if He carries us at times, we are enduring also, overcoming by His blood and our testimony, and nothing else. He make everything possible and the impossible possible. We are nothing without Him.

He had said to ask that our joy be full. Joy He wanted to remain in us and for no one to take. Yet, they do. The enemy will. We need to not let that happen, We have been crucified with Him as believers and our new life is in Him. He is why we live, breathe and move even our very being. The cruel wind still blows in the world and the wicked one still,steals, kills, and destroys.

Jesus took the punishment of the cross for our peace, for us to have eternal and abundant life. If we must, we must count it joy. If we must, savor the sorrow, of trials and attempts to derail God’s plans for good. If we must, even savor the pain that will bring healing as we recover our mental and physical health.

I have heard stories of people jumping in to save others only to be killed themselves. Others have jumped in and been drowned with the victim. It is love and instinct that would do that, but wisdom will keep us from drowning with someone, in a spiritual sense. A lot of us would not hesitate, but what if you know you are the sacrifice? Jesus knew, He knew the year before that next Year He would be the Passover Lamb. And I will spare the details, though I suggest reading Leviticus.

At yet, because of us, He chose to give His life, willingly and freely, He savored the sorrow and so must we in order to obtain joy, the joy of His promise, of receiving what we asked for. You have His promise, He has never lied, so while you wait for answers to prayer, savor the sorrow. His Spirit raised the dead, and we were once dead in trespasses, and may something has died in our lives, a hope or a dream, He is the resurrecting power, savor the sorrow, He did for us. Rebecca Jones

 

 

The Death Wind, I Will Pass Over You

I know the title and wreath may not match up. I know that the blood of the lamb was on the door at Passover. Let’s look at the verse, For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. Exodus 12:23

So many people are so wrapped up in the idea that God is out to get you, but a loving Father like He is is our protection, many times in our ignorance, but when we know better, He expects our prayers to line up. Clearly, it is God allowing the devil to strike the Egyptians and He will not allow the destroyer to enter the houses of the Jews or Hebrews that have the blood of the lamb they have offered as a sacrifice on the doorposts.

You will also read about the phylacteries on heads of the Jews, and armbands mush like lintel and doorpost of the person and the mezzuzahs on the doors. These have verses of Scripture. Of course, as believers, Jesus was and is our Passover Lamb, the lamb of God slain for the foundation of the world. It was His blood shed at Calvary, sacred and holy, it is in heaven.

Jesus is now our High priest. And while the Old Testament priest sprinkled blood at the door of  the tent, and even anointed priests like Aaron, with a mixture of oil, which is a type of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has anointed us with the the Holy Spirit and power and it was His blood that was upon the altar, and is over us to make atonement for us and is on the doorposts of our houses, us. Over our forehead, like the phylacteries, which is why the enemy will also use a mark. And our out stretched arms, like the straps wrapped around the arms of Jewish men.

And whatever your beliefs are, Judaism, Messianic or Christian. This is understandable from the Jewish viewpoint and points to Christ as the Messiah, though many Jews still do not accept Him as the Messiah, I pray they can come to believe in a man who was sent by God to be the perfect offering for all mankind, no matter race or religion, when you realize that God gave a part of Himself to die in your stead, to save you from eternal damnation into a host of hellish evils, when you know that love, you know Jesus, no other god or man was worthy or did it. It is your choice, He never forces you to believe.

Jesus was the scapegoat as well. When the priest laid hands on the goat and transferred sin, it was supposed to die or be pushed off a cliff, then the scarlet thread on the door of the temple turned white. Jesus died for our sins and we are white as sow, though our sins are forgiven and from east to west He no longer remembers them, the tormentor does. People do and we do, His sacrifice was once and for all and salvation is an ongoing status. Yet, Jesus still intercedes for us and make His way to that altar once year, I’m sure.

More than that, I could not say, but His Spirit is in us and on us as believers, and He is making intercession for us. There is blood on the altar for us. And His resurrection and redemption are powerful and very real. So let’s keep His blood on the doorposts, figuratively, of ourselves, our homes, schools, businesses, wherever we go.

As we celebrate Holy Week, whether or not we attend seder dinners or even know what they are we know that as a believer the blood of Jesus is over us and that when the enemy comes, He sees that blood and will pass over us, even death, Jesus defeated him as well and we are on the verge of eternity, if we can believe and rightly divide His body with Communion both the Eucharist and with Him, we can remain until raptured.

And He will not allow the destroyer to enter and strike. Pleading the blood of Jesus, grace and peace. Rebecca Jones / pexels

Prevailing Wind

I’ve never actually done this, but it looks like fun, doesn’t it? How often do we read about Jesus and the disciples getting in a boat and heading across the sea of  Galilee. We know He asked Peter to walk on water, to step out of the boat. Are we prepared this week to open our arms even if not on a boat or the sea and receive the wind, the prevailing wind of the Spirit in our lives.?

Are we ready to embrace the grace and power of the cross this Holy Week? Are we ready to sail into new depths with the Lord in control of our destinies and the calmer of the storms, the peace that leads beside still waters and even lets us walk on water holding on to Him and keep our focus on His gaze?

Fisherman believed that seeing a ghost at night was a bad omen, seeing a Spirit drenched Jesus walking on it, scared them, but He said it was Him, even then Peter actually asked to walk on water if it is really Him. I’m sure I’ve had that thought a million times, that is why we need the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Life with the Holy Spirit in charge, should be a proverbial breeze, yet we still have situations to arise. He is the calm in the storm, the wind in our sails. He breathes upon the boat that is our soul and keeps us afloat. He steadies the ship, keeping us on a even keel. We may be captain of our souls but He is the Comforter of our hearts that should not be troubled.

He does not rock the boat, but makes a few waves through our lives, to help us navigate new directions, launches us into the deep, charts uncharted waters, He will know every tidal wave, tsunami, under water volcano, every reef and rock, anything that could make us run aground or amok. The ripple effect that goes upon the water, affecting life after life we touch, and are touched by.

He’s seen every shipwreck, every burial at sea, every shark attack. These are not thing we face on a daily basis, but sometimes our spiritual warfare can appear to a fleet ready take us out or a pirate ship ready to board our vessels, to make off with our bounty, our loot, our treasure. Our treasure is in heaven and in our heart, and He is not buried in a tomb, and not sunken at sea. He is Jesus. And He is the Holy Spirit in us, our guide, the guardian of our souls. Keeping us on track, He is ever present to calm the waters, to leading us beside still waters to restore our soul.

We have a wonderful gift from our wonderful Counselor, and He is keeping us afloat and the wind in our sails. He is the prevailing wind. Rebecca Jones / pexels

Holy Wind,The Beauty of the Cross

I had been hearing in my spirit, blessings of beauty, early one morning. Really, He has given us so much beauty. Beauty surrounds us, on a daily basis. Snow falls in many places even though it’s officially spring. It cold as of this writing, but it is very sunny. A reminder that we have been washed as white as snow, by the blood of the Lamb, and the Son of God is shining on us with His  Resurrecting power.

When we think about beauty, we often think of things like flowers and rainbows, babies and bubbling streams that meander through peaceful forests full of creatures. Starry nights, sunrises, puffy clouds and sunsets. His handiwork is evident, proof for believers of a God. Not that we need proof, even in days of doubting ourselves even more than Him, we know He is there.

But what about beauty of another kind? The beauty of the cross? Isaiah 53 says he had no beauty about Him, no one would desire Him. Beauty translates hadar, also honor. Honor is something He was not esteemed with, even the sign named over His head was meant as mockery, the only reason they protested so vehemently was that the words in Hebrew, using the first letter, read the name of YHVH. They didn’t intend to acknowledge Him as God but the sign was left to prove it. Pilate said what he’d written, he’d written. I must say that some object to this but Hebrew reads right to left and though the word melech or king starts with an m or mem, Pilate probably wrote v’melech, reading, Yeshuah HaNazrit V’ Melech HaYedudim, Jesus the Nazarite, the King of the Jews.

That was beauty. That was God. He looked away from His Son, but even that act of violent and cruel men could not deny Him. Every lash, every thorn, the piercing, the punishment that is my peace, is beauty. The highest love, by giving up His honor, he honored us, and we deserved no honor. He honored His Father. every detail is very specific and there is so much to be learned from the Hebrew, God concealed Jesus in the Old Testament, revealed Him in the New.

Even when fear and scourging and the cries that called for His crucifixion, could have driven Him to madness in the flesh, He was obedient, and even enjoyed the torment in a sense, so He could redeem those who believe. That is sheer beauty. I can’t imagine the mind that was being torn to quit to be a man, walk away and fight for a kingdom, the fear. Though the devil would never have given a kingdom, and He knew His kingdom was not of this world.

If we think about ourselves, what would we give up, to save someone. Even if it were our lives we, would we do it, knowing how painful, gruesome and public the humiliation would be?  If the cross had been in our day, it would be all over the news. It is in the movies. Even, that with special effects cannot do to to a person what happened to God’s only begotten Son. You will kill someone with the first few lashes, the terror alone would probably stop the heart. The cross as awful as it was was a beauty given us by God. The perfect expression of His love.

He gave Jesus for us,and He still is giving us the blessings of the beauty of His amazing grace, mercy and love. the beauty and blessings of abundant life and joy. He gives us the blessing of the fruit of the Spirit, and the gift of the Spirit. Day after day, grace upon grace, beauty upon beauty. Our lives are bless by the fragrance of roses and by the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon, blessed by stars, and the bright and morning star, blessed with His peace, and blessed with the Prince of Peace.

Seeing the cross a blessing of beauty, when the was no beauty in it takes looking into eyes of love, you will know love and you will know Jesus when you look into His Word, into the glass that is dark but will bring us face to face, when you look into His eyes, and see His love. You will see the beauty of blessing, beauty upon beauty, the beauty of the cross. A cross He embraced for me. Rebecca Jones / pexels

The Spirit, the Wind of Truth, This Holy Week

For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Matthew 13:17

It is Easter week, or Holy Week, and the day named for the pagan holiday, Easter Sunday is nearing, but it really is Resurrection Sunday. I won’t confuse you with three days and nights in the grave, not adding up from Friday to Sunday, except to tell you that there are be two theories, one that it was a special Passover, so He was actually crucified on Thursday, or that He was indeed crucified on Friday, the Romans did not observe Passover, the days were counted differently by Jews so Jesus died on Good Friday; they counted Thursday night as part of Friday, so it is three days. and nights, remember, in Genesis, God says evening and morning was the first day.*

While many are concerned with baskets and bonnets, we fail to search Scripture with the eyes of the Spirit. I have learned so much, I have trouble not sharing it, having the mind of Christ is a good thing, my regular one needs renewing. But while we we crucified with Him, have we been resurrected? He had to totally trust His Father to send the Holy Spirit for Hi, and His body would have been horribly altered and mangled, even washed, it was bound in grave clothes and spices.

Do we trust Him, to raise us up, for healing? Trust the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Truth. He can clear a lot of things up for you. Look at what Jesus tells the disciples, the prophets and the righteous of the Old Testament only had glimpses as the Spirit came upon those who prophesied and at certain times.

He will not leave us as Jesus will not. We are not to grieve Him, I am continuing to to write about the Holy Spirit this Holy week, and He played a large role in that He was still upon the Lord to be able to endure the cross He embraced for us and that He returned to raise Him from the dead.

The people of old would have loved to hear Him as clearly as we can with the gifts of the Spirit, and we have a complete Bible. Revelation is upon us. We cannot take on the enemy in our own strength and defeat him, we need the Spirit. Who really moves the mountains? Who really moves stones away, and takes away fear, who raises the dead, gives life?

Peter was having a vision in a trance.The word here for trance is is ekstasis or eksistemi, which can be carried out or moved completely.  It is where we get the word ecstasy.  People can pray in ecstasy as the Holy Spirit moves. The Holy Spirit  can move on you to no longer be standing, and carry you into the Spirit, or move you completely, or translate you, as He did Phillip. But not everyone will have such dramatic experiences, though it is possible. He works with dreams and visions also. The Holy Spirit will not hurt you or deceive you.  You can pray in the Spirit as much as you need to, He protects you. These are things that happened in the Bible and still happen today, at certain times and to certain people. Not everyone will have these powerful experiences, yet they are Biblical and He promised to pour out His Spirit in the latter days, the latter rain. So we may see many of the gifts and even the miraculous.

We read people appeared as “dead”, Jesus avoided that word and used sleep. Yet, people appear that way if out in the Spirit, hence the term, slain in the Spirit, I don’t care for that, He overtakes, even overwhelms you at times, but He, like Jesus is a life giver and saver. People react to Him in different ways. And as I said, you may not necessarily have these experiences, yet it is wise to be used to His presence, so that you can call on Him to help you, He will teach you to pick up on His guidance, He can read you like a book and you will learn to read Him in a sense for a lack of a better term. As a believer, He is in you, He knows your likes and dislikes, and you will know His, He will search the Father’s heart to give you the desire He meant for you. You will have close personal relationship.

But the Holy Spirit was not a gift to believers until Jesus was crucified. He came at Pentecost and is here today, acting as Comforter an much more. I do have to caution you that the enemy attempts to copy what God does,so be careful about the spiritual realm, not all angels are doing good, not all spiritual people are on God’s side. The enemy will use trance in another way, using divination, which is not God. Instead of letting the Holy Spirit move you, other spirits can move on you. The same is true of things like hypnosis and past lives, mind control.

But never be afraid, the Holy Spirit is not a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind, or else how would we ever have one. We need our Paraclete, the one who literally comes along side us as believers, He will guide you into truth. He is powerful enough to keep us and deliver us from evil, He has done that for me on numerous occasions, I have missed storms literally and spiritually many times, thanks to His presence and protection. that’s what the power of the Holy Spirit does for you as a believer, and this Holy Week I pray you begin  to see Him working in ways you never dreamed of, Jesus died for is to live and to love.

If you want His power, He is there, if you want His love, He is there, if you want a sound mind, He is there as well. I pray He comes alongside us to break off the deceptions of the enemy and guide us into the way, the truth and the life of Jesus. We see the day others longed for, so shouldn’t we be interested in the third person of the Trinity. After all, He is the Spirit and Wind of Truth. And we that’s what we want this Holy week. Rebecca Jones / pexels

• The counting of three days is also recorded in Esther’s fast, and the story of Jonah.
• Peter Acts 10:10
• Acts 8:26-40

A Windy Sunday

Palm Sunday. It may have been a golden dawn over Jerusalem. Jesus knew full well what was coming. The entrance into the city was just the beginning, Passover, Gethsemane, the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Jesus was about to accomplish what He had come to do, even as a baby in a manger.

His ministry of three years had caused many to marvel and many miracles. The religious leaders corrupted by Roman officials were still seeking to find a way to be rid of this would be king, and they were about to find one in Judas Iscariot. I hope you read John’s account of it. We are familiar with the Passover dinner where he becomes a traitor, the devil had tormented him with greed and now could enter his mind with this last evil act, before he would take his own life. Perhaps, he could have repented, Peter did after denying Him. Just notice that even in John, after the kiss of betrayal, the literal kiss of death, Jesus still calls him friend, would any of us do that knowing what he was about to do? Jesus did.

But this first morning that we celebrate the beginning of Holy Week on, Palm Sunday. Jesus told the disciples where find a little donkey and He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, with many waving palm leaves and shouting ” Hosannahs! ” Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Was it a windy Sunday? I can’t say, But the wind of the waving palms likely cooled the Lord’s brow, as the sun warmed overhead. It may have blown His hair or beard and even the robe He wore. He was beautiful, I am certain as He came riding in among the crowds and cheers. They wanted a King, but had the Messiah before their very eyes, if had they only accepted Him, would the crucifixion even been necessary?  Yet, they did not.

The miraculous, the marvelous, the murderers, that would plot against the Lord, though they could not have done it, had He not willingly gave His life for us. I can’t even comprehend the Lord’s mind, but He was about His Father’s business, and instead of commanding the devils out with a word. He would wrestle the human side of Himself, in the garden and face the temptation of not going through with it, but He prayed God’s will be done. How fortunate for us or else we would be forever lost or never even born.

Now blessed, we have seen what Anna and Simeon saw in a child, the glory to God in the Highest, the peace on earth, the Prince of Peace on earth, about to die to save me and many others. Though I am not waving a palm today, I stand with palms uplifted in praise,  proclaiming ” Hosannah in the highest. ”

This pure act of love is priceless to me. I stand in awe of a King would die for me and deem me worthy to be counted as beloved. It could have been a windy Sunday, but it is Palm Sunday, the start of a sacred week of reverence and honoring the Lord, something we should really be doing everyday.

While family and celebrations take center stage in our lives at times, let us never forget who is at the center of it all, and the cruel scene  that saw Him, go from triumph in Jerusalem upon the donkey, to the triumph of the cross and Resurrection, the story is that the donkey’s back carries the shadow of the cross, so saddened by the sight of his Lord carrying a cross, when before he carried Him, it walked away and was marked with the image. The fur is in that outline.

So saddened by this story, I walked an aisle at eleven and this girl has been changed forever, the man who broke my heart, healed it and has sealed it forever, shattered by the cross, I do not carry it’s shadow, I choose the resurrected Lord, who is seated on His throne, exalted. Have a blessed Palm Sunday and Holy Week, love and joy to all, celebrate Jesus. He was and is triumphant, and that is the only way we will ever be. Rebecca Jones / pexels

 

Winds And Waves

We are talking about the Holy Spirit this month, and He came as a mighty rushing wind. Jesus also calmed the waves upon the sea, it was the Holy Spirit pushing back the storm. He has, is, and will always be greater than any enemy, and we must choose to let Him be our teacher and guide. Though He will try to gently lead and whisper thoughts to our souls, we have to submit ourselves more to God’s Word and His perfect will, for the Holy Spirit will help you pray, when you don’t know what to ask. When you pray in the Spirit, you speak directly to God. Many do not believe in spiritual gifts, others are not using them enough.

The Holy Spirit will help you if you ask, but it is a powerful gift, one the enemy would rather you didn’t believe in or use.  And he knows it puts him in the wind, it thwarts his plans and schemes and terrorizes him, and I’d rather the devil be scared, running around worrying and being disappointed. Lord knows, he’s done enough to us as believers.

If you watch the wind on the water you see the shallow ripples. That is the way some people perceive the Lord, unfortunately, their experiences have been limited with church or doctrine or perhaps the enemy has managed to throw rocks into their lives to make their way harder. Without the water of the Spirit, the ground is thirsty and dry. Jesus gave us living water in the person of the Holy Spirit. Toss the rock of Jesus onto the water and there is ripple after ripple. Wave after wave. Powerful waves. Healing waves. Loving waves.

Shallow people are only going to see shallow waters,  I like to see the fish through the clear waters too. But I don’t like artificial or superficial when it comes Jesus. He said launch out into the deep, didn’t He? And the disciples brought up a boat load of fish that broke their nets.

That’s why He wants us to be fishers of men and women and even or especially children in these days before His return. Many people have looked out onto the seas, seas often represent crowds or multitudes of people in the Bible. And many have had only temporary and shallow experiences with Christ. But I’m saying to look again, launch your faith into the deep things of God, and you will see the fish from the deep, those who have strayed, wandered, were lost or never caught at all. And those who would have been believers but fell instead to bait that the devil threw them.

That shark of an enemy lurks and lies in wait with deception. That you can’t be forgiven, no one loves you or worse that there is no hell or heaven, or that all will be saved regardless. Maybe some of these fish have seen believers and wondered why would they want to live like them. They have seen us defeated and weakened by an enemy Jesus gives us power over, but that power is only through Him.

We have all fallen short and been hammered with Romans 3:23 when we deserved Romans 8:1, and walk away from condemnation and the critical and cynical voices, and be prepared to say that we are saved by His grace, healed by His wounds, and are made righteous by Him. We should be able to discern the good from evil and walk in white through whatever waves come into our lives.

I have found that there are some I have a harder time talking to, the shallow, those who don’t see sin as sin, but if you sail into deeper waters, there is the Lord ready to calm the storms of your heart. He only has to say the word and the winds obey, His wind is the Holy Spirit, and His waves are oceans of love, tsunamis of grace, and the deepest of love.

Whatever waves of life are coming at you today, the Lord will come in like a flood and calm them. Receive with open arms the wind of the Spirit. Rebecca Jones / photo Alexy Suslyacov, thank you.

 

A Grieving Wind

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

GRIEVE,  To give pain of mind to; to afflict; to wound the feelings. To afflict; to inflict pain on.For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. God in Lamentations. To make sorrowful; to excite regret in. To offend; to displease; to provoke. Without getting deep in the Hebrew, it is to be afflicted or weakened, even to incurably crush.

While we are not able to inflict that on the Holy Spirit, it is what was inflicted on Jesus for us, remember, He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. It took His death to save us, the Holy Spirit power to resurrect Him. In order hurt, grieve or wound someone, we must acknowledge the person. The Holy Spirit is a living being, the third person of the Trinity, and the essence of Jesus, Himself. If you recall, Jesus wept over Jerusalem, I wrote a poem called He Wept for Me. He likely has wept for us all at some point, if not at the cross alone.

We hurt the Spirit by not allowing Him into our actions, by not listening and being obedient. Children cause their parents grief with their behavior. We are no different. If we live like ungodly people, lie, steal and are immoral, we grieve Him. We are also told not to quench Him.  Quench is used in terms of putting out a fire.

The Holy Spirit is a fire dwelling in each believer. The very Spirit of the Living God. He wants to express Himself through us, in our actions and attitudes. When believers are not allowing the Spirit to be seen in us, He is grieved and quenched. We do what we know is wrong, and we  suppress or quench the Spirit and cause Him grief. We do not allow the Spirit to reveal Himself the way that He wants to, if we are in disobedience and He is grieved. And 1 Thessalonians 5:19 tells us in no uncertain terms not to quench Him.

Quench is the word also that put out the fiery darts of the devil, a soaked shield will put out a fire. If you are quenching the Spirit, be aware the darts are getting to you. If you start to see things going wrong turn it around in prayer, the Holy Spirit will guide you back into truth.

Both quenching and grieving the Spirit are very similar in their effects. And in how they affect. Both hinder us from the abundant life Jesus wants us to have.  Both happen when a believer sins repeatedly or willfully against God, either abusing or not accepting and follows after the wrong ideas of others or their on stubborn will. The only correct road to follow is the one that leads closer  to God and purity. For His  ways and gifts and love are both perfect and pure.

We do not like to be grieved, a spirit of grief is also very close to depression. We may not depress or oppress the Holy Spirit, but He can be annoyed, hurt and grieved at the thought of our losses at the enemy’s schemes. And I was a person who just never wanted to do anything that would disgrace or hurt the Lord, yet, I know I have. I have great respect for His sacrifice. I was afraid of the power of the Holy Spirit, and gifts, but if He wants me to have them, who am to refuse any good thing? Or to grieve or to quench?Just as we do not seek to quench what is good—so we should not grieve or quench the Holy Spirit by refusing to follow His leading. We are loved and sealed by Him, I do not want Him to be a grieving wind. Rebecca Jones / pexels

https://adaughtersgiftoflove.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/he-wept-for-me/  My poem and please enjoy Michael Crawford.

 

Wind of the Spirit

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you. John 14:26

We are talking about the wind this month, the wind of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised us the Comforter, in fact, He assured the disciples it was in their best interest for Him to go away, so He send us His Spirit. And so He did.

He called the Spirit, the Helper, He is called Advocate, Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, Teacher. Jesus actually calls Him another helper, one who takes His place for He will go to the cross, and rise and ascend to the Father.

He is our Counselor, intercessor, it is like having one Spirit from God who can defend, judge, represent us an attorney, counsel, comfort, will tell us the truth, He will guide us into all truth.

Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon people, but after indwells believer, at the time of salvation but gives them gifts and  power as they mature in Christ. The Paraclete or Holy Spirit defends the innocent.

While Jesus was here in the flesh, He walked and talked with the disciples and did breathe on them, but they had followed Him already, and received gifts of the spirit later. Peter was even warned that the devil wanted to sift him, after the Holy Spirit came he was a different man.

While many struggle to memorize verses, it doesn’t have to be one. I used to do it as a child, even chapters. Now, I sometimes look things up. I know a lot of them, and can even recite the books of the Bible. When you know a whole lot, it’s like having your mind in a blender, listening to fast talking ministers and highly and sometimes overly educated people make you feel very inadequate. But the Holy Spirit gives them that edge, a mouth and gainsay, the Bible calls it.

We are not to worry over what we speak, He will give us what to say. And He will give us rest, we will never be as smart as He is. That is why it is good to focus on a verse or two at the time, or however He leads you. He will bring to our memory what Jesus taught. Which is a good reason to study and stay sharp.

I never worry about what I write. He is in the midst of  all this, He started and named a Daughter’s Gift of Love. I thought I was writing for my mother, but it’s for my Father. Always ask Him to read and study with you, to give your discernment in spiritual matters. Some spiritual people may be on the wrong spiritual side, still others will agree and have no clue what you are explaining.

He is powerful and a promise from God, loving and tender. The third person of the Trinity, do not grieve Him by ignoring His existence or offers of gifts and assistance. He will not leave you, but you can distance yourself. A gentleman does not force His love on you, does He?

I hope you understand a little more about how he works for us and through us, a gift from God, that is the very essence of His Son, Jesus, the powerful and gentle wind, sent in His name, the wind of the Spirit. Rebecca Jones / pexels

https://www.gotquestions.org/paraclete-Holy-Spirit.html