God anointed Jesus of Nazereth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and... He went about doing good and curing all who were under the tyranny of the Devil.
Acts 10:38
My devotion this morning challenged me with this question: How much spiritual power is projected from our lives into a lost and dying world?
My honest answer was, "Not much." I was quickly humbled. God zinged my heart with the realization that I have very low expectations for spiritual power to work in and through my life.
Is spiritual power being projected in your life to reach a lost and dying world? If not, perhaps the reason is due to past disappointments, when God seemed to leave prayers unanswered or answer in a way contrary to that we desired. Perhaps the reason is that we've been so many trials in life that we are hesitant to believe that anything good could happen to us. Perhaps it's because we're am afraid that others will think we are "out there" if we step out on faith and allow God to work through us too much. Perhaps we're stifling the work of the Holy Spirit's power due to our own doubt, unbelief, or lack of trust in God. I'm sure all of these reasons overlap, thus suffocating the Holy Spirit's power working in our lives.
But then, perhaps the reason spiritual power isn't being projected through us is because we've become consumers of blessings instead of conduits of blessings. American society has bred a culture of rabid consumerism. And sadly, many of us rock solid Believers have succombed to consumeristic expectations in our spiritual lives as well- we EXPECT blessings more than we ARE a blessing! We EXPECT our pastor and our church to bless us - meet our needs and make US happy. We expect God to give us our hearts desire - over and over and over again. Instead of focusing on ourselves and what we can get out of God or church, WE are to BLESS OTHERS - we are to be a conduit through which the HOLY SPIRIT and the power of God works.
Selwyn Hughs writes, "All our signs, making great claims for the Gospel, are cancelled out if power is not apparent in our everyday lives. The Holy Spirit's power is not confined to delighting the saints with manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit in our church gatherings, but in EMPOWERING them for effective witness in the world." Church isn't about what we get out of it for our personal satisfaction. God isn't the great genie in the sky granting our every selfish request, blessing us simply to make life nicer for us. We, the members of the Body, are not merely consumers of the Gospel. On the contrary, we are to be conduits, funneling the POWER of God into lives of the LOST and DYING!
The Apostles were the ultimate conduits of God's supernatural power at work. Acts chapter 3 bears witness to one of many examples of God's power working through the Apostles.
"And a man who was lame from his mother's womb was carried there and placed every day at the temple gate ...so he could beg. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple complex, he asked for help. Peter along with John, looked at him intently and said, "look at us." So he turned to them EXPECTING to GET SOMETHING from them. BUT PETER said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have, I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!" Then, taking him by the right hand he RAISED HIM UP and AT ONCE his feet and ankles became STRONG. So he JUMPED UP....WALING, LEAPING, and PRAISING GOD." Acts 3:2-8
But this act didn't just give a man an answer to long time prayer, it also brought opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ, allowing Peter the opportunity to preach to the multitudes of people at the Temple that day.
"All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg ...So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him." Acts 3:9-19
"But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000." Acts 4:4
Five THOUSAND saved! How AWESOME is THAT! God is STILL this same God of miracles we see working through Peter to heal this lame man and leading thousands to Christ! God is STILL the God of awesome and wondrous deeds! He is STILL MORE THAN CAPABLE of performing the same miracles TODAY as He did back then! Just think how AMAZING it would be to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us in supernatural ways - bearing witness to SCORES of lost people, and witnessing their turning to Christ!
Though God many not choose to work through us to heal the lame, if we are willing, He will use us according to His purpose. All we need to do is offer ourselves as conduits of blessings!
In His Love, Cathy
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