I recently read an article concerning flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson River in January 2009. All 150 passengers and crew survived. Many referred to it as the “Miracle on the Hudson.” It was an incredible story. What caught my eye was that many disaster survivors felt driven to change the way they had been living and start a new life with a new purpose. It was important that their lives became more fulfilling with more meaning. I came across another article and according to the National Earthquake Information Center in the past 25 years, 2008 was the year that had the most earthquakes recorded with 31,777. After disasters there seems to have been a number of miraculous events. A person who feels God spared their life has a tendency to have a different perspective of life’s future.

My thought—isn’t this what is supposed to happen when a person accepts Jesus Christ and receives salvation? How difficult it is for most to free themselves from the ways of the world. I understand the difficulty to make a complete change in how one lives and behaves. First, a Christian must realize we had a sin problem that could have cost our life forever. We must accept that we have been controlled by the world, sin and self-centeredness. Many of us have lived for instant self-gratification. Instead of a desire to have everything the world has to give, we now must live for what God has to offer. We must live a holy life with a goal, possibly requiring delayed satisfaction, of a life in Heaven throughout eternity

I wrote in a past blog that if we were to go through what some of those living through the past two earth quakes are encountering, our lives afterward probably would become simpler and our needs would be fewer. Once we become use to a certain standard of living and then possibly find ourselves having to tremendously cut back, it is difficult to adjust. Becoming a Christian requires that we must repent and restructure our lives. One example, we are commanded by God to tithe. Most find their financial situation such that it is all they can do is to pay their bills. Or, they just refuse to tithe and look everywhere in Scripture to justify their belief that tithing is not necessary. (Where your treasure is there is your heart)

Too many do not realize that they were headed for the Day of Judgment and were saved from a disastrous eternity. Accepting Christ and the Holy Spirit into our lives should help us to react similarly to those who were a part of the “Miracle on the Hudson”. A complete change should take place. Yet, this is not always what we see.

Many years ago there were more sermons on what happens when a person goes to Hell. The story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man got my attention. The rich man suffered and cried for Abraham to have Lazarus dip his hand in water and tough his tongue. But there was a gulf that separated them and it couldn’t be done. When I was able to compare the difference between Heaven and Hell it didn’t take much consideration as to where I wanted to spend eternity.

Then 1 John 3:10 told me what to do. “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” And then 1John 3:24 – “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” From then on I did everything to obey His commands. I then realized that the Holy Spirit had become a part of my life and ever since has checked me at times and continually has given me guidance.

I would like one weekend to survey every 21 year or older who are in attendance at church. I would like to ask one question: If you were to pass away right now would there be any doubt in your mind that you will go to heaven? The answer is – yes or no. I don’t want to know who you are. I just want to know what percent have a true relationship with God.

A lot of people believe but many struggle with faith. Faith is putting into action what we believe. Even the apostles lacked faith prior to the resurrection and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. To those who would have answered yes to the survey I would like to share what I believe God promises each one.

You should expect God to let you see and hear things that others may never see or hear.
-You will be able to trust God when others may be unable to do so.
-You will be able to have faith that others may never have.
-You will be able to accomplish things that others will be unable to do. Faith removes the fear of reasonable risk!

God will allow you to have your needs met and others may never meet theirs. Those who live as the world lives will never have enough and will always want more.

We have tremendous advantages as Christians when we do the will of our Lord. Scripture that I use occasionally is 1 John 2:15 – 17 – “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” NLT

What does it take to do the will of God and what are some advantages? We are to have a pure and a sinless heart with holy and righteous motives. That comes as a result of surrendering our old nature, self-centeredness and following Christ’s ways. We must reject the world’s ways.

1 John 5:4 – “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” What does John mean by defeating this evil world? He means not submitting to the desires of the world and thus doing God’s will. It may mean being ethical in all things. Or, it may mean staying out of debt. We should be a giver rather than a taker. It could be a person who is an encourager and builds others up rather than discouraging and tearing others down. It may mean that I might want all the things the world offers but am content with meeting my basic needs and sharing with others. Are we willing to reject the world’s lifestyle and how most people think?

According to Scripture those who do God’s will are special. If we are special then we can accept God’s promises as they are meant for us. Remember the parable of the talents? God took the money from the bad and lazy servant and gave it to the good and faithful steward. There are many promises that give a number of advantages to Christians who do the will of God. Keep in mind those doing His will, will always have advantages. Live looking for what special things God has in mind for each one of us. And continue to count the many blessings with which God will shower us.

It is possible that earthquakes are becoming more plentiful. Is it a sign that we are getting to the end times?

Matthew 13:7 – 8 – “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”

Christ tells us to be prepared for there is a Day of Judgment coming. No one knows when that day will be but if we interpret our Bible correctly it isn’t too close and yet not too far away. The early church believed it would be within a few generations that the end would come. Many in our generation believed that it could come at any time. Verse 10 – “The gospel must first be preached to all nations.” Before the end times we know everyone will have a chance to have heard the message of the gospel.

Chapter eleven of Revelation indicates that during the Tribulation there will be tremendous earthquakes, famines and wars. It is my belief that the two recent earthquakes are no more than the earth going through what it has gone through since sin occurred in the Garden of Eden when the earth became cursed.

I have been through three earthquakes of six and seven on the Richter Scale. Chile’s earthquake had to put a number of people into a panic. An 8.8 is much more severe and way more powerful than Haiti’s. Initial reports indicate there was less damage and fewer losses of lives in Chile because of government building requirements and a different living standard.

On average there is an earthquake between 8.0 and 8.9 that occurs at least once a year. Earthquakes between 6.0 and 6.9 occur about 120 times in a year somewhere around the world. About 100 years ago there was a 9.5 earthquake in Ecuador. I remember Alaska having a 9.2 in 1964. I knew the store manager of the Montgomery Ward store in Anchorage. It suffered severe damage and totaled out a large part of their inventory.

My belief based on history, Southern California is due at anytime. In fact, it may have gone longer than normal. In 1972 I was asked to manage the Anaheim Ward’s store in Los Angeles. There were a number of reasons I turned it down. However, one of those reasons was my experience going through some large earthquakes in Washington state and Japan. Then in 1987 I was at a Ward’s meeting and was on the eighth floor of a hotel by the Ontario airport when the Whittier 6.0 earthquake hit. There is nothing you can do except pray and I did.

Everywhere in this world people are facing disasters. Many believe some of our problems, such as global warming, are caused by man. Indirectly the earth was cursed because of sin. However, no where can I find in the Bible that man will cause the earth’s temperature to rise. The snow storms on the east coast are not caused by man. As I have written previously, I do not believe it is God punishing those people. The earth goes through cycles. Go back and study history. Everything that is now happening has happened many times previously. This is another reason we should be praying for everyone. We have been blessed to live in an area that is fairly free from disasters. With all of the sin that goes on in Las Vegas you would think that if God were punishing sinners we would be in a heap of trouble.

Too often we fret, worry or become frustrated over minor problems. When we realize what these people are going through, having been involved in these two earthquakes, it seems many of our problems are fairly insignificant. If we were to go through disasters such as these and survive I would imagine our lives may become simpler and our needs would be fewer. At least we would put more trust in God.

Haiti is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. The World Bank puts it at 151 out of 183 countries. Haiti is said to be one of the hardest places in the world to establish a legal business. If you follow all of their procedures, pay the fees and bribes it would cost three times what an average citizen makes annually. The protection of investors and property is not a guarantee because of a lax enforcement and a dysfunctional legal system. What would it take to make Haiti a competitive nation and people’s standard of living considerably improved?

For a republic to work as the U.S. is, it requires a nation with morals. Look at Mexico! If they were established on Christian principles, had our constitution, our legal system and our form of Government would they have similar results? They don’t and millions have fled in order to feed their families. In fact, we have put up fences and patrol our borders to keep them out. Could they at this time establish our form of government? No! They are not a Christian nation or a generally moral nation as most countries aren’t.

What has always made the United States different? The foundation of our country was created on Christian principles—to love God and love our neighbor. Sure, many no longer live by Christian principles but it is our constitution, our form of government and the average American’s acceptance, realizing the necessity to conform in order to live in the greatest nation in the world. Though corruption exists there are enough honest, hardworking men and women with the integrity to be productive within the system.

What would happen if the average American were to no longer be guided by Christian beliefs? We would lose our freedom and rely on the government to meet our needs. We would become very much like many of the European nations. Does it sound familiar?

How do we keep America as it has always been? Do we let our government control our economy and enact socialist laws and programs? Or, do we change the hearts of individuals to maintain our freedom and our ingenuity? There is a big difference in philosophies being presented to us. When do Christians really get earnest in praying for our country and our leadership? When do we start praying that America needs a spiritual revival? We must never let the U.S. not be a Christian nation. The consequences could be disastrous.

Students of history who have studied the Civil War know that it was fought over whether to maintain or free the slaves. Once the war was over congress adopted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. On December 18, 1865 slavery was officially abolished. All slaves were released from slavery. What was unexpected, most slaves continued to work as if nothing had happened. Their lives remained unchanged. Why had freed slaves stayed as slaves to cruel owners? In most cases they had no place to go. There were no alternatives. How would they have supported themselves?

Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us that all were born into bondage and are slaves to sin. (Romans 6:6 – “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”) Some Christians, once saved, continue to allow “sin” to be their master. There could be a number of reasons. They feel unworthy, they continue to be negative, pessimistic and they live without hope. They have allowed Satan to steel their independence and remain as slaves to sin.

God knew the problem new Christians would face. Therefore, it was by His grace that He gave to us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to help us break free from Satan and the grip that sin held over us. However, some Christians were like the slaves the Civil War was fought over. They were not interested in being freed. They were unwilling to surrender to the old way of living and stayed—so to speak, as slaves to the world. To break from the world required taking a risk. It required greater faith than they had. They needed more trust but did not have the Biblical knowledge to trust God’s promises. God, through Jesus, did everything to free them. They just couldn’t break loose from Satan’s grip.

A war continues in their hearts as they want to live a holy life. The Holy Spirit is doing everything to help them break free. But they continue to hold on to the world trying to develop the faith necessary to take the risk required to surrender their old self. God gives to us a free moral will to make choices. We must decide who it is we are going to serve. Some are just unwilling to make a choice and escape their comfort zone. Many are unwilling or do not take time to study the Bible in order to believe they can become free. Hence, slavery to the world’s ways continues even though they could have been set free.

I often wondered why it appears so many Christians seemed to struggle in life. Everyone has problems to some degree. Some appear not to let problems bother them and others panic, can’t sleep and live in fear. I have come to believe that many were just unwilling to surrender and give their lives to Christ and trust Him. I understand it is harder for some than others because of our temperaments. Yet, if Christ says He will meet my needs, I know He will because He said He would.

Paul writes in Romans 6:12 – “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”

Isn’t that what many Christians are doing trying to keep up with the world’s ways? We must overcome our emotions and feelings and realize living by Christ’s example takes a lot of stress and pressure off of our lives. We must learn to surrender our old self and our old ways. We must allow the Holy Spirit to give us the mind of Christ. He will change us entirely if we just listen and not ignore Him. But it must be done by reading our Bible and through our study the Holy Spirit will emphasize what kind of a life we must live.

We are going through the greatest recession since the 1930s. People have lost their homes, their jobs, and many are having extreme financial problems. Add to that those having health problems or others who are facing divorce or relationship concerns. Could things get any worse?

The News media is telling us that Greece could be headed for bankruptcy. They then indicate that Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Italy could follow and possibly England. In the United States we hear rumors that if they are not bailed out the same would happen to California, New Jersey and New York. Socialist programs and strong unions demanding increasing costs for pension plans and health insurance, plus Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have put local, state and national governments owing more than they can afford. Can we not see that Satan or the Devil is relishing in the fact that he can bring the world to its knees? Bankrupt the world and people could turn to an Anti-Christ to save them. (Read Revelations) Satan could have the world where he could control it.

Wouldn’t it be nice if God were to put a spiritual fence around each Christian and a spiritual fence around our country? Then problems could not touch us. But we know He will not. He has allowed the world to be ruled by sin because that is how most people want it. We must ask ourselves if we are prepared to meet the future and if not, how do we prepare ourselves? The answer is in the Bible and the Word of God never changes. The Bible shares the history of God and how He created the universe and everything in it. It gives us a manual in how we should live. It tells us why He sent His Son so we could know the nature and character of God. He then placed His Spirit into each of us who would accept Him and Christ His Son. He told us there would be times of great stress and persecution and how to deal with it. We are told the world will be against God’s people. We are not to believe that the world wants to reward Christians. He gives us examples as to how the Apostles Peter, John and Paul were continually treated. If you have not had severe problems realize they are to be a part of life. Some disasters we will bring on ourselves and some will be brought on by others.

We have been living through a period of real excess. Very few any longer have to over work to make a living. Most jobs are computerized or have machinery doing the intensive labor. Our children in America have been given almost anything they want. What kind of children have we raised when we protect them from every problem imaginable? Ask a school teacher and they will point out the children who have been disciplined and those who have not. Is it unreasonable to believe that the world has gotten to the point that God needs to discipline and teach us to use more restraint in how we live and treat others? How better off spiritually and more trusting of God would we be to go through a global bankruptcy? Look at those who have lived through the great depression and were old enough to realize what was occurring. It changed their lives forever.

Remember how many started going to church just after September 11, 2001. How soon they forgot! But a world-wide financial meltdown would change the character and attitude for most for years to come. Chances are it would bring many to accept Christ, be born again, surrender and begin living a holy life. We must realize God is the only one and His Word can be trusted to get us out of the mess we could be in. If things get bad enough, maybe the world would do just like the Israelites did. They knew the only alternative they had was to pray to God to forgive them and intervene on their behalf. It may be time to prepare for some severe problems ahead. Get out the Bible and study so that no matter what happens we can trust God’s Word to get us through it.

Psalms 57:1 – 3 – “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. He will send help from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me.  My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.”

Can we not see the immediate need for prayer to change the hearts of people? Please pray to God that He intervenes and wakes up Christians to the situation that is at hand. It is my humble opinion that only God can make the difference, not politicians or those living as the world lives. If enough hearts are changed now through prayer maybe God would stop the severe problems that might be forthcoming. In my opinion a world crisis need not happen if we are willing to pray.

(If you are interested in praying to change peoples’ hearts go to your Facebook. Above, where it shows search, type in – 100 prayer warriors.)

I Thessalonians 4:7 – 8 – “God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” NLT

Over the years I have struggled with Calvin’s teaching: Once saved always saved. I have witnessed too many Christians and especially leaders who professed to be Christians but lived impure, worldly lives. They were caught committing adultery, were slaves to addictions and many left the church entirely. Were they saved or not?

Acts 8:14 – 16 – “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” NIT

A number of years ago at an Elder’s retreat a Th.D in Theology shared with us that in most churches only about 20% of the Christians in attendance make up the core of the church. They tithe, play an active role in the church and they can be counted on when needed. Then there are many who attend but are not truly committed as Christ teaches and it appears they do not live holy lives. If God commands them to do something they will ignore Him. They continue to do things they know God would not approve. They do not realize that sin causes negative consequences and if they do, they do not care. If this is true, what does that mean? It is like polls may say 90% of Americans believe in God but how many have a personal relationship with Him and live holy lives?

There are numerous Scriptures that tell us if we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we shall be saved and receive the Holy Spirit. My question is: “If God knows everything, does He not know who is serious and who is not about becoming a follower of Christ?” Will the Holy Spirit be given to a person who at the spur of the moment accepts Christ and has intention to live a holy life but never does? Or, does God give His Spirit to that person and withdraws His Spirit when the person ignores completely and rejects the checking and guiding of the Holy Spirit? Isn’t the unpardonable sin, deliberate and continual rejection of the Holy Spirit? Otherwise, would some accept Christ, become saved and be assured of eternity with God and then continue to live as the world lives knowing that once saved always saved?

I have gotten around this by believing it is absolutely not essential that I know one way or the other. But what about the many, if we can believe statistics, who attend church who never get serious about living a holy life? Do we take Scripture seriously that says: “Anyone who refuses to live by these rules (living a holy life) is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you”? My concern is, are we allowing Christians to assume they are saved because they accept Christ but never followed through in allowing their lives to be spiritually changed? We then have to ask, are we talking about working our way to heaven or are we saved by grace? James tells us faith without works is dead. By our deeds we will be judged. Therefore, is it not necessary to live holy lives? How do we interpret 1 John 2:15? – “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Will the Holy Spirit be in the life of a person who does not have the love of the Father in them?

I believe most Christians will agree we will be judged by our heart, our attitude, our relationship with God and our love for others. It is my belief that we will see many in heaven that we do not expect and just as many who we would expect will not be there. But there is only one judge and that is Jesus Christ. But shouldn’t every Christian be taught what the rules are that we must live by or is that called meddling? Many new Christians have absolutely no idea what living a holy life means. But, if the Holy Spirit is truly in them their lives will progressively change because they will be sensitive to His leading. If not, chances are there will be little or no change and they will continue to live as the world lives.

I have always supported our church’s motto: It is ok to not be ok but we must not stay that way. We must never have a critical attitude of others. But in love we must, through example, point the way to holy living. We must show the world that living a holy life really works. Otherwise, why would they wish to become a Christian?

(If you are interested in praying to change peoples’ hearts go to your Facebook. Above, where it shows search, type in – 100 prayer warriors.)

In Monday’s Feb. 1st blog, I shared my 1981 story that God would start a revival from Las Vegas that would spread across the country. This is the last place most anyone would ever expect anything spiritual could come from our city. My first reaction was: “Is this wishful thinking or is this Holy Spirit inspired?” It kind of started out as wishful thinking but a few years later it seemed to be more Holy Spirit inspired.

My next question has been that if this is really Holy Spirit inspired why would the Holy Spirit tell me and not others, or has He? For that, I have found no answer. When we were obtaining land and erecting our present church building there were times it seemed like doors had been shut and locked. It looked like there was no way we could break through even with a sledge hammer. There were times essential materials were needed and delays resulted. When these things happened I would tell Dick Shine or have someone call Mary Felgar and ask her and their group to begin praying about the situation. Shortly doors would open wide and we would walk on through or the materials would show up. It was amazing to watch God reacting to prayers throughout those nine years.

I have studied enough Old Testament to know that when the Israelites started worshipping idols and disobeying God bad things happened. They would be under devastating circumstances but would humbly fall to their knees, begging God to forgive them. God would intervene and take them back. He then would bless them and they once again would prosper as they obeyed His commands. At least for a time!

We have allowed a few, over the years, to change the direction of our schools, our justice system, our government and our nation’s morality. As a child I lived in an entirely different U.S. There is no comparison to what America is like today. The majority was honest, hardworking people who believed in living by the principles of God and Christ’s teaching. For those of you fifty and younger most likely have no idea what America use to be like. Again, studying Old Testament you will see the same thing often happen to the Israelites. They would get an immoral judge or king and the nation would spiritually decline over time. Disasters would occur and the people would go through times of great suffering. It was only when God would intervene would their nation change. I do not believe any of us, no matter how many, can change the direction our nation is headed. Yes, maybe politically but not morally. Town meetings, tea bag gatherings or choosing different politicians will not change the spirituality of America. The only choice I believe we have is to humble ourselves as Christians and ask God to intervene.

In my previous blog I suggested we do what John Wesley proposed. That was to get 100 surrendered and committed Christ praying to change the lives of people. The response I received was count me in. I then prayed: “God, where do we go from here?” Thus, I sought council and we decided on using a page on facebook asking if 100 prayer warriors would enlist to pray for a revival.

First, let us define, as we visualize it, a prayer warrior. It is a person who feels “called” by the Holy Spirit and will make praying an extremely high priority. We are asking that the person spend at least one hour per month praying that God will change the hearts of people and that thousands upon thousands will seek salvation. You may pray each day, 15 minutes a week or however you are led. If at any time you no longer feel led, we ask that you withdraw your name from the prayer warrior list. We are asking that the only thing we post on the site is personal testimonies, answers to prayers or a supernatural experience and we encourage it.

I have felt led to ask my grandson Bryan and his wife Whitney to administer and monitor and accept the responsibility, with me, to allow God to guide us in the direction we are to go. We will ask others to contribute input as led. From time to time we will post as the Holy Spirit leads regarding prayer. If people fail to post and we hear “A God Thing” story we will post it. Or, if a specific need arises we will share. But the subject will be about changed lives. Christians from any church anywhere may share how God is changing lives. We also solicit personal testimonies and ask they be brief. This is just the initial start and we will see where God may lead us.

We hope the Holy Spirit is “calling” you to be a prayer warrior. And, if you become one, the Devil will try to discourage every one of us. Count on it!

Let me share how you may get to the web site. Go to your personal Facebook. Above where it says search: type in – 100 prayer warriors. It will take you to the page where you may sign up. Then begin your commitment to pray for God to begin changing hearts of each person, who then should pray to change their families, then neighbors, next pray that our city will change and then our state. Finally, that Americans, everywhere, will put God first in their lives. Our ultimate prayer is that God will forgive us as a nation and change the spiritual direction of our country. If God isn’t in this, little will change. But we do know God loves and listens to His people and He is gracious, merciful and keeps His promises.

What real advantages do we have as Christians? Over the years I have been saddened by the number of Christians who hope they are going to Heaven. It is so easy to determine whether you are or are not. I suppose the true problem is they cannot overcome the need to work their way to heaven. Ask a good number of Christians if they are going to heaven and a probable answer will be: “I sure hope so”.

Let us all accept the fact that none of us, on our own, are worthy. Next we must get over our ”feelings” of are we living good enough lives to qualify. Over thousands of years people could not live without breaking God’s laws and neither can we. As a result, prior to the New Covenant they could not go to heaven and enter into God’s presence because their sins had not been forgiven. It wasn’t until Christ became the sacrifice for our sins that those who were held in Sheol or Paradise were forgiven by Christ and released to heaven.

The following Scriptures are God’s promises:

• Hebrews 4:5 – The Holy Spirit was given to testify that Christ came to give us a New Covenant and told us God would put His laws in our hearts and write them on our minds and our sins and lawless acts would be remembered no more.

• Luke 11:13 – God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:7 – 8 – Those who will not live a holy life rejects God and the Holy Spirit will not be given to him. (God knows who will be serious and who will not.)

• Ephesians 1:13 – The Holy Spirit will mark you with a seal to guarantee your redemption and salvation.

• Hebrews 2:4 – The Holy Spirit will give us signs, wonders, various miracles and gifts. If we have seriously surrendered our lives to Christ the Holy Spirit will make us aware that He is with us.

• II Timothy 1:13 & 14 – The Holy Spirit will help you live a holy life by giving you faith and love in Christ Jesus.

• Luke 12:12 – The Holy Spirit will tell us what to say.

• Acts 1:8 – We shall receive power from the Holy Spirit.

• John 14:26 – The counselor, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and will remind us of what Jesus taught.

• Acts 13:12 – The Holy Spirit will speak to our spirit and give us directions and where to go.

• Acts 20:23 – The Holy Spirit will warn us of potential problems.

• Galatians 5:23 & 23 – The Holy Spirit will give us joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

God promises eternal life if the Holy Spirit is in our lives. The Holy Spirit will convict us by dealing with our conscience. Once we accept the Holy Spirit, He will give us a new spirit and a new life. He tells us the Holy Spirit will warn us, encourage us and energize us. He is there to change us because in most cases we cannot change ourselves. At least history has proven that.

What is it that God wants us to do? He wants to lead us and accept His ways. His way is that we love Him with everything we have and He wants us to love others. On these two commands we will be judged. Surely a believer must know whether or not they have received the Holy Spirit into their lives. Then stop being concerned about how you feel. Trust what God says in Scripture and what He promises is true. If we know that the Holy Spirit is in our lives that is our guarantee that we will be with God throughout eternity.

This blog is the 85th posted. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit, twice a week, has inspired me to write. As I listen to four sermons each week, attend two Bible study classes, read Christian books, study the Bible and pray, things just pop into my mind to share with you. Some of you disagree with what I write and others feel helped. It is difficult to interpret the Bible so that we could all agree. My men’s Bible study find times we cannot agree and agree to not agree and go on. However, we do not disagree on the essentials. What I share are my personal beliefs so feel free to disagree. However, I appreciate you letting me know if something is helpful or you disagree. I will address your replies in future blogs.

It is fairly easy to determine how well we know God. How much time do we pray and study our Bible? A young athlete asked what it took to become really good. The response was: “How willing are you to really prepare? Do you want to play in the game or do you just want to sit on the bench?” Once they understand how much time and work is required to make the team, they are just willing to sit in the bleachers and watch. The same question could be asked of a Christian: “How well do you want to know God”? Do you really know Him? Do you have a personal relationship or just know about Him? The Devil will do anything to keep us from praying and reading our Bible. Do we have the spiritual discipline to develop a relationship with God?

If you do not really know God then it may be difficult to develop one’s faith, trust and to surrender your will, attitude and your spirit to God. Does our lack of faith, our trust and attitude block forming our relationship with God?

Previously I wrote that my grandfather and an aunt had a special relationship with God. Daily they fell to their knees and prayed. Throughout the day they communicated with God. They spent hours studying God’s Word. They allowed God to help them make decisions. When they encountered a problem they turned it over to God and let Him intervene for them. They did not seem to worry or let things upset them. Things just seemed to work out in their lives. I have spent many years as a Christian witnessing how God has helped others and the blessing He has given to our family and me. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that whatever God promises will happen.

God has taught me through a variety of jobs how to manage my time in order to have time for study and prayer. His Word instructed me how to handle pressure. Using Biblical principles helped me become more productive. Could I have done it without the Holy Spirit? Probably not!

While Christ was eating with them He said: Acts 1:4 – 5 – “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Could Christ’s three years of ministry be enough to have His disciples spread His message worldwide? Remember, they are the ones who scattered at the crucifixion and hid behind locked doors? We must learn the power available to us through the Holy Spirit within us. How could we possibly know, without studying the Bible, what God says we are capable of doing through His Spirit?

Are there not times we make poor decisions resulting in complete messes? Have you gotten yourself into financial messes or other serious problems? Do you fall to your knees and pray to a God you know about or a God with whom you have a personal relationship? Which God do you prefer sharing your problems with and ask for His intervention and know that He will respond? Do you pray to the one you know about or the one with whom you have a personal relationship? Do we really know what power is available to us through that relationship? Think preparation—spend time in prayer, Bible study and surrendering our self-centeredness. That is how we develop that personal relationship with God our Father.