The Holy One calls to me this morning. The time will be changing soon. Daylight savings on this end means we gain an hour on the clock. We have an extra hour to sleep, or do whatever makes us happy.
Extra time can be a true and blessed gift. One more hour to meet a deadline; one more hour to correct a mistake: one more hour to redeem what may have been lost.
While the clock of history doesn't' stop ticking, I am aware that the One Who holds time will, in fact, stop it for a while to facilitate His Plan and reveal His supernatural intervention for all to see. Such was the case in Joshua's life.
In Joshua 10:13, as Joshua prayed to the Lord, in the midst of a great battle against the Ammorites, we read, "O sun stand still over Gibeon. O moon over the Valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still and the moon stopped til the nation avenged itself on it's enemies. As it is written in the Book of Jashai, the sun stopped in the middle of the day and delayed going down about a full day".
The Biblical account of time interrupted, lost or gained, depending on your perspective, has been discovered accurate by those who "chart time". It was not their intention to affirm Biblical accuracy but that seems to be a by-product of their study.
With that theme swirling through my mind, I wonder about what ground may have been lost that might be redeemed in God's glorious plan for His people, His Church.
I confess that I love the relationship with the Holy Spirit that allows me to meander with Him. I truly never know quite where we will end up at the end of our morning conference. Fellowship with the Creator provides no end to the subjects we can discuss nor the awe and wonder of His wisdom shared.
I am captivated by the account of Pentecost. It has been like a siren call to my spirit. The supernatural mystery surrounding that day and time has always challenged my conservative, well-disciplined spiritual roots.
Looking back through scripture at that event and looking at the "Pentecostal" claim-to-fame today, I can't help but register a huge dichotomy between the two. I have been asking the Lord to help me sort out His opinion and will in the matter. As the earth turns and life presses on, I don't want to miss anything that my Lord would have me experience this side of Heaven.
I sense beyond words that the Holy One is planning something amazing. Could it be a "day" in our times like that "day" of so long ago? Could it be a mighty move of His Spirit that seems to have been lost in our "church" life?
If that is so, I want to be ready. Part of being ready is to remain dependent on the Lord alone even while in community with others. The Holy Spirit indwells the individual believer and will lead each one of us into all truth. His Presence and Power was revealed on the day of Pentecost, and the Church of the Living God was founded on His Presence in and on "Jesus Followers".
Manifestations of the life of Christ, the Risen Savior, followed this Baptism by Fire. People were convicted of sin, healed of infirmities, restored from crippling birth defects, formed communities to share the blessings of God with each other and then were empowered to be witnesses for Christ to all the nations even as persecution threatned their very lives .
Do our fellowships (churches) manifest these same great works of His Spirit?
I have come to see that the "great deception" can and does begin with a small deviation from the Truth. I also see how the few can impact the many. Eve added to God's warning against eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Her add on to the warning not to "touch" the fruit became the opening for her rebellion and the seduction of the enemy to destroy her relationship with her Creator.
It seems the same kind of deception took place sometime after Pentecost and our relationship with the Holy Spirit in Power and Authority as it relates to His Baptism with fire was destroyed. I have heard the lie. Unless one "speaks in tongues" as evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, one is not saved. That "add-on" not only changes the Gospel message that Salvation comes through the simple belief in Christ Jesus the Crucified Savior but it has also driven us to live without the true power to be found in the "Baptism by fire" that came down on the day of Pentecost.
The deviation from truth by some of those known to be "Pentecostal" caused the Baptism by the Holy One to be rejected and ridiculed. It looks to me as if true "Pentecost" got lost. Over the annals of church history, as replacement and human pride stepped up, The Holy Spirit stepped away.
I have been asking the Lord about "Pentecost lost" and the prophecy out of Joel that says, "In the last days, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. Even on My servants both men and women I will pour out my Spirit in those days".
Could it be that the same Divine Power that ignited the hearts and minds of true believers when the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost will once again be poured out over His people? I can't help but wonder if the powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit that began the "church age" will not come down once again, upon God's people to end it.
Could it be that we, the Church, are being given one more "hour" to correct a mistake, and cry out for that fiery Baptism by His Holy Spirit?
If that is the case, the time we have left is a blessed gift. I hear the Holy Spirit speak today, "I am willing. Are you?" I am persuaded that if the Holy One can but have His way with us, we might just be the generation so filled with the Holy Spirit's fire that we can walk in the supernatural and maybe even redeem "Pentecost lost".
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
Extra time can be a true and blessed gift. One more hour to meet a deadline; one more hour to correct a mistake: one more hour to redeem what may have been lost.
While the clock of history doesn't' stop ticking, I am aware that the One Who holds time will, in fact, stop it for a while to facilitate His Plan and reveal His supernatural intervention for all to see. Such was the case in Joshua's life.
In Joshua 10:13, as Joshua prayed to the Lord, in the midst of a great battle against the Ammorites, we read, "O sun stand still over Gibeon. O moon over the Valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still and the moon stopped til the nation avenged itself on it's enemies. As it is written in the Book of Jashai, the sun stopped in the middle of the day and delayed going down about a full day".
The Biblical account of time interrupted, lost or gained, depending on your perspective, has been discovered accurate by those who "chart time". It was not their intention to affirm Biblical accuracy but that seems to be a by-product of their study.
With that theme swirling through my mind, I wonder about what ground may have been lost that might be redeemed in God's glorious plan for His people, His Church.
I confess that I love the relationship with the Holy Spirit that allows me to meander with Him. I truly never know quite where we will end up at the end of our morning conference. Fellowship with the Creator provides no end to the subjects we can discuss nor the awe and wonder of His wisdom shared.
I am captivated by the account of Pentecost. It has been like a siren call to my spirit. The supernatural mystery surrounding that day and time has always challenged my conservative, well-disciplined spiritual roots.
Looking back through scripture at that event and looking at the "Pentecostal" claim-to-fame today, I can't help but register a huge dichotomy between the two. I have been asking the Lord to help me sort out His opinion and will in the matter. As the earth turns and life presses on, I don't want to miss anything that my Lord would have me experience this side of Heaven.
I sense beyond words that the Holy One is planning something amazing. Could it be a "day" in our times like that "day" of so long ago? Could it be a mighty move of His Spirit that seems to have been lost in our "church" life?
If that is so, I want to be ready. Part of being ready is to remain dependent on the Lord alone even while in community with others. The Holy Spirit indwells the individual believer and will lead each one of us into all truth. His Presence and Power was revealed on the day of Pentecost, and the Church of the Living God was founded on His Presence in and on "Jesus Followers".
Manifestations of the life of Christ, the Risen Savior, followed this Baptism by Fire. People were convicted of sin, healed of infirmities, restored from crippling birth defects, formed communities to share the blessings of God with each other and then were empowered to be witnesses for Christ to all the nations even as persecution threatned their very lives .
Do our fellowships (churches) manifest these same great works of His Spirit?
I have come to see that the "great deception" can and does begin with a small deviation from the Truth. I also see how the few can impact the many. Eve added to God's warning against eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Her add on to the warning not to "touch" the fruit became the opening for her rebellion and the seduction of the enemy to destroy her relationship with her Creator.
It seems the same kind of deception took place sometime after Pentecost and our relationship with the Holy Spirit in Power and Authority as it relates to His Baptism with fire was destroyed. I have heard the lie. Unless one "speaks in tongues" as evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, one is not saved. That "add-on" not only changes the Gospel message that Salvation comes through the simple belief in Christ Jesus the Crucified Savior but it has also driven us to live without the true power to be found in the "Baptism by fire" that came down on the day of Pentecost.
The deviation from truth by some of those known to be "Pentecostal" caused the Baptism by the Holy One to be rejected and ridiculed. It looks to me as if true "Pentecost" got lost. Over the annals of church history, as replacement and human pride stepped up, The Holy Spirit stepped away.
I have been asking the Lord about "Pentecost lost" and the prophecy out of Joel that says, "In the last days, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. Even on My servants both men and women I will pour out my Spirit in those days".
Could it be that the same Divine Power that ignited the hearts and minds of true believers when the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost will once again be poured out over His people? I can't help but wonder if the powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit that began the "church age" will not come down once again, upon God's people to end it.
Could it be that we, the Church, are being given one more "hour" to correct a mistake, and cry out for that fiery Baptism by His Holy Spirit?
If that is the case, the time we have left is a blessed gift. I hear the Holy Spirit speak today, "I am willing. Are you?" I am persuaded that if the Holy One can but have His way with us, we might just be the generation so filled with the Holy Spirit's fire that we can walk in the supernatural and maybe even redeem "Pentecost lost".
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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