Grieving the Holy Spirit?

The Spirit calls to me this morning.  Today is Sunday and a day to R & R: Remember and rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord,  Jesus the Christ.  I come out of a peaceful sleep with worship on my lips.

Oddly enough the Holy One speaks a word that puts me off balance and I wonder where this conversation will end up.  I hear Him quote from Paul's letter to the Ephesians in 5:30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption".

The verses surrounding that warning and directive spell out what grieves the Holy Spirit.  As I read the do's and don'ts, Paul was identifying as attitude and behavior issues those things that grieve or please the Holy Spirit, I sense He wants to share even more of Himself with me on the subject. 

With Him in the lead of my thoughts, we return to the day He was unleashed to take up His habitation in the hearts of men.  I never thought of the sacrifice it was for Holiness to indwell our flesh man.  I know and humbly celebrate the sacrifice our Savior made as the Son of God in the Trinity having taken on a human form, and having bore the weight of our sin nature so opposite to His Holy one.  I can barely fathom the physical pain much less the relational separation from the Father that He endured for my sake.  The victory was won and the pain ended on that historic day when He was crucified and then 3 days later He emerged from the tomb alive and in a glorified body for all to see.

His Resurrection was recorded in the histories of men and in the Word of God.  He now sits at the right hand of the Father and awaits the day when He will return in Glory for all eyes to see Him and for every knee to bow in worship before Him.  When He left planet earth He promised He would not leave us as orphans but would send another Counselor, The Holy Spirit of Truth and He did.  He dwells within the heart and being of every believer in Christ Jesus Who is the Savior of the world.

For Holiness to be exposed to sin surely causes Him grief and pain.  Even on a human level when our sense of righteousness encounters wickedness our hearts recoil and we grieve at the pain of the encounter.  I am beginning to see where the Holy One is leading me into all truth.

I have never been "taught' to consider what the Spirit of Holiness suffers when flesh rejects His rule.  As the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost and takes up His dwelling in the hearts of the saved, our flesh bodies have become His Temple. 

He is the 3rd person of the Trinity and is Holy as His name describes Him.  He is our Counselor and we are commanded to walk in the Spirit AKA in His ways, as in under His ruling authority. We are commanded to go and bear His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,  gentleness, faithfulness and self control. 

Paul said we are to "get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling, slander and every form of malice".  The Holy One cannot comfortably abide with the unholy.  What an acknowledged sacrifice the Holy Spirit agreed to make by and through indwelling our flesh. 

I think about all the times I reject His counsel and move at cross purpose of His Holy Will.  How do I grieve Him by following the rule of my flesh dragging Holiness into the dark catacombs of my human will?  In mercy the Holy Spirit reminds me that ignorance is not the same thing as rebellion but I must be alert to the difference. 

The Holy Spirit lives with our corruption and yet with the Divine love and purpose to bring us out of it.  The wonder of the love of God is beyond our comprehension.  The pain of the sacrifice He made and makes for His beloved is bound up in His eternal plan for us.  Today, as I am in the process of being made Holy, may I properly discern and move away from anything that grieves the Heart of the Holy One. 

Today, my worship is even more deeply felt as I consider how He bears my sorrows as well as His own.  With new attention placed on the reality that I can and do grieve the Holy Spirit within, maybe, just maybe I can grow to be more co-operative with His counsel and respectful of His rule.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?               

Happily Ever After

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  I hear His sweet voice speak out of the darkness in a whisper of love.  "Be encouraged!  Remember the end of the story.....and they lived happily ever after". 

A lot of things are happening in our world that throws mud on the last chapter of this great book of life.  Chapter after chapter of the struggling masses of humanity on their life journey through the temporal place called earth.  More and greater challenges seem to be over every hill and even if we conquer one, there is always another one bigger than the last. 

All or most of us are looking for a respite from the pressures and a safe place to just catch our breath.  The demon army out to destroy mankind is not unlike that depicted in the epic story, "Lord of the Rings".  Humanity looks for safety and a place to hide.   As I begin to ponder our plight, the Holy One speaks again:

"The traditions of men are not sufficient and hold no safety for those hiding under them.  This battle is too fierce and the stakes are too high to remain in a rotting safe house".

Knowing that the church and it's covering have been described as "traditions of men", the warning for me is clear.  I see that the once strong walls are beginning to crumble under the relentless attack from the enemy's forces. 

In Matt 24, Jesus, speaking of the times of the end said, "because of wickedness the love of many will grow cold".  He went on to say, in essence, flee to the mountains when you see the abomination of things that have always heretofore been "sacred".

He said, in essence, do not go back to your comfortable house to retrieve anything.  He said, in essence and the warning is clear, your life will be one of leaving the familiar.  He said, in essence, there will be counterfeit or false "Christs", and false "prophets" trying to keep and lull you into a false sense of security, BUT do not be deceived.  Do not allow yourself to be deceived!

The "mountains" are the place Jesus told us to flee.  There is perspective on a mountain top.  There is a sense of safety on a mountain top.

There is the image of Mount Sinai where Moses was told to go to meet with God; a place hidden in the swirling cloud of God's Holiness.   There is the image of the Mount of Transfiguration where the Disciples caught a glimpse of the Glory that belonged to Jesus and  witnessed His conference with 2 of the saints who had passed through death before.

And then, there is the image of the mountain where Jesus met with lost humanity and gave His message we have come to know as "The sermon on the mount".   That message ended with a similar warning and a distinction between  wise and foolish builders, between those who hear His words and put them into practice and those who hear His words and do not put them into practice. 

"Flee to the mountains" can be interpreted as a directive for rescue like Lot who was told to flee from the judgement about to be unleashed on Sodom and Gomorrah.  For me the warning is in the spiritual arena and the mountains are symbollic of a place to meet and find safety with the Lord.

The threats to our comfortable way of life have never been greater and the need for protection is as great as the threats. Apply that to the threats to our relationship with the Lord from these false Christs and false prophets and we will begin to grasp the magnatude of the Lord's warning and the necessity to pay heed. Our personal safety depends on our personal Savior, both now and into eternity future.

Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing".  Our righteousness is as filthy rags and is no power or shield in the kingdom battle that rages.  Our only hope is to go up to our mountain of safety where Christ as King is in charge of the battle on planet earth that touches our lives.  Our temporal lives need Divine strategies coming from the One who knows the end from the beginning and is willing to be our on-board navigator leading the way.

These dark and dangerous days give all of us the opportunitiy to live out loyalty to our Lord and flee to the safety He provides.   The eternal story of God and man has already been written with the "And they lived happily ever after" ending for the good guys.   In the mean time we are called to meet the challenges and fight the good fight of faith. 

As for me, I am heading up to the mountain.  How about you?

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?                   

Fear Not

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Fear has come calling and been tormenting me through the watches of the night.  The world news is providing a very effective backdrop of evidence that evil is alive and well on planet earth.  Personal trials close to home and in the lives of loved ones reminds me that the war producing the trial s is everywhere.

As Christians we are told over and over to "not" fear.  Philippians 4:4 is one such command, "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

The Holy One calls and I answer out of a fitful wrestle with the dark lord of fear.  I feel like a lone sailor frantically typing out an SOS as waves are about to capsize my boat. 

The conscious comfort of His Presence and authority offers a deep relief to my heart and mind. The Holy One reminds me how like the disciples I am during one furious storm on the lake they were crossing as Jesus was asleep in the boat.  Matt 8:25 says, "The disciples went and woke Him saying, "Lord, save us!" We are going to drown". 

The Spirit speaks to me this morning like Jesus did to His disciples that day, "You of little faith, why are you afraid?"   When Holiness puts it that way, the fear and tension melts away and the processing can begin.  

"Well", I hesitate as my mind tries to explain my faithless thoughts to the only One who can correct them.   But before I pick more words to justify the wretched sin, He gently reminds me of what I already know, "Fear and faith cannot co-habitate.  One cancels out the other.  The fear you have is sin, not just an emotional response to the threats you hear in your ear."

His words confirm the lessons of late regarding the need for daily repentance and even a humbling foot washing by the Lord to clean off the dust of the fallen world that clings to my feet.

Job was a man who experienced the deepest of trials during a season in the permissive will of God.  Satan accused him of being a spoiled child who would curse God if his blessings were taken away.  The Lord's confidence in the man was challenged by the enemy of Holiness and Job was put to the test while Satan brought blow after blow of hard adversity against him. 

The account of Job holds many important lessons regarding the Sovereignty of God:  His permissive will, His boundaries and protection, His control over the adversary, and His ultimate love and relationship with Job, the man.

The Holy One draws me back to this account to make an interesting point regarding fear.  As I read the beginning of Job's life of trials, Job 3:25 leaps out as a clue to the rest of his recorded suffering.  "What I feared has come upon me, what I dreaded has happened to me."

Could it be that Satan's attack followed a direct line of Job's fears right into his life and being?  Could it be that our fears provide the open door of access for the enemy of our soul to enter and bring the trials we experience?   If that is so, it is to our great advantage to do as the Lord commands and "fear not". 

The enemy of our souls is an ancient foe who is aware of our sin nature, the fall and the fears it brings to the hearts of men. He is the great deceiver so if he can keep us trying in our flesh to overcome fear, or worse yet succumb to it, then evil triumphs.

The Holy One reminds me that not only is fear a powerful emotion, it is also sin.  "You cannot get rid of fear just in the facing of it.  Fear like any other sin requires repentance."  It is important and most interesting to get down to identifying fear as the sin that it is.

I always equate sin with a strong emotion that has a flesh perk at the end, but that is not so with fear.  Fear erodes all peace, confidence and assurance of good things coming to pass.  Fear leaves me shaking and quaking and waiting for the next shoe to drop.  Fear seems to be the one sin that has no flesh appeal and I wonder if that is so, then why do we fail to acknowledge or treat it as sin? 

Otherwise know as anxiety, society has alternative ways to beat the cycle of fear bondage rather than take the sin to the Lord for removal.  Doctors prescribe drugs, therapists suggest other assorted escape mechanisms, but nothing man can offer really cures the problem. 

The Holy One again asks, "Why are you afraid?"  I noticed that He did not ask, "What are you afraid of?"  The "why?" and not the "what?" is the key.  There can be an endless list of "whats?" to the fear issue, but the answer to "why?" is simple:  Somewhere in the assessment of the situation I face and wrestle, the storm got the better of me.  I failed to remember that the One who formed the clouds, the winds and the rains, is with me in the boat. 

The Lord gently  repeats His question "Why are you afraid?"  But then He goes on to cut through the fear, "For I am always with you".  I settle the matter and repent for the sin within. Then I reject the oppresive attack by the enemy of my soul and the assault (lies) by the spirit of fear from outside my being and proclaim Isaiah 41:10 as my promise.  The sense and power of His Presence fills the room  "Fear not" is the command and clearly I understand He is reason I can obey it.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?