How does the Holy Spirit Empower the Christian’s Life?

As we continue in our study through the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to the apostles in the evening after having gone to Father. The apostles were afraid and hiding in a room together wondering what to do next. They felt lost and alone without their master. Then suddenly, Jesus stood in the midst of them and said “Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). They were filled with excitement and gladness. They had hoped that He had returned to stay with them and to lead them.  Then once more He said, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).

Holy Spirit in Me

Then He breathed on them and endowed them with the Holy Spirit. Then comes the words, “Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23). At first, I found this verse very difficult to explain; so perhaps I could just skip it. Yet, that is not my style to skip what is hard. I do believe that within this verse also lies truths that will strengthen and empower our own Christian walk. We do know that the apostles were endowed with “special powers” from the Holy Spirit in that they could heal the sick, raise the dead (Acts 10:39-41), and so, perhaps this too was a power given them to forgive or condemn the sins of those whom they met. But I don’t think that fits with scripture elsewhere in that only God has that power. God the Father is the only one who forgives sin through the redemptive work of His Son and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. So, I do believe that these words of Jesus were to allow the apostles to understand that the Holy Spirit was in them to give them life and to be the power within them for everything they need.  Only God can forgive sins.  They needed to know and we need to know that the Holy Spirit indwelling us is God in us. He was God’s presence to give them the strength to teach the gospel and

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5 PSALMS TO ASSIST YOUR HEART TO PRAY

5 Psalms to Assist Your Heart to Pray

So, this is day two of our 30 day challenge in prayer.  How are you doing?  I must say that setting aside 30 minutes with no interruptions is not easy at first.  For me the interruptions are my own brain wandering away to other things.   So, what helped me today was the minute my brain seemed to wander: I pulled out my Bible and opened to the Psalms and began to out loud pray the words from the Psalms to God.

broken-and-contrite-heart-ronald-barbaPicture used by permission of Ronald Barba and is protected under copyright laws.

[bctt tweet=”Our two most powerful weapons  are God’s Word and Prayer. Combined they are a formidable force.”]  A force that will empower us to success and guarantee victory!!!  What will that look like in my life?  I am not certain. What I am certain of:  whatever God’s view of success and victory is for my life, I want that.

Here are the words of  5 Psalms that helped me to focus today.  I hope they inspire you as well.

Psalm 8: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens…3When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?…9O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

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WHAT ONE THING CAN EMPOWER SUCCESS WITH VICTORY GUARANTEED?

WHAT ONE THING CAN EMPOWER SUCCESS WITH VICTORY GUARANTEED?

 

 

pathway to success

[bctt tweet=”If you knew one thing would empower you to success and guarantee victory, would you do it?”]

It was 1986 and a time in my life that I felt very defeated as I had moved back into my parents’ home with my children. I worked night shift in ICU and got very little sleep. Perhaps a foolish idea to try to obtain my certification in critical care, since there was no time to study. After all it wasn’t required. Separated from my husband, feeling like a failure; I just wanted to feel successful in something. The test was going to be in St. Louis which was a 3 hour drive from my parent’s home. My plans to go the night before were thwarted when Alberto spiked a high fever. New plan: leave early in the morning. Daddy had gotten home late because he driven the school bus for a sports event. As I got into my car, it began to snow. The farther I drove, the heavier the snow was falling. Then it happened, about an hour into my drive; the lights began to go dim and the car was dying. I was barely able to get it to the side of the road before it died completely. There were no cell phones, it was freezing cold, and no one was on the highway that early in the morning. I walked until I found a gas station. When I called home, Daddy said, “I will be there as soon as I can.”

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