The Role of the Holy Spirit in a Believer's Life of Obedience

    God calls us as Christians to live a life of complete and utter obedience to Him. As humans this is impossible. There is absolutely no way we can live up to His standard of life on our own. Knowing this, God has given us access to a power that is much greater than ourselves. This power, which enables us to live victoriously in every aspect of life, is the Holy Ghost.

    The Holy Ghost is a part of the Trinity, which consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Not only is it part of the Trinity, but the Bible tells us that it is also a gift (Acts 2:38, 10:45). It is the gift from God that gives us a power to live in victory over sin, be an effective witness to the world, and possess joy and power during the tests of life. Without this power there is no humanly possible way to have victorious Christian life.(Romans 8:8,9b)
    One of the things that God calls Christians to do is to live in victory over sin. Without God this is impossible because we are of the flesh. We walk after the flesh and seek to fulfill our fleshly desires. This is futile. We are told in Romans 8:8 that when we follow after our flesh, we cannot please God. Thankfully, there is hope. When we become Christians, we receive the power to overcome our flesh. This power is the Holy Ghost. When we have this power we are able to turn our backs on our flesh and follow after the Spirit. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that doing so leads to life. (Romans 8:13) 
     God also commands us to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel". As you can imagine, doing so takes a tremendous amount of faith and courage to step outside our comfort zones and share the Word of God with others. God, once again knowing our human tendencies, has provided us with a way. In the beginning of Acts we read, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) The Early Church received the Holy Ghost which gave them the power to witness to the world. The Holy Ghost enabled the Early Apostles to speak in tongues which in turn brought thousands of people to the Lord. (Acts 2:4) The Holy Ghost taught the disciples what to say and also spoke through them in times of need and trial.(Luke 12:12, Mark 13:11)
     This power is not only for the disciples or the great Christians of times past. God has promised to us the Holy Ghost. Being Christians and having received this power, we need to claim that power and use it in serving our Lord Jesus Christ. We have access to a power that will enable us to live completely and utterly in the will of God.

Can You Hear Their Cries?

     Can you hear the prayers of the children? Can you hear them calling out for help? They are asking you, the one reading this, and me, the one writing this, to reach out and to give them a helping hand. They are asking us to love them, to bring them hope, and to encourage them. They are not asking for our money, or our offerings: they are asking for our time and our friendship.
     These children are not all in another country, or on another continent. They are right here, in our country, in out states, in our towns,and in our neighborhoods. They walk by us every single day. On the outside they look like any other kid; on the inside, a battle of confusion and anger rages on and on.
     "Who are they?" you ask. They are your neighbors, your students, your classmates. They are not all young children, some are teenagers. One is the quiet girl in the corner of the cafeteria.The 10-year-old boy with the charming smile is one. The little girl throwing a temper tantrum is one. The teenager who gets picked on at school is one. They are foster children. Their parents, the ones who are supposed to love them have forsaken them. They live with strangers, hundreds of them. They are constantly moving from home to home, from one school to another. They are not all rebellious, on drugs, and trouble-makers. Most of them have great character and big dreams. They want you to be their family.
      So, once again I ask you. Can you hear their cries? Can you hear them calling out to you to give them a helping hand? Will you just stand by and watch as they go through life without a family to love them or will you be a voice for them? Will you reach out and give them a helping hand? Will you be their family?

The City of Crying People

      The city had been said to be one of  the most crime-infested cities in the United States. I gazed in wonder at the chaos ensuing around me. Impatient drivers honked their horns as they waited for the traffic to slow. A young mother held tightly onto her sons' hands has she made her way down the side of the highway. A gang of rowdy kids swaggered down a side street. A homeless man slept away a hangover, oblivious to the noise around him. Old, abandoned buildings, scribbled with graffiti, provided a hangout for gangs. An old, abandoned railroad car provided shelter for a homeless family. All these people going somewhere, why have I never cared that they may never know that they have a God who loves them? Why have I never cared that they may never know that He sent his Son to die that they might live? Why have I never cared that they may never know God's saving grace as I do? Why is it that we, who are to spread the news of God's love to those around us, never stop and listen to the cries of those people who we walk by every day?