Tag: Holy Spirit

And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:5 (NASB 2020)

It was the Fall last year. I was at the Healing Rooms at Bethel Church in Redding, California. Bethel is my former church and though I now live six hundred miles away, I still consider it home in many ways. As we sat in the waiting room for the healing room session to begin (the healing rooms consist of three phases: a small teaching, a prayer and worship service, and then actually receiving prayer from a team), the coordinator asked if anyone had pain in their wrist. I raised my hand and he came over, touched my wrist, and began asking for Jesus to heal me.

Suddenly a profound peace came over me, almost tangible like a weight resting on my chest. And then a sensation I can only describe as liquid love broke through and began filling my heart, causing me to weep. I had experienced the love of God before, but this was more profound than I had ever experienced. It was also something I had been praying for in the weeks leading up to this encounter with God, prompted by the scripture verse where Jesus says to his disciples, “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.”¹ The experience increased as we made our way to the sanctuary for worship and prayer. I was weeping uncontrollably.

In the weeks and months that followed, I continued to encounter God’s love in this way during my times of personal prayer, experiencing an intimacy with him I had not experienced in decades. Ironically, my wrist was not much better! But I really did not care. God’s love was all that really mattered. And in a way, it is the only thing that matters for any of us. Though we may go through many trials this side of heaven, God’s love is the one thing we cannot be separated from, and it is the one thing that does not disappoint.

1. Acts 1:4-5 ↩︎

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

1 Corinthians 14:1 (NIV)

The other night at midweek Bible Study, we practiced prophecy. Though common in charismatic churches like the one I attend, it was new for many of us, since there are a lot of newer Christians at our church.

For the uninitiated, prophecy is communicating what God is saying. Without context, that may sound odd. But when one considers we believers have the mind of Christ¹ and also an anointing from the Holy One who leads us into all truth,² and further that we are sheep who hear his voice³ that we might follow Him, it is not odd at all. If we accept what the Bible says that we hear God and receive truth from him, prophecy is no more than hearing God on behalf of another.

Some wonder why prophecy exists at all. They say, “Why do we need prophecy when we have the Bible?” The answer I suppose is that the Bible is the very thing that tells us we need prophecy. If you read what the apostle Paul has to say in his letter to the Corinthian church, it is clear prophecy is vital and that we should practice it. Saying “Why do we need prophecy when we have the Bible?” then, is sort of like saying, “Why do I need to make coffee if I have the espresso manual?” You need to make coffee for the benefit and pleasure it brings, and the manual tells you how. It is the same with prophecy. We practice prophecy, just like we practice prayer or worship, because the Manual tells us it is vital.

Still others are uncomfortable with prophecy because it can be misused. But I have always found the best way to ensure something is not misused is by getting good at using it properly. It is for this reason I drive a car to work every morning.

But prophecy to some believers remains a source of deep concern, as though it were a form of sorcery. And God knows no upright believer wants to be found practicing sorcery. They are quick to quote the verse that there will be false prophets in the last days,⁴ which is true. But the very fact Jesus warns us about false prophets and calls them false and tells us we will know them by their fruit is because there is such a thing as true prophets; otherwise, He would have just said watch out for prophets, and that we would know them by their prophecies.

We should not practice sorcery, of course. But at the very least, we should probably do what the Bible says and practice prophecy. God is speaking all the time. And since he is good, He has very good things to say.

1. 1 Corinthians 1:16 ↩︎
2. 1 John 2:20 ↩︎
3. John 10:4-5 ↩︎
4. Mathew 24:24 ↩︎