THE SPIRIT’S PROMPTINGS

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper… He lives with you and will be in you.”   (John 14:16–17)

Trying to put language around the promptings of the Holy Spirit is no simple task. His movements are mysterious -- felt more than seen, sensed more than explained. They are intangible, yet unmistakably real. And they have been part of the Christian life from the moment Jesus ascended and sent His Spirit to dwell within the believers. That day changed everything.

Jesus had promised, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses…” (Acts 1:8)  Not a symbolic power. Not a motivational boost. But the very power of God taking up residence in human hearts.

It should tell us something about the weight of our calling that Christ didn’t leave us to navigate it alone. He knew the mission was bigger than our natural abilities. So He sent a permanent, supernatural Helper -- One who guides, convicts, strengthens, and speaks in ways that shape our steps.

But what is this power for? Acts 1:8 gives the answer plainly: We are empowered to be witnesses -- living, breathing reflections of Christ in every corner of the world. The Spirit’s promptings are not random nudges; they are divine invitations to join God in His work. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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THE GIFT OF GRACE

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8–9)

After centuries of handling and mishandling, most religious words have become so shopworn nobody's much interested anymore. Not so with ‘grace’, for some reason. Mysteriously, even derivatives like gracious and graceful still have some of the bloom left.

Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.

A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?...

The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is your world. Beautiful and terrible things happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you.

There is only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. 

-- Excerpted from “Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of Faith” by Frederick Buechner

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TRANSFORMATION IN CHRIST

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” (Romans 12:2 Phillips)

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. 

-- Anne Lamott  

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THIS IS THE DAY

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”  (Psalm 118:24 ESV)

Each day that we have is a gracious and generous gift from God. Each day provides us with many opportunities that will never come again. If you wait to select the perfect opportunity, you may miss the one opportunity that will benefit you most. If you wait to join the one perfect cause in life, you may never contribute anything. If you wait till you find the perfect job, you will be unemployed. If you delay participation in the spiritual life until things are just right, or until you think you are worthy, then you will miss out on life and faith and God. If you spend your life trapped in the utopian complex, looking for that perfect moment to do what you know you ought to do, and to be what you ought to be, you may well discover too late that life has passed you by…

Isn’t this precisely what the psalmist was talking about many years ago? He put it like this: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”  In other words, don’t wait around for another day! This is the only day we are sure of.

Accept with gratitude this day! Embrace the joys of this day! Seize the opportunities of this day! Commit your life to God this day!

Now please don’t misunderstand me. I am not singing the old hedonist song, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.” That’s not what this is about. No! Rather, it’s about seeing life in this world as a generous gift from God our Creator. It’s about recognizing each day we have as a gracious gift from God our Father and celebrating that, and seizing the precious opportunities it offers. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT)  

-- Adapted from James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!”

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THE HABIT OF WORSHIP

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."  (Hebrews 10:25 NIV)

My wife and I had a dinner conversation with a couple who said that they left their church as a result of a pastoral change, had tried another church with no success, and now were not worshipping anywhere. They acknowledged it was far too easy to get out of the habit.

Worship is not just an event, it’s a habit -- a rhythm of grace that shapes the soul. Let me encourage you to be in the habit of worshipping every Sunday, not just when you feel like it, not just when you're in town, not just when the kids have Sunday school. The habit of worship is not about routine -- it’s about relationship. Each time we come together, we rehearse eternity: the family of God united in praise. Make it your habit to worship, and when you do you'll find that God has made it His habit to show up as well.

Lord, teach me to make worship my habit, not my option. Let my heart be drawn to Your presence and my life shaped by Your praise. May I never grow weary of gathering with Your people, for in worship I find You again. Amen.

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry™

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