Tag: jesus

Navigating Life’s Choices with the Holy Spirit

Elevators seem to elude me in hotel hallways. Sometimes the willpower to take the highroad is just as hard to fine. The Holy Spirit is here to help us.

I have a small, embarrassing confession. I hope I’m not alone. When I’m staying at a hotel, I struggle to remember which way to go to find the elevator. I walk out the door of my room, look both ways down the hall and just guess. I have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. The worse guess is when I take off in one direction and about 5 doors down, I decide I chose wrong. I about face, walk back past my door and head the other way only to reach the end of the hall and realize I was right the first time.

You know, life can be like a hotel hallway. Sometimes I feel I’m standing at the door trying to decide which way to go. We are often faced with the choice to love or to hate, to be selfless or selfish, to judge or accept. It is our choice. You can look down the hallway both directions, but eventually you have to make a decision.  There have been times where I have been hurt deeply by someone’s comments or actions. I then had to decide how to reciprocate those actions. These decisions are not easy and in my case, cannot be done without help from the Holy Spirit.

Back to the hotel hallway, my go to if available is to follow Scott out the door and follow his direction. Of course this only works when he is with me, but guess what? In real life, the Holy Spirit is right there with us at all times to guide and direct us. The Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us with those decisions and give us the strength we need if we will follow the leading.

In Galatians 5, Paul tells the Galatians they can be led by the Spirit. Specifically, in verse 16 he says, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” He goes on to explain that the flesh and the Spirit are in conflict with each other. It is like standing in the hotel hallway deciding which way to go. We may want to hurt as deeply as we’ve been hurt. We may want to judge others for the decisions they make. However, all we have to do is follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to fight those fleshly desires.

Interestingly if we are listening and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we make the right decision and choose wisely to begin with. However, other times we go on our own and make a selfish decision or act in an unloving way only to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit that what we did was not in alignment with God’s righteousness. John 16:8, “And when he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of its sin.”

I want to take time and talk about the difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction is from the Holy Spirit and is about a behavior that needs to change or be corrected. Condemnation is from man or Satan and says you are a bad person. That is not true. You are a child of God, made in his image. You are not a bad person. However, everyone makes bad decisions from time to time that need to be corrected. That is why the Holy Spirit was sent to help us.

Maybe you are standing in one of life’s hotel hallways right now trying to decide how to respond or whether to spread untruths to make yourself look better. Choose love, choose kindness, chose the way the Holy Spirit would lead you.

Purpose of Fruit

Just as a tree produces fruit to reproduce, so should we.

Scott and I have a crabapple tree in our back yard that provides beautiful pink blooms in the spring and deep dark foliage in the summer and fall. It is a beautiful tree except for the fruit that falls off of it each year. These little round balls of mess get on the dog’s feet leaving pink stains everywhere. There is also a blanket of seeds around the tree that get chunked across the yard by the mower. Worst of all, you guessed it, more trees growing all over the yard. Little science lesson here, the main role fruit plays other than a tasty snack is to spread seeds. This is referred to as seed dispersal, and allows the plant to reproduce.

In John 15:16 Jesus tells his disciples, “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.” We are to bear/produce fruit. How do we do that? Two steps. First, earlier in John 15, Jesus says, “abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.” We have to abide, linger, remain, dwell, with God to produce fruit. We have to spend time with Him daily to produce fruit. Secondly, Galatians 5:16-23 instructs us to walk in the spirit, not in the flesh. It then explains that when we are full of the Spirit, we produce fruit. The fruit here is listed as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” God clearly desires that we produce fruit.

I want to circle back around to the purpose of fruit – to reproduce. Jesus didn’t command the disciples to produce fruit to look good. He also didn’t command them to compare how much fruit they could produce. They were to produce fruit to glorify God and spread his love and faithfulness to others. We are to do the same.

I don’t just ask you if you are producing fruit. While that is necessary, the question for today is are you sharing your fruit and planting seeds? Are you loving others? Do you model patience and kindness with the people who cross your path? How are you share your fruit and plant seeds?

Trust God vs Doing it Yourself

Why do we try to solve our own problems instead of just trusting God? This is what He desires.

When Scott and I are driving somewhere new, we take completely opposite approaches. If I have any sort of idea where I’m going, I’m determined to find the location on my own. This often involves a U-turn or two. I use Google Maps only when I finally realize I cannot find the location, or if I’m going to be late because I keep backtracking. Scott on the other hand will use Google Maps right from the start. He has no problem trusting the map and letting it guide him. He just plugs in the address and heads to his destination without any worries. I however try to rely on my own skills. Grant it, this often resorts in honking horns as I abruptly change lanes or undue stress because I’m at the wrong place. Frequently I end up using the map despite my best efforts.

We have the same options when it comes to trusting God with our lives. Many times as Christians we feel we need to do it on our own. Maybe it is the theory that I got myself into this mess, I can get myself out. Maybe it is if I work hard enough, I can make this happen. If I keep pouring into this relationship, it will get better. I have to fix this before anyone finds out. Honestly, it can be any problem you are facing. We try to figure it out ourselves instead of trusting God. Otherwise, we wait until we have tried it ourselves and are out of options. Only then do we decide to reach out and ask God for help.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” This Proverb tells us not only should we trust God instead of ourselves, but when we do, He will direct our paths. Just like the time and stress I could save by using a map, we can save ourselves heartache and costly mistakes. We also experience a lack of peace that wouldn’t be necessary if we acknowledge God by trusting our problem to Him. We must let go and trust Him.

Right now ask yourself, what are you trying to do yourself that needs to be turned over and trusted to God? What is keeping you up at night or always on your mind because you are working around the clock to solve a problem that God wants to help you solve? Take that problem and place it in this this verse. Make it a personal prayer.

I trust in you Lord with all of my heart to _________. I am not leaning on myself, but calling out to you so you can direct my path.

Passionately Share Your Faith

I love sharing my food and allowing others to enjoy. Why do we not share Jesus with the same passion?

When you get your food at a restaurant, do you sometimes want everyone at the table to try it? I know, some people like to share food more than others. Scott and I share bites almost every time we eat out somewhere new. I find myself saying, “You have to try this.” Scott of course will do the same. It isn’t because we don’t want to eat what we ordered. It is because the food is amazing, and we want each other to taste it and enjoy.

Shouldn’t we feel the same about our experience with Jesus. Most of you reading this blog, have experienced what it is like to be with Jesus. You have experienced what it is like to feel His peace in the midst of a crisis. You know what it is like to see Him miraculously meet your financial need. You remember a time when He made the impossible happen. If we know and have experienced something this wonderful, why do we not passionately share it with others? For me, I personally want my friends to know and understand how peaceful it is trusting that God has a plan for my life. I want them to know that they can rest with Him. We don’t have to figure this world out on our own.

In John chapter four, Jesus meets up with a woman at a well. After their conversation she goes running back to town telling everyone about what she just experienced. She isn’t keeping this life changing event to herself. She is telling everyone she knows. Verse 39 states, “Many of the Samaritans from the town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony.”

If you know Jesus, you have something to share and tell others. You should be actively looking for ways to tell others about what you have. Make a list of times God has been there for you. Write down what He did that others need to know. Then like the woman at the well, tell anyone you can when God gives you the opportunity to do so.

I do want to point out one major difference between sharing food and sharing Jesus. When sharing your food, there is a limited supply. By sharing with others at the table, you give up what would be yours. This isn’t the case with Jesus. Telling others about Jesus and sharing your faith, does not take away anything from you. Jesus’ love, forgiveness, grace… is unlimited. Share it!