Beautiful Things

What a wonderful time of year!  It's the MOST WONDERFUL Time of the Year and we hear it playing as we shop and eat but then, is it?  I see broken people, hurting people, empty people, lost people and my spirit aches for them.  I receive calls, prayer request, messages on Facebook, emails, texts from dear friends who are drowning in doubt and I pray.  I pray,  I pray.  I wake up daily, hearing the Lord sing over me songs of peace and hope and joy and then I begin to pray again, to intercede, to lift up and tear down (strongholds) and bring situations before my amazing daddy, God!

Today I heard the words from Michael Gungor's song Beautiful Things replaying in my head, "You make beautiful things, beautiful things out of the dust."  (See entire song lyrics below.)  This song is a musical version of what God is doing, daily in us.  He is making us new!  He is working!  He is awake, alive, active, able, aware, among us, around us, upon us and in us and He is working; YES, He is making us new!

Cast all your doubt, discouragement, disappointment, people's disapproval, denial, depression, distraction and even the destruction that your sin may have caused in your life at His feet and give it to Him.  Ask Him to take it all and then watch and see how He will make beautiful things out of the dust of your life!  He is amazing and HE can do it!

I listened to this song over and over and over and over in the last 24 hours, letting it water me, refresh me, permeate through the thick junk of the world on me and I have listened at least five times in the last hour.  I keep listening as the Spirit of the Lord poured into me, refreshing me, rejuvenating me, reminding me that He is indeed working on my behalf; restoring me, revitalizing me, reworking my thinking and my heart.  He wants to rebuild us, equip us, heal us, commission us, empower us BUT He is limited by our choices.  Some of us choose sin.  We need to stop.  Some of us currently are not choosing sin, but we are beat us with our remembrance of our sin and that it is paralyzing us in the now.  He needs to make us new.  He needs to have the permission to go in and rewire us, refresh us, rework us, renew us!  Give Him that permission today; right now! ASK Holy Spirit to come in and make all things NEW in you!

Gungor writes, "Hope is springing up from this old ground, out of chaos life is being found in YOU!"  After hearing this over and over, the Lord brought me to that word, HOPE!  There is it, again.  I have been being infused with Hope since the outcome of our national election.  I needed HOPE and God has been faithful to provide it to me!  The spirit of the Lord then brought to my remembrance the song Hope's Anthem by Bethel Live.

God is preparing us.  He is pouring out Himself again, as a drink offering.  He is OFFERING you refreshment, renewing, water to your dry soul.  He is HOPE personified and He is pouring out what we need in these days of depression, mall shootings, economy crises, bankruptcy, wars and rumors of war, family disfunction, divorce, betrayal, eating disorders, cancer; what is your need?  He has poured out the solution and he is OFFERING it to you but you have to TAKE it, DRINK it and receive it!

A good place to start this act of faith would be to have some communion, right now.  YOU and God.  Grab a cracker, a hunk of bread, and some juice and REMEMBER what He did for you at the cross.  Take the bread, bless it and see Him on the cross for you and your sin.  Eat the bread and then drink the cup as you remember how he was beaten and bled and died for your sickness, your disease (habitual sin can be like a disease - eating at you, destroying you).  Confess your sin and your need for Him to take your place and then RECEIVE His finished work at the cross for you.  Ask Holy Spirit to come and FILL YOU, renew you, refresh you, and motivate you.  He is a fire, and all consuming fire (God is) and His spirit (one of the three parts of God) is the only entity of the God-head that is still moving here on this planet.  God the Father is in heaven and Jesus is sitting at His right hand but Jesus said,

"but the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26. 

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."  John 16:7

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever." John 14:16

You see, there are three baptisms; there is the baptism in water, the baptism of Holy Spirt and baptism of fire.  The English word "baptism" is a derivative of the Greek word "baptisma," which was a term used for a ritual washing. In the Old Testament, the term describes the ritual cleansing practices priests were supposed to perform for the congregation of Israel.

The baptism in water: By the baptism of water one experience in conversion to the faith in this life and a cleansing away of the old nature and as a consecration.  The baptism of water should happen AFTER your confession of faith to Jesus!  It's your outward sign to the world that something has changed or shifted in you.  It could also be understood as a typification of the judgement of God on the earth by means of water during the deluge of Noah, wherein God cleansed the world of wickedness.  The water WASHES us!  It is a sign that our sins have been washed away!

Which leads to the baptism of the Holy Spirit:  This is where you as a believer ask Holy Spirit to have His way in you and you give Him permission to "drive".  It is similar to what you did for salvation, when you asked Jesus to take your sin and save you.  Holy Spirit is IN you when you were saved but just as a guest in your home is not "welcomed" until YOU, the owner of your home, "RECEIVED" them, so Holy Spirit is waiting in the hallway or foyer of your "home" (your body) for your acknowledgment of His part in the Trinity.


In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was a privilege from God upon just a few categories of people.  These categories were mainly the Kings who were anointed to rule over Israel, the true Prophets of the living God and the Levitical Priests.  The Lord God also slightly extended this privilege of the Holy Spirit to afew other special people - for instance, the seventy elders who were to help Moses in leading the Israelites on their way towards Canaan (Exodus 11:16-26).


A look at the scriptures also reveals a few other people receiving this special privilege of the Holy Spirit.  A few of these examples include Mary who was espoused to Joseph (Luke 1:35) and Elizabeth and her unborn child John the Baptist (Luke 1:41).  However, the Holy Spirit did not indwell in them constantly, but instead came upon them to give special divine directions and revelations for some specific situation.


So, in the Old Testament days, the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out from heaven upon ALL those who believed in the living God.  We do find in many places in the Old Testament where prophets like Joel announce a big change is coming - that the Holy Spirit shall be poured out upon all flesh.  "And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind". (Joel 2:28).

Jesus had to leave and go back to the Father so the Gift of the Father would be released.  Jesus had to go up to heaven so Holy Spirit would come down to believers.  (John 16:7).  In Acts 1:4-5, the Lord Jesus Christ commands his disciples not to preach the gospel until they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit.  A few days later during Pentecost, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred upon the 120 disciples who had obeyed the Lord's command to await this special Baptism at Jerusalem (John 24:49, Acts 2:1-4).

And so in the New Testament, the scenario changes. Here we find true believers receiving the Holy Spirit who now indwells in them constantly. This was the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers in the New Testament era. From that time up to this present time, the Holy Spirit's baptism is open to all believers who desire him, and who walk in holiness before God.


The baptism of fire: This is a purifying and sanctifying baptism.  It is the restoration of all things in Christ.  What is important to note is that the fire and water baptisms are symbolic and represent the purifying and cleansing power of Gods Judgment.  This baptism is ONLY for the saints of God and is given by Holy Spirit. Luke 12:50, Jesus says, "There is a terrible baptism ahead for me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished."  Jesus paved the way for us!  

Fire is a symbol of Holy Spirit and the purifying judgement of God. Believers need to walk in the Spirit of God. Holy Spirit will lead the saint in the ways of God. All ungodliness in the lives of the saints will have to be burned up by the fire of the Lord.  1 Corinthians 3:13 "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work."

As long as the believer is founded in the unshakeable word of God – by faith and obedience – they will always come out of the fire stronger. They will not fall apart. These hard times of fire baptism will also make the believer come out of the trials purified, just like gold is when it is passed through the hot furnace fire to be purified.

The Bible is full of men and women of God who went through this type of baptism – Job the man of God, the prophets of God in the old testament especially during the reign of King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel, David the King, Jesus Christ, Apostles Peter and Paul, and the persecutions of the saints of God in the early Church during the reign of a great many Roman kings. Jesus Christ talks frequently of this type of baptism upon all those believing in him. You must also keep in mind that our heavenly Father is faithful, He will not allow that which we can not bear. Instead he gives us the spiritual strength to endure what ever he allows to come into our lifes so that we are victorious to the glory of his name. It is written, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it," (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Jesus told us to wait for Him as He was giving another.  When did you acknowlege the "other" sent by Jesus to help you now?  If you need HOPE, you need Holy Spirit!  Come Holy Spirit, I Need Thee!

"Beautiful Things"

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us 

"Hope's Anthem"

He's awakening the hope in me

By calling forth my destiny

He's breathing life

Into my soul

I will thirst for

Him and Him alone

Pre Chorus

He has come like the rain

That showers on the barren plain

So my heart and tongue confess

Jesus, Christ the Hope of man

Chorus

My hope is in you, God

I am steadfast

I will not be moved

I'm anchored, never shaken

All my hope is in You

Bridge (2x)

He's bringing hope to the hopeless

And giving his heart to the broken

And sharing His home with the orphan

He is the joy, He is my joy

He is the hope of the nations

The father's heart we're embracing

He is the song we're declaring

He is the joy, He is my joy

COME HOLY SPIRIT, I NEED THEE 

CHORUS:

Come Holy spirit, I need You,
Come Holy Spirit, I pray,
Come in Thy strength and Thy power,
Come in Thine own gentle way.

Come as the wisdom to children,

Come as new sight for the blind

Come Lord as strength to my weakness

Take me, soul, body and mind

Come like the spring in the desert,
Come to this winner of souls,
Oh, let Thy sweet healing power,
Touch me and make me whole.

Come Lord as rest to the weary

Come as a balm for the soul

Come as a dew to my trials

Fill me with Joy evermore.

Come Holy Spirit I need You,
Come in Thine own gentle way,
Come as the rest to the weary,
Come fill me with joy today.