Category Archives: Holy Spirit

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse – Ephesians 2:1-8

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“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:1-8, ESV).

A zombie apocalypse is coming according to many current movies and televisions shows fixated on zombies. In the movies the zombie apocalypse is a fictional world where societal collapse occurs due to an overwhelming outbreak of undead, infectious human beings.

But maybe the zombie apocalypse is already here!

In these verses from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians the zombie apocalypse may not be so fictional and it may have already arrived! Ephesians 2:1-2 indicate there is already an overwhelming outbreak of the walking dead causing societal collapse: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (vs. 1-2).

According to Paul, there is walking dead everywhere. He says it is the way of this world. So, we live in a fallen world that is overwhelmingly inhabited by people who are spiritually dead!

Because the zombie apocalypse seems to have started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden!

The deliberate rejection of God’s rule in favor of human rule.described in Genesis 3 resulted in separation from God’s Spirit and access to eternal life and the consequential spiritual death of human beings: “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24, ESV).

Yes, according to the Bible, the zombie apocalypse has always been here since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden! And, according to the Bible God has formulated a way for us to survive the zombie apocalypse.

The priest turned prophet, Ezekiel, prophesied during the Babylonian exile. Around 597 BC many Israelites including Ezekiel were taken to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. Ezekiel prophesied among these exiles.

Ezekiel had a vision of the restoration of God’s chosen people–it was a vision of dead bones coming back to life: “Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:4-6, ESV).

But in Ezekiel’s vision God does something more to these dry bones to bring them back to life to make them more than just walking dead: “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:14, ESV).

God restores their spiritual life. By putting His Spirit in them He makes them whole or complete like the human beings He created in Genesis 1 and 2!

God takes the walking dead and gives them eternal life. Because God is “rich in mercy” and because of His “great love” and the “immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness” toward human beings, God takes spiritually dead people and makes them alive in Christ.

The life of God’s Spirit that was lost in Eden is now restored to those who have received the gift of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

They are the survivors of the zombie apocalypse!

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11, ESV)

Disturbed – John 16:1-15

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“When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged…. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come” (John 16:8-11,13, CSB).

The previous post on these verses (The Dance) focused on the Holy Spirit as our moral compass Who internally guides us and externally empowers us to live out God’s will in this world. The Holy Spirit confirms our salvation in Christ and affirms our hope for eternal life with God.

But, the work of the Holy Spirit is comprehensive and so there’s another side to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives.

The Holy Spirit is not just some little thought in the back of your mind reminding you to be good. He is actively present–in this world and in the lives of Christians.

He convicts. He guides. He hears. He speaks. Truth.

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The Dance – John 16:1-15

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“It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment…. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:7-8, 13, CSB).

On the night before His death Jesus introduced His disciples to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that He would no longer be physically present with His disciples and they would need His continuing presence and guidance in their lives.

To illustrate the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Max Lucado draws an analogy to a man who wanted to learn to dance. The man went to a bookstore to buy a book on dancing. He studied the book thoroughly and learned all the dance steps as the book had described.

Once he mastered all the dance steps the man invited his wife to watch him dance. He demonstrated all the movements and steps of the dance perfectly and then turned to his wife, expecting her to congratulate him on what a good dancer he was.

Instead of praising him on his perfect dancing, she instead told him he forgot the most important part of the dance. “Where’s the music?” she asked him.

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God’s Power of Attorney – John 14:8-17

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“Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it…. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth” (John 14:12-17, CSB).

As Jesus and His disciples shared a last meal together, Judas Iscariot’s impending betrayal was revealed by Jesus to His disciples. Once Judas left the dinner to carry out his unscrupulous scheme, Jesus spoke openly and intimately with His remaining disciples about the events that were about to unfold and what they meant. John 13:31 – 17:26 replays the conversation Jesus had with His disciples.

As Jesus was explaining to His disciples that the only way to know God the Father was through Him, Philip asked Him to show them the Father and that’s all they would need to believe. Jesus reminded the disciples that the Father was in Him and the words He spoke and miracles He performed were by the power of God the Father.

Then, Jesus added that not only did He have the power to do God’s works, He also had the power to enable those who believed in Him, His disciples, to perform the miracles He performed and even greater ones than He did! When Jesus said to ask in His name and He will do it, He was granting His power of attorney.

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When God Cries Out – John 7:37-39

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“On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.’ He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39, CSB).

God is passionate about your salvation….

In John 7 Jesus went down to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. About halfway through the week-long celebration He went up to the Temple and began to teach.

The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths and Sukkot, is the seventh and last feast that the Lord commanded Israel to observe. It is one of the three feasts each year that Jews were to observe by appearing before the Lord (see Deuteronomy 16:16). As one of the pilgrim feasts when Jewish males were commanded to go to Jerusalem, the Feast of Tabernacles was also the time when they brought their tithes and offerings to the Temple.

With the influx of people coming to Jerusalem at this time, we can only imagine what the scene must have been like. Thousands of people coming together to remember and celebrate God’s deliverance and His provision, all living in temporary shelters or booths as part of the requirements of the feast.

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Location, Location, Location – John 4:1-26

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“Jesus told her, ‘Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…. But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth'” (John 4:21-24, CSB).

Mount Gerizim was the Old Testament location where God was to pronounce blessing on the Jewish people upon entering the promised land: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal…. When you possess it and settle in it, be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances I set before you today” (Deuteronomy 11:29, CSB). This ceremony was solemnly performed after the Israelites began to take possession of the promised land (see Joshua 8:30-35).

During Jesus’ time Samaritanism was alienated from Judaism. This alienation had evolved over many centuries starting with the division of Israel into northern and southern kingdoms and the bad influence of evil kings in the northern kingdom. The conquest of Israel (northern kingdom) by Assyria and the resulting importation of foreign colonists greatly modified the Jewish religion in that region.

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The Greatest of All Time – 1 John 4

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“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4, ESV).

In a world with ever-changing vocabularies being generated on social media with every meme, rap song, or YouTube video, it’s difficult to keep up with the latest slang.

But, there’s a recent idiom that has relevance for 1 John 4, especially as it relates to describing God Almighty, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

G.O.A.T. is an acronym for the Greatest Of All Time. The acronym is usually used to describe an outstanding player in a particular sport.

So, G.O.A.T. is not a title that is easily bestowed. G.O.A.T. is not used to refer to those who are “kind of great” or “approaching greatness.” G.O.A.T. is a term reserved only for the truly GREATEST OF ALL TIME!

1 John 4:4 is one of the most well-known and often-quoted Bible verses among Christians .  We quote it to remind and encourage Christians that they can overcome any difficulty or hardship in their lives.

In fact, I use it on myself in exactly the same way–to remind myself that the God I serve is greater than the devil that creates many of the problems I face in this world.

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The Bottom Line – Romans 8:10-11

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“But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:10-11, ESV).

Do you ever want to get past all the doctrine and opinions and traditions of Christianity and get to the basics of what it means to be a Christian?

Well, here it is! The bottom line. The who, what, how, and why of being a Christian rolled into a couple of verses!

Two verses that in just a few words and phrases provide such a profound and succinct explanation about Christianity.

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A Person of Distinction – Exodus 33:15-17

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“And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name'” (Exodus 33:15-17, ESV).

The backstory of these verses is that while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments and other instructions from God, at the base of the mountain the Israelites had fashioned a golden calf to worship as their god, thinking Moses had abandoned them.

When Moses came down from the mountain he was so enraged that he threw down the Ten Commandment tablets and smashed them. Futhermore, God was ready to rid Himself of the Israelites. He told Moses to go ahead and lead the people to the promised land but He would no longer accompany them with His presence. Instead, God would send an angel to lead Moses and the Israelites into the land.

Moses was not satisfied with that plan and in these verses Moses implored God not to abandon His people. Moses begged God to reconsider and to go with him and the people of Israel to the promised land.

Moses declares that it is only God’s abiding presence with the Israelites that makes them distinct from all other people on the earth!

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Empowered to Witness – Numbers 11:16-30

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“And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them…” (Numbers 11:17, ESV).

During their wilderness wanderings God told Moses to select seventy elders to help him judge and lead the people of Israel.  Moses gathered the elders and placed them around the circumference of the tabernacle. Then, God poured out His Spirit on them as they were gathered around the tabernacle and they prophesied.

Two of the elders were not present at the tabernacle when the Spirit was poured out. Yet, these two also received the Spirit and prophesied while they were still in the camp.

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