Plugged In?

One of the things that I love about a short-term mission trip is when God speaks to your heart. As much as you would love to be able to "make it happen," God just has His timing and His way about things. So as Susan, Tyler, and I were sitting there one morning for a devotional teaching, the Lord really spoke to our hearts as George used an example of a fan. Briefly, he said that a fan is absolutely no good unless it is plugged into a power source. So, too, we can look great on the outside, but be utterly worthless unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Is your life lacking power? Could it be that you have yet to be filled with the Holy Spirit? When the early church leaders heard of a situation where some new Christians had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit, they sent the apostles John and Peter to pray for them to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Put simply, if anyone knew what life was like before and after receiving the Holy Spirit, then it was these two. Before receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter denied Jesus. After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter stood up and preached and 3,000 people believed. Are you like an unplugged fan? If so, then follow Luke 11:3's direction: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Being filled with the Holy Spirit isn't about getting some chill up your spine, rather, it is about being filled with His love, so that you love like He does. Nothing matters anymore when the love of God touches you. When you ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you are asking Him to fill you with His agenda, purpose, and heart. Put simply, you lose yourself in the transaction. Is it worth it? Jesus said that "he who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel's sake will find it."