Holy Spirit – Meghan E White

It’s Time to Clean House

October 9, 2020 meghanewhite

As a young adult I was idealistic. I naively believed I was doing just fine as a Christian. I was saved from Hell, free from the grip of sin, and I had Jesus. I knew God loved me and I loved Him. That’s all I needed. Life was good. Cue the record scratch…..

My perfect world started to fray. I was being confronted with thoughts about my past.

God showed me a house, much like this adorable tin house. Perfect, with flower boxes and charming green shutters. Beautiful on the outside. He took me on a tour inside the pretty little house. It looked pristine as we walked through each room. But something caught my eye. The hall closet was bulging. I opened the door and a whole bunch of stuff spilled out. Dusty boxes and old coats fell to the floor.

God, what is all of this?

It’s all the stuff we are going to clear out and get rid of. It’s the old habits and patterns that you have kept. They need to go.

Wait a minute Lord. I am doing just fine. I’ve got Jesus and that’s all I need. Let’s put all of this back. We can deal with it another time.

God opened the boxes and gently placed items on the floor. They weren’t pretty all lined up. I saw anger, hurt, and fear.

Here’s the reality, God loves us too much to let us stay as we are. Getting saved is only the beginning. Praise God for saving us from death, and sin, and Hell. Salvation is one hundred percent worth daily praises to Jesus and our Heavenly Father.

After we are saved, a whole new journey begins with Jesus Christ.

God’s purpose is to make us like Jesus.

The fancy Christian word for this journey is sanctification. It sounds so intimidating. All it means is being set apart for God’s purposes. Sanctification comes from the Greek word hagiasmos, meaning holiness or separation.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

John 17:16-17, NIV

Jesus prayed those words. Once we are in Christ, we are separated from the world just like Him. Jesus was without sin, and we are not. Though we are saved from sin because of Jesus’ precious blood, we can still sin. The difference now is we do not want to sin, and we have conviction of our sin. We are on a holiness journey in this sanctification process.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

Romans 8:29, NASB

God’s plan from the beginning was to conform us into the image of His son, Jesus. Our example of how to live and how to be in this world is Jesus. He was and is perfect. Though we will never arrive at perfection on this side of eternity, God will not allow us to stay as we were before we met Christ. Holiness is the goal through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB

The Holy Spirit is driving us on God’s path to holiness. The exciting part is we get a little more freedom each time we go through those closets hidden with our bad habits. The attic might be filled to the brim with pain and hurt, but God will sit with you as each box is opened, and clear things out to make you and I more and more like Christ.

Don’t you want to be like Jesus? There is no one like Him. Jesus is the Savior to the world. And God loves us so much that He wants us to be more like His precious Son. And that is good news! Think of the best person you know. They are flawed, and sinful, and will let you down. Jesus is perfect, loving, and will never let you down. God is making each Believer into the image of Jesus. That’s incredible.

So yes, let’s surrender to this whole sanctification process. It is not easy to deal with our stuff, and issues, sin, and all of our ugliness. But God, who is merciful and loving will not let us stay like that. We are set apart for God’s purposes. Amen

Is there a closet that needs cleaned out in your life? Maybe you have a garage full of pain and heartache that you have refused to open up to the Father. Today, make a choice to surrender it all to Him. God will lovingly help you clean out those dark spaces.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20, NIV

Love you all,

Meghan

If you need prayer leave your request on my contact page.

P.S. The perfect tin dollhouse was my mother-in-law’s when she was a little girl. I now have it along with all the tiny furniture and people. I may have set it up a time or two.

Sources

https://biblehub.com/greek/38.htm

Holy Spirit, Jesus, Uncategorized

From Glory to Glory

April 3, 2020April 4, 2020 meghanewhite

This caterpillar has been hanging out on my parsley for several days. They are sometimes called parsley caterpillars. Soon, it will form it’s cocoon, and emerge as an eastern black swallowtail butterfly. It’s going to be fun to watch the transformation. I’m eagerly awaiting the beautiful butterfly that will appear.

Yes, this caterpillar is eating my parsley right now. It’s not going to make a dent though. My parsley is the size of a shrub, so there’s plenty to spare. It will be worth it to have a butterfly that is both gorgeous, and useful to help with pollinating. I wonder if this little creature knows what’s coming.

If he knew he was about to get some amazing wings, maybe he would hurry into his cocoon.

I feel like this caterpillar at times. Completely content with where I’m at. Just hanging out and thinking everything is just fine. I don’t want God to shake things up by putting me in a cocoon. That sounds terrible. Can’t I just hang out and eat parsley all day with sunshine on my back?

God won’t allow me to stay where I’m at. He sees things I cannot. God knows everything, and knows what going into the cocoon will do for me. God wants me to get those beautiful wings and fly.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, that’s just the beginning. God wants us to be like Jesus. Live like Him. Love like Him. Forgive like Him. Follow the Father like Him.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NIV)

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)

“Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6, NIV)

Yes I want to be more like Jesus, but that’s a tall order. On my own, that’s impossible.

This transformation happens through the power of the Holy Spirit in each believer. I have zero ability to become like Jesus in my own strength. It would be phony. A fully surrendered life to Jesus brings that transforming power.

We get saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and then He begins to work on us. Clean us up. Heal us. Set us free. It’s not easy work though. It can be quite painful. There are times when we have to go into the cocoon and wait, and be transformed.

We get impatient. Restless. It’s too hard. We try to break out of the cocoon too early.

When we trust God and His transforming work in us, we get the most lovely wings. We end up a little more like Jesus each time. There will be lots of cocoons in our lifetimes before we end up in the ultimate glorious place, heaven.

He’s changing us. So hold on to Him. Be patient and trust the tramsformative work He is doing.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB)

Love you all,

Meghan

God, Holy Spirit, Uncategorized

When God Whispers

November 1, 2019November 1, 2019 meghanewhite

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“I have had enough, Lord”

Have you been at your wits end? You can’t take another moment of trouble, trial, pain, and hurting. I have been there countless times. I have cried out to God in pain I can’t take it anymore! Every time, God meets me right where I am at. He comforts me, encourages me, and speaks to me. God is faithful to respond to our pleas for help. He is not going to turn us away. How He responds to each of us may not always be the same.

God spoke to Moses in a burning bush. There are days when I would love that kind of certainty. Only God is going to talk from a bush that’s on fire. If that doesn’t get your attention I don’t know what would. I have not had that experience, and as far as I know, only Moses got that privilege. Moses also had the huge responsibility of leading the Israelites, so the talking bush makes sense.

God can and will speak to us in many different ways. Through His word, through Jesus, through other people, through circumstances, through nature, through the Holy Spirit. I see no limit to how and when God speaks to us. The issue is, are we listening?

I love the prophet Elijah. I’m kind of in awe of him and the hard things God had him do. Elijah came to the end of his rope. He told God he had enough. Elijah had killed all the prophets of Baal and when Queen Jezebel got word of this she was irate.

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ²So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 1 Kings 19:1-2

When you hear someone use the name Jezebel negatively this is why. She was not a nice lady. After marrying King Ahab, Jezebel became queen of Israel but still worshiped Baal. That’s a big no-no in the eyes of God and Israel, so she was despised. Jezebel also took Naboth’s land and had him stoned to death. Let’s just say as a woman, you don’t want to be called Jezebel.

³Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 1 Kings 19:3-4

Elijah was done. He was tired and worn out just like we all get. Of course Elijah had the massive responsibility of being a prophet and God’s mouthpiece. So Elijah had given up and even prayed that he would die. But God didn’t give up on Elijah.

⁵Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. ⁷The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” ⁸So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹There he went into a cave and spent the night.” 1 Kings 5-9

What happens next is one of my favorite experiences in the Bible. I love reading this and it always encourages me and I hope it does you as well.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” 1 Kings 19:10-11

A powerful wind comes by tearing up rocks. The wind is so strong that it shatters rocks. That has got to be God, right? Nope. The Lord was not in the wind. Then an earthquake happened. Surely God was in the earthquake. Nope. Then there was a fire. OK, this must be it. God is showing up big in the fire. Nope. All this crazy stuff happens, and still no sign of God. (1 Kings 19:11-12)

And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

¹³When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 1 Kings 19:13

God was in the gentle whisper. The King James Version says “a still small voice” to describe when God spoke to Elijah. God was not in the wind, or the fire, or the earthquake. He was the still small voice. How kind and loving of God to speak to Elijah, who was worn out, in this manner. It’s calm and you have to pay attention when God speaks quietly.

God can speak any way He chooses. God loves each of us so much, and has so much to tell us if we stop and listen. I have found that hearing God’s voice takes me stopping everything around me, and just sitting quietly at His feet. Not easy to do, but so rewarding. Hearing the Holy Spirit speak is powerful because it’s God. Those of us who know Jesus as Savior have the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We have God’s Spirit in us! Incredible.

Sometimes, we need to be worn out and burned out to seek out God’s voice. Just like Elijah. If you are at the end of yourself, stop and rest at the feet of God. Ask Him to speak, and then wait and listen. He will not contradict His word, and it will more than likely be that still small voice. So quiet yourself before God, who holds you and the entire universe in His hands, and listen.

Love you all,

Meghan

Lord,

Thank you for your amazing love and grace. Thank you that you speak to us. Please help us to listen and know when you are speaking. Teach us through your Word, and the Holy Spirit, and whatever means you choose to speak. Give us wisdom and discernment to know your voice. Let us hear your voice above all the noise. We love you and praise you God.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Living Water A post I wrote last year on the Holy Spirit

Photo credit: Christine Sponchia from Pixabay