Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

The Secret Place Secrets

The Unused Power Source

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The third member of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit—is commissioned to play a key role in the life of every born-again believer. He lives inside all believers as the personal representative of the triumphant, resurrected Christ. (Don’t let the word triumphant slip by you!)

Jesus Christ modeled the way to victory in this life. He lived it, showed it, displayed it, and demonstrated it perfectly. He won the battle with the flesh, not pleasing Himself, but doing the will of the Father. And guess what? He expects the same behavior from His followers.

We shrink back in fear, “But that isn’t possible!” A natural response, if we’re honest about ourselves. It certainly seems IMPOSSIBLE. And if it is up to us, it is just that. But wait, Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with GOD!”1 Ever wonder why He made such a huge, bold statement?

Herein is the very foundational truth of the Indwelling Holy Spirit. In and of ourselves, we can’t be holy, live holy, model holy, or demonstrate holy! Only Jesus could, and only Jesus did. He knows full well that we aren’t capable of doing it, so He did it for us. Then He sent the power of the Holy Spirit to live in us and enable us to do what we’re all asked to do: “Be holy, even as your Father in heaven is holy.”2

The bottom line is this: We literally have the very same power living in us that Jesus had living in Him. We have the Holy Spirit of God—the great unnoticed Power Source being of none effect in us. Simply put, He is there, but He is unused.

Can you imagine living in a beautiful new home, fully wired with electrical service and equipped with every electronic appliance and gadget on the market; yet you are unware that you must turn on the light switch, and power up the heat and air, the dishwasher, the television, and the computer before any of it will work?

My short response to that is: “What? There’s all this unused power and I’m living in the dark, the cold, and the difficult!”

That, my friend, is a picture of many Christians today. They are born-again, on their way to heaven, but haven’t a clue that there is power in their house. They are living in the dark, the cold, and the difficult; and I might add—the impossible.

Oh how the church needs to awaken to this marvelous truth, “But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”3 O God, help us find the light switch!  ~Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “I want to call your attention to this: that God has got a good many children who have just barely got life, but not power for service.” ~Dwight L. Moody

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

1Luke 18:27; 21 Peter 1:16; 3Acts 1:8

The Secret Place Secrets

The Unnoticed Power Source

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The personal representative of the resurrected Christ—whose name is Holy Spirit—lives inside all believers. And He is there, even if we’ve never felt Him or spoken to Him.

God Himself sent the Holy Spirit to play a key role in every new-creation life. The Bible clearly defines the Holy Spirit’s job description: He will guide us into truth in a world full of fallacies. He will be our Helper, and we certainly know we need help. He will comfort us when life deals us a hard blow. He will teach us the will and ways of God, and get this one—He will help us remember all the things Jesus told us! What a friend this Helper can be, that is, if we get to know Him.1

Yet in spite of the Holy Spirit’s vital role in our lives, He has been mostly unnoticed and even ignored by many Christians. The very plan of God to carry out His work on earth by His own power working in His followers has been foiled by misconceptions of this all-important factor.

Just as the works of Jesus were done because of the Father’s presence in Him, likewise, our works will be done by His presence in us. Check out Jesus’ words in John 14:10 “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” (NIV)

I humbly ask: Do you know the Holy Spirit? Have you met Him? Do you know what He likes and dislikes? Do you know He has feelings? Do you care? Do you know that you should care?

If your honest answer to any of these questions is “no,” you are living far beneath your privileges as a child of God. You are living the Christian life on your own power, without the aid of the Helper. An even worse demise is that you are being drastically short-changed in your relationship with God.

Regardless of where you are today, the Holy Spirit wants you to know Him, seek Him, find Him, and yes, learn to interact with Him. Begin now to pray that God will show you how. He longs to answer that very prayer for you! ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “Are we conscious of His presence? Do we realize the incredible treasure that we have within us? Or do we keep Him buried deep down inside, unaware of the power and the pleasure that’s available in His promise?” ~Chris Tiegreen2

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

1John 14:16-17, 26-27; John 16:13-15

2Chris Tiegreen, author of The One Year at His Feet Devotional, and editor at Walk Thru the Bible Ministries.

The Secret Place Secrets

The Best Invitation You’ll Ever Receive

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Most of us enjoy receiving invitations to parties, weddings, and exciting events that add benefit and spice to our lives. And we might even consider it challenging to get invited to certain gatherings, you know, the ones that signify prestige. Of course, when we do, we RSVP quickly.

A meeting with God Almighty is such a gathering—where unholy man meets with Holy God. According to scripture, God lives inside all born-again believers. He promised to come and abide in us, and therefore, our body becomes His temple. That’s right, we are God’s house.

And then we hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28 saying—“Come to me.” Does that mean to come to the physical place where Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven? Eventually, yes; but for now, we’d have to die to get there. Since we cannot go to where Jesus is physically, He came to us, to live inside His followers by means of His spirit. He clearly told His disciple, “I will be with you always.”

So our invitation to “come to Jesus” is to come to Him in a spiritual sense—a meeting of spirits you might say—our spirit meeting with His spirit. God has set aside a special place just for those two spirits to meet, and it is called the secret place. God is there, and He invites us to come there too.

We are continually summoned by the Lord Jesus to meet and fellowship with His spirit. That representative of the resurrected Christ has a name—He is Holy Spirit. And where will that meeting take place? Right again—in the secret place inside your own being!

Here is the best invitation you’ll ever receive! Jesus says “Come to me” inside your own being. Turn your focus inward and look for Him, and He will meet with you there.

Small footprintKey Scripture: “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21

Small footprintKey Quote: “God himself showed me the way….to return home and to look for God where God can be found—in my own inner sanctuary.” ~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

The Secret Place Secrets

Just Where Is the Secret Place Anyway?

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The mysterious phrase “the secret place” is found in various scriptures in the Word of God. One familiar verse is Psalm 91:1—“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” This implies the existence of a hidden space where you and I can go, and yes, even stay.

We also have Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:6—“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place….” These words clearly state that God the Father is in the secret place.

Based on these two scriptures, we conclude that you and I can go to the secret place where God is at; yet most Christians do not know exactly what it is or where it is.

If we were to ask Christians where the secret place is at, we would probably get some rather vague answers like these: “The secret place is in my prayer closet,” or “somewhere in the spirit realm.” Others might say, “Since my life is hidden with Christ, I can’t really know where it is.” The truth is most Christians are clueless as to where the secret place is. And if we are clueless as to where it is, how will we ever find it?

Let’s look at the words of Jesus in John Chapter 14 for clues: “If a man loves me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (v.23) He also told His disciples that when the Spirit of truth comes, “…you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (v.17)

The meaning of abode is home, dwelling or residence. So, can we also conclude that the Father and the Son come by means of the Holy Spirit to take up residence inside believers? And if God is actually inside believers, is it not then a place where we might look for Him and find Him?

Many of us have not been taught where to find God, but rather we are left to look for Him somewhere up there—in the sky, the heavenlies, or the sweet by and by—yet that is not what the Bible teaches. He can be found inside us.  Have you ever been to that inner place? ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “I have been led to an inner place where I had not been before. It is the place within me where God has chosen to dwell. It is the place where I am held safe in the embrace of an all-loving Father who calls me by name…..It is the place where I can taste the joy and peace that are not of this world.” ~ Henri M. J. Nouwen

For more Secret Place Secrets visit http://www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

The Secret Place Secrets

New Feature on Treasure in Earthen Vessels Blog

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I am excited to announce a new feature on my blog, Treasure in Earthen Vessels. Starting next week, I will begin posting shorter, more frequent, devotional-type writings on various topics. My first topic of devotional writings will be called The Secret Place Secrets. If you are already subscribed to my blog, you will automatically receive these devotionals directly in your email inbox. If you are not subscribed, please read the note at the bottom on how to subscribe.

The secret place has always intrigued me. For the past 15 years I have searched diligently for the meaning of that mysterious abode, as found in Psalm 91. I have read dozens of books about what it is and how to get there. Slowly, God has opened my understanding to at least some of it. Throughout these years I have recorded my journey and the secrets I learned along the way. It is with great joy and much humility that I attempt to share them with you.

I must give credit to the many authors whose works guided me to this place. I will forever be grateful to Amy Carmichael, Oswald Chambers, Hudson Taylor, Henri J.M. Nouwen, Raymond Edman, Sarah Young, and many others—who have enhanced my search. Yet, no one has spoken into my life as deeply as Andrew Murray. I am indebted to each these saints for faithfully documenting their findings for people like me—and you—who would come along behind them searching for this very place. In the weeks to come, I will share some choice excerpts from many renowned writers on this topic.

I am also grateful for Angela Thomas, a modern-day author and speaker. While watching a video session from her amazing Women’s Bible Study “A Beautiful Offering,” I heard Angela tell how she comes before God face down on the floor in her daily prayer time. The Holy Spirit— my Holy House Guest—quickly pointed out that my own personal prayer life was indeed lacking. I decided to give it a try. Words cannot express what this has done for my quest to find the secret place. Thank you, Angela, for challenging me to make this powerful posture before God a reality in my life.

However, my deepest gratitude belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is His continuous wooing of my heart that has ultimately brought me to this place. Looking back, I clearly see that it has been my own unwillingness to surrender my all to His Lordship that hindered me from entering there. His loving-kindness and patience with me is astounding! Truly, the Lover of my soul and Pursuer of my heart deeply longs for me—and you—to enter that place of intimate fellowship with Him.

I trust that The Secret Place Secrets will be a very real blessing to you in your journey. I hope the richness of these shorter messages will be enough to keep you reading and their briefness enough to make it doable.

I dearly love to hear from my readers! Please let me know what you think by hitting the reply button on this email or use the comment section on the website at the bottom of each post. ~ Janie Kellogg

Note: To subscribe to my blog, go to www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and enter your email address in the green subscribe section on the right side of the screen. Once you click the subscribe button, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Please do so shortly or it will expire and you will need to repeat the process. If you are relying on Facebook to get notifications of my new posts, you are probably NOT subscribed and will likely miss many of them.

Holy Spirit

Thank God for the Remembrancer

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WOW! It’s already been a busy summer, and it isn’t even summer yet.  But that is just life. We plan, work, do, go, play, celebrate, cook, clean up, buy, decorate, trim the yard, attend church, relax, and then do it all again next week. What that amounts to in my life is—little time for blogging!

 

However, I capture my thoughts along my busy pathways and keep them in a safe place until time allows me to sit in front of my computer for a few quiet minutes. One such thought that grabbed my attention last week was a comment by Andrew Murray, one of my favorite authors.

 

It was this: “The Holy Spirit is the remembrancer, the Spirit of recollection.1” He reminds us (brings to our remembrance2) the things that are difficult for us humans, especially busy humans, to remember from day to day about key spiritual truths.  The Bible tells us that “Life is full of trouble.3” Who among us hasn’t experienced that! Every day has enough trouble all of its own without borrowing trouble from the next one. It seems that Satan is always there, roaring about seeking whom he may devour,4 feeding us lies, deceiving us, and trying to pull us away from our faith in God. Even though he has no power over us whatsoever, he sure can make us think he does!

 

To help us combat the troubles of life, God gives to every Christian the Holy Remembrancer! That’s right, a built-in, personal Holy Spirit to help us remember the important information about our spiritual DNA—or you could say, our born-again believer status.

 

I watched a good Hallmark movie a few years ago titled “Remember Sunday,” in which a young man, named Gus, suffered an aneurism and could no longer remember anything once he went to sleep at night. He literally woke up in a new world every day—having totally forgotten who he was, what he knew, who he knew, or anything for that matter. It was a touching story about a girl who falls in love with Gus, but every day he had to get to know her all over again. Regardless of what they experienced in life on a particular day, he totally forgot it by the next morning. So much for making memories, right?

 

I think we might sometimes be like Gus—you know, waking up in a new spiritual world every day. We forget who we are, what we know, and Who we know! Even though we had a great spiritual experience the day before and won a glorious victory in our battle against sin and self, on this day we woke up with no recollection of it whatsoever. We act as though it never happened, as if we were not delivered and set free, healed and made whole, or washed and redeemed. Our victory speech has faded into complaints and grumbling. Our stalwart faith feels more like weak knees and hands that hang down. So what’s up with that!

 

But then we must take into consideration our Holy Remembrancer! He is there to remind us Who we belong to, what our Savior has done for us, and the promises and privileges that are afforded to us by our Heavenly Father. After all, “He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”5

 

Oh dear ones, what more could we ask for? How much more does God need to do to show us His eternal love for us? How much plainer must He make His plan to bless us now and take us to heaven later? What else will it take for God to establish and settle us until we count on Him to work and bring His promises to pass in our lives?

 

Let us right now thank God for our Holy Remembrancer! Let us embrace Him, believe Him, and trust Him to do His work in us. He is truly a blessing above all blessings! ~ Janie

 

 

1Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ, Starling and Black Publications, 2013, Page 55

2John 14:26; 3Job 5:7; 41 Peter 5:8; 52 Corinthians1:22.

Christian Growth

Revival ~ Will it come and when?

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Nearly all of us say that we want Revival to come. We want an outpouring of God’s Spirit on us and others. We’d like to see huge masses of lost humanity turn to God. Our nation could certainly use a sweeping move of God, resulting in a return to moral values, honesty, purity, and goodness. Who among us wouldn’t like to see our churches filled to overflowing with people hungry for God? Bring it on! But will it ever come and, if so, when?

 

Good questions that I would like the answers to. Just this morning I was seeking God for that very thing, and in His faithfulness, He spoke to my heart. Afterwards, I wasn’t so sure I really wanted to hear the answer, but I wrote it down just the same.

 

I had been thinking about what is the greatest battle in my life. I determined that it is not the struggle to climb the corporate ladder, to make great financial gain, to store up for retirement, to become a VIP (very important person), or to have a huge influence anywhere for that matter. The biggest battle in my life is overcoming self. We must remember who self is or none of this will make sense: Self is Satan’s representative in my life and yours, inherited from the fall in the Garden of Eden.

 

Please bear with me for another writing on self. It’s not that I’m obsessed with the notion of dying-to-self; but since the awareness of who self is, I have gained clearer understanding of many of the gospel writings. It has been revolutionary, to say the least.

 

Now back to the garden—I can’t help but wonder if Eve had known who the serpent was, would she have made a different choice? If she had known that she was dealing with God’s greatest enemy, disguised as a serpent (the most beautiful of God’s creation) would she have even given him the time of day?

 

What about us? What about me? How often in a day’s time do I listen to God’s greatest enemy by way of his representative inside me? Is that not high treason on my part? Does it not align me on the wrong side of things? How can I knowingly choose to fight on the opposing side of right? Or am I like Eve, I don’t know who I am talking to so I take the bait? And like Eve, if I had just known it was Satan, I might have made a different choice. Really?

 

O God, open our eyes and let us see who it is that we are listening to! Is he not clothed as an angel of light? Does he have some slick story for me about how mistreated and abused I have been, and how, if only I would listen to him, things would get better? Will I look back and think with regret “If I had only known I was listening to a deceiver!”

 

It is actually quite simple to sort out who we are listening to: If our thoughts feed or benefit self in any way, we are listening to the voice of God’s enemy! Satan’s representative is actively trying to get us to fall for selfish lies and untruths. I am quite certain that we are listening.

 

Only you and I can determine if we are going to continue to listen to God’s enemy and our enemy. If we continue to feed on thoughts that lead to accusations, resentment, unforgiveness, ugliness, hatred, and evil of any kind—WE ARE BEING TRICKED!  We have yielded our members as instruments of unrighteousness (Romans 6:13), and we have aligned ourselves on the wrong side of right. What we need most is not sympathy from our friends, understanding for those who feel our pain, or for God to fix a bunch of other folks. We need a trip to the foot of the cross for repentance while we plead for a heaping portion of God’s great mercy!

 

We are more valuable to the Kingdom of God, not when we know the answer or preach the answer or write the answer, but when we BECOME the answer. How long has it been since we have been on our knees repenting before God for yielding our members as instruments of unrighteousness and begging for God’s forgiveness; actively and purposefully forgiving others; and then if necessary, asking those we have offended for their forgiveness as well?

 

God made it very clear to me this morning: When this happens among My people, revival will come.

 

We say that we long for REVIVAL and REST. Please don’t miss the word rest here. Yet, God offers it to us—if we are willing to do the hard work of repentance. But wait, God said that we don’t truly want it:

 

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength; but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15)

 

The answers to the questions: “Will revival come and when?” are clearly up to us—God’s people—not the unsaved, or the ungodly, or those sinners. I know where I’m spending the afternoon. “Oh, the cross; oh, the cross; the cross is my confession.”1

 

Thank You, Dear God, for not giving us rest until we have done what you require of us! ~ Janie Kellogg

 

1Kari Jobe, The Cross is My Confession

 

Christian Growth

Call a Spade a Spade

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If I sound like a broken record, I am. Yet in my search to discover the mysteries of God, including the promised rest in Hebrews 4, I am continually led to the same subject: death to self. An insight I recently gleaned from Andrew Murray’s writings brought some clarity to the issue that has perhaps baffled Christians for centuries. Murray, the Christian icon from South Africa, clearly believed that self is Satan’s representative within each of us.

 

If this is true, then I must ask: “Why would I yield to Satan’s representative rather than Christ’s representative, the Holy Spirit?” I doubt that I intentionally do so, yet I find myself doing it all the time. However, with this revelation, it should be easier to identify just who it is that I am supposed to be denying.

 

Consider this thought: Satan does his work in me through his representative in me—self. Light-bulb flash here! That concept is difficult for Americans to accept because of the mindset that we are entitled to the American dream. If self wants something, especially something good and wholesome, we believe that we have a right to have it, do it, or say it.

 

While that could be true in this kingdom we call America, it is NOT true in the Kingdom of God. When we were born again by the Spirit, we changed kingdoms. We are no longer members of any earthly kingdom.

 

Jesus tried to explain what the Kingdom of God is like, and according to His teachings, God’s Kingdom and America are not the same thing. America, with its many freedoms, may be the closest thing on earth to the Kingdom of God, but it is far from being the same.

 

Being born into God’s Kingdom changes everything—it changes who we are, how we act, what we say, and most importantly, what we think! Kingdom-thinkers see things the world cannot see, and therefore, we have a new mindset about everything. As we grow in Christ, this difference will surface time and time again.

 

The biggest battle we face is that of changing our way of thinking to God’s way of thinking. Who is going to influence us from this time forward, now that we are members of the heavenly kingdom? Will Satan’s representative be the dominate influence, or will the Holy Spirit be the dominate influence? Andrew Murray encourages us to “Let every Christian make this his one great plea and aim: to have the mind that was in Christ Jesus.”1

 

Author Chris Tiegreen wrote: “We are not allowed to fit God’s mission in around our higher priorities….We may pursue the American dream or the Kingdom of God, but not both. We may give up everything or not give up everything, but not both. Christ compels us to choose.”2

 

We all love choices. America was built on the freedom to choose, most particularly religious freedom. We can choose to be a disciple of Christ, take up our cross and follow Him, or we can choose to follow after the things of the world. What we cannot do is both—or one could say, we cannot have our cake and eat it too!

 

Our problem is that we are confused about what following Christ actually means. The world has sold us a bill of goods that resembles the things of God, such as patriotism, prosperity, pleasure, health consciousness, and such, while in reality these are a mirage. Christ’s kingdom is not made up of such things. After a long discourse about the things of life that we tend to worry about, Jesus said, “And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things….but seek his kingdom….”3

 

Step Number 1 to entering the rest of God is quite simple: Ask God to help us see ourselves in the light of His Word. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”4 Are we actually denying self anything?

 

Denying Satan’s representative in us is not optional if we want to enter God’s rest. I didn’t say it, Jesus did. And He will help us do it as soon as we get honest with God, and call a spade a spade. For no one will be allowed to enter that rest who tries to bring Satan’s representative along with them. Once we make the connection, rest is not far ahead. ~ Janie Kellogg

 

1Andrew Murray, The Believer’s Secret to the Abiding Presence, Pg. 120. 2Chris Tiegreen, One Year at His Feet Devotional, March 23; 3Luke 12:29-31; 4Matthew 16:24

 

Lordship of Christ

The Real Argument ~

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It is interesting what Christians fight over—what it is that divides God’s people into different groups and denominations. I can’t imagine that Jesus intended his followers be divided over anything, but here we are 2,000 years later with approximately 41,000 Christian denominations, according to Wikipedia.

 

One of the areas of dispute is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Some groups believe that the presence of Christ’s Spirit—known as the Holy Spirit—comes into an individual at the time of conversion. Others believe it comes with an experience known as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with many other opinions landing somewhere in between. There is also a great deal of controversy on how much of this Spirit is granted to the believer.

 

Personally, I believe the real argument is not if He comes, how He comes, or when He comes. The scripture is clear on the issue that He does come! The real argument is more clearly found in our capacity to recognize His presence and the ability to draw upon that source of power once He is within us.

 

The fact is that if we are full of the world, we have little capacity for the presence of God. If we are consumed and controlled by “self” (the fleshly nature we inherited from the fall), we have little ability to access the Spirit within. Therefore, our faith is small, our strength is small, and our results will be small.

 

If that describes us, we will not know the power of His Spirit even though He dwells inside us. We will not be able to utilize this power when we need it, but will be overpowered by our fleshly nature. This applies to even those who have a great experience when being filled with the Spirit. It’s what we do with the Indwelling Christ that matters.

 

Jesus clearly said, “To Him that overcomes, I will give to eat of the tree of life.”1 Ever wonder what He meant by this? Overcome what? Could it be those who overcome their “self” –Satan’s representative in every human being? Those who deny their “self”? Those who crucify their “self” and put “self” to death? Those who overcome the power of “self” and allow Christ to reign in their lives? Could that be the overcomers Jesus is talking about? If so, then am I an overcomer?

 

I fully believe that it is this “self” we must overcome—and not the devil, his works, or even the world. Jesus did that!2 We have one thing to overcome in our individual lives and that is the “self” that sits on the throne of our hearts and rules what we do, what we say, how we act and react, how we spend our time, what we love, and what appeals to us. But Christ will not unseat my “self”—I must do it!

 

It is time the truth about “self” be revealed to our own hearts. We yield to its persuasion over us; we act as if it has some right to exert its ugly behavior as some honorable entity that doesn’t have to please God or adhere to His commands. After all, it’s “me” and I can’t help being “me!” Did I mention that “self” comes directly from the “father of lies?”3

 

We have been lied to long enough. Unless we face this truth, we will be deceived about who “self” is. Self is our enemy. Self is God’s enemy. We must not protect our self, not if we want to eat of the tree of life.

 

This might be a good time for a “self” test. Do my actions, words, thoughts, behaviors, desires, and loves line up with that taught and modeled by Jesus, or am I mostly doing my own thing? I can explain it away all I want, rationalize all I must, justify myself, my rights over and over, but when I stand before the Lord will my arguments hold up?

 

I do not want to wait until that day to figure out that I might be of the world and not really a follower of Christ at all.  Like it or not, I best get on with doing what Jesus said to do: deny my “self.”4

 

Whatever you do, don’t forget this all-important fact: He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell inside me to help me do that very thing. Come on, Jesus Followers, let’s figure out this mystery of the gospel—Christ in me, the hope of glory.5 ~ Janie Kellogg

 

1Revelation 2:7; 2John 16:33; 3John 8:44; 4Matthew 16:24; 5Colossians 1:27

Holidays

Looking back or moving forward ~ which is it?

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Ready or not 2014 has arrived, and we find ourselves on the brink of newness! Yes—newness! Don’t you love it? New beginnings, new plans, new dreams, new hair-do’s—for whatever this New Year holds, we are perched on go and the newness has begun!

 

Personally, I’ve never been fond of antiques, vintage, or old anything. I’ve always loved the new, the challenging, the refreshing, and the crispness of things different. Don’t get me wrong—I love things worth keeping—like older relatives who are priceless, memories that are too special to ever toss, and traditions that remind me of where I came from.

 

But, maybe I’ve learned to like new the hard way—because I’ve made deadly mistakes about wanting to keep things the way they are—you know, like buying two pairs of the same shoes (just in different colors). Or keeping an older version of computer software because it was familiar. It happens in food, music, cell phones, and a million other areas of life. Life is moving forward, not looking back.

 

Does God’s Word support my position? The first scripture that comes to mind is the story of Lot’s wife.1 What was she thinking? Honestly, to give up your very life for just one more look at the past. How many of us are guilty of the same, but perhaps haven’t suffered the same consequences? Or have we? Gazing at our sinful past will paralyze any of us. So don’t do it.

 

Today I read, “God wants us to get on with our lives. If we forever look back and feel burdened with sin, Jesus Christ sacrificed for naught.”2 It is true—Jesus died to redeem our past! We must get it settled, thank Him for newness of life, and move on.

 

Another story is that of the children of Israel complaining about the conditions of the wilderness—obviously not taking into consideration their freedom from slavery! 3 Ever wonder what it is about leeks and garlic that are worth going back for? God forbid! So it is with some of us. God has delivered us from the bondage of sin, set us on a new path to life and freedom, and we are complaining because we’ve had to give up some things.

 

Jesus said, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”4 Pretty strong talk, wouldn’t you say? Not a hint of indecisiveness allowed here. We’re either going on with God or we’re not.

 

I also think about the good advice from the Apostle Paul: “…And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”5 As with any race, the distance to be covered is not behind us, but rather before us. Looking back serves no purpose in this race whatsoever.

 

So which is it—are you looking back or are you moving forward? Since we can’t do both, we must on this first day of 2014 make a decision. Will we dwell on our past sins, crave leeks and garlic, be indecisive about whether we’re in or out, and run this race while looking over our shoulder? Or, are we going forward with God in 2014?

 

NEWNESS is waiting for us to embrace it and make it ours. God has big plans for you and me in this New Year, yet we must claim them and get in step with the Holy Spirit, our Guide. Will it be safe? Certainly. Will it be easy? Probably not. Will it be worth it? Absolutely!

 

Our God is a God of NEWNESS!

Ask Him to visit you in a new way in 2014.

Ask Him to fill you anew with His Holy Spirit.

Ask Him to introduce you to your own Holy House Guest.

Ask Him to help you walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of your flesh.

Ask Him to burden your heart for the lost and help you lead someone to Christ.

Ask Him to show you how to pray for our troubled world and then pray and believe He hears you.

Ask Him to draw you closer to Him and make Him your BFF.

Ask Him for the best year ever!

 

Whatever you do, don’t forget to ASK. “For everyone who asks, receives.”6 Let us get out of our easy chair of complacency, learn a new song about Jesus and worship Him, and then be about our Father’s business. Newness is here!

 

Happy New Year to all! ~ Janie Kellogg

 

 

1Genesis 19:26; 2Jean, Mary & Frank James; 3Numbers 11:5; 4Luke 9:62; 5Hebrews 12:1 6Luke 11:10