Cross to Crown Blog

  • Walking in the Spirit vs. Law-Keeping

    Throughout our study of Galatians, this question has spurred much discussion, “How is walking by the Spirit different from law keeping?”

    Law keeping can be done by both those who belong to Christ and those who do not follow Him. We drive among people who obey the speed limits everyday. The limits bring order and constrain behavior. One may hate the speed limit, be annoyed by drivers keeping the limit, grumble or rage against other drivers, and yet drive lawfully. Other drivers (even police) would observe this obedience to the law and confirm this one as a law keeper. 

    Walking by the Spirit is demonstrated by what happens on the inside of the car. In contrast, law keeping can happen even though the attitudes and motivations stink. This was said of Jesus, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart.” We may distinguish “walking” from “law keeping when our conduct flows from a heart yielded to the control of the Spirit and graced by His fruit.” Walking by His Spirit means that we live by faith in Him and His Word; we listen and obey when His Spirit reminds us of His truths. The way He has called us to love Him is not in soft, happy feelings, but He says, “If you love Me, you will obey me.” We may obey because we have new hearts.

    This week we will celebrate a national holiday. We will eat our traditional foods. Some will think about shopping, while others will watch ball games. National law gives us this day to gather and celebrate in whatever manner we choose. We, who walk by the Spirit, will celebrate this day as most Americans do. However, as followers of Christ, we will separate from our fellow citizens and do what only heart-changed people can do. We will think of Him from whom all blessing flow, we will worship Him and thank Him. May we joyfully remember as the Spirit brings to mind all the ways the Lord has providentially worked and may our words of gratitude rise like incense!

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  • Sellah's School

    She has sat among us, her story unknown. Her saga began to unfold for us this past week. Kenya is home for her, but her dear daughter lives here in Colorado Springs. This widow is retired from teaching, but as often happens in the Lord’s kingdom, she has not stopped working. When she ended her first career she knew the Lord still had work for her to do. Then He reframed her life as a director of a different kind of school. We have a modern day George Mueller in our midst.

    In Kenya, one must pay to go to school. Many children can’t afford it, and not all children are able to be a part of the Compassion Program. The Lord put it on the heart of this precious woman, Sellah, to open a school for orphans. These children are ones who have been unable to enroll in school. She began to pray, and other widows raising orphans joined in with her. First they prayed for a building. The Lord graciously answered when a pastor went home to be with the Lord and that church would no longer meet in that particular building. The widows said, “We think this is the one from the Lord.” It was given to Sellah to use. The Lord has faithfully answered prayer and brought teachers to the school. Good teachers. The Lord has brought the students.

    When it was time to open the doors, she prayed and asked the Lord how the word would get out to orphans and the grandparents raising them. The Lord impressed on her spirit to open the doors, sweep the floor and wait. She swept the floor, read her Bible, and waited. Twelve children came. Since the opening day in 2008, the numbers have steadily grown. Forty children, between the ages of three and seven, now attend. They are learning to read and write. Most importantly, they are hearing the gospel.

    Sellah is here until spring. While she is here, she crochets hats, scarves, blankets, and shawls to help pay for the teachers. Her son is running the school while she is gone; she speaks to him every day. She knows the Lord gave her this vision, and she declares this is His school. Through prayer and walking by the Spirit, she does what He has given her to do. Pray for Sellah and the children. Pray that God will draw these little ones to faith early. May we all be open to the Lord’s leading in the way Sellah has modeled for us. May we banish retirement from our vocabulary and think only: “Lord, what do You want me to do in the season I am in right now.”

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  • Trusting the Spirit

    Have you ever been nudged by the Lord to do something or not do something, but the comments of friends or family influenced you in the opposite direction? I have. While we are to seek the counsel of others, and of course, we are not to do anything that would contradict Scripture, walking by the Spirit means that we listen to the promptings of the Spirit even when others do not have the grace to understand. There is a picture of this in the life of Elisha. 

    Elisha was the prophet God determined to replace Elijah. Elijah anointed him and then Elisha followed Elijah. However, Elisha knew this moment was coming. Elisha knew in his spirit that Elijah’s end was near. As he traveled with Elijah, prophets from the cities of Bethel and Jericho confirmed what he knew. The opportunity that Elijah afforded Elisha also affirmed it, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” They crossed through the Jordan. They walked and talked together. Suddenly, Elisha saw a chariot of fire appear as it separated him from his master. He watched as Elijah was carried upward in a whirlwind and then Elijah disappeared. Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle that had fallen to the ground. He retraced his steps back to Jericho. The double portion of Elijah’s spirit He had asked for had been given him. It was confirmed as the waters of the Jordan separated before him. As he neared Jericho, the sons of the prophets saw Elisha coming. They recognized that the spirit of Elijah rested on him. They walked out to meet him, bowing respectfully before Elisha. Then, they suggested what they thought the next course of action ought to be. They wanted to send fifty strong men to go and search for Elijah. Their thought was that perhaps the Spirit of the LORD had dropped Elijah in some valley or mountain. Elisha knew this was not true. What Elisha knew to be true was in accord with what Elijah had said himself, and with what the prophets had spoken to him earlier. Elisha’s first response to their suggestion was “no.” However, they kept insisting. Because they kept insisting, Elisha felt shame. In response to his own shame, Elisha gave in to them knowing full well that their search would be unfruitful. He knew that his first answer was of the LORD. 

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  • The Spirit's Voice

    We have been considering how we may know the voice of the Holy Spirit as He leads us. We have learned that to walk by the Spirit means that we respond to His conviction to put off sin. We have a new mind; however, our minds are being renewed throughout our lives by the Holy Spirit. So throughout our lives we put off our sin, and we put on our new self. The “putting on” covers an array of attitudes and behavior with which the Spirit empowers us. Walking by the Spirit enables His power in us to live out our lives in the community of believers and in the world. Walking by the Spirit means that we ask the Lord to make us aware of how our outward behavior affects others. It begins with those we are closest to and then moves toward those who cross our path each day. How does this look practically?

    On Monday, you are praying and you have a sense that you have offended someone close to you. The Spirit convicts you to apologize and ask for forgiveness. At the same time, pride wells up and you hear your own voice say, “I didn’t really do anything that bad; why do I always have to apologize? Why is it always my fault?" It is at this point we often allow fear and pride to paralyze us. It is exactly at that moment, when our sin wells up, that we should ask the Lord to enable us to walk by His Spirit. We must ask the Spirit to empower us in order to put off the pride, the self protection, the selfishness and anything that is not fruit of the Spirit. The Lord tells us to ask for what is good; we ask the Lord to strengthen us through His Spirit, to obey His voice and respond as the new creature we are in Christ. There are two voices that speak in this scenario. You know the two opposing voices. The Spirit’s voice will always call us to godliness, while our own voice, if not crying out for strength, is the voice that wants to justify what we want to do.

    On Tuesday, during your quiet time, the Holy Spirit prompts you to call a lady you have seen at church, but do not know well. These thoughts run through your mind, “She will think I am crazy for calling her out of the blue. Lord, I’m too quiet, I don’t think I can do that. Lord, I don’t think she would ever want to know me.” Our natural tendency is to fret over looking foolish or fearing another’s opinion of us. Walking by the Spirit means asking for His power to overcome our self-focus or self-absorption. Walking by the Spirit means asking that He grow His fruit so that, when He prompts you or me, we will choose to love the other person. As we leave our worries at the foot of the cross and obey His voice, we will bear fruit. This past weekend, our retreat speaker mentioned that she thought at one time it was presumptuous for her to ask to bear fruit. She then realized that to bear much fruit brings God greatest glory. Walking by the Spirit ensures we will bear the fruit the Lord means for us to bear while putting off our sin.

    The Holy Spirit will never prompt us to do something that contradicts Scripture. The voice of the Holy Spirit will prompt us to do good. However, the Holy Spirit’s voice will not keep you or me safe from circumstances that may stretch us or may even be fearful for us. He will call us to give up control and humble ourselves. He will prompt us to trust Him when we do not understand something. Our voice can be distinguished from His as we try to brush aside His clear prompting. We will hear ourselves thinking loudly about something else which is our “no” to God. Fostering constant doubt about the Spirit’s leading will stifle fruit bearing. On the other hand, greater and greater discernment of His voice occurs when we are more and more willing to obey Him without giving stipulations and demands. While this is fearful at times, our safest and securest place in this life, is in our “yes” to Him. It is in our yes to put off sin and to obey His promptings that we will experience the abundant life of bearing fruit for our Lord’s glory.

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  • How to Discern the Spirit's Voice

    Salvation is the foundation for trust that we hear the voice of Christ through the Holy Spirit. This truth is the basis for putting off fear, the fear that it is not possible to distinguish between the Spirit’s voice and our own. Let us consider another way that we can confidently distinguish the Holy Spirit’s voice.

    One of the purposes for which the Holy Spirit was sent is to convict us of sin. If the constant flow in your mind is condemnation, ask these three questions. First, “Am I in unrepentant sin?” If the answer is “yes,” you may trust it is the voice of the Holy Spirit convicting you. He convicts each one of us so that we will go to our Savior, confess our sin, repent, and receive forgiveness through Christ. The Spirit’s conviction--His voice--is there so that when we have turned to Jesus, we may experience peace.

    The second question is asked when there is no known unrepentant sin: “Am I under condemnation for something I have confessed and for which I have been forgiven?” If it is a haunting tune that does not go away, you can be certain it is not the voice of the Spirit. It is likely your voice re-running thoughts like a hamster wheel. If you have a generalized feeling of condemnation, think on the gospel. The good news of forgiveness for sins is true, but it must be believed. One key truth we must each speak to ourselves, when our mind plays the old songs of condemnation, is that Christ’s sacrifice for sin was once for all and complete. The Holy Spirit doesn’t torture with generalized words such as “You are a bad person,” or “Nothing will ever change.” If this vague condemnation happens, fix your eyes on Jesus and worship Him. He is the author and the perfecter of your faith. You no longer stand condemned before God. Say it out loud. Ask the Holy Spirit of truth to help you to have greater trust in the message of the gospel. Ask the Holy Spirit to comfort you with truth and strengthen you to put off your own condemning voice.

    Third, if there is generalized condemnation, we must also consider the possibility that we are in spiritual battle. The enemy of our souls is the father of lies. He wants you and me to live in bondage, fear, and doubt of God’s love and goodness. If there is no obvious unrepentant sin, again, the way to stand firm in spiritual battle is to remind yourself of truth--that is the gospel. You are a sinner. You will never behave good enough or thinkperfectly enough to meet God’s standard of righteousness. That’s bad news. The GOOD news is that you have a Savior who offered His life on the cross. The punishment we deserve, Jesus received. The enemy’s voice wants us to think the cross is not enough or that we have to do something more. If only I clean up in this one area, then maybe, God will accept me. If you have believed the gospel, God has been good to you beyond measure and has loved you with an everlasting love. Our enemy wants us to doubt so that we will not run to Jesus for help, but will remain in chains to condemnation.

    So, the voice of the Holy Spirit convicts of sin that we may respond with repentance and receive forgiveness, life, and peace. You can be sure if you have had that fleeting thought, “I shouldn’t be doing this,” it is the Holy Spirit’s voice. He leads you because you are a son or daughter of the the Holy Living God. We are to distinguish between the Spirit’s voice that leads to holiness and our own or the enemy’s voice that keeps us stuck in the same place, paralyzed with condemnation, doubt, and an unwillingness to believe that our sin is forgiven. The Spirit’s voice always leads to the freedom of forgiveness. 

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  • His Voice

    We have learned that Walking in the Spirit is really a way of saying we are to live our lives reflecting and following Christ through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. There is one hindrance or obstacle to walking by the Spirit that is expressed over and over again when I talk with you. The hindrance is fear that you are hearing your own voice instead of the Spirit’s. This fear is a serious obstacle as we seek to walk by the Spirit. So, we must go back to the beginning and base our walk in truth.

    Let us remember what our Lord says about our salvation experience. We all know that we were dead in our sins. There was not one single part of us that desired to know God or that wanted to follow Jesus. In fact, our thoughts were at the minimum uninterested, but perhaps hostile toward God. We are described in Romans as God’s enemies; enemies do not have fond thoughts about their foe. No one wants to follow or obey their enemy. Jesus, however, says this amazing thing: “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.” Those who do not believe Jesus do not hear His voice. They never change their thinking about Jesus, nor is there any desire to follow Him. On the other hand, when our precious Lord, through His Spirit, begins speaking to one of His sheep, a person, who absolutely didn’t believe in Jesus, she begins to have different thoughts. Jesus knows each one of us first. His Spirit gives us a new heart, and we hear His voice through the Word and teaching. We respond with the faith that has been graciously given us. We would have utterly denied Christ before, and now we follow Him.

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  • The Helper

    In the bedtime story, The Little Engine That Could, a little steam engine has worked and strained and puffed in her attempt to pull a line of cars up a steep hill. However, she does not have the power or strength to do the very thing she wants to do. She recognizes that she needs help and sets off to find that help. She asks for help, but the engines she speaks to are unwilling or unable to help her. She finally asks the one who is both willing and able to help. She joins with the helper and believes that their unified efforts will give her the power to pull those cars up the hill. While the author of this sweet story did not intend to write a parable of Walking by the Spirit, it is a wonderful picture of this very thing. Walking by the Spirit is a recognition that we always need help. But, it is not just any help that we need. To live life as a Christ-follower, we need the aid of the Helper--the Holy Spirit, Who, never leaves us. He is both willing and able to empower us to live our lives in a way that pleases our Lord. However, we must join with Him seeking His strength and power through the ways He provides for us.

    Last week, we considered the truth that we can quench the Spirit, which is another way of saying that we can refuse the help of the One who is truly able to help. The Word is the primary resource He uses to empower us and lead us. If we disobey the Word, we quench the Spirit. Unbelief is another way we may hinder the Spirit. If we intellectually agree with the truth of the Word, but in actuality live as though it is not true, we may have a sense that the Spirit is not working. We may then feel He has left us. This is not objectively true, for we are permanently indwelled, but it feels true because we have hindered His power in our lives. We may feel we are stuck and unable to progress while wondering if anything will ever change. We may find we are like the little steam engine unable to climb any hill. Another way to say it is that our walk will be very weak, and we will, more often than not, feel defeated because of unbelief. 

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  • Beware of Quenching the Spirit

    We have learned that Walking in the Spirit is really a way of saying we are to conduct our lives in a way that reflects Christ through the power of the Spirit. The Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, indwells us if we are in Jesus Christ. In Colossians, we are told that as we have received Jesus Christ, we are to walk in Him. So, walking is to allow the Spirit to lead us in a daily way that strengthens us to imitate our Lord. Jesus was the first to demonstrate the new life in the Spirit beginning at His baptism. There is, however, one significant difference between our relationship to the Spirit and that of Jesus. Jesus never quenched the Spirit.

    The Spirit’s activity is often compared to fire. We know that if we throw water on a fire, we will dampen it or put it out. I keep my squirt bottle around whenever we are grilling for this reason. When the flames begin to blacken the meat too quickly, I spray the flames. The Spirit is quenched when we attempt to dampen the effect of the Spirit working in us or in the body. We can dampen the Spirit’s work in a number of ways.

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  • Faithfulness, Whether You're a Five- or a One-Talent Servant

    [We are pleased to announce that Beth Wahl, the leader of Women's Ministry at Front Range Alliance Church, has joined the Cross to Crown blogging team. You will find her writing to be insightful, thought-provoking, and Christ-exalting.]

     

    Last week, the Lord provided a morning of refreshment at a tea for Women's Ministry leaders. The speaker for this event, LuAnne Crane, is one of the co-hosts on Dr. Dobson's new radio show. She spoke on the Parable of the Talents. One of her points is closely connected to the theme of Walking by the Spirit. She noted that the reward is the same whether one has received five talents or two talents. As I listened to her, I thought, “It doesn't matter whether we have five talents, two talents, or even one, as long as we are faithful to use what He has given.” We are endowed with what the Lord has determined so there is no reason to compare. We each have abilities, spiritual gifts, and experience that are united in us as He decides. If we faithfully do what the Lord gives us to do each day, using those gifts, abilities, and experience, we are going to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

    Our responsibility is to ask, “What have You ordained for my day, Lord?” Then, throughout the day, as the Spirit prompts, we are to respond in obedience without grumbling and complaining. It sounds easy and straight-forward, but we all know that the doing is the most difficult part of our spiritual lives. So how are any of us, whether a one talent or a five talent servant, able to bring Him glory through faithful obedience? We do this through the power of the Spirit. We do so because we know our Master well. He has given His strength through the indwelling Spirit. The one talent servant missed that this was his responsibility mainly because he thought so little of his master. He would have received the very same reward if he had taken what the Lord had given and used it.

    The Lord has bestowed talents on you, and whatever the number, ask the Lord to order your days and by His power have His strength to use them for His glory. This is true in every season and every aspect of life: our work outside the home, our work in our homes, our relationships, every aspect of education, and all the gracious gifts with which we are to bless the body of Jesus Christ.

    As we walk by the Spirit, may we prepare for the day when we hear those lovely words—“Well done...”

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