THE HOLY SPIRIT
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
~ Luke 11:13 (NIV)
Imagine the Christian movement in your country suddenly cut off from all those who are now its leaders! In the period of confusion that immediately follows a takeover, some small groups of Christians may be able to move to a different locality and become underground churches, but they must leave their “institutional forms” behind.
But who would lead such groups? Who would provide leadership for “house” churches and “family” churches? God, through the Holy Spirit, would raise up and equip leaders for His church in such circumstances, as He always had in the past. The members of a home fellowship must be prepared to accept the leadership of the Spirit and of those through whom He chooses to minister.
When regular lay Christians actually begin to understand that they can pray directly to the Lord, when they can take a passage of Scripture, written or memorized, and understand it under the direction of the Holy Spirit, they are then on the road to surviving victoriously in whatever set of hostile circumstances that may come along. One exciting discovery will lead to another. These Christians will begin to let the Holy Spirit use them to touch the lives of others and minister to their needs. No authority on earth can destroy this kind of spiritual church!
In China, a Christian woman was in charge of security at a coal mine. The woman suddenly felt the Holy Spirit urging her to pull the alarm lever, even though there was no apparent reason to do so. Although everything seemed quiet and normal, she obeyed the prompting within her. The whole mine was evacuated as a result of the alarm sounding, but when all the men had assembled on the surface, it seemed as if a huge mistake had been made. Just moments later the ground beneath their feet shook and a large section of the mine collapsed from the earthquake.
Because of this sister’s sensitivity and willingness to obey God’s Holy Spirit, everyone’s life had been saved. Additionally, however, 400 of the miners surrendered their lives to Christ after recognizing that God had miraculously saved them from death.[1]
RESPONSE: Today I will thank God for the gift of His Holy Spirit.
PRAYER: Lord, use me today through Your Spirit to touch the lives of others and minister to their needs.
1. Patterson, p. 193.
Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.
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