This blog is more of a forum for our group that is going to Mexico. We are reading through Secret Power by D.L. Moody.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Double Whammy!
So your next assignment, is just this: Pray Pray Pray! ...and read the chapters "Power in Operation" and "Power Hindered" in that order. As you read them and pray, just share what it is that God has shown you.
I have to say. When I read "Power Hindered" at first I felt like it didn't apply to me that much. He was talking a lot about disunity (is that a word?) in the church and among Christians. I haven't had to deal with that too much. But then Moody (or should I say the Lord??) got me at the end of the chapter when he was talking about all the other cares of this world we let hinder and grieve the Spirit. I think about myself and the appearance of my ministry more than I think about how God is really working through me. So in other words, it definately DID apply to me!
Am I getting in the Holy Spirit's way? Am I hindering His work? What about praying and living in the peace that God has given me and so freely offers? Very convicting for me... So many days have I NOT posted, have I NOT read, have I NOT had a Christlike attitude. Ouch. But God does not leave me alone. Through nudges from my wife, from Summer's emails, and simply from His word I am reminded again and again that I need to pray, that my heart has not been right and needs to be. Sort of sounds like a real grownup temper tantrum. Hmmm. My Father disciplines those whom He loves. Thank you Lord for not letting me be! I was wrong. My attitude toward blogging has been bad. Please forgive me. These two chapters together are definately a "double whammy" as Summer called them in the title of the original post.
I really appreciated Andrew's post! I really felt the "whammy" too. It was pertaining to what Moody says in the first part of "Power In Operation". The best way to lead my kid to the Lord is to lead a moderate life. Since that's an old-school word, I thought I was good to go if I apply it in a modern sort of way! Then I realized that I am not really that moderate. In my temperment towards my animals (I tend to either love them or be losing my temper at them), my consistency in keeping the house clean, my consistency in my attitude towards ministry, my consistency in my attitude towards work, my consistency in my attitude towards Jesse, and even God! I'm so hot and cold! Then Moody says that the difference between joy and happiness is that joy comes from within...it is a steady flow placed in our hearts by God out towards others. Maybe I'm letting outward circumstances and my obsession of the moment determine my happiness instead of letting God plant His joy within me.
I enjoyed the readings this week as well and was very convicted. The first section alone spoke to me in so many ways, but yet there was more!
"It is the low standard of Christian life that is causing so much trouble." Yes, I believe it is . That low standards that leads use to just squeeze Jesus in when convenient rather than living it every moment of every day! GUILTY HERE! I do my devos and I go to church but I cannot think of how many times I have not just continued to converse with Jesus throughout my daily life. It seems that when times get hard or when someone is hurt or needing prayer and asks me to do so that is when I remember. Jesus should not be someone I turn to in desperation but the one and only that I praise and worship constantly and turn to for everything in every moment. "What we need is to pray to God to lift us up out of this low, cold, formal state that we have been living in, that we may live in the atmosphere of God continually, and that the Lord may lift upon the light of his countenance, and that we may shine in this world, reflecting His grace and glory." Wow Summer was right we need to pray, pray, pray without ceasing.
It is so easy to just expect the free gift of love without being obedient. However, to truly relish in the agape love that Jesus has for us we have to listen and obey. It is so easy to just go about my life and forget that there is a HUGE reason that I have this love and that I am here for one reason. Romans 12 was really convicting for me on Wednesday as well. I have to remember why I am here and turn my eyes on the Lord constantly. This week I have been praying for my colleagues at work, unsaved family, and that I might really be filled with the spirit and serve God how he intended me to. It is amazing (although I should know this by now) to see how when you are serving the Lord and giving it over to him things just go so much more smoothly. It is truly that kind of peace and joy that Moody describes. In Mexico we do this constantly but in my daily life...I really need to clean up my act. It doesn't mean life will just go on easily...as when we are serving God there are "shipwrecks", but in Christ anything is possible as long as it is in his will...Time to keep on praying :)
OK! I was SO the first one to comment on this post over a week ago and its not showing my comment! I even came back and double checked to make sure I did it right and it was there! did anyone see my comment?
No Mollie, I think I got a notice that you had posted sent to my email, but that was it. I'll check and see if it posted to one of the other posts? And great post Ta! I completely agree with what you're saying. I'm really grateful for how the Lord is using this book in my life.
My favorite part (most convicting) from "Power in Operation" came from page 99. It was kinda revolutionary for me to learn that love supersedes faith. I have always thought of faith as being the cornerstone of our Christianity, but Moody has an excellent point built off of the verse "and though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." Without love, even our faith is meaningless. In fact it is impossible, I would say, to have faith in Jesus without first experiencing His love.
I will just say that my favorite quote from "Power Hindered" was on page 121, "If a man is troubled about his sins, it is the work of the Spirit, for Satan never told him he was a sinner". Now that is pretty cool. Lots of times we think Satan is just trying to demoralize us by telling us we are no good rotten sinners, but if we think about it the scriptures are the ones that have told us we are no good dirty rotten sinners. Satan would love nothing more than for us to think that our sin is okay and that it really isn't sin it is just our culture or a result of greater intelligence. The Holy Spirit is the one who has been charged with the responsibility of convicting us of sin. That is pretty nifty!
Power in Operation was a very good chapter for me. I really like how he starts the chapter by presenting important things that God wants in us. Love, Peach and Joy. Goodness, longsuffering an gentleness towards man. And Faith, Temperance and Meekness.
I like how when he talks about the first 3 that he says "It is not anything that we can make". This is something that is very obvious in my life. I notice that when I'm not being filled with the Holy Spirit that my ability to Love is hindered. My Peace is gone and my Joy is "running on Empty". I've been praying more and more that the Lord would just allow me the strength to wake up earlier in the morning and be renewed and filled with his Spirit.
I really like how he reminds us that the only way to be living the true Christian life is to continually be growing in the love and favor of God. To be growing in all the graces that the Spirit provides.
And the last thing that I really enjoyed was his quote from Psalm 119, "Great peace have they who love the law: and nothing shall offend them." Christians should not be easily offended! And it is a sure sign that when someone who is easily offended when something small comes up that they have not been in the word. I can relate and I notice that when I haven't been in the word, I'm quick to anger and my mood is not always the best!
Ok sorry this is late! Don't kick me off!!! :] well when I read Power in Operation, I think my jaw dropped. First, the breaking up of the fruit of the spirit was something I had never once considered. How the first three listed are what God wants, the Love, peace, and joy. How towards man we should show goodness, longsuffereing and gentleness. And for ourselves faith, temperance, and meekness. I just felt like it made so much sense! And of course we are called to express all these towards all people. When Moody started talking about how we are always trying to make peace, I thought about areas of my life where I have been doing the same thing and I find that it almost never works! Although we may temporarily "resovle" a conflict or feel like we have "let go" of an issue, it always manages to creep back up and bug us. Until we realize that yeah, Christ brought peace, and all we have to do is enter into it by letting the Holy Spirit take over, then we will never find rest. Our rest is alone in Christ. Not in watching tv, reading a book, venting to a friend, talking to a psychiatrist, or any of these other forms of finding peace that the world describes. When Moody started talking about Love, my thoughts were directed to thinking about our time in Mexico, but it can actually be applied to our time anywhere. If all we do is complain, bicker, and act selfish and not show love towards one another and others, how could we ever win unbelievers? Again, Moody writes about peace in After Love, What? And I thought it was awesome how so often it is hard to grasp the concept that peace is already here even though the world and our lives seem so chaotic. But as soon as we stop worrying about the troubles of the world i.e. finances, gas, school, work, whatever it is, we enter into peace. Moody also made it clear that our spirit needs to be fed constantly. Fed full of the Bible, God's Word. If we don't spend adequate time in the world that we spend in the world, then we are going to be stumbled, offended, and angry a whole lot easier. Under Secret of Joy, it was cool how he said a lot of non-christians are waiting for this miraculous feeling of joy in their lives so that they can become a christian. But we could almost use this same example for us as believers, we are waiting for this "big revelation" or "big life altering experience" to happen before we can be "all we can be" for the Lord. This is nonsense because the moment we are born again, we Are that new person. That big experience has happened. I'm not saying we don't grow more mature in our relationship and He doesn't reveal things to us about others or our own lives. But we should know that we are a new creation and have that extra something special in our life now, we no longer have to wait for it.
Ok now for Power Hindered. I loved this one as well! I felt like it really applied to me and to the church as a whole. So first, after reading of the unpardonable sin, I was like "Oh no! Did I ever do this?!" But then I was like ok relax haha. It is a scary thing to think about, that the God over everything, our souls, heaven, hell, the earth, is so powerful!! Not scary in a bad thing, but just in an I-can't-comprehend-that-power way. It is an awesome thing to say the least! Under Worldly Amusements, he wrote "When we bring the Church down to the level of the world to reach the world, we are losing.." I could not agree more to this statement. We have let down the standard of the Church, being a special, holy place, a temple of the Lord's, and conformed it to this world. Why? Are we afraid that the truth alone won't win people to the Lord? It does in the Bible, so why do we feel like in order to win people to the Lord, we have to do the things they like? We have to participate in what the world calls "fun" to draw them to the church. Is the bible too boring for them? Let's not forget that there is such power in the Truth and the truth alone and living out that truth in our lives. If this can't bring them to the Lord, then what will? Luke 16:31. Sorry this is so long but I really enjoyed both of these. With Power Hindered, it is important for us as christians to realize what we have let of the world creep into our Christianity. What is our worldview? Is it purely from a biblical stance, or do we add in what the culture considers to be true also?
The Holy Spirit has a complex interaction in the life of a christian. it is a constant ebb and flow based on the believers spiritual state. when the deciples first were walking and talking with Jesus, He was trying to show them where their hearts need to be to commune w/ the Holy Spirit. for most of them it seem like that are so focused on the fact the Jesus is going to conquer, all they could think about was there position in His rule. When Jesus is taken and killed rather than resting in the teachings and His promises of One to come (the Holy Spirit) they forget and begin to meander almost aimlessly. At this point it seems like God has moved them passed them selves so that when He comes back from the grave they realize that the position doesn't matter its only Him in their lives that matters. When the deciples are moved past themselves they are able to obey His command to go and wait for the infilling in there lives. Its so amazing when they wait cause there are no arguments amongst them there is simply each one waiting on the infillng and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When it comes its so awesome to see them being used where God wants them rather than than waiting for God to use them where they think He should. this reading has showed me that so often in my life I am praying for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit and asking God to give me the gifts that I want rather than the gifts He wants to give me. The times that I find the Spirit moving most in my life is when I am no longer looking at what my status in God's kingdom might be or how cool I would look if I had this gift of the spirit or that gift, but simply waiting and moving when the Spirit speaks to me and being satisfied in Christ alone.
13 comments:
I have to say. When I read "Power Hindered" at first I felt like it didn't apply to me that much. He was talking a lot about disunity (is that a word?) in the church and among Christians. I haven't had to deal with that too much. But then Moody (or should I say the Lord??) got me at the end of the chapter when he was talking about all the other cares of this world we let hinder and grieve the Spirit. I think about myself and the appearance of my ministry more than I think about how God is really working through me. So in other words, it definately DID apply to me!
Am I getting in the Holy Spirit's way?
Am I hindering His work?
What about praying and living in the peace that God has given me and so freely offers?
Very convicting for me... So many days have I NOT posted, have I NOT read, have I NOT had a Christlike attitude. Ouch.
But God does not leave me alone. Through nudges from my wife, from Summer's emails, and simply from His word I am reminded again and again that I need to pray, that my heart has not been right and needs to be.
Sort of sounds like a real grownup temper tantrum. Hmmm. My Father disciplines those whom He loves. Thank you Lord for not letting me be!
I was wrong. My attitude toward blogging has been bad.
Please forgive me.
These two chapters together are definately a "double whammy" as Summer called them in the title of the original post.
I really appreciated Andrew's post! I really felt the "whammy" too. It was pertaining to what Moody says in the first part of "Power In Operation". The best way to lead my kid to the Lord is to lead a moderate life. Since that's an old-school word, I thought I was good to go if I apply it in a modern sort of way!
Then I realized that I am not really that moderate.
In my temperment towards my animals (I tend to either love them or be losing my temper at them),
my consistency in keeping the house clean,
my consistency in my attitude towards ministry,
my consistency in my attitude towards work,
my consistency in my attitude towards Jesse,
and even God!
I'm so hot and cold!
Then Moody says that the difference between joy and happiness is that joy comes from within...it is a steady flow placed in our hearts by God out towards others. Maybe I'm letting outward circumstances and my obsession of the moment determine my happiness instead of letting God plant His joy within me.
I enjoyed the readings this week as well and was very convicted. The first section alone spoke to me in so many ways, but yet there was more!
"It is the low standard of Christian life that is causing so much trouble." Yes, I believe it is . That low standards that leads use to just squeeze Jesus in when convenient rather than living it every moment of every day! GUILTY HERE! I do my devos and I go to church but I cannot think of how many times I have not just continued to converse with Jesus throughout my daily life. It seems that when times get hard or when someone is hurt or needing prayer and asks me to do so that is when I remember. Jesus should not be someone I turn to in desperation but the one and only that I praise and worship constantly and turn to for everything in every moment. "What we need is to pray to God to lift us up out of this low, cold, formal state that we have been living in, that we may live in the atmosphere of God continually, and that the Lord may lift upon the light of his countenance, and that we may shine in this world, reflecting His grace and glory." Wow Summer was right we need to pray, pray, pray without ceasing.
It is so easy to just expect the free gift of love without being obedient. However, to truly relish in the agape love that Jesus has for us we have to listen and obey. It is so easy to just go about my life and forget that there is a HUGE reason that I have this love and that I am here for one reason. Romans 12 was really convicting for me on Wednesday as well. I have to remember why I am here and turn my eyes on the Lord constantly. This week I have been praying for my colleagues at work, unsaved family, and that I might really be filled with the spirit and serve God how he intended me to. It is amazing (although I should know this by now) to see how when you are serving the Lord and giving it over to him things just go so much more smoothly. It is truly that kind of peace and joy that Moody describes. In Mexico we do this constantly but in my daily life...I really need to clean up my act. It doesn't mean life will just go on easily...as when we are serving God there are "shipwrecks", but in Christ anything is possible as long as it is in his will...Time to keep on praying :)
OK! I was SO the first one to comment on this post over a week ago and its not showing my comment! I even came back and double checked to make sure I did it right and it was there! did anyone see my comment?
No Mollie, I think I got a notice that you had posted sent to my email, but that was it. I'll check and see if it posted to one of the other posts?
And great post Ta! I completely agree with what you're saying. I'm really grateful for how the Lord is using this book in my life.
Testing!
Okay dokay, lets give this a go!
My favorite part (most convicting) from "Power in Operation" came from page 99. It was kinda revolutionary for me to learn that love supersedes faith. I have always thought of faith as being the cornerstone of our Christianity, but Moody has an excellent point built off of the verse "and though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." Without love, even our faith is meaningless. In fact it is impossible, I would say, to have faith in Jesus without first experiencing His love.
I will just say that my favorite quote from "Power Hindered" was on page 121, "If a man is troubled about his sins, it is the work of the Spirit, for Satan never told him he was a sinner". Now that is pretty cool. Lots of times we think Satan is just trying to demoralize us by telling us we are no good rotten sinners, but if we think about it the scriptures are the ones that have told us we are no good dirty rotten sinners. Satan would love nothing more than for us to think that our sin is okay and that it really isn't sin it is just our culture or a result of greater intelligence. The Holy Spirit is the one who has been charged with the responsibility of convicting us of sin. That is pretty nifty!
Ok, now look! my comment is up at the top. what in the world...
Yay, my first post! (Cue Victory Music!)
Power in Operation was a very good chapter for me. I really like how he starts the chapter by presenting important things that God wants in us. Love, Peach and Joy. Goodness, longsuffering an gentleness towards man. And Faith, Temperance and Meekness.
I like how when he talks about the first 3 that he says "It is not anything that we can make". This is something that is very obvious in my life. I notice that when I'm not being filled with the Holy Spirit that my ability to Love is hindered. My Peace is gone and my Joy is "running on Empty". I've been praying more and more that the Lord would just allow me the strength to wake up earlier in the morning and be renewed and filled with his Spirit.
I really like how he reminds us that the only way to be living the true Christian life is to continually be growing in the love and favor of God. To be growing in all the graces that the Spirit provides.
And the last thing that I really enjoyed was his quote from Psalm 119, "Great peace have they who love the law: and nothing shall offend them." Christians should not be easily offended! And it is a sure sign that when someone who is easily offended when something small comes up that they have not been in the word. I can relate and I notice that when I haven't been in the word, I'm quick to anger and my mood is not always the best!
Ok sorry this is late! Don't kick me off!!! :] well when I read Power in Operation, I think my jaw dropped. First, the breaking up of the fruit of the spirit was something I had never once considered. How the first three listed are what God wants, the Love, peace, and joy. How towards man we should show goodness, longsuffereing and gentleness. And for ourselves faith, temperance, and meekness. I just felt like it made so much sense! And of course we are called to express all these towards all people.
When Moody started talking about how we are always trying to make peace, I thought about areas of my life where I have been doing the same thing and I find that it almost never works! Although we may temporarily "resovle" a conflict or feel like we have "let go" of an issue, it always manages to creep back up and bug us. Until we realize that yeah, Christ brought peace, and all we have to do is enter into it by letting the Holy Spirit take over, then we will never find rest. Our rest is alone in Christ. Not in watching tv, reading a book, venting to a friend, talking to a psychiatrist, or any of these other forms of finding peace that the world describes.
When Moody started talking about Love, my thoughts were directed to thinking about our time in Mexico, but it can actually be applied to our time anywhere. If all we do is complain, bicker, and act selfish and not show love towards one another and others, how could we ever win unbelievers?
Again, Moody writes about peace in After Love, What? And I thought it was awesome how so often it is hard to grasp the concept that peace is already here even though the world and our lives seem so chaotic. But as soon as we stop worrying about the troubles of the world i.e. finances, gas, school, work, whatever it is, we enter into peace. Moody also made it clear that our spirit needs to be fed constantly. Fed full of the Bible, God's Word. If we don't spend adequate time in the world that we spend in the world, then we are going to be stumbled, offended, and angry a whole lot easier. Under Secret of Joy, it was cool how he said a lot of non-christians are waiting for this miraculous feeling of joy in their lives so that they can become a christian. But we could almost use this same example for us as believers, we are waiting for this "big revelation" or "big life altering experience" to happen before we can be "all we can be" for the Lord. This is nonsense because the moment we are born again, we Are that new person. That big experience has happened. I'm not saying we don't grow more mature in our relationship and He doesn't reveal things to us about others or our own lives. But we should know that we are a new creation and have that extra something special in our life now, we no longer have to wait for it.
Ok now for Power Hindered. I loved this one as well! I felt like it really applied to me and to the church as a whole. So first, after reading of the unpardonable sin, I was like "Oh no! Did I ever do this?!" But then I was like ok relax haha. It is a scary thing to think about, that the God over everything, our souls, heaven, hell, the earth, is so powerful!! Not scary in a bad thing, but just in an I-can't-comprehend-that-power way. It is an awesome thing to say the least! Under Worldly Amusements, he wrote "When we bring the Church down to the level of the world to reach the world, we are losing.." I could not agree more to this statement. We have let down the standard of the Church, being a special, holy place, a temple of the Lord's, and conformed it to this world. Why? Are we afraid that the truth alone won't win people to the Lord? It does in the Bible, so why do we feel like in order to win people to the Lord, we have to do the things they like? We have to participate in what the world calls "fun" to draw them to the church. Is the bible too boring for them? Let's not forget that there is such power in the Truth and the truth alone and living out that truth in our lives. If this can't bring them to the Lord, then what will? Luke 16:31. Sorry this is so long but I really enjoyed both of these. With Power Hindered, it is important for us as christians to realize what we have let of the world creep into our Christianity. What is our worldview? Is it purely from a biblical stance, or do we add in what the culture considers to be true also?
This is from Clayton:
The Holy Spirit has a complex interaction in the life of a christian. it is a constant ebb and flow based on the believers spiritual state.
when the deciples first were walking and talking with Jesus, He was trying to show them where their hearts need to be to commune w/ the Holy Spirit. for most of them it seem like that are so focused on the fact the Jesus is going to conquer, all they could think about was there position in His rule. When Jesus is taken and killed rather than resting in the teachings and His promises of One to come (the Holy Spirit) they forget and begin to meander almost aimlessly. At this point it seems like God has moved them passed them selves so that when He comes back from the grave they realize that the position doesn't matter its only Him in their lives that matters. When the deciples are moved past themselves they are able to obey His command to go and wait for the infilling in there lives. Its so amazing when they wait cause there are no arguments amongst them there is simply each one waiting on the infillng and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When it comes its so awesome to see them being used where God wants them rather than than waiting for God to use them where they think He should.
this reading has showed me that so often in my life I am praying for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit and asking God to give me the gifts that I want rather than the gifts He wants to give me. The times that I find the Spirit moving most in my life is when I am no longer looking at what my status in God's kingdom might be or how cool I would look if I had this gift of the spirit or that gift, but simply waiting and moving when the Spirit speaks to me and being satisfied in Christ alone.
My first blog! :)
Clayton
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