During my first year of college, and even during my first week, a teacher asked a question during one of our tutorials. The room remained silent. Out of shyness or lack of knowledge, I won't be able to tell you. So, insisting and asking the question over and over, the teacher asked us, "So what are you waiting for? Do you think you are getting the answer from the Holy Spirit? Look in your notes!" The Holy Spirit, what a big word ... It was at this point in my life that I realized that we have probably all heard of it, at least as a myth or a story from the past ... He is at the source of major divergences between several Christian movements, while He is a fundamental point of our existence. So who is He? And what is His role? I am far from having perfect knowledge in the topic of the Holy Spirit: my times of intimacy with Him allow me to discover Him more and more, but I would like to share with you what He puts on my heart. My church is part of a movement called "Pentecostal". Why? Because we rely on Acts 2, which describes the first arrival of the Holy Spirit on a large number of people. And we believe it still happens today. Its manifestation is usually through speaking in tongues, it is this moment that we call the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Many may disagree with me about what I'm going to share with you, and you may be one of them. So I simply suggest that you open your mind and heart to these possibilities and leave comments or contact us if you have any questions, comments or even objections. My goal is that we can all grow, based on the first foundation of the Bible. The Holy Spirit is in direct contact with the Father (whom we generally call God) and therefore is the One who transmits to us what He has to say to us. He knows His thoughts, for He is His spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:11) It is present everywhere, therefore omnipresent. There is no place where He is not. It does not mean that He is honored everywhere, but simply that wherever we go, He is present with us. Hiding from Him is impossible, and yet David thought about it! (Psalm 139: 7). He can do anything (Romans 8:26) He allows us to live, His breath gives us life (John 6:63). He is the truth (1 John 5: 6) He is and gives wisdom (Isaiah 40:13 and Isaiah 11: 2) He is God (Acts 5: 3-4) To summarize, I invite you to read John 16: 13-15 with me: “When the Comforter comes, the Spirit of truth, he will lead you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own, but whatever he hears he will speak, and will tell you things to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and tell it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take of what is mine, and will tell it to you. ” So the Holy Spirit was very present for the writing of the books of the New Testament but He was also very present in the life of Christians after the end of the writing of the Bible. Indeed, by listening to Him, many have been initiators of spiritual awakenings, in their region or country, or powerful tools by which our Heavenly Father has shown His power. Even today He is active, and is ready to use us to manifest the glory of God to those around us. So this week and even for longer, I invite you to let Him influence you in your walk, guide you in your decisions and do what will glorify God each day. Be blessed, Do P.S: Here's the song that inspired me to write this article. I hope you'll like it. The translation will be up soon.
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I had an invasion of flies in my house. But let me tell you the whole story. It started with one. A fly that was walking in my room. I told myself that she didn't bother me too much. One day she was bothering me, and I killed her. The next day, it's another one that I see appear. I kill her immediately. I find no more than two in my kitchen that I decide to kill immediately, in order to prevent them from landing in my food. After a week, there are several coming out of I do not know where each day. I decide to kill them all one after the other, because they are already starting to drive me crazy. But every day more are coming back. So I contact my owners, because there is no way to kill them with what I have in my possession.
The owner sprays an insecticide. But I realize the next day that the flies are back. They look drugged and don't know how to fly, but also hyperactive, which makes them impossible to kill. I wait a week, thinking that the other products used will be able to destroy the nest where the eggs are laid. But nothing to do. So I contacted the owners again. At this point, more than 15 flies are coming out of the same place every day. After another conversation with the owners, I hope to have peace soon. But, very busy with all the things they have, they forget about me. A little annoyed, I contacted them telling them that I needed the vacuum cleaner (we live in the same house, but on different levels, and they had kept it in their house) and that this invasion of flies requires regular maintenance. So the owner takes him down to me and knocks on my door. When I open, she sees the state of the walls and is scared that I haven't reminded them of my problem. That same evening, they treated my entire room with a product, covered the opening that gives access to my room with a plastic bag and ... peace ... for 3 days. The flies have returned. New conversation with the owners, and they helped, telling me what to do to get rid of it. I followed the protocols as patiently as possible. Here we are today, at the time of writing, with a phenomenal number of flies probably coming out of holes made in the plastic covering the entrance. From morning to night, it doesn't matter how many I kill during the day. And the straw that broke the camel's back? While I need my owners because the situation is worse than before, they went on vacation. Why this story? What does this have to do with the title? I think sin is like this invasion. He starts off small, doesn't bother too much. Sometimes it can even be fun, or become a game (like my willingness to kill flies in one hit or not to leave traces on the walls). But sin multiplies if you allow it to grow. Paul will even draw a parallel between sin and the leaven which makes all the dough rise (1 Corinthians 5: 6-7). So what to do to get rid of it? I tried to kill the flies on my own, I guess given they disappeared only when winter came it didn't work. Likewise, your own strength will not help you. You can try to talk to more experienced people, but if they advise you to hide it, believe me it will not work. The Bible says that what is done in the dark will be revealed in the light. Just like the flies probably had to pierce the plastic covering the entrance. The book of Proverbs adds "He who hides his transgressions will not succeed, but he who recognizes them and forsakes them will be compassionate" (Proverb 28:13). So, believe me, your best bet is to speak with the One who is able to solve the problem, an expert in the matter. In my case of an invasion, it would be to call a plumber. In the situation of sin, it is Jesus Christ. The One who bore our sins when He died. Of course, the help of other Christians is essential, for the effects of sin on your life and on the rest of the church are like dead flies on white walls: it is disgusting. But sin also impacts the church. Faithful Christians will help you walk in the light of the Father, with His truth and His conception of sin as a benchmark so that you do not sin against God (Psalm 119: 11). I hope this article has encouraged or motivated you to come out of sin. I am aware that this is not a funny subject, but I know that it is fundamental, because the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). Be blessed and have a great week, With all my love, Do |
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November 2021
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