CGB, a new Sunday night program on ABC TV, was created around characters from a novel by Kim Gatlin called Good Christian Bitches. (Please don't be offended.) It is a story about women in an upscale Dallas neighborhood who lay claim to being 'good Christians' who fight, hold grudges, and strive for social status. (No, I don't watch it. I saw the previews and read the online critiques!) Like any comedy, CGB requires enough connection to reality to allow us to laugh. From what I've read, I wouldn't find it humorous. The hypocrisy of the characters, though fictional, is tragically all too common.
John, the Baptist, preached a stern message of repentance, calling people to turn back to God and baptizing them in a symbolic ritual of cleansing. He recognized the limits of determination to please God that is based on human will and devotion. He pointed to Jesus and the new life He would make possible: "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!" (Mark 1:8, CEV) After His Resurrection, Jesus instructed His disciples to wait to be empowered. "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before ... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:4,8, NLT)
Are you filled with the Spirit of God?
I am not asking you if you know God, or if you have had mystical experiences, or if you are a 'super Christian!' Does your friendship with God show? Is there a Presence that is part of your life that makes a difference in you? This is more than a weekend experience that provided a moment of spiritual bliss. It is not just an emotional response to a highly charged 'revival' atmosphere. This is a supernaturally formed life of the Spirit which Jesus said was like a "fresh, bubbling spring within them." (John 4:14, NLT)
If you through with the cycle of sin and regret, if you want to be genuinely changed - it is time to seek the Lord! With a real faith and an open heart, turn to Him and ask to be baptized in the Spirit. You will discover that the life He gives is as different as day from night in comparison to the old religion you knew before. Trials will still come your way. Yes, you will still fall prey to temptation from time to time. And, yes, your personality will remain intact! But, you will become a person renewed from the inside out, learning to delight in loving God. You will be "transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." (2 Corinthians 3:18, The Message) Isn't that an exciting promise?
Francis Chan, in his book, Forgotten God, pointedly observes that some Christians fear that God might actually show up in their life! "What if God does show up and then asks you to go somewhere or do something that's uncomfortable? For many people, fearing that God will ask them to go in a difficult, undesirable direction outweighs the fear that God will ignore them. ... The truth is that Spirit of the Living God is guaranteed to ask you to do something you would not normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you in the way of the Cross... mold you into the person you were made to be."
Here's the word from the Word. "It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7, The Message)
You gave yourself to Christ, the Lord, and you were given the Spirit of life. Now, let the Spirit have you, flowing into in every part of your life, as Christ, plunges you into the Spirit - much like the pastor plunged you into the water at your baptism. The Holy Spirit's flow over you will fill you with inexpressible joy, unimaginable power, and beautiful holiness based on inner transformation, not external religion.
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