I am POWERFUL!

Every time I see the concrete slabs of a sidewalk heaved by the roots of a growing tree, I am amazed.  When I pick up a rock worn smooth by water running over it, it is cause for wonder. Each illustrates a kind of ‘power’ to me. We can change our world!  God, the Holy Spirit, puts a dynamic in us that gives us the potential to change lives, to alter eternal destinies, to defeat evil.

Before you wonder if Jerry has fallen under the spell of the prosperity preachers who repackage and sell the old lie of human potential, please read on. The power of which I write is not about me, it is about the One who lives in me. When we are Christ’s, the Holy Spirit comes to set us from the chains of slavery that sin and natural thinking throws around us. Where He is allowed to work, God’s promise is that “through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)

The power that is at work in us is not to be used to impress or manipulate others!  The Holy Spirit is not to be used like a magician uses his tricks! Paul says that“The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, The Message) A Spirit-filled Christian is a living demonstration of Truth, who sees through the lies of Self and Satan, and into the reality that is God’s.

So, what is the secret to an empowered life?Where does one go to find the key that unlocks this potential?

God’s power is a gift, offered to those who will receive Him by faith and who are willing to live in daily intimacy with Him. To those who are submitted to Him, who live under His authority, who humbly acknowledge Him, He gives a commission to change the world quietly and with the irresistible power of the Spirit. Go before the Lord at the start of each day and invite His Spirit to fill you, then go out and live, by faith, in His strength. It is said so often as to be a cliché but there is truth in it – the real power of the Christian is found in the secret place of prayer. There the Spirit speaks to us – soul-deep – and we become confident people, carrying the commission of the King.

Meditate on this word from the Word. Then, grow into grace that releases the powerful life that is the birthright of the children of God.
“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us,his Spirit deeply and gently within us.Glory to God in the church!Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!Glory down all the generations!Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!”  (Ephesians 3:20-21, The Message)

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There’s a wind a-blowin’
All across the land
A fragrant breeze of heaven
Blowin’ once again
Don’t know where it comes from
Don’t know where it goes
But let it blow over me
Oh sweet wind
Come and blow over me

There’s a rain a-pourin’
Showers from above
Mercy drops are comin’
Mercy drops of love
Turn your face to heaven
Let the water pour
Well let it pour over me
Oh sweet rain
Come and pour over me

There’s a fire burnin’
Fallin’ from the sky
Awesome tongues of fire
Consuming you and I
Can you feel it burnin’
Burn the sacrifice
Well let it burn over me
Oh sweet fire
Come and burn over me

Sweet Wind
© 1994 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing
Vineyard Songs Canada
ION Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
(Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
(Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

David Ruis
CCLI License No. 810055