Acts 1:8 (NIV)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
CONSIDER THIS
Today’s Holy Spirit story comes from one of our pastors, Rick Hamilton, who pastors the Eastman First United Methodist Church in Eastman, Georgia. Be encouraged by his words and if you listen, in his own voice.
As a self-proclaimed workaholic, I’ve had to work extremely hard at finding a day when I can truly Sabbath. As a pastor, Sunday is out, so I decided on Friday.
A couple of weeks ago I was in a full-blown Sabbath. I did my morning devotional work, and the rest of the day was spent with some leisurely reading, napping, and watching March Madness at home all alone with no distractions. When my wife came home from work, she asked if I felt all right. I told her it was Sabbath Day and on that day, I did nothing. But she commented that I had seemed tired for a couple of weeks and she was concerned about me. As usual, and being a man, I brushed it off.
The next day, a normal Saturday, quickly became something other than a normal Saturday. I was up at my usual time, spent my normal time in my prayer chair and having my coffee with Jesus and then I started in on some chores around the house. My wife went grocery shopping, and I was puttering around the house when I felt a strange pain in my throat and neck area. I thought maybe I had turned wrong and maybe pulled a muscle and kept doing what I was doing.
Next, it was an unusual amount of pain or more like pressure on my chest. I’ve heard people say that when they had a heart attack it was like they had an elephant sitting on their chest. I can now claim to be a member of that club.
Next, it was a cold sweat, as if I had been running or doing some strenuous work of some kind. I tried to lie down and see if everything would calm down but when I did that the entire room started to spin. It was at this point that I knew I was in trouble.
Luckily, my son and grandsons were in the house, and I was able to get their attention. My son asked what I wanted him to do. I could have said, “Just let me lay here a while and it will go away.” Or I could have let him take me to the local hospital and go through the emergency room which could have taken a while. But the Holy Spirit, that’s right, the Holy Spirit told me to say, “Call 911.”
He called them and he called my wife and they both arrived at the house at about the same time (less than ten minutes). The Paramedics were amazing. They knew right away I needed help. They put me on their stretcher and got me to the ambulance and started working on me right away. One was putting an IV in my arm while the other was hooking me up to some monitors. It seemed like just a few minutes, and they told me that I was having a heart attack and there seemed to be a problem with the upper right quadrant of my heart. I was informed at that time they were rushing me to Fairview Hospital in Dublin, Georgia. What a wild ride that was. A drive of about forty-five minutes became a trip of twenty minutes.
They continued to work on me during transport. They tried some children’s aspirin that I could chew up. They put a nitroglycerin pill under my tongue. Finally, the hospital ER doctor suggested some morphine. None of that was helping with my pain and discomfort.
It was at this point that I started to recite something that I recite quite often, “Jesus, I belong to you.” I did this over and over till we arrived at the hospital.
When they rolled me in the doors a team of folks were waiting on me. I was placed in a room and they immediately went to work on me removing my clothes and preparing me for a heart catheterization procedure. Everyone in the room was very professional and when they spoke to me it was very reassuring. It seemed like only minutes before we were going down the hall to the Cath Lab. In fact, I was in there before my wife even made it to the hospital because a nurse said to me, “Your wife is here and I’m going out to tell her what is going on.”
Once again, more people were coming into the room, and they all worked with passion and speed. All through the process I was awake, and they explained everything that was going on. The last time the nurse asked my pain level I heard the cardiologist say, it’s about to get better, and it did.
Turns out I had a 100% blockage of the main artery to the right side of my heart and no blood flow to the bottom chamber. They showed me the before and after pictures. That one blockage required two stents.
I remember asking the nurse, “Do I get to go home today?” And she said, “Nope, someone else will be preaching for you tomorrow.” It was at that point another nurse got right into my face and said, “Someone was walking with you today.” And as I was being rolled to a room another nurse, who had been with me the entire time, showed me a yellow legal pad and said, “This is what your color was when they rolled you in the doors.”
Throughout the whole time I was saying, “Jesus, I belong to you,” Jesus was saying “I got you!” Just like he told me at my first New Room experience two years ago, “I got you!”
I saw the hand of God throughout this whole ordeal. The right people, in the right place, at the right time. I didn’t get the names of most of the folks who worked on me that day, but they were exceptional, professional, and loving. And that continued with my floor nurses over the next few days. I will be indebted to them for the rest of my life.
This has been a scary and eye-opening experience that I will never forget. I’m lucky to still be here. I’m lucky to be pounding this out on my computer. But the truly overwhelming thing has been the outpouring of love from those whose lives I have touched in twenty years of ministry. The phone calls, emails, text messages, social media messages, and in-person visits I’ve received. And my church, the Eastman First United Methodist Church has made sure that my family and I have not been in want of anything, especially food. We, as the church, talk about being a family and I have seen my family in action. God is good all the time—all the time God is good!
“Jesus—I belong to you,” and his response is, “I got you!”
THE PRAYER
Jesus, we belong to you. Yes, Jesus, I belong to you. Thank you for belonging to me. Thank you for this story of salvation, of a life being saved from death by your great love. Thank you, especially for the ways you draw near to us in desperate times like these. Thank you that you’ve got us. And even in situations like this that turn out differently, you’ve still got us. Praying in Jesus’s name, amen.
THE QUESTION
Have you ever been in a health situation akin to the one shared today where you got a new lease on life? How have you responded since?
THE HYMN
Today we will sing one of the greatest hits of all time, “My Hope Is Built.” It is hymn 102 in our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. Let’s sing it in a spirit of celebration.
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
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P.S. Holy Spirit Stories Welcome
I would love it if you would send a story of faith from your life we might use on a Saturday in the future. We will be glad to attach your name or a pseudonym or anonymity—it’s up to you. It can be a story of coming to faith, a story of transformation, a story of healing, deliverance, suffering and sufficient grace, family reconciliation, prodigal returns, answered prayer, and so forth. A word count of 500–800 words works well. We can’t guarantee publication, but we assure you of our prayerful discernment. You can reply to this email with your story and it will come to me.
FAQs
What are the 7 works of the Holy Spirit? ›
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts first found in the book of Isaiah, and much commented upon by patristic authors. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
How do you pray to invoke the Holy Spirit? ›- Breathe into me, Holy Spirit.
- Come, Holy Spirit.
- Holy Spirit, fill me with your gifts.
- Kindle in me Your goodness, Holy Spirit.
- Holy Spirit, be present in my heart.
- Holy Spirit, help me be patient.
Holy Spirit alerts and diverts the danger lying ahead of you. Holy Spirit gives the power of discernment. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, Apostle Paul was able to cast out the spirit of the devil in a certain damsel who had the spirit of divination and brought gain to her boss through soothsaying.
Who is the Holy Ghost? ›For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each person itself being God.
What are the 4 principles of the Holy Spirit? ›President Harold B. Lee taught that the way to purity and holiness is accepting the first four principles and ordinances of the gospel—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost—and then enduring to the end in keeping all the commandments of God.
What are the 4 forms of the Holy Spirit? ›The symbols of the Holy Spirit are: Dove, Fire, Oil, Wind and Water.
What is the powerful three word prayer to the Holy Spirit? ›Lord, create in me a clean heart and a right spirit before You. Give me a new, positive, joyful, loving, and forgiving attitude toward others. Where there is anything that needs to change in me, I pray You would enable that change to happen. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
What are the 3 powerful prayers? ›The prayer of protection. The prayer of transformation. The prayer of restoration.
How does a person receive the Holy Spirit? ›The path to receiving the Holy Ghost is to exercise faith in Christ unto repentance. We can become clean through qualifying for the effects of the Savior's Atonement. The covenants offered in baptism by authorized servants of God bring that cleansing.
What happens when the Holy Spirit comes upon you? ›Acts 1:8 says, “But 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.” This power that comes from the Holy Spirit allows you to stand strong for the things of God.
How does the Holy Spirit feel? ›
For them, the Holy Ghost may produce a subtle feeling of gratitude, peace, reverence, or love (see Galatians 5:22–23). The scriptures also describe the Holy Ghost as a “burning” in the bosom (see Doctrine and Covenants 9:8–9). But the intensity or degree of that “burning” can be different for everyone.
What are the 3 power gifts of the Holy Spirit? ›The gifts that fall into this category are; the gift of special faith, gifts of healings, and the working of miracles.
What are sins against the Holy Spirit? ›4:30 – offending the Holy Spirit, making him sad or sorrowful); Insulting the Holy Spirit (Heb. 10:29 – outraging the Spirit of grace, persistent sinning with full knowledge and no desire to repent); Blaspheming the Spirit (Mat.
What are the 5 ways the Holy Spirit helps you to pray? ›I think there are at least five ways of praying in the Spirit: 1) praying God's Word; 2) listening to God and praying; 3) partnering in prayer with Christ your Intercessor; 4) praying the God-given desires of your heart; 5) praying with divine love. Our prayer lives come to life when we are empowered by the Spirit.
What is the job of the Holy Spirit? ›The work of the Holy Spirit is to exalt Christ in our hearts. He forms the image of Christ in us. We owe all to God in salvation. The Father gave us the Son, the Son gave his life for us, and the Spirit gives us life and faith in Christ.
What are five roles of the Holy Spirit? ›He is the source of personal testimony and revelation. He can guide us in our decisions and protect us from physical and spiritual danger. He is known as the Comforter, and He can calm our fears and fill us with hope. Through His power, we are sanctified as we repent, receive saving ordinances, and keep our covenants.
What are the 5 titles of the Holy Spirit? ›The Holy Spirit, who was the Spirit of the Lord that would rest on the messiah, is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
What are 3 things the Holy Spirit does for us? ›He gives us power, love, and self-discipline. Power can be many things backed up by the Holy Spirit, such as boldness to preach the gospel and power to perform healing miracles. Love given by the Holy Spirit is obvious when we have the heart to love others the way Jesus would.
What is the Holy Spirit called? ›Holy Spirit, also called Paraclete or Holy Ghost, in Christian belief, the third person of the Trinity.
What are the three work of the Holy Spirit? ›The work of the Holy Spirit is to exalt Christ in our hearts. He forms the image of Christ in us. We owe all to God in salvation. The Father gave us the Son, the Son gave his life for us, and the Spirit gives us life and faith in Christ.
What is the prayer that never fails? ›
The most effective prayer, the one that is always answered, is this: “Father, glorify Your name.” “Answer my cry, O Lord, in a way that will accomplish Your will, for Your will is good, acceptable, and perfect. It is best for You, and therefore best for me and any others who may be affected by this prayer.
What is the most powerful miracle prayer? ›Lord Jesus, I come before you, just as I am, I am sorry for my sins, I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In your Name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works.
What does the prayer at 3 o'clock mean? ›"At three o'clock the bell of the house announces the Calvary prayer. It is the signal for the rendezvous to which all the religious of Mary have pledged themselves, [to be] at the foot of the Cross with the Holy Virgin and Saint John.
What is a good prayer to say everyday? ›Help me to keep my heart pure and undivided. Protect me from my own careless thoughts, words, and actions. And keep me from being distracted by my wants, my desires, my thoughts on how things should be. Help me to embrace what comes my way as an opportunity, rather than a personal inconvenience.
What is the best prayer to God? ›Father in heaven, I stand before You today in Your omnipotent presence to ask that You grant me strength. I want You to give me the strength to power through all of the tasks today — whether little or big. It is by Your will that I live oh Lord. And I know it is also by Your will I will not go weak today.
What is the most difficult prayer to pray? ›Reading the Psalm for today reminded me yet again that the hardest prayer for me to pray is a variation of "Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your Will." (Psalm 40:8-9) When I feel those controlling tendencies creeping in, I try to catch myself and pray, Jesus, give me the desire to know and accept Your will.
Who gives his Holy Spirit to you? ›The Holy Spirit is in Scripture call'd the Gift of God, Joh. 4. 10. God is said to give Him; Joh.
Who was the first person to receive the Holy Spirit? ›We learn about the first Spirit-filled man in the Bible in Exodus 35:31 - Bezalel who GOD filled with HIS SPIRIT (ruwach), understanding, wisdom and workmanship to work with his hands for God.
Do you have to be baptized to go to heaven? ›While Jesus told Nicodemus, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5), he did not set baptism as a hindrance to salvation but just the opposite. We so often judge things by human standards, but God is not restrained by our standards.
How do you know the Holy Spirit lives in you? ›Often the Holy Spirit will speak to us in our minds by giving us a thought or an idea. Or He will lead us by making an impression upon our hearts to say something, do something, or think something according to God's will.
How do you keep the Holy Spirit in you? ›
- Meaningful personal and family prayer.
- Feasting upon the words of Christ.
- Diligent and exacting obedience.
- Faithfulness and honoring of covenants.
- Virtue, humility, and service.
In Matthew's gospel, Jesus says that even sins committed against him, the Son of Man, can be forgiven. But “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (v. 29).
Does the Holy Spirit make you cry? ›Certainly the Spirit of the Lord can bring strong emotional feelings, including tears, but that outward manifestation ought not to be confused with the presence of the Spirit itself” (in Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service [2004], 99).
What is the food of the Holy Spirit? ›The Fruit of the Holy Spirit (sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as the Fruits of the Holy Spirit) is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit, according to chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, ...
Does the Holy Spirit change you? ›It is the Holy Spirit's job to produce Christ-like character in you. This process of changing us to be more like Jesus is called sanctification. You can't reproduce the character of Jesus on your own or by your own strength.
How do you know what your God given gift is? ›- Ask others to let you know. ...
- Look for gifts in adversity. ...
- Pray for the help to recognize your gifts. ...
- Don't be afraid to branch out. ...
- Search the word of God. ...
- Look outside yourself. ...
- Think about people you look up to. ...
- Reflect on your family.
In Christian theology, the Gifts of healing are among the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. As an extraordinary charism, gifts of healing are supernatural enablements given to a believer to minister various kinds of healing and restoration to individuals through the power of the Holy Spirit.
What are the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit self control? ›“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
Which sin Cannot be forgiven by God? ›Rev. Graham: Only one sin that can't be forgiven is on God's list — and that is the sin of rejecting Him and refusing His offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ. This alone is the unforgivable sin, because it means we are saying that the Holy Spirit's witness about Jesus is a lie (see Luke 12:10).
Is it a sin to be cremated? ›New Testament
Since the Bible does not ban nor promote cremation, most Christian denominations do not consider cremation to be sinful.
How do we know we are saved? ›
Put simply, our salvation depends solely on the person and work of Jesus Christ. As we continue to trust in him, we will experience the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives to make us more like Jesus. When we see this happening, our assurance that we truly are one of God's children grows.
What are the 7 fold ministry of the Holy Spirit? ›The sevenfold ministry of the Spirit
Including the Spirit of the Lord, and the Spirits of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of might, of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, here are represented the seven Spirits, which are before the throne of God.
The gifts are 1 ) wisdom, 2) understanding, 3) counsel, 4) fortitude, 5) knowledge, 6) piety, and 7) fear of the Lord. This list is based on Is 11:2.
Why is the number 7 God's number? ›God stopped on the seventh day. In Hebrew, the number "seven" has the same consonants as the word for completeness or wholeness. , seven develops two key symbolic associations. One of them is that one through seven all together is a symbol of completeness.
Who are chosen by God? ›chosen people, the Jewish people, as expressed in the idea that they have been chosen by God as his special people. The term implies that the Jewish people have been chosen by God to worship only him and to fulfill the mission of proclaiming his truth among all the nations of the world.
How does the Holy Spirit speak to us? ›The voice of the Spirit is described in the scriptures as being neither loud nor harsh, not a voice of thunder, neither a voice of great tumultuous noise, but rather as still and small, of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it can pierce even the very soul and cause the heart to burn.
What are the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit? ›The Catholic Church follows the Latin Vulgate version of Galatians in recognizing twelve attributes of the Fruit: charity (caritas), joy (gaudium), peace (pax), patience (patientia), benignity (benignitas), goodness (bonitas), longanimity (longanimitas), mildness (mansuetudo), faith (fides), modesty (modestia), ...
What is the most important work of the Holy Spirit? ›The work of the Holy Spirit is to exalt Christ in our hearts. He forms the image of Christ in us. We owe all to God in salvation. The Father gave us the Son, the Son gave his life for us, and the Spirit gives us life and faith in Christ.
Who is the one that can baptize in the Holy Spirit? ›In Mark 1 and John 1, the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus "will baptize in (the) Holy Spirit"; while in Matthew 3 and Luke 3, he "will baptize with Holy Spirit and fire". Jesus is considered the first person to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
What are the 12 spiritual gifts? ›- Word of wisdom.
- Word of knowledge.
- Faith.
- Gifts of healing.
- Miracles.
- Prophecy.
- Distinguishing between spirits.
- Tongues.
How do I know what my spiritual gifts are? ›
- Ask others to let you know. ...
- Look for gifts in adversity. ...
- Pray for the help to recognize your gifts. ...
- Don't be afraid to branch out. ...
- Search the word of God. ...
- Look outside yourself. ...
- Think about people you look up to. ...
- Reflect on your family.
The Gift is accepted or received, by accepting or receiving Jesus Christ and being baptised in His name. The Holy Spirit can only be received as a gift is received. Jesus said to His disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22).