THE HOLY SPIRIT
Today’s Reading: Luke 11
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).
Between the Mount of Olives and the Old City walls of Jerusalem is the Kidron Valley. The cone-shaped structure is the Tomb of Absalom and is the first of three major tombs as you go down the valley. Behind Absalom's Tomb are thousands of Jewish graves that face towards the Eastern Gate, where they believe the Messiah will some day enter the city.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.
Key Verse: Luke 11:13
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
We won’t miss anything if we are following Him closely and watching Him carefully. Jesus and the disciples would’ve often passed by the upside down funnel shape of Absalom’s Tomb (also known as “Absalom’s Pillar” – 2 Samuel 18:18). Would they have talked about the fact that Absalom was filled with pride, so much so that he tried, by force, to take his father David’s throne? We don’t have a record of such a conversation. Jesus will speak of things to us if we’re close enough to hear Him. He’ll share lessons from everyday things we see. Jesus said, “When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). It may be helpful for us to read now the first 15 verses of John 16 (click here) and then meditate on our key verse. It is obvious that if we ask for the Holy Spirit and we are willing to receive, and if our Heavenly Father is “more” willing to give of the Holy Spirit than we are to receive, and He is, then we are being filled now and always. We need to begin to praise God now. Worship Him for His generous Gift of the Holy Spirit Who fills us to overflowing (Acts 2:4, Ephesians 3:19, Ephesians 5:18).
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, I am willing to receive of the Holy Spirit here and now. You have given the Holy Spirit to indwell me when I first believed in Jesus, and every day I need to be filled. I’m reminded of a funnel as I look at the picture of Absalom’s Tomb. I imagine turning the funnel over and You pouring into my life more of the Holy Spirit than I have room to hold inside me. Overflow my life, Lord, so that others around me will experience Your Spirit. In Jesus’ Name I pray, and keep on praying and receiving. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I wrote a book called 100 Huntley Street which was first published in 1979 by Logos International of New York City. In the early 1980’s it was published again by Thomas Nelson of Nashville, and then again in the late 1990’s under the title 100. Why tell you about this? My story of being filled for the first time with the Holy Spirit as a 16-year-old is on pages 40 and 41 of the original publication. Perhaps if you know anybody who has watched or supported 100 Huntley Street over the years, ask them if they have a copy for you. I’m greatly blessed by the memories, but most of all by experiencing the presence and fullness of the Holy Spirit right now. There are copies of 100 available at our Crossroads e-store (click here to purchase).
Yours for being filled, and keeping filled, with the Holy Spirit,
David
P.S. Luke, the New Testament historian, is right on!!! Good history is a record of what actually happened according to those whose stories are told and those who were eye witnesses. I believe that Luke, a physician, spent at least two years interviewing the people whose stories are in his Gospel. He did this while his leader in ministry, the Apostle Paul, was in Roman custody in Caesarea, the capital city of the Roman province of Palestine. These P.S. thoughts are for the purpose of showing that the Bible is “RELIABLE!” Tomorrow – Did the enemies of Jesus living at the time ever write anything which contradicted the Gospel stories???
I was filled with the Holy Spirit in 1977 before that I had an axiety disorder Peace floods my soul I ve watched 100 Huntley Street from the beginning and David s always been a blessing Praise God for the Comforter God Bless all my blog buddies
God bless and keep you, Lily May, dear sister-in-Christ!
What a wonderful testimony of the power of the Holy Spirit , Lili May.I was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1977, a few months after I got saved!! 100 Huntley St. was my “go to” show on learning about the Lord!! I believe that the Holy Spirit is the extra “kick” we need to stay on track for the Lord!! My daughter is born again but says she doesn’t want the baptism of the Holy Spirit.She has an anxiety disorder like you had and I think she is afraid of the baptism because of the speaking in tongues issue.Her name is Jessica if u feel led by the Lord to pray for her.GOD BLESS!!!!!
Yes, I was filled in 1972 at Riverside Pentecostal Church in Windsor, Ontario. What a glorious experience that was and new things began to happen in my life; for instance I resigned from teaching and the next year enrolled at E.P.B.C. in Peterborough, Ont. Great is Thy Faithfulness. Blessings, saints.
Praise God, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in my heavenly language, in 1970 shortly after accepting Jesus into my heart: I believe that is what kept me from not straying. Confirmation that Jesus lives, and He lives in me.
I’m singing: “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me, Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me, melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.”
“Fill me now, fill me now, Jesus come and fill me now, fill me with Thy Holy Presence come O come and fill me now”
First and foremost, my thanks to you, David Mainse! In the 1999 publication of your book 100, of which I have in front of me, your Holy Spirit baptism, encounter and life changing experience is described on pp. 53-54. I hope you don’t mind my taking the liberty of quoting:
“In the meantime, my own hunger for the fullness of the Holy Spirit and all that God had for me continued to grow until… I could stand it no longer. The breakthrough came on a Thursday evening….. Finally, I stopped fighting it and got on my motorcycle and rode into town. I got there in time for the end of the evangelist’s message, and when he gave the invitation for those who wanted to be prayed for to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I was one of the first into the prayer room. Down on my knees I cried. ‘Lord, I want all that I can take at this time, and I dont care if I ever get off my knees.’ I was actually on my knees only about five minutes, when something happened to me that had never happened before. The power of God came upon me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, and it forced me to the floor so that I couldn’t move a muscle.
“The Lord seemed to be speaking to my heart, ‘Do you believe this is My power?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ I thought. ‘I know it’s Your power, and I want to be filled with the Spirit, but please, Lord, no tongues.’ ‘David, are you willing to believe that as I fill you with the Spirit, you will speak in tongues as the Spirit gives you utterance, even as my early followers did?’ ‘All right, Lord. That I accept. But I don’t want anything less than they received.’ And with that, I surrendered completely to God, no strings attached.
“Although I still couldn’t move, I felt a tingling all over my body, a very pleasant sensation of the flesh being warmed. Then suddenly I regained the movement of my hands and feet. My mouth was released at the same time, and I burst out in tongues–a heavenly prayer language which I could not understand, but which somehow perfectly expressed the overflowing joy in my heart. I was so happy deep inside that I jumped up and danced around the prayer room, and gave Pastor George Bombay a great bear hug, which almost took his breath away.
“Then overjoyed, I said goodbye and went outside to my motorcyle, intending to go home and study. As I rode through the night, my hands were up in the air praising God more than they were on the handlebars. I had just memorized the words of the great hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’, and now I sang them at the top of my lungs, gazing up at the stars, and only occasionally remembering to keep an eye out for traffic. I was “drunk in the spirit” on the “new wine,” and I didn’t care if the whole world new it.”
‘How Great Thou Art’ has always been one of my favourite worship songs and now has even more meaning. You are a true servant of God, David Mainse, and I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for hearing, resigning yourself to the Spirit, and following God’s call on your life! What a blessing you have brought to all of our lives by bringing us closer in our walk with God and His Word. Amen!!!
How Great Thou Art Lyrics
Stuart K. Hine
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLLMzr3PFgk
Sung by Carrie Hill & Vince Gill
HOW DIVINE!
I like the old version of The Lord’s Prayer better than the new version.
I pray Scotland’s referendum result is controlled by the hand of God.
Blessings.
In 1982 Aug. 20 in Nanimo B.C.I redidcated my life to Jesus I was baptized
in the Holy Spirit. I was warm from head to foot. I have never been the same.
The old is gone . I’m a new creation P.T.L…….
I also received the Baptism in the 70s! – mostly under the ministry of Oral Roberts and I grew through the ministries of Ralph Rutledge & Morris Cerullo (3 months school of ministry in Sandiego, California). What wonderful experiences they were. Volunteering @ Crossroads for quite a few years. Very blessed. Thank you Lord.
All kinds of Christians read this blog! I was baptized as an infant, confirmed at age 14 didn’t really understand theTriune God, but understood Jesus! Of course as one gets older, more things are revealed. I don’t feel any less of a Christian because of how things happened in my life! I BELIEVE! please pray for total healing for Sheila, she is in hospice but I believe God can heal her and that her healing will bring about a wonderful out pouring of the Holy Spirit and be a witness to all her caregivers and that all the glory would go to God! Everyone would be AMAZED!
PRAISE THE LORD! The people in Scotland had their vote! That’s what we all want! We want the right to be able to speak our opinions; to be heard. No one has to agree, just the opportunity to speak what we are feeling and thinking is what human beings want! I pray the Lord will lead and guide the people in Scotland. There are kinks that need to be worked out. Reminds me of some marriages! One or the other spouse wants to leave or change or do something!!!!!! Many times, just allowing the person to talk and be HEARD can solve many problems. We must realize that after a person has been HEARD, THE MARRIAGE MAY STILL DISSOLVE! That is what I love about God! He allows us to speak to Him, we can ask Him questions, we can cry, get angry, laugh, and sigh and HE LISTENS, no judging, then in the stillness of our day or maybe a few days later or even longer, the Holy Spirit descends and speaks to us and gives us counsel. Gives us a peace, many of you know that experience. it is wonderful, and awesome and sometimes a bit scary……BUT GOD does not ever leave us nor forsake us. THAT IS A PROMISE TO TRUST. Blessings to everyone.