Yet Another Poignant Reminder

Today's e-mail message from Jack Graham, Power Point Ministries, is yet one more poignant reminder of the need for and power from our walk in the Spirit. See if you agree..

How the Holy Spirit can show himself through you, December 10, 2010

"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.''" John 7:37-38

"I spoke with a man awhile back who had been on several mission trips to Latin America. He was telling me that in the summer, the heat and humidity can be almost unbearable in some areas. But the rivers are almost ice cold year-round because they come from melted snow in the mountains. So the people in these countries jump in the cold rivers for relief from the severe summer heat!

"Now isn't that just like the Holy Spirit? When we believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, the Spirit of God comes and dwells in us. And because of that, rivers of living water flow out of us that are remarkably different than the world around us.

"And that's really what it means to live a spiritual life! The Christian who lives spiritually will say and do things that are so different from the dying world around him that people will notice. God's Spirit allows us to breathe refreshing life into a harsh world!

"So instead of conforming to the world, live a life that is characteristic of the Holy Spirit inside of you. And your thoughts and deeds will be like a cool stream in a dying world.

"ALLOW THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WORK THROUGH YOU AND BRING LIFE TO THE LOST AND HURTING WORLD AROUND YOU."

You can find the author at JackGraham.org, oneplace.com and crosswalk.com or in Dallas, if you care to drive there.

/ JF

New Barna Update Appropriate to Our Study

You might want to review the results of Barna's latest update "How Different Generations View and Engage with Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity".

A couple of pertinent excerpts:

• "The four generations also demonstrated contrasting perspectives about the Holy Spirit. Despite their skepticism about the charismatic and Pentecostal expressions of Christianity, older believers stood out from younger Christians for their likelihood of saying that they “consistently allow their lives to be guided by the Holy Spirit.” Elders (64%) and Boomers (59%) outpaced Busters (54%) and Mosaics (38%) on this viewpoint.
  
  
• "In spite of their openness to the charismatic and Pentecostal elements of the Christian faith, the youngest believers offered an unexpected, existentialist view of the Holy Spirit. In total, 68% of Mosaic Christians said they believe that the third person of the trinity is just “a symbol of God’s power or presence, but is not a living entity.” This compares to 59% of Busters, 55% of Boomers, and 56% of Elders who believe the Holy Spirit is merely symbolic."

Be sure to see the chart "Generations and the Holy Spirit" for some revealing (#2) and shocking (#3, #8) statistics. Goes to show you that we can be a product of what we are taught (or not taught). (The headline contains an active hotlink to go there.)

IBG / 04-08-10