Category Archives: Holy Spirit

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DECEPTION

1 TIMOTHY 2:14

“And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”  

In this sixth verse of Paul’s instructions to women in 1 Timothy he returns to the Garden of Eden again. Timothy had heard this story, I am sure, from his Jewish mother. If you read this verse without the fuller context of Paul’s other letters, you could get the impression that Paul is blaming Eve for all of man’s problems. Paul is simply pointing out the order of the events in the garden.

The issue is not who was deceived first as much as it is the deception itself. Adam and Eve were both deceived by the evil one. He is still deceiving people today. I have been at events where it was obvious he was at work deceiving people. This Greek word has the idea of a baited hook. The hook is there, but the bait is just too good to pass up.

APPLICATION

Now, here is a perfect verse to teach your children the deception of the devil. Take them fishing and use some live bait. As you are baiting their hook talk about how the fish just can’t resist that bait. They see it and ignore the hook. The enticement of the bait is just too much. So, they are deceived into thinking they have a free meal. Once they bite, it’s too late.

Explain to your children that they are susceptible to the same deception from the devil. He will bait the hook for them with something he knows they want. They may even see the hook, but just can’t resist the bait. But Satan keeps his hooks sharp. They will cause pain. They will cause grief. The lure of sin is great, but with the Holy Spirit as their guide, they can avoid these deceptions.

Have you bitten the bait? Have you been deceived? It’s not too late. You may have a scar from that hook, but Jesus can cut that line that is holding you back. We all fall sometimes. Falling isn’t the end. Get back up. Let Jesus remove that hook and begin the healing in your life.  He wants you back in the kingdom work, not sidelined by sin.

Lord, point out to me those hidden hooks of sin that so easily entice me. Give me Your wisdom and discretion to recognize the bait when I see it. I want to serve You.

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Commands, Encouragement, Glory, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Modeling, Parenting, Praise, Worship

HOLY HANDS

1 TIMOTHY 2:8

“Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”    

I know you’ve seen it. People raising their hands in church during Praise and Worship. You may feel intimidated to raise yours, even though you don’t really want to. You may think hand raising is a sign of holiness. It is not! You may have been led to believe that those who raise their hands are somehow more spiritual. They are not.

Hand raising should be Spirit-led and should be done as a sign of supplication to our holy God. You are saying to God, “I lift my hands to You, O Lord, in confession. I present myself to You with a broken heart. I want to know you more completely.” It is never done in pride. It is always done in humility. 

APPLICATION

Your children will undoubtedly ask what people are doing in church when they raise their hands. We teach our children to raise their hands when they want to ask a question. We don’t normally do that during a worship service, lol. So, when they see hands going up during a service, they may be confused.

Take this opportunity to tell them, “Johnny, remind me when we get home to tell you about. I really can’t explain it now, but I will.” Then tell them what it means when you get home. Turn to this verse and explain what Paul meant by “lifting up holy hands.” Take your time. Answer their questions. This is important. You want them to understand this and feel free to do as the Lord leads them in the future.

Are you a “hand raiser”? Let me ask you why. Why do you lift your hands? Is it because everyone else is doing it? Is it because you want to be seen as “into it” during Worship? If those are your reasons, put your hands down. Ask the Lord to show you when and if you are to raise your hands. He will. 

I raise my hands to You, O Lord. I lift them in reverence to Your holiness and majesty. I bow my heart as I lift my hands.

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ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

1 TIMOTHY 1:5

“But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” 

The line from the Beatle’s song just jumped off the page to me when I read this verse. Now, before you excommunicate me for doing that (lol), let me try to explain. I am NOT implying that the Beatles got the inspiration for their song from this verse. Paul is reminding Timothy, that in the midst of all his instructing, don’t forget love.

Have you ever had a teacher you just loved? I bet you loved them because you felt they loved teaching, right? They loved seeing students “get it.” They loved passing on the knowledge they had gained. And Paul gives some qualifiers – pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. In other words, you can’t fake this kind of teaching. It all comes down to love.

APPLICATION

Why do you teach your children? Because you love them. You want them to be prepared to face life head on with confidence. If you lied to them as you taught them, what good would that do? You teach them with a pure heart, don’t you? Your conscience is clear as you give them the house rules. And, of course, your faith must be pure for you to pass it on.

Children will be crushed if they find out later that all you have taught them is false. They will struggle with life questions if your teaching has all been based lies. That’s why it is important (spoiler alert) that you be truthful about things such as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. If they find out (and they will) these things weren’t real, you can actually put doubt in their minds about all you have taught them about Jesus, whom they also cannot see.

How do you teach? Let me encourage you to evaluate your motivation for teaching anyone. It should never be to JUST pass on knowledge. Knowledge in itself will never transform. The purpose of knowledge and the application of it has the potential to change everything. Will you be that kind of teacher?

Father God, You are the perfect teacher. All You give is pure, good and sincere. Teach me to teach just like You.

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PENMANSHP

2 THESSALONIANS 3:17

“I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.” 

Who would have thought the Scriptures would talk about penmanship, but here it is. However, Paul is not talking about his writing skills (or lack of). He is reassuring the Thessalonians that this letter was authentic, that it was from him. People were constantly trying to add to the message of the cross or in some way confuse the early believers. Paul is making sure they know he wrote this letter.

This verse speaks to us today as much as it did to the Thessalonians back in the 1stCentury. We have to be just as careful of what we read and believe. In fact, we have to be more careful. With the existence of the internet, we can be exposed to a ton of false information that is written as the truth. We have to make sure that what we are taking as the truth is really the truth.

APPLICATION

You need to warn your children to check out any information they get from friends about God with the Bible. People have strange doctrines and can easily lead a child away from the faith by offering something less “demanding” or less “restrictive.” After all, what child doesn’t want less rules. 

We may not be able to match the penmanship to ensure authenticity, but we can sure match it up with God’s Word. His Word is only truth. Anything, and I mean anything, that conflicts with that is not of Him. Tell your children to run as fast as they can away from those lies and untruths.

Are you a diligent reader? Are you careful about what you read? Let me encourage you to authenticate the penmanship. Make sure you know who is writing what you are reading. Know their doctrinal beliefs. Know their teachings. Don’t believe something just because it sounds good. Check it out.

O Lord, I am so thankful I have Your Word to verify what I hear and see. I know I can always depend on that to be truth and to guide me on the right path. Open my eyes to those who would seek to deceive.

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LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

2 THESSALONIANS 3:15

“Yet do not regard him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother.”

I am sure you were reminded of Jesus’ admonition to us to love our enemies when you read this verse. It’s the first thing that popped into my head. In the previous verse Paul is telling the Thessalonians to disassociate with a brother who refuses to obey and follow. But here Paul is clarifying that verse. He wants to make sure they know they are to continue to love them. They just need to confront and hold him accountable.

We tend to just “write people off” when they have angered us. Remember, Paul is talking about brothers in Christ, not the unsaved. I have heard it said too many times that the church is the only army that shoots its own wounded. How sad! We need to lovingly chastise those in sin but never treat them as an enemy to us or the Gospel.

APPLICATION

I hate to tell you, but your children are probably going to have some enemies. It’s really sad to think about that, but it will happen. As a parent, you need to make sure your children understand they are to love everyone as Christ does. But if someone chooses to make your child their enemy, they are to continue to love and pray for them.

And they are to especially love and pray for those who are of the faith. You have to model this so openly for your kids. They should never hear us badmouthing another believer. They should never hear us talking badly about a Pastor. We may not agree with everyone (as if that was even possible), but we should treat everyone as if Jesus was right there with us. Oh wait, He is.

Have you treated a fellow believer poorly? Have you broken off fellowship to make a point? You do not have the right to act that way. Jesus has paid the price for you and whomever you are at odds with. His death covered every sin on both sides of the argument. Will you today allow Him to love even the most unloving person in your life? He can and He will through you.

Father, You have promised to love through me. I know I can’t love those who hate me, but You can. Help me surrender to Your will and love as only You can love.

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SHAME ON YOU

2 THESSALONIANS 3:14

“If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.” 

Have you ever been shamed? Unfortunately, I have. I have done things in my past that I am not proud of. In some cases, those things were made public, causing shame. It’s embarrassing. It’s humiliating. But that shame can drive you back to the cross. It can serve as conviction through the Holy Spirit. 

Now, hear me out. I am not advocating a new ministry of shame. Quite the contrary. I would propose that we diligently seek to lift others out of shame. The devil wants us to feel unworthy. He wants us to wallow in shame. But the Lord uses shame to convict us of sinful behavior, just like Paul is saying to the Thessalonians in today’s verse.

APPLICATION

It is NOT your job as a parent to shame your child. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. Your job is to raise your child in a godly, spirit-filled environment so they can come to Christ at an early age. You don’t draw them to Christ. The Holy Spirit does that. 

And once they surrender to Him, they will possess the “shaming” power of the Holy Spirit. But what is great about that is He doesn’t do it to tear you down. He only convicts to make you more like Jesus. Jesus was sinless. We should strive to live sin free, holy lives, which are only possible in Him.

How’s your shame? Do you have unconfessed sin in your heart right now? Confess it! Make it right with the Lord today. He wants to use us to share His good news to the world. When we are walking in shame, we are not available.  Will you let Him take away that shame and reproach? All you have to do is ask Him.

Lord, living shame-free is so much better than living in guilt. Remind me daily to surrender these things to HIM. As you surrender completely, He can do more and more through and in you.

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TIRED OF BEING GOOD

2 THESSALONIANS 3:13

“But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.”

If you know me personally, you know I spent over 30 years of my 40+ years of ministry serving in the Child Welfare environment. I served in various capacities at several Children’s Homes. So many of the children I worked with would start learning how to handle their own behavior and make progress in school and home. But most of them would reach a point when they would regress to previous bad behavior. When asked why, they would say, “I am just tired of being good.”

That may sound like a cop out, but until they learned the truth of the Gospel, they were doomed to repeat this roller coaster of good behavior and bad behavior. Once they learned they didn’t have to be good and to allow Christ to live through them, they began to stabilize their behavior. They weren’t always good, but they recognized it was all about surrender.

APPLICATION

Don’t teach your children to be good. Yes, you read that right. Don’t teach them to behave. Teach them, instead, to trust the only Good One. When our children learn to depend solely on Christ, behaviors will improve. When they learn to follow Christ’s example of selfless living, they will put others first. 

You can’t teach goodness. You have to live it out. You have to experience life. Your children will have ample opportunities to “be good.” But nothing they can do will ever make them good. Only Christ can do that.

Are you pointing others to Jesus by your “goodness”? Are you allowing Christ to live in and through you? Apart from Him you have absolutely no goodness in you. You might be morally good. You might treat others nicely. But there is no goodness in you. We are simply sinners, saved by grace. Let His goodness lead you to do good works.

O Lord, I am so grateful that I don’t have to do good works to achieve my “goodness.” I recognize that no amount of deeds on my part will achieve that. Only You can make me “good” in Your sight.

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DON’T BE A BURDEN


2 THESSALONIANS 3:8

“nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you;” 

The only three times this word for “burden” is used in the New Testament, they are used by Paul. Once in 2 Corinthians 2:5, once in 1 Thessalonians 2:9 and then here in this verse. Paul did not in any way want to be a burden to those to whom he was shepherding. Whether it was what he was saying or doing, he wanted to spare them the obligation to care for him.

Unfortunately, too many believers today dump all their “stuff” on others. They guilt others into caring for them. I had an experience once when someone approached me to ask for money because they were “down on their luck right now.” When I told them I couldn’t help, they accused me of not being a Christian. Guilt!

APPLICATION

Teach your children to not be a burden. Teach them to carry their own weight. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. There is nothing wrong with receiving help. But we should never guilt someone into helping us. We should never cause someone else to feel obligated to take care of us. 

Your little Johnny or Susie may be one of those children who just oozes with mercy. Every time they see a person on the side of the road with one of those homemade signs asking for a handout, they beg you to give them some money. What a perfect teaching lesson. You must do what the Lord directs you to do but use that opportunity to teach this truth. Showing mercy is Christlike, but being an enabler is not.

If you have ever put your guilt on someone else to get them to give you something or care for you, repent. Then go and make that right. We need to follow Paul’s example of accepting a gift but not expecting or demanding it. Then the gift is truly a blessing rather than an entitlement.

Father, I thank You for friends and family who have come alongside me in the past. Help me pay it forward. But Lord, help me to be careful not to pass on any expectations to receive.

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OUT OF LINE


2 THESSALONIANS 3:7

“For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you,” 

I have to admit that sometimes, when I was growing up, I could, well, get out line. I didn’t stay disciplined. I was the kind of kid to push the limits, to color outside the lines, to act out. It wasn’t that I was hurt and needed to rebel. I just wanted what I wanted when I wanted it. I didn’t care much who I hurt to get what I thought I deserved.

The phrase “we did not act in an undisciplined manner” is one Greek word (used only here in the New Testament) which means  “march out of order; riot, rebel, behave disorderly, neglect duty, careless (or idle) in habits.” Does that sound like you or your child? I pray that is not so.

APPLICATION

It seems we are always getting our children back in line when they are young. We are quick to correct them. Why? Because we know if we don’t, they will think that acting any old way is fine. We have to teach them to “march in line,” to behave and to drop careless habits.

I never enjoyed correcting my children. I never liked getting corrected. But I am thankful that I can pass down to my children the discipline of God’s Word. It is the ONLY thing that can truly discipline us. Make that a priority with your children.

If you find yourself in that spot of “undiscipline,” stop and allow the Holy Spirit in you reign. He will always act in a disciplined manner. But He will not force you to walk a certain manner or talk in a certain way or even love in a certain way. He must work through our free will to accomplish what He has for us.

There is no reason for me to act like the world, Father. Forgive me for not living as an example of Your love. I so desire to be seen as living only for you.

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ALL MINE


2 THESSALONIANS 2:14

“It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Can you believe that? If you respond to God’s call given through the Gospel, you will gain (fully possess) His glory. What? Are you kidding me? That’s what it says. God wants to glorify us. But He can only do that if we are His.

You hear a lot people claiming to be believers but who live like the world. Being called through the Gospel has to change us. Our motivations for life shift. Our desire and wishes become more heaven focused. Am I right? The things of this world hold no value, or at least lesser value. All we want is His glory.

APPLICATION

This may be one of the toughest things to teach our children. They really have to just live it and experience it. So, our jobs are to lead them to Christ and disciple them once they have surrendered. You can’t disciple a lost child. If your little Johnny doesn’t know Jesus, he will never respond to your efforts to “build him up” spiritually.

BUT if your child comes to the King of Kings, they too will be glorified. You should see a change in their attitude. Will they still mess up? Don’t you? Will your child make some mistakes? Probably so. Pour into them. Let other mentors do the same. Sometimes our kids respond to others better.  That’s okay.

So, have you responded to the call? Have you yielded your heart to the Lord of Lords? He will make you His own. He will exalt you as you humble yourself. Don’t you want His glory all over you? I sure do. Give Him praise.

Father God, You are worthy of all my praise. I do desire Your glory. I long for you gentle hands which direct me toward others who are also in need of it today.

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