Don't Be a People Pleaser

When I was a teenager, I attended a Bible conference in Southern California. I was excited to attend that conference, because I was believing for God to move in my life. I went to the conference full of faith and prepared to receive God’s Word. I took my Bible, a notepad, and a pen. I arrived early and was even able to get a seat in the front row. 

Now, during this time, I had only just begun in ministry but God was blessing the ministry with some small but healthy growth. So there were a few people at the conference who were somewhat familiar with my ministry.

While sitting in the front row, my sense of anticipation intensified. I was ready to receive. Then, just a few minutes before the service began, a pastor approached me, greeted me, and then sneered, “Well, well, well. Look at you. You think that just because you’re in ministry now, you can sit in the front row.”

I was shocked and saddened by that comment. I began to search my heart. 

“Was I sitting in the front row to be seen?”

“Should I have not sat on the front row?”

“Was there some hidden impure motive in my heart?”

“I thought I was just excited to be there!”

I don’t remember what was preached during that night of the conference, but I remember how I felt about that comment.

Not wanting to risk or tolerate even a bit of impure ambition, I decided the next night of the conference to sit in the back row. So I did just that. I still arrived early. I still had my Bible, my notepad, and my pen. But I sat in almost the very last row. Surely, I would be free from all criticism there. 

This time, however, a different Christian leader approached me. He shook my, greeted me, and then remarked, “You get a little bit of popularity and suddenly you think you have to hide here in the back row.”

You can’t please everyone. So just worry about pleasing the Lord.

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. (Galatians 1:10)

No matter what you say, someone will disagree. No matter what you do, someone will think it should have been done differently. No matter what truth you speak, someone will point out a truth you left out. There’s no escaping the opinions of people. For every action and inaction, the offense of someone is waiting. 

Now, by no means am I saying that you should never consider the feelings or even the corrections of loved ones or the wise. I’m simply saying that it’s impossible to please everyone. So don’t even try. Instead, focus on pleasing the Lord, and everything else will fall in line. For when we please God, we are truly living. 

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Don't Hurt the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a Personal Being. He has a mind. He has a will. He has feelings.

And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30, NLT)

A startling reality - the Holy Spirit can be grieved by our actions. The way we live can hurt Him. With this in mind, those who love the Holy Spirit must ask, “What grieves the Holy Spirit?”

Whatever contradicts the nature or the Word of God grieves the Holy Spirit, especially when such contradictions are lived through God’s own children.

Disobedience to the Word of God grieves the Holy Spirit. Ungodly thoughts grieve the Holy Spirit. When we prioritize entertainment over prayer, we grieve the Holy Spirit. When we ignore His gentle voice, we grieve the Holy Spirit. When we are more committed to interacting on social media than we are to reading the Bible, we grieve the Holy Spirit. When we allow anger to get the best of us, lust to control us, and fear to dominate us, we grieve the Holy Spirit.

When we place our political preferences over God’s truth, when we hold grudges against fellow believers, when we live contrary to what we preach, we grieve the Holy Spirit. When we disconnect from the gathering of believers, when we twist the Scriptures to excuse our compromise, when we withhold the gospel from those who need to hear it, we grieve the Holy Spirit.

Sin grieves the Spirit. Compromise grieves the Spirit. Spiritual apathy grieves the Spirit. Let us become people Who know the Word. Let us learn what break His heart, that we might not grieve the Holy Spirit. 

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The Love of the Holy Spirit

One of the many wonderful works accomplished by the Holy Spirit in your life is the cultivating of divine love. The Holy Spirit is the One Who fills you with the love of God.

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. - Romans 5:5

Truly, the love of God comes from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One Who causes this divine, eternal love to permeate the entire being – outer and inner man.

Think of just how primary love is, for everything that actually matters hangs upon this love.

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus teaches that the greatest command is loving God with your all – heart, soul, and mind. Jesus tells us that it all – your purpose, your life, your walk with the Lord – primarily rests upon your love for God and, secondly, your love for others. This means that by endowing us with the love of God, the Holy Spirit is giving us all that we need to live the successful Christian life.

Loving God is the key to life, and the Holy Spirit gives us both a desire for that love and that love itself. Without the Holy Spirit, one cannot truly love Jesus. In fact, without the Holy Spirit, one cannot even desire to love Jesus. I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit shares that love with us.

That love expresses itself in worship of and obedience toward Jesus, because Jesus is the focus of the Holy Spirit.

 13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. - John 16:13 & 14

The Holy Spirit glorifies, magnifies, and emphasizes Jesus. His heart is to point humanity toward the Savior. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus and, as I like to phrase it, vivifies Jesus. He makes Him more real to you than even your own flesh. And He does this because He loves Jesus.

There is no one on earth more passionate about the name of Jesus than the Holy Spirit. He loves Jesus more than anyone does. If you’ll yield your life to Him and obey His gentle voice, you will share in that love.

What a wonderful truth, that the Holy Spirit can cause you to love Jesus like He loves Jesus. Think about that! You can love Jesus like the Holy Spirit loves Jesus. Perhaps you are reading this right now and you are saying to yourself, “I want to love Jesus like the Holy Spirit loves Jesus.” Well, it’s possible, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

How can this love be attained or grown?

While your love for Jesus can grow throughout the remainder of all your days, there is, thankfully, a very simple place to at least begin.

Loving Jesus begins in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. After all, He is the One Who fills us with the love of God (Romans 5:5).

I first learned of this fellowship when I was eleven years old. A preacher pointed this verse out to me:

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. - 2 Corinthians 13:14

What does it take to fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Simply put, it takes time and surrender.

Remember this: the essence of all true spirituality is simplicity. If it’s complicated or tedious, it isn’t spirituality, it’s religion.

Time spent in prayer and worship, being attentive to the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, will result in not only you loving Jesus but also being like Jesus.

The Holy Spirit loves the image of Jesus so much that He also works to bring about that majestic image in you. Whether you feel like fellowship with the Holy Spirit is accomplishing anything or not, know by faith that every second spent with the Holy Spirit is increasing the love of God within you.

The more time you spend in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the greater your love for Jesus becomes. The Holy Spirit will set your heart ablaze with an undying love for Jesus, if you’ll only give Him some time.

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First Love

Jesus is holy – we must love Him more than our sin.

Jesus is humble – we must love Him more than ourselves

Jesus is present – we must love Him more than distraction

Jesus is selfless – we must love Him more than our comforts.

Jesus is truth – we must love Him more than our beliefs.

Jesus is trustworthy – we must love Him more than our fears.

Jesus is accepting – we must love Him more than our prejudices.

Jesus is supernatural – we must love Him more than our agenda.

Jesus is personal – we must love him more than our independence.

Jesus is good – we must love Him more than our blessings.

Jesus is merciful – we must love Him more than our rights to justice.

Jesus is generous – we must love Him more than our gain.

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