THAT SAME JESUS LIVES IN YOU

A special time came into my life after reading a book "After The Spirit Comes"by Jack R. Taylor. Many of my friends were in the speaking in tongues movement and tried to tell me because I did not speak as they did I was not saved, A dear friend, RUTH WARD, who I worked with at C B Greer Elementary gave me a book, After The Spirit Comes, and when I reached page 14 I was captured by the words on the page. He was telling about Acts chapter 3. Peter and John had gone to the temple at the time of prayer and a lame man was at the the Gate Beautiful begging for alms.Peter fastened his eyes on the man and said LOOK ON US.Then he said " SILVER AND GOLD HAVE I NONE , BUT SUCH AS I HAVE, GIVE I THEE." You can read what happened after that. I saw a sentence that just captured my attention and I looked for something to underline the sentence. I had never done this, write in my bible or books,and I found the pencil and rushed back to the book. GUESS WHAT? The sentence was gone but it was burned in my brain.The writer said it was as if Jesus was standing there holding the cripples hand. HE said, indeed he was standing there in Peter. Then it said (this is what I thought I had seen)THAT SAME JESUS THAT WAS IN PETER LIVES IN YOU! I knew in that moment that Jesus Christ lived in my body. I went to the mirror and looked into my eyes and what I SAW THERE MADE ME WEEP AND WEEP. I cried out how can you live in me I am not worthy of this. I finally stopped crying and went back to the book but the sentence was still not there. That was a message from the Holy Spirit .


I just read the passages again tonight and it still is not there. But THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS MY PERMANENT TENANT. IN FACT HE PURCHASED THE  HOUSE.  I am The House of God.  All of the teachings about The Holy Spirit just fell into place.

THE DIFFICULT ONE (PART 1)

Of all the events I have to write about, the following is probably the most difficult. I was saved in July of 1967. Never having gone to church I knew nothing of the workings of God. I started drawing bible stories and graduated to florescent chalk and black light. I had just finished two weeks working in a local Bible School and had a remarkable two weeks. I had six children, one girl and five boys. My oldest boy played softball and missed a practice and was dropped from the team. One day I was at the ballpark watching one of the other children play and one of the ladies from my neighborhood was there helping her husband coach a little league team . She heard me talking about the oldest son not playing and said,"We need another player for our team " You know how you say, gee anything I can do in return ,etc, and she had heard the talk about the Bible School. Anyway I wound up at her church for two weeks.
We had a great time and the turn out was big. I knew NO ONE IN THAT CHURCH except the lady whom I had met at the ballpark. Her husband's mother in Michigan had passed and they had gone to Michigan. That left me not knowing anyone in this church. At the end of the week a lot of buzz was going on about the pictures I had drawn and everyone was coming to the room to view them. The Preacher's wife taught the young people and asked me if I would give my testimony to her class and draw. I had never given a TESTIMONY and didn't know what one was. For this class I selected an usual picture. It was a cross section of the interior of a church, pews, people in the pews, preacher, choir director , choir and outside in heaven a gigantic magnet. After the testimony I explained how each person at salvation receives the Holy Spirit. I equated the magnet to God's drawing power. I had two markers which to the human eye looked EXACTLY ALIKE. As I am talking I am constantly drawing lines from the magnet to each person inside the church. I could not tell which pencil was black and which one was red. Just as we can't look at people and tell if they are saved. I explained that when the light went out and the blacklight came on if the line went BLACK that person was lost - if the line turned RED that person was saved. When the blacklight came on the Preacher's line was BLACK and the Choir Director's line went BLACK. The preacher is sitting right behind me as I am teaching. I tried to get out of what had just happened. My knees are shaking and I am ready to get away from there. An altar call was given, after the Preacher walked out, and two or three young people came forward ad accepted Christ. As we wrapped up the class the Preacher's wife said to me "There was a problem in here today and I think you got to it" Well three young ones did come forth maybe one of them?  CONTD  TO PART 2

THE DIFFICULT ONE (PART 2)

I got out of the room alive. Now the Preacher's wife approaches me to give the testimony at the graduation ceremony. I didn't feel comfortable speaking before a large gathering. The children were great to teach, I could keep their attention with a piece of chalk. I agreed and got up that night before a large gathering and stated that God had sent me to this church for a reason and on and on. I said I knew there was someone listening God was trying to get through to.  Everyone went to the room to view the drawings and I went home

Two weeks later my phone rang and a Lady named Mrs. Parks was on the other end asking if I was the one who did the drawings at ___. Yes I said and she said that the lady who had arranged for me to teach had just come back from Michigan and told them who I was. NO ONE KNEW WHO I WAS.  I'll never forget what happened next. "Did you ever figure out why God sent you to ______? No I said. She said " Did you know the preacher resigned? No . Did you know the Choir Director resigned? (The Choir Director was a female)? No. and the crying started. I cried and cried. She said don't cry. There was an affair going on between these two. The church suspected it and when you came and did that drawing and talked before the church the Preacher said he knew God had sent you to expose him. So he resigned. I knew for the first time how God uses those that have surrendered themselves to him. I did not talk about this .  Only the church where I had drawn the picture and I knew about it.  I held  a reverential respect for God  and I never knew when this would happen again. I knew there was someone else -Christ -sharing my body.  It wasn't fear it was  humility and respect and a deep love.  And then things really started to happen. It has really been a wonderful journey and it still goes on.

Holy Spirit is Teacher

I have been in churches that ran campaigns.  An award was given for the BEST TEACHER.When I became alive in the Spirit I began to view things differently.  If each  believer is filled with the same Spirit,  the Spirit of the living Christ, how can we pit The Spirit against himself? We are prompting the believer to struggle in the flesh. JOHN 14:26 JESUS states""But the Comforter (even) the Holy  Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.  We need to learn exactly what we are in Christ.Study and Grow in the LORD thru the Holy Spirit. 

TWO LIVES TO LIVE.

Just thinking this morning: Each and every person born into this world, born of the flesh, has TWO lives to live. The one you are living now and the next one that shall last for an eternity. The first life you had no choice. Your family was decided for you, your environment was decided for you, etc. If we did have a choice we would have selected a family with lots of money, nice home, someone that would always love you, no abuse, etc.


HOWEVER. you do have a choice where you will spend the second life, ETERNITY. The Bible shows us what that life will be like and all the benefits we will receive . This decision should be made very carefully.