How are you doing, spiritually? Do you know? Would you like to know and have confidence in your relationship with God?  The Bible presents several methods of self evaluation you may like to use. This Blog presents one of these points of self evaluation: How do you know that you have God’s “Holy Spirit” dwelling in you?

When Jesus died on the cross, He accomplished much; one of these accomplishments was to provide us with easy access to God through His Spirit, known as the “Spirit of Truth,” or the  “Holy Spirit.” Jesus said that we must be born again, which means to be born of the Spirit, which means having God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us. So, how can we be sure?

Some people will tell you that if you speak in tongues, you have the Holy Spirit; speaking in tongues is wonderful, but this is something that can be easily copied or manufactured. Some say that if you can perform miracles, you have God’s Spirit; but, again, we can be easily fooled by miracles; for instance, by magicians. Some will say that if you are righteous, you have the Holy Spirit; but, self-righteousness can be very deceiving even for the person displaying it. Notice that all these displays have the potential of giving us a false sense of acceptance by man. These points, I believe, can be proven in the following scriptures:

Matthew 7:22  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

Matthew 7:23  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'(ESV)

 Fortunately, the Bible gives us a valid method of self evaluation, so we can know whether we have the Holy Spirit in us or not.

Before presenting this method, we need to do a little background work. We are very complex beings: we humans are composed of a soul, spirit, mind, brain, flesh, conscience, measure of faith, awareness, members, and more. As a result of these complexities, we produce something very important: thought. These “thoughts” are private. The Bible says:

1  Corinthians 2:11a  For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?

Your thoughts are hidden from others. You can tell someone your thoughts, if you like, and they may or may not understand, but your spirit fully comprehends your thoughts.

This is true for God as well: only His Spirit fully comprehends His thoughts.

1  Corinthians 2:11b  So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

 God presents His thoughts to us in the Bible, but they are difficult, if not impossible, to understand since they are much higher than our thoughts and must be spiritually discerned. Therefore, the only way we can comprehend the thoughts of God, is to have His Spirit in us. 

1 Corinthians 2:12  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

1 Corinthians 2:14  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand …

 That is it. If you put the above scripture together, you see that if we have His Spirit, we have access to His mind and thoughts. We realize His word is truth and not folly. We share His thoughts and we share His values. We become transformed by the renewing of our minds. When someone curses God, we are hurt. When someone doesn’t believe we are burdened.

 It is important to point out that even though we have the Spirit of God in us, we still have evil thoughts; do things we don’t want to do; and, in  general, disappoint ourselves. These things do not detract from knowing the mind of God, actually, the fact that we recognize these things, also proves the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, because He guides us in Truth and, always, toward God.

Note: This method of self evaluation is between you and God. Only you know, and if you have concerns, talk to God about it and get it settled – just you and God.

Your children are being launched into a world filled with lies. Are you providing your children truth?

In earlier teaching, we have presented the Biblical concept of a “measure of faith,” and that little children have this “measure of faith” in a pure form, pure in that it hasn’t been polluted by the deceptions of this world. Please remember this when you talk with your children. What a waste to encourage them to invest this precious “measure of faith” in lies such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the tooth fairy. When they find out that Santa Claus does not exist, they will assume you lied to them about many other subjects, such as Jesus.
Your children, when young,  believe what you tell them. If you tell them there is a pink elephant dancing in a tutu just outside the window, they will immediately go to the window and look for the pink, dancing elephant.

Your children will continue to listen to you as long as you are honest with them and a source of truth. My advice is to never lie to them. If you don’t lie to  them, they will always come to you for truth. Sometimes the truth is “I don’t know,” but offer to learn with them and find the truth – together.

When your children come to you and want to talk, turn off the TV, put down the book, or turn away from the computer. The conversations with your children are eternally rewarding. The relationship you build with your children in the early years will build a foundation for later years. If they know you are a source of truth and honesty, they will always come to you.

There are times when you will think your children are hopeless and you will have the tendency to give up on them; but, by faith, continue to tell them truth and love them. You will see later that they did listen.

To Do: Your children will be exposed to many lies from: friends, television, the internet, and school. Concerning school, show interest in their classes and study with them – not only to help them, but also to know what they are being taught. When you think a text book is wrong (e.g. concerning creation and evolution), tell them what you think; teach them what the Bible says and show them how to learn. They will love this. Teach them that Jesus is “Truth” and they should never fear truth. Also, teach them that it is the job of the Holy Spirit to teach us “all things.”

John 14:26  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things…(Jesus)

Your children will appreciate knowing these things and love learning with you. Also, teach them about God’s precious gift: the “measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).”

If you have already raised your children and haven’t used these principles, but wish you had, tell God, reason together, and ask Him to use the past for good. He is the creator of all things and together you and He can make it right.

How can we do the work of God? Should we preach? Should we teach? Should we give our money to the poor? Should we be involved in civic work? What work does he want us to do? We feel fulfilled when we do something.

One day Jesus met a crowd and they asked him this question, “What must we do, to be doing the work of God?” Jesus gave them a direct and specific answer: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”  So, we need to believe in Him whom God sent: Jesus (God’s Word in the flesh, also known as the Truth.) To some this seems too easy and a bit too vague. However, think about it, this is wonderful news: we are not limited by our talent, our heritage, our environment, our intellect, our money; nothing can prohibit us from doing the “work of God.” This is how the creation works: it is just.

Dwell in God’s word and allow it (Him) to dwell in you. This will result in having more faith, which will result in getting closer to God and His word. This cycle results in doing the work of God.

I have a very good friend, a bit older than me. One day he told me he would like to believe, but can’t. He was sincere. After some thought I realized his problem: God had given him a “measure of faith” when he was young, but the “measure of faith” had been invested in things other than God; and now his faith was dead or near dead. I gave him some advice on how to restore his faith, but he didn’t take it – so far.

My advice is to believe while you can. The younger you are the better.  Do the things that build faith: read the Bible; associate with other believers; meet with God daily; and, value the things that are important to God. Also, spend time with your children; allow them to use and express their faith in God. Children believe, be careful not to damage their precious faith in God, but help them to cultivate and increase it.

Also, thank God for giving you a “measure of faith.” Enjoy it and use it to do the work of God!