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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

You Are Worthy Of Me

Yes to be in true love with me
you must feel unworthy and
have no sense of self-righteousness.
But in feeling this way you must
not think of yourself as a
“spiritual bum”
In feeling this way you must
realize  that you have reached
a spiritual maturity which has
been given to you by the Holy Spirit.
For in feeling unworthy and in
not being self-righteousness you
are part of my love and grace
and not apart from it.
In other words, you are not excluded
from a relationship with me
because you feel this way rather,
you are worthy of me because you
feel unworthy of me.
So discount yourself not from my grace.
By not basking in your worthiness
and self-righteousness you shall reach
spiritual heights unimaginable

 

Dr. Don’s Reflections

The Holy Spirit is telling me in this Whisper that “You are worthy of me because you feel unworthy of me” You may think this is a little crazy but to me, it is an incredible Whisper of wisdom.

For years standing in the light of God, I felt so unworthy. A big part of that unworthiness was caused by my sins and my constant falling to temptation. In addition to feeling unworthy I had no sense of self-righteousness, that is to say, I did not feel entitled to the Lord’s grace by my feelings or actions. This feeling of unworthiness and no sense of self-righteous left me feeling not good enough to enjoy the love and grace of God without guilt.  But in reality, the fact that I felt this way placed me in the light of God.

Let me explain it this way because this wisdom was very hard for me to understand and I want you to get it.  Let us say no matter how much I sinned and went against the will of God I felt God owed me because after all I was baptized as a Christian and that “entitled” me to salvation and it did not matter much how I lived here on earth; My friends that would be someone who had feelings of worthiness and a sense of self-righteousness. The truth is God would not honor that but what this Whisper is telling me that the Lord honors my feeling of unworthiness and lack of sense of self-righteousness. The Whisper tells me that I should not feel excluded because of this but rather included for I should realize it is the grace of God that enables me to feel this way

All the time I felt that these feelings were not where I needed to be with my walk with Christ. However, the Holy Spirit is telling me not to feel bad for feeling like this, rather feel blessed. For in feeling unworthy and lacking in self-righteousness I have positioned myself right with Jesus that is my worthiness and righteousness is found in him. This understanding is a blessing. Instead of feeling like a spiritual bum, I feel chosen.

 

Dr. Don’s Comments

This is an amazing Whisper. If you are walking in and with the Lord, you cannot help but feeling unworthy and lacking in self-righteousness.  You probably thought as I did that feeling undeserving in this way made you feel that you were not cutting it with God.  You probably thought that feeling this way excluded you from the grace and gifts of God. But it is exactly the opposite.

If you feel worthy and self-righteous in your own right why do you need Jesus?  To feel self-deserving in this way is fuel for pride and all kinds of sins. But to feel that you are unworthy and lacking in self-righteousness allows Jesus to bring you along to share in his worthiness and righteousness which is the road to salvation.

That is why God brought his son to earth that through his sacrifice and sinless life you can be made worthy and righteous in and through him and not through or by yourself.  You cannot create the worthiness and righteousness needed to be a follower of Jesus on your own.  It is in a true sense of unworthiness and a lack of self-righteousness that you become blessed.

If you feel unworthy and unrighteous with and in the Lord, this is not a bad thing.  It prepares you for the true worthiness and righteousness that comes from the Lord. Feeling this way is an important part of your walk with the Lord.

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

Suffering For Salvation

Lord, I know all suffering
leads to you if we see
your grace and salvation in it.
I know most human suffering
is brought about by our sinful
nature and allowed by you to happen.
For in our suffering there shall you be,
clearly visible and waiting for us to repent.
In our human nature, we often think
our suffering has nothing to do
with our spirituality, so we try to suffer
through it by ourselves. I know now that
any human suffering is a call to come closer to
you no matter who caus edit or how it was caused.
Please forgive me for all the suffering I cause
myself and others.I pray that the good yo u
wanted to come for it, did May all my
suffering bring me closer to my salvation.

Dr. Don’s Reflections

Suffering is a big part of life. It does not have to be that way but we as humans bring it upon ourselves. I know in my life I brought far more suffering upon myself then God wanted me to have. However, my suffering is not the worse part of it, not at all; it is the suffering I caused others. 

I can honestly say I never caused someone to suffer intentionally, However,it matters not if the consequences of suffering were from unintended circumstances suffering is suffering no matter who causes it or how it is caused.

Through this Whisper to the Holy Spirit,I am acknowledging that I know all the suffering in my life could have been used and should have been used to move closer to the love and protection of my Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. I did not always see it that way. Sometimes I looked at it as punishment for not being as good of a Christian as God was calling me to be  Other times I looked at it as trials and tribulations having nothing  to do with God but it was all about worldly troubles

Over the years the Holy Spirit has taught me that my suffering whether brought about by me or others is a vehicle to become closer to God. That goes against worldly thinking for sure because many Christians feel that if they are close to God everything will go all right and there will be no suffering. But that is simply not Biblically based beginning with Jesus himself and the suffering he endured.

I do not look for suffering so I can please God but when it comes my way I am in it with Christ. I take the suffering and throw it to the foot of the cross asking Christ to absorb my pain and anguish with me and he does.

I could be the only one left in the world and if I were to suffer I would not do so alone. Christ will always be with me counseling, comforting, teaching, leading, and blessing me through the Holy Spirit. So suffering, I seek not, but when it comes my way, I run not.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” –Matthew 11:28-30

 

Dr.Don’s Comments

Jesus Christ suffered greatly to do God’s work. From the time of Jesus dying on the cross, many Christian have suffered greatly from the apostles’ Peter and Paul to the Christians who were beheaded several years ago on the beach by ISIS.  Yes, suffering is part of life and once it hits we do not necessarily need to run from it.

When suffering comes about it is OK  for you to say  “Why me Lord?”  However, if you ask this question you must be ready for his answer. And the answer may be “I am calling you amid your suffering to be with me and from your suffering we will be closer to each other in love, understanding, and salvation.

Here is what I can tell you from my experience Any trouble or suffering you go through God will bring good from it.It is a promise.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Nobody likes to suffer but it is part of life. When suffering enters your life you got to decide whether you are going allow your suffering to bring you up or take you down. Many people when encountering suffering try to run by way of booze, drugs, sex, work, and a host of other perversions. That will bring you down big time.  But in your suffering, if you can cry out to Jesus to comfort you with the Holy Spirit the suffering may not go away but it is absorbed along with you by Jesus Christ. He actually lifts you so your suffering while painful is bearable in Christ. 

If you are a Christian your only reaction to pain has to be a call to Christ knowing you are not alone in your suffering. All your Christian brothers and sisters also suffer in their lives. Do not let Satan use your suffering to capture your soul.

Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.1 Peter 5:9-10   

You do not have to suffer alone. Invite Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit in and see your salvation soar.

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

I Need Thee Every Hour

(These words are from a favorite song of mine written by Fernando Ortega. If you want to hear the song click on the link below)

I need Thee every hour
Most gracious Lord
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford
I need Thee, O I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee
O bless me now, my Savior
I come to Thee
I need Thee every hour
Stay Thou nearby
Temptations lose their power
When Thou art nigh
I need Thee, O I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee
O bless me now, my Savior
I come to Thee
I need Thee every hour
In joy or pain
Come quickly and abide
Or life is vain
I need Thee, O I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee
O bless me now, my Savior
I come to Thee
O bless me now, my Savior
I come to Thee
Just as I am
Without one plea
But that thy blood
Was shed for me
And that Thou bids me
Come to Thee
Oh, Lamb of God
I come, I come
Just as I am
And waiting not
To rid my…

Dr. Don’s Reflection

The Holy Spirit talks to me in many ways. Here he led me to share this song with you. It is a song I use when I have not got words of prayer. When that happens I like to listen to a song like this that helps me get in a receptive mood to receive God’s grace. It is only in the grace of God that I can come up with words of prayer to give to God and in that same grace, it is only with the grace of God that I can communicate with him by way of the Holy Spirit.

When I hear the words of this song I do realize “I Need Thee Every Hour”.  That realization to me is unbelievable because I never expected to be so permeated by Christ through the Holy Spirit as I have been.

My journey with Christ has gone from going to a church on Easter and Christmas to going to Church every Sunday to going to church every morning. My prayer time has gone from a quick Our Father to two hours in the morning and continued aspirations of prayer throughout the entire day.

This songwriter says he needs God every hour but I can tell you a walk with God will not stop there. God wants you in totality and if it takes a lifetime to get there so be it. The greatest reward we can receive is salvation.

I never expected to be so involved with Christ but in my walk, with Christ, I have found the more I knew God the more I wanted of him.  On the other side of that the more I gave the Lord the more the Lord wanted from me until I am totally in him and he in me. That totality has not happened yet but the Holy Spirit in his grace has me working on it.

 If I would be writing this song it would be entitled “I Need Thee With Every Breath”.  All during the day I see God, feel God, think about God and speak to God with every breath. Never did I think I would get this close to God and I cannot take one iota of credit for it because it was by the grace of God that I have been blessed with an intimate relationship with God through the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ the son of God.

Dr. Don’s Comments

Make sure you read the lyrics of this song and listen to it by clicking the link below.  Fernando Ortega is telling the Lord he needs him every hour for his love and peace.  He needs him every hour to deal with pain, with vanity, with sin and temptation, and for his love.

He is saying you need God every hour of your life.  You cannot be intimate with Christ by being a “Sunday Christian”.  No, not at all. It requires a desire to be as close to God as you can be.  But realize the keyword is “desire”.  All you have to do is desire to be close to God and through the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will make it happen. Know this there is no way you can get there by yourself. You simply get to the point where you lay your heart out to the Lord to for him to take and then you are surely on your way.

So know when you pray to the Lord know that you are his. Realize that the Lord takes you seriously and your walk with him will lead you to where he wants to take you and not necessarily where you want to go or the way you want to get there.

No matter how, when, where, or why your walk with Christ will be the best trip of your life

 

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

God’s Protection For You And Yours

I am with you inside and
outside your being.
There’s no place you
can be that I am not
with you.
My protection and
provision are always
about you and yours.
Urge your loved ones
to turn to me and
manifest the presence
of the Holy Spirit within
them which they received
at their Baptism.
I too want to protect
and provide for them
but they must recognize
me as their savior and their God

Dr. Don’s Reflection

I think about the content of this Whisper all the time. I feel unworthy of such protection and provision by the Holy Spirit.  When I look back at my life and see all that I did and did not do without the guidance of the Holy Spirit I have to wonder why the Holy Spirit stayed with me and in me for so long.

But in getting to know and understand the Lord and the purpose of the Holy Spirit I realized that the Holy Spirit does not quit on a soul easily. You have to turn yourself near completely to evil to drive out the Holy Spirit and even at that point, the Holy Spirit continues to call you back.

So I know that at this point in my walk the Holy Spirit is always with me providing and protecting me and I am convinced that he will be with me and guide me all the days of my life.  That message is clear in this Whisper.

Another part of the message of this Whisper is telling me to urge my loved ones closer to God and I am assuming the Holy Spirit means my family and good friends.  This is where I have failed miserably.  For while I have a deep walk with Christ in my own right I don’t feel I have urged my loved ones consistently enough toward the Holy Spirit. I could have and should have talked more to them about a life in the Holy Spirit and with Jesus Christ.

Now I am not saying they don’t have a spiritual life I am just saying I do not feel I have contributed much to it by word or example as much as I could have and should have.  As a believer and a Christian father, grandfather, and friend, I feel bad about this dereliction of my Christian parental and spiritual responsibility and I pray I can find a way to add to their spiritual develop- ment even at this late point in my life.

Dr. Don’s Comments

One thing you must realize in your walk with Christ is that he not only wants salvation for you but your entire family and all those close to you.  So it means you must not only be concerned with your own spiritual development but that of your loved ones and friends. In fact, you should be concerned with the spiritual development of all people to the degree you can help them in their walk. This is for sure what the Holy Spirit is telling me and you in this Whisper.

One of the biggest dangers of urging others toward Christ is if those you are urging toward Christ see you just “talking the talk” and not “walking the walk” that will do more harm than good when it comes to helping others with their spiritual walk.

There is no doubt that it is a responsibility for Christian to spread the word and not to keep the good news to themselves. Christian believers are to be “fishers of men” in thought word and deed.

So the bottom line on this Whisper is walking your walk with Christ but help those you love with their walk too.  In what ways you help them is up to you and the Holy Spirit. Make sure you consult with the Holy Spirit on how to help each loved one. One size does not fit all when it comes to spiritual development.

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

Even More Will Be Required

To match what you spiritually
know of me now with what you
spiritually knew of me in your past
is a trick of defeat by the devil.
Your walk with me has matured
spiritually with each step.
So the further along in your walk
you are with me the more you
know about being spiritually solid.
To look at the past and say you
should have done this or that based on
what you know now defeats you.
I judge people by what they
know of me now and how they act accordingly.
If a soul does not know me or my ways
how can I hold him to the ways
of the souls that know who
I am and what I expect.
I know your past sins
cause you sorrow
but take comfort in knowing
all your sins have been forgiven.
Your knowledge and ways of the past
are not where you are today
in your spiritual development.
I have given you much forgiveness and
many blessing and your knowledge of me
is great, so now I require much from you.

 

This Whisper is so true.  When you know so little about God little is expected from you but when you grow and mature in the Lord much more is expected from you.  My experience is just that.  When I was a “Sunday Christian” and knew of the Lord but did not know the Lord little was expected of me.  But it is not that way anymore.

I accepted Christ in 1978 and while my walk has been at a much slower pace then it should have, I have mature greatly in Christ and I love and know him well. Accordingly, the Lord expects more from me now then he did many years ago.

That is true with any love relationship, isn’t it? When lovers first meet they are taken back by the initial falling in love. But as time goes on they learn more about each other and in doing so their love increases and they expect more from each other.

In my walk with Christ, which was much slower than I wanted it to be, I have grown to know him more. In that knowledge, I have found his love was true and so I answered the Lord’s love with true love or as true as I could give in my humanity.

Now that I am further along with my walk with Christ I am more mature and he has revealed much wisdom and understanding to me. Along with our increased love, I have come a long way from where I was years ago with Christ.  So now the Lord expects much more from me than years ago. Do I always give it to him, no? But make no mistake about it he demanded all that I could give even when at times I fail to give it or I did not try to give it.

This is all explained in Luke 12:48

“But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more, will be required”.

The Lord has stayed with me all these years.  He knew I would fall along the way and not be able to meet all his demands. He picks me up from my falls and then demands more from me. And yes I found first hand that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. But I thank God for his love and patience he has with me and I pray I will get to the point where I surrender my “self” to him so that I am totally in him, with him, and by him for eternity.

Dr. Don’s Comments

Walking with Christ is really a mystery?  Do you feel the demand of his love?  Can you feel him making you a stronger Christian despite your falls?  Do you understand that maturing in your walk means you count less and he counts more?  It is a hard notion to grab and that is why they call your Christian faith a mystery.No one wants to give up who they are but the more you walk in Christ the more he will ask of you and the more you want to give yourself to him.

His call will always be on you and in the midst of that call you cannot be still. You have to move forward in his love and in your sacrifice.  The further along you walk with him the more sacrifices may come your way. It is not as if you are looking to suffer it is because you are chosen by him and you are in his love you are willing to sacrifice and suffer to whatever degree you may encounter in this world.

Throughout your walk, with Christ, you will witness many changes in yourself and some of them will surprise you.  Yes, there will be changes that you are working on hopefully with the grace of God but some changes will seem like the Lord did them for you.  You will witness the change and say to yourself from where did that come. Then you realize it is the Lord working in you and with you.

The entire purpose of your walk with Christ is to bring you into perfection and to get there will require much on your part but you must realize that Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit is affecting change in you as you too are working on change. It is an effort between God and his people to bring them from humanity to divinity.  If you are in this walk and understand what I am saying then “REJOICE”.  If not then “REPENT” and ask the Holy Spirit to come into your being and guide you in this walk of which I speak.

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF IT

Where ever and whenever you
look for me I will be there.
For you to be true with me
the flesh must come under
your control. If you are constantly
doing as the flesh wills than how
can you follow my will?
Yes it is the difference between
physical and spiritual dimensions.
With me, however, you cannot
be spiritual a little bit.
Doing as the flesh leads sometimes
and as I lead other times causes
 sin and sadness in your life.
With me, you must be totally
spiritual and that means you
are in the world but not of it.
It means controlling the flesh
not for discipline’s sake but
for the sake of living a
spiritual life in its totality
and making God #1

Dr. Don’s Reflections

This Whisper is what following Christ is all about.  I am not on earth to please my body and all my appetites but to build myself spiritually. Now I did not realize this earlier in my life in fact it was deep into my walk before I really got this message and the Holy Spirit made it clear.

For years I thought good food, good booze, good times, and good living was what my goal should be in life. Thank God I got the message.  The essence of who I am is spiritual. I am a spirit with a body, not a body with a spirit. Think about that.

I finally realized through the counsel of the Holy Spirit that the purpose of living a life unto death is to shed our body, our humanity, and to become totally a spiritual being, thereby, to live in everlasting life in eternity with my maker God.

I was born to have a life’s journey on earth to develop spiritually. That is why this Whisper is warning me not to cater to the flesh but build up the spirit. I have found that the call of the flesh often leads to sin particularly when I was living without the Holy Spirit.

Now I am not saying when you walk with the Holy Spirit you do not dress well or eat well or have a nice home, no, not at all. What I am saying is that with the Holy Spirit you need not these things of the world and you are willing to sacrifice them for spiritual development and the love of God. This takes discipline, hence the word disciple.

In taking control of my flesh, I found that I did not have the personal and physical strength in a sufficient amount to put God first. So I turned to the Holy Spirit whom I always knew indwelled in me.  It was the renewal of the Holy Spirit in my life that is leading me toward the goal of dying to self so I may be totally in Christ. I have a long way to go but there is less of my “self” in me than there was yesterday.

Dr. Don’s  Comments

Can you relate to being in the world and not of it?  It is a hard thing to understand. But as you walk with Christ, you should get a better understanding of what it means. If you do not then your walk is not real or you are walking down the wrong path.

As you become more mature in the Lord and develop a true intimacy and love you will notice things that were important to you before are not as important to you anymore. That is because as you do become more mature, more intimate, and more in love with the Lord the pleasantries of humanity become less desired and the yearning for being with the Lord in divinity takes over your thinking, desires, and behaviors. 

In a book entitled My Daily Bread by Anthony J. Paone, S.J. there is a daily meditation that reads like this.

“Beg often for the grace to find your joy in me above of all things created above health and beauty; above glory and honor; above power and dignity; above all knowledge and cleverness; above all praise and adoration; above all comforts and wealth; above all hopes and promises; above all human consolation and appreciation. Treasure me more than the gifts and rewards which I bestow on men. In me, you will find more than in everything else.”

Just stop for a minute and look back to when you first accepted Christ. Most likely you were caught up in a bunch of worldly desires.  But your walk with Christ means the worldly stuff becomes less and he becomes more until you are totally in him and he in you.

The Lord does not want to share his relationship with you in second place or below the things he has created for you and the gifts he has given you.  He wants to be first in your life and to most Christians; no effort is being made to make Christ first in their life. But for those who are trying to make this happen there will be many falls in doings so. But if it is your genuine intent to put God first he will give you the grace to do so no matter how many falls or how deep they are.  The Lord wants to be first in your life and the question is are you trying to make that happen?

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

LORD, YOU GIVE ME

        Lord……………………………
You give me breath when I can’t breathe
You give me light when I am in darkness
You give me understanding when nothing makes sense
You give me wisdom when I feel clueless
You give me empathy when I feel it not.
You give me faith when I am doubting
You give me perseverance when I want to quit
You give me humility amidst my pride
You give me protection when I feel vulnerable
You give me provisions when I have not
You give me energy when I am spent
You give me forgiveness when I fall to sin
You give me kindness when I feel mean
You give me comfort when I can’t find it anywhere
You give me healing when I am hurt
You give me myself when I know not who I am
You give me clarity when I am confused
You give me self-control when I am without it
You give me direction calling me back when I stray
You give me a sense of things when all seems nonsense
You give me people that I need to be placed in my life
You give me the joy to rid me of my sadness
You give me blamelessness and help me feel guiltless
You give me creativity when for me it is not there
You give me generosity when I feel like being stingy
You give me life when I feel lifeless
You give me gentleness when I feel forceful
You give me purity when I feel impure
You give me knowledge when I know not.
You give me mercy when I do not deserve it
You give me courage when I am fearful
You give me belief when I am unbelieving
You give me the call to forgive when I want to hold a grudge
You give me patience when I am at the end of my rope
You give me motivation when I can’t motivate myself
You give me death to self so that in me you shall be
You give me good from all thing in my life (Romans 8:28)

Dr. Don’s Reflections

I do not date many of the Whispers of the Holy Spirit but this one was given to me in November of 2017.  After reading the pages of a book on Brother Lawrence an amazing servant of God in the 1600s, I wrote down this Whisper as the Holy Spirit gave me the words to creates such a list.

This is a long way to say Christ is everything to me and all goodness in me comes from him.  Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit knows no boundaries in bringing those he chooses to holiness.  Now I am not saying I am holy but I can say I am more holy now than I was when I received Jesus.  After all these years Jesus is still working with me. The Holy Spirit still dwells in me. Jesus is still calling me and giving me mercy when I do not deserve it. He is still giving me patience when I find myself at the end of my rope. Or he is still giving me an understanding of issues when I choose not to understand. I am a work in progress and have been since I was born, born in the Holy Spirit that is.

Certainly, other souls in the same time frame could be much further along than me but I am OK with that. Christ knew I was a hard case when I was born again in the Holy Spirit. In fact, I knew I was a hard case for salvation but I wanted it enough to start and stay with Christ knowing somehow he would give me what I needed to be with him in eternity. 

The list above is a partial list of what he does for me. Christ never stops giving. The bottom line is I am nothing without Christ. All the good that comes from me is from Christ and anything not good is from my human way which I am trying to shed as much as I can while on earth. Through the grace of God, I want to be ready upon my death to be accepted into his eternal love.

Dr. Don’s Comments

Someone reading this might likely say to themselves “gee can’t this guy do any for himself” and I guess my answer would be sure.  I can fall into temptation by myself and I can sin by myself but anything good from me comes from Jesus Christ by way of the Holy Spirit.

What about you?  How much do you depend on the Holy Spirit and Jesus?

Are you of the belief that anything you get done has to be by and through you?

Do you think you can go it alone or do you depend on the Holy Spirit to guide you, counsel you, and teach you?

If you are like me you took credit for most good things in your life. Even though you were walking with Christ, you failed to realize that God cannot work with someone who wants to go it alone.  So when you try to do everything yourself for yourself it seldom works out.

If that is where you are in your walk with Christ do not fret. Christ will bring you to the point as he did me that you will understand it is through him, with him and in him that you must live your life. 

For a believing Christian, it is not what you can do it is what the Lord empowers you to do through the Holy Spirit.  This empowerment is only fueled by surrender. Surrender of self to Christ so you can live the life he wants you to live which is not necessarily the life you had planned for yourself.

The surrender does not happen in a day. It is a process, a lifetime give and take process, but as time goes by you become more mature in the Lord and you start to get how life works with Christ.

Review the list above and see how many of these given ways of Lord you have experience. Has lord given you patience when you were at the end of your rope? Has the Lord given you motivation when you were not motivated yourself?  See how many times you were gifted.

Then look at the list again and choose the areas where you feel you need the Lord to give to you.  Would you like the Lord to give you Knowledge when you know not or would you like him to give you comfort when you can’t find it anywhere? Check out the wonders of the Lord for what I have listed above are the wonders of the Lord in my life.

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

FAITH AGAINST FACT

You must not see things
as the world sees things
but as I see things
Common sense may
conclude it one way
based on fact but you
as my disciple must
look at worldly things
based on faith.
You must measure
your faith against the fact
then move ahead.
So many times looking
at things worldly may
seem impossible but
with faith, all things
are possible in my will.
You must always dare
to always view matters
in life with my eyes
and not man eyes.
Remember with me
and in me all things
are possible

Dr. Don’s Reflections

The Holy Spirit in this Whisper is counseling me not to look at things in the world just based on facts. This has been his counsel for much of my walk with Christ, however, I did not always listen to this counsel.  I can think back to so many things that I did or did not do because I based it on fact only.  I let my faith slip in favor of the facts even though the Holy Spirit was prompting me in a different direction then facts were taking me. At the time I did not realize it was the Holy Spirit with his promptings and counsel. I wrote it off as a voice in my mind instead of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Not realizing it was the lead of the Holy Spirit I went where the facts were taking me much to my dismay.

Now that I am more mature in my walk and I have lived the consequences of fact-based only decisions without the counsel of the Holy Spirit, I understand that every decision I make, even the small day to day decisions have to be done in the light of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is that light.

It took me a while to conclude that the Holy Spirit talks to me and in the correspondence comes, counsel, comfort, guidance, teachings, and even conviction of my wrongdoing.  Now I am in a conference with the Holy Spirit every day.  And when I say every day, I mean all day, every day.  Everything I look at I seek the counsel of the Holy  Spirit. It is like walking into my lawyer’s office and getting legal counsel.  The counsel I get from the Holy Spirit is spiritual counsel and his office is in and with my soul.

I had to realize that everything I say and do and the decisions I make have a spiritual side to it. I mean everything.  When I go to vote in elections, of course, I check out the candidates but  I also ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in my choice.  When I plan a vacation looking at the time and place it will happen I consult my travel agent but I also get counsel from the Holy Spirit.  I know this sounds crazy for some believers but I have been walking with Jesus for 42 years and I am much more of a spiritual being now than when I accepted the Holy Spirit in 1978.

It has been a long hard walk at least for me. Others may have had an easier time with there walk but not me.  I had to deal with the whole bag of Satan’s tricks, fear, doubt, pride, and more. But the Lord never gave up on me. He chose me and never has forsaken me. Now every day a piece of my worldly being and focus dies to the spiritual enlightenment given to me by the Holy Spirit.  I now realize more than ever I am a spiritual being with a body that gets shed at death. When my humanity ends my spirit lives on. That is what is meant by eternal life.

Dr. Don’s Comments

Where is the Holy Spirit in your life?  Do you set him aside as I did because the facts are taking you in another direction?  If you understand one thing about this Whisper please understand that you cannot be with him a little bit.  You can not get his counsel on this and not seek it on that.  If you have accepted the Holy Spirit you are a spiritual being that is in your body while you are on this earth.  However, the process of diminishing the body and heightening the Holy Spirit within must begin while you are on earth and completed as much as you can on earth. That is why you are here. To ready yourself for eternal life. Don’t blow a divine eternal life in paradise for human life on earth.

If you accepted and possess the Holy Spirit you must realize he exists to take over the body so that it becomes a sanctuary for him.  So your life on earth is amid a constant takeover by the Holy Spirit. One which will shed your body and leave your spirit shining at the gates of heaven.  But understand the battle begins here on earth. And I say battle because for me it was a battle even though I walked with Christ. I fought the Holy Spirit many times in his take over effort of my body.  Thank God he won!

The Holy Spirit will win with you also if you do not quit. Every time the Holy Spirit tries to take over, let’s say your pride and you fight him but he wins you are that much closer to being fully spiritual.  Your humanity and the world cause you to fight the Holy Spirit but through the grace of God, you surrender it over and over to him and move on to be your true spiritual self.

If you never received the Holy Spirit and you are living life without him you can receive him today just say this prayer or something like it in your own words.

“Dear Father, in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to stir up within me the fullness of your Holy Spirit. Help me to grow in my relationship with the Third Person of Your Holy Trinity and to live in his power and use his gifts.”

If you have received the Holy Spirit with the Baptism of water or the Baptism of Fire but you are basically ignoring his presence and counsel then say this prayer.

Lord Jesus, You promised, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). Help me to remember that I don’t know everything and that this is okay because the Holy Spirit understands it all. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and His understanding of everything that is happening in my life. Please renew the Holy Spirit in my being.

Depending on where you are in your spiritual life all you have to do for victory in Jesus is invite the Holy Spirit in or ask to be renewed in the Holy Spirit either one is a life-saving request, an eternal life-saving request that is.

 

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

Connection To Divinity

The Holy Spirit is within you.
You have made a
dwelling place for me
through his presence.
I can only live in and
through my people
by way of the Holy Spirit.
Without the Holy Spirit
I cannot fully manifest
myself in my people.
Without the existence
of the Holy Spirit
in my people the
Holy Trinity does
not exist.
You have chosen
to recognize, the
Holy Spirit and
be a sanctuary
for me. In doing
so you have made
a relationship with
me and Father God.
The Holy Spirit is your
connection to divinity.

Dr. Don’s Reflection

My walk with Christ did not really happen until I recognize and receive the Holy Spirit.  Before that, I knew of Christ but I did not really know him.  My relationship with Christ was, to say the least, limited and more religious than spiritual

After receiving the Holy Spirit my relationship blossomed. Jesus Christ changed my life through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did for me exactly what Christ said he would do when talking to his apostles before going to the Father God. He came to me as my comforter, as my counselor and my reminder of who Jesus Christ is and what he did on this earth while he was here.

In this Whisper, I am being told that the only way Christ can fully manifest himself in me and others is through the Holy Spirit.  Christ in this Whisper acknowledges that I have become a sanctuary for the Holy Spirit pointing out that it is my connection to Divinity.

Dr. Don’s Comments

To follow Christ without recognizing and receiving the Holy Spirit to me is impossible. I know many call to Jesus and Father God but they are not connected to the Holy Spirit.  So even if you consider yourself a good Christian you are not fully entrenched in the Holy Trinity without the Holy Spirit

It is important for you to take steps to build a relationship with the Holy Spirit and the first step in doing that is to acknowledge the Holy Spirit exists.   Praying to Christ to renew yourself in the Holy Spirit is a crucial prayer. I use the word renew because if you have been baptized you have the Holy Spirit within, He exists in you and for you. You received the Holy Spirit at your Baptism and now you simply do not acknowledge him.  You cannot have a relationship with someone you do not acknowledge. 

After acknowledging and praying for a renewal of the Holy Spirit you must have an expectant attitude that indeed the Holy Spirit will be renewed in you or as some believers say, born again in you. 

If you may remember John the Baptist said that he baptized with water but someone more powerful then he would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew 3:11

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John the Baptist was talking about Jesus and he can baptize you right now with the Holy Spirit and fire. Yes, you were baptized by clergy but that was a John the Baptist Baptism.  What you may need now is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit so that you can feel the fire and become a true sanctuary for Christ.

If you have not answered this call for a renewal of the Holy Spirit then you should pray about it and see how real it can become for you. It will change your life beyond your wildest imagination.

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WHISPERS TO AND FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

Increase My Compassion

Lord, I need your grace
to increase my compassion
toward your people.
So often I see and feel
the pain of those
who are hungry,
those who are fearful,
those who feel hopeless,
those who are incarcerated,
those who are old, sick, and lonely.
Lord, I see their pain and feel it.
What I am asking dear Lord
is to help me see your face
in everyone who is in need.
the hands the beggars extends are yours,
the tears the elderly cry are yours,
the pains of the hungry are yours,
the stares of the dying are yours
the hopes of prisoners are yours.
Please give me the grace
to see you in all who need help.

Dr. Don’s Reflections

Compassion was never my strong point; however, as I grew closer to Christ it grew. It grew not because of me but because of Christ in me. I began to notice how so many things in the world that were bad and sad moved me sometimes to tears. I would watch the nightly news and be so saddened by the awful things that were being reported.

In my ministry with the elderly and the incarcerated, I would be torn by what I saw and heard from these people sometimes wondering could this actually be true. I realize the compassion I felt was not mine for as I mentioned, I do not consider myself a compassionate person.  Then if not me, who?  I realize the answer to that question was Jesus Christ. I thought, oh this is what is meant by dying to self and allowing Jesus to live within me.

The longer I walk with Christ the more experiences he gives me. He shows me the only way to follow Christ is to be like him and the only way to be like him is to be less of me.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  If I wanted to be like Superman, I would dress like him with a cape and all. I would comb my hear like him and I would talk and act like him. Well if I did all that it stands to reason I would be less of myself and more of Superman. And so it is with Christ, the more I love like him, forgive like him, judge not like him, sacrifice like him and move closer to be like Christ, the more I will be like Christ and the less I will be like myself. Now understand I am far from being totally like Christ but little by little I am dying off and I know it is the Holy Spirit that is facilitating the “dying of self”.

I cannot be strong in my walk with Christ because I am me, not at all. I only can be strong in Christ because I am like he, Jesus Christ.  The total purpose of loving, following, and serving Christ is to become like Christ, himself. Any compassion I show comes from Christ. In fact, all good in me to whatever extent it exists comes from Christ.

Dr. Don’s Comments

For some of you, I know the thought of dying to self may seem strange.  But stop and think how many times you wanted to be different and act differently. Then think again, if you are not satisfied with who you are and you want to be someone better, who would that be? Another relative, a friend, or maybe a movie star. Well if you’re a Christian and want a strong fulfilled life than you should want to be like Christ. No one else will do.

Most good Christians want to be like Christ but they do not want to give up who they are to become like Christ. That is how it works, however, to become like Christ you much become less of you and more of him. You can only have one goal in following Christ and that is to become like him.

To have the compassion of Christ, the love of Christ, the patience of Christ, the temperance of Christ, the fortitude of Christ, the justice of Christ, the prudence of Christ, the faith and hope of Christ, and yes to suffer like Christ is to become like Christ. You cannot be like you and be like Christ too. You are human, Christ is divine. To become like Christ is to step into divinity.

I know for many Christians this seems so overwhelming. You are not going to achieve being like Christ yourself, no way. Take it from me, I tried. The only way you can continually move toward becoming like Christ is to submit yourself to Christ and let him do it.  Yes, if you profess you want to be like him, God will give you strength and grace to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many “Sunday Only” Christians feel that they are adequately answering the call to follow Christ but that just is not so.  To follow Christ as you should is to imitate Christ and to imitate Christ is to become like him. Paul the apostle exhorted Christians in 1 Corinthians 11:1

“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ”

If you are going to try to imitate someone in this life, make sure it is Christ. His love for you, his focused will, and his saving grace will get you there.