God's Work in North Africa.

Men of Algeria, 1987

"It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."  Acts 2:17

I read that there was a wonderful movement of God in Algeria, so I went online to see if it were true. Yes, Praise God, it is true! Muslims are having dreams and visions of Jesus and angels. How wonderful, how good is our heavenly Father!  Here is an address to go to to read about it.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/April/Revival-in-Land-Once-Hostile-to-Christ/

"...a profound move of God in the predominantly Muslim nations of Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia.

From the shores of Casablanca, Morocco, to Tripoli, Libya, experts say the growth of Christianity, especially in the last 20 years, has been unprecedented.

Now that growth is also evident in the North African nation of Algeria."

God is pouring out the Holy Spirit in abundance. Praise the Lord! It is wonderful to be in the last days of earth's history and see how God works to bring thousands of people to himself. May the whole world be lightened with his glory.

"Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains."  James 5:7

“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before."  Joel 2:23

The Holy Spirit in Us.

Photograph: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freska_u_kaloti_krstionice,_manastir_%C5%BDi%C4%8Da,_Srbija.jpg

"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

Romans 8:26-27

I love this verse because sometimes if I am feeling overwhelmed I remember it and ask the Holy Spirit to complete my prayers. 

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" 

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:35,38,39

I remember when my husband was very ill in the hospital. He had forgotten who he was, where he was and who I was. He had forgotten everything and everyone. But he said as he was laying there thinking he did remember Jesus and God. He felt peace of mind because he knew God was with him. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Love Fulfills the Law.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22,23

Excerpt from the book, "Secret Power," by Dwight L. Moody

The fruit of the Spirit, as you find it in Galatians, begins with love.

There are nine graces spoken of in the sixth chapter, and of the nine different graces Paul puts love at the head of the list; love is the first thing—the first in that precious cluster of fruit. Some one has put it in this way: that all the other eight can be put in the word love.

Joy is love exulting; peace is love in repose; long suffering is love on trial;
gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action;
faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love at school; and temperance is love in training.

So it is love all the way; love at the top; love at the bottom, and all the way along down these graces; and if we only just brought forth the fruit of the Spirit, what a world we would have; there would be no need of any policemen; a man could leave his overcoat around without some one stealing it; men would not have any desire to do evil.

Says Paul, “Against such there is no law;” you don’t need any law. A man who is full of the Spirit don’t need to be put under law; don’t need any policemen to watch him. We could dismiss all our policemen; the lawyers would have to give up practicing law, and the courts would not have any business.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:30,31

I Am With You Always.

When his friends were frightened, Jesus said, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  Matthew 14:27

If we remember Jesus is with us every moment, that thought can give us courage. When we know the God of the universe is loving us, helping us and working for us, then we can take heart and his presence gives us strength.

Just before Jesus was to be crucified, he told his friends he would be leaving them. They felt full of sadness and discouragement. They had been with Jesus day and night for three years; they thought he would become the King of Israel. Now he said he was leaving.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart."  John 16:4-6

Jesus was a strong and steady leader to his followers. He always knew the right thing to do and say. I can imagine they felt they would be without a compass and anchor if he went away. But they were wrong; Jesus would be just as close to them after he left.

"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."  John 16:7

Jesus did leave the world physically, but through the Holy Spirit he is with each one of us every moment. 

As he left for heaven, Jesus said,  "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matt. 28:20  In that promise we can all take courage.

The Power of Prayer.

From the book, Quiet Talks on Prayer, 

1904, abridged

Written by S.D. Gordon

There is one inlet of power in the life - anybody's life - any kind of power; just one inlet: the Holy Spirit. He is power. He is in everyone who opens his door to God...To yield to his mastery, to cultivate his friendship, to give him full swing, that will result in what is called power - the Holy Spirit in control.

There are five outlets of power; five avenues through which this One within shows himself and reveals his power.

First: through the life and what we are. If we be right, the power of God will be constantly flowing out, though we be not conscious of it. It throws the keenest kind of emphasis on a man being right in his life. There will be an eager desire to serve...

Second: through the lips, what we say. It may be said stammeringly and falteringly, but if said your best with the desire to please the Master, it will be God-blessed. I have heard a man talk; he stuttered and blushed and got his grammar badly tangled, but my heart burned as I listened. And I have heard a man talk with smooth speech; it rolled off me as easily as it rolled out of him. Do your best and leave the rest.

Third: through our service, what we do. It may be done bunglingly and blunderingly. Your best may not be the best, but if it is your best it will bring a harvest.

Fourth: through our money, what we do not keep, but loosen out for God. Money comes nearest to omnipotence of anything we handle.

Fifth: through our prayer, what we claim in Jesus' name.

By all odds the greatest of these is the outlet through prayer...The greatest thing anyone can do for God and for man is to pray. It is not the only thing, but it is the chief thing. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I don't mean those who talk about prayer, nor those who say they believe in prayer, nor those who can explain about prayer; I mean those who take time and pray.

They don't have time. It must be taken from something else.

There are people who put prayer first and group the other items in life's schedule around and after prayer.These are the people today who are doing the most for God; in winning souls, in solving problems, in awakening churches, in supplying both men and money for mission posts...

Man's willingness is God's channel to the earth. God never crowds nor coerces. Everything God does for man and through man He does with the man's consent. God can do nothing for the man with a shut hand and shut life. There must be an open hand and heart and life through which God can give what he longs to. An open life, an open hand, open upward, is the pipe line of communication between the heart of God and this poor befooled old world. Our prayer is God's opportunity to get into the world that would shut him out.

The Empty Room.

My sister and I were discussing Matthew 12:43-45. "When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, 'I will return to the person I came from.' So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before."

We think Jesus meant that after the Holy Spirit comes inside us, cleanses us from sin and unites us with God we must not let our hearts become empty of the Spirit. Like Israel every morning went out and gathered fresh manna, so we must each day gather wisdom and strength from God through prayer and reading the Bible. Jesus said, "Eat my flesh and drink my blood." He becomes a part of us and fills us.

The man with the evil spirit left himself empty. If we do this then we will become filled with evil and be "slaves to sin," as Jesus also said. If God does not fill us then Satan will. My sister said, "I knew prayer and Bible study were vital, but I didn't know why until now."

Clarke's Commentary on the Bible 
http://bible.cc/matthew/12-44.htm

Into my house - The soul of that person from whom he had been expelled by the power of Christ, and out of which he was to have been kept by continual prayer, faith, and watchfulness.

He findeth it empty - Unoccupied, σχολαζοντα, empty of the former inhabitant, and ready to receive a new one: denoting a soul that has lost the life and power of godliness, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

Swept and garnished - As σχολαζω signifies to be idle, or unemployed, it may refer here to the person, as well as to his state. His affections and desires are no longer busied with the things of God, but gad about, like an idle person, among the vanities of a perishing world. Swept, from love, meekness, and all the fruits of the Spirit; and garnished, or adorned, κεκοσμημενον, decorated, with the vain showy trifles of folly and fashion. This may comprise also smart speeches, cunning repartees, etc., for which many who have lost the life of God are very remarkable.

God Prays for Us.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
Romans 8:26

http://bible.cc/romans/8-26.htm

Sometimes when I am grieving a loss or feeling depressed I think of this verse. I remember that even if I can't find the words to express my anguish - the Holy Spirit can. This amazes me: The thought that God through the Holy Spirit feels what I feel and understands completely. And not only understands, but intercedes and prays for me.

How and why this is done I do not know; but I believe it is so, and this gives me great comfort.

The Wind and the Spirit.

"Do not be surprised I said to you, "You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it wants and you hear the sound of it but do not know where it comes from or where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
John 3:7-8

The wind is a powerful force. It blows the seeds and pollinates the earth with plants, it causes the waves to roll on the sea, it keeps the air clean and moves the sand dunes. We cannot see it, but we can see what it does.

We cannot see the Holy Spirit, but we can see the results of his work on human beings. He begins to whisper to us as children, moving upon our minds to do good and think good thoughts. He leads us to people, books or movies that tell us about God. We consider these things and he impresses us with the truth. If we turn ourselves towards the Spirit of God and surrender to God we are born again. We enjoy spiritual things, we enjoy doing right, we change slowly into God's image.

When did our conversion begin? Who can say? Jesus seems to say we cannot pinpoint the exact time. I thank God he works so hard for us. I thank him for his patience. I thank him for his deep love.

The Whole Armor of God.

"Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for you feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."