You may think that I’m always going on about transformation, a-n-d … you would be right! Without transformation we simply cannot build His church above the first floor. People who are not in the process of being transformed can quite easily have the right motivation but the wrong agendas. They can want to do good things for the right reasons … but good things out of His timing have no life in them. We need the Holy Spirit desperately.

That’s because we are following SomeOne, not just making stuff up as we go along!  We cannot move forward unless we follow the Leader, and Jesus sent back the Holy Spirit for us to follow HIM. We need His life, His input, in every single thing we do. Before you throw your hands up in the air because you know you can’t do that at this moment – (me neither!) …I just want to remind you that getting it wrong is never the issue. We can always repent of being wrong! However, being willing to admit we are wrong is definitely an issue, and so is repairing any damage we may have done. Meanwhile, leaving Him out of everything is just plain DUMB. He made this world by speaking – no-one can follow that kind of productivity!

The works of the flesh are also a problem, because our good works stink in God’s sight. We need to use whatever energy we have to learn what the Holy Spirit likes, so we can walk with Him. “How can two walk together unless they be agreed?” That’s just a fancy schmancy way of saying if you can’t walk to-ge-ther as ONE, then two people can’t possibly walk – together! Not rocket science. Here’s a free heads up. Fighting with your spouse is amongst the dumbest things you can do, you are negating your own prayers. Swallow your pride, repent and trust God to help you out of the hole you both dug! Learn to be wrong, even if you think you are right. It doesn’t matter if your spouse joins in or not – you and God are a majority. It may be slower than you’d like but HE will win. Outdo one another in HUMILITY and loving service. The higher ground is always the lower place.

In the church and in marriages, there are way too many pretender un-holy spirits. Christians can forget that we can’t see properly in the first place — mainly because we are all so good at being a pompous ass!  Let’s remember, that in church and in our marriages, we are here to serve one another, not rule the roost. When we choose to rule the roost individually, the Holy Spirit goes right out the door, and the devil rubs his hands in glee and takes over. Meanwhile, if people are afraid of you, or avoid you, you are in the wrong spirit. 

We dare not think we are the only person within any relationship that hears the Lord! God has been known to speak through a donkey – BOY is that a good thing to remember! 1 Corinthians 13 is a great yardstick. We need the art of humbling ourselves. I only know two people, in my whole life, who will always spontaneously apologise when things go topsy turvy! Whether they did anything wrong or not. Personally, I think that is because these two people value the Holy Spirit far more than being right! It is good to check with your kids, spouse, etc. and find out what they think is coming at them from you.

We need to remember that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are two different People. They both have exactly the same agenda, They want to glorify the Father. However, the Holy Spirit is not a man. Jesus Christ understood human beings, because He is one. But the Holy Spirit of God is different, He can be easily grieved. So … what grieves Him? Here are some thoughts: people who are unloving, joyless, they lack peace. They are impatient, unkind, what they think on and do is not good, they are not faithful, or gentle, nor do they have self-control. (This would be a great time to think about yourself in this context.) In other words their fruit of the Spirit tree is BARREN. They are like the fig tree Jesus cursed, lots of leaves and nothing for anyone to eat. Remember, genuine repentance is the immediate answer.

The Holy Spirit knows the benefits of remaining ONE with the Father, and the Son. They all have perfect harmony. He knows everything … and He knows the way through everything …so why would we try to figure stuff out by ourselves? Our marriages, our lives and our churches need the Holy Spirit. We do not have enough wisdom presently to go forward without HIM. Check out how badly the Israelites did in the Old Testament, when they tried to go solo. I need Him desperately. 👋🏻