Christians have many blessings from God, but too often we take those blessings for granted. When we truly accept Jesus Christ for salvation, a wonderful thing happens. We repent and are forgiven of our sins. That forgiveness should never be taken lightly. Just because we are forgiven doesn’t mean that we have a license to sin.

From the moment of true belief, our lives are changed and we become a new creation in Christ. Something else happens that isn’t often taught. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. What an amazing blessing that is.

“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the raise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12-14).

Sealed means we can’t get away, and He won’t leave. I always wonder about the confusion the very first disciples faced. They had followed Jesus and had ideas about Him being the Messiah. They trusted in their perception of Him. He was supposed to save Israel from persecution by the Romans. They didn’t know there was a bigger picture. He was going to save the world from sin. Then He was crucified. They saw it. They truly knew He had died. They also knew for a fact that He was buried in a tomb and it was sealed and guarded by soldiers.

On the first day of the week after the death and burial, they also knew the tomb was empty. What had happened? Jesus had promised a Comforter to guide them and give them power, but what could that mean?

The disciples were in fear of being arrested and had much to talk about, so they gathered in a locked room. As if the events of the last few days hadn’t been confusing enough, Jesus entered the room!  He simply said, “Peace be unto you.” I can imagine their shock.

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).

They now believed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus! They weren’t to keep it a secret, but they were to spread the Gospel. They were simple working men, not religious scholars who were blinded by what had been taught for many years. What could they do?

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:22-23).

Oh, to have been there that night. To see Jesus and have the Holy Spirit breathed into me by Jesus Himself.

The disciples were now indwelt by the promised Comforter, but the power wouldn’t be evident until Pentecost. When Pentecost came, they were gathered together. This is what Christians need to do. Gather with fellow Christians and be separate from the world.

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4).

There are many gifts of the Holy Spirit, and speaking in tongues is only one. Peter stood up and preached a powerful message through the power of the Holy Spirit. If you have truly repented of your sins and truly believe in Jesus, then you are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is guaranteed. Now, allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work through you. Whether your gift is speaking in tongues, healing, or sharing the Gospel, allow yourself to be an instrument of God’s love.

BREATHE ON ME, BREATH OF GOD

Written by Edwin Hatch in 1878

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the way you love,
And do what you would do.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, once physically, but he had to be born spiritually. That’s true for every human. We must be born again to obtain eternal life. That second birth requires repenting of our sin. This doesn’t mean we never sin again, nor does it mean we have to list every sin we have ever committed. Most of us can’t recall every sin we commit in a day, let alone a lifetime. It does mean we repent of the sin of rejecting the only way of salvation, which is the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. From that moment on, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and filled with life anew. We are, at that moment, sons of God.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

Once we become a son of God, we need to live the way Jesus showed us. Scripture is our guide, and the Holy Spirit living in us will help us to discern God’s ways and live to please Him. That means we must be a living sacrifice to Him. Some activities we thought were fun before we believed in Him need to be turned away from. The Holy Spirit will give you strength to put sin behind you.

A very hard thing for humans to do is love others as God loves us. His love is perfect love. His love also has standards, and sin isn’t acceptable. Because of Jesus, our sins are forgiven, but because of the Holy Spirit, we have the power to turn away from those sins.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until my will is one with yours,
To do and to endure.

The Apostle Paul had a lot to overcome when he met Jesus. The hatred that lived in him was Satanic, and he wanted every Christian killed. Paul was well-studied in Scripture, but he didn’t know God. Many who claim to be Christians today are the same way. Verses can be quoted, and they recognize the sins of others while blinded to their own sin. God wants us to draw near to Him and live a life that pleases Him.

When King David recognized a great sin he had committed, he faced the very real possibility that the Holy Spirit would be taken away from him. He lived long before Christ and was not sealed with the Holy Spirit. When he saw his sin, he immediately went humbly to the Lord and asked forgiveness and help to live a purer life.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

Today, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we can’t lose our salvation, but we can lose fellowship. Every time we sin, we take Him with us.

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:28-30).

When we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit; we grieve God. Let us allow our will to be one with God.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Til I am wholly Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

I wonder if Adam and Eve glowed with the light of God until Adam sinned and the light was veiled? Maybe, but the first time we read of someone glowing with the light of the Lord was when Moses spent time with God on Mount Sinai.

“And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him” (Exodus 34:29).

This shine frightened all the Israelites, so he covered his face with a veil. I wonder if that’s what we do. When we draw closer to the Lord and become “on fire” for Him, we become something our friends are afraid of. So, we hide our Christian glow, and eventually the glow fades, and we look like the world.

One day we will all shed this earthly body. Either we will be taken in death or by the Rapture. The signs are all around that the Rapture could happen at any moment. Until then, draw closer to God. Let His fire shine from your face, and don’t hide it behind a veil or under a bushel.

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light” (Luke 11:33).

Jesus is light, and we need to follow Him closely.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Don’t put a veil over His light. Let it shine!

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with you the perfect life
For all eternity.

Everyone will live eternally. We have a choice as to where that will be. If we reject Christ, we will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Hell is a “holding area” for those who reject Jesus. At the very end of time, Hell will be emptied into the Lake of fire.

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15).

This is not a place you want to spend eternity. On the other hand, Christians have a much better eternity ahead.

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Our names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life. Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them (us) and would return to take us there.

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3). 

What a blessed promise!

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).