09-13-24-DAILY READING-ENG.

EXPERIENCING THE SPIRIT

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. —JOHN 14:16-17

 There's often a big difference between the promises of God in Scripture and the daily experience of many Christians. Why is it that countless believers seem to stand powerless before a world desperately needing what we claim to have? Why does the church have so little impact when we're the body of Christ on earth? Why are so many Christians frustrated, sensing that there has to be something more? There are probably several reasons, but a major one is that Christians are seeking gifts of the Holy Spirit and not the Holy Spirit Himself They want power but not a relationship with the One whose presence gives power. They want to do great things for God, but they haven't understood that greatness in the kingdom of God comes out of a relationship with Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

They're so enamored with self that they have no idea what's on the heart of God, and they miss out on what He has purposed for their lives. If we seek the gifts of the Spirit and not the Holy Spirit Himself, we'll always focus on self. We must learn to understand that there are no gifts apart from an intimate relationship with the Spirit. And the work of the Spirit is directly connected to the lordship of Christ in our lives. The greatest single tragedy of the people of God today is that they're missing the fullness of the Spirit. If they only knew what they were missing, they would stop everything and seek Him with all their hearts. For apart from the active presence of the Holy Spirit, there's no possibility of an individual or a church doing anything but practicing religious activity. You may be very active and involved in your church, but without the fullness of the Spirit, you'll miss the power of God. What God is seeking from us is not more activity, but a deeper relationship.