The Crucial Piece!

I love juicing.  There is something cathartic about watching fruits and vegetables be pushed into the jucing chamber and out comes some fabulous juice.  I love it so much that I juice every other day.  Some days it is a combination of tomato, apple, spinach, carrots and pineapple.  Other days I load up on lots of veggies and only a few fruits.  Needless to say I love it.  More than that, I think I am a little bit addicted to it.


This morning I went out to juice, placed a zucchini into the chamber and pushed the button. Nothing happened.  It must be the plug I thought.I tried another and still I never heard the whizzing sound that I have grown so accustomed to.  I did what many wives do in times like these. "Kevin, can you come help me?" Sure enough he was able to make it work, kinda! As we watched with anticipation, the motor was working and everything seemed fine except that instead of the the juice coming out of the spout it was coing out of all of the seems.  "What's happening I shrieked"!

Kevin had a stroke of Genius and asked if we had all of the pieces to the juicer.  Sure enough an important piece was still sitting in the sink.  Once we placed this crucial piece into the juicer, all was right in the world!  I had my juice. Yummy!

How many times do I try and do things with out the crucial piece to my life?  How many times do I leave home without Him?  I am so grateful that God speaks to me in the small things like a juicer. 

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

Father, thank you for using the juicer to remind me to always include you, think of you, be with you. You made me to work only with you!

Jann

FIll me up!

We have been studying the Holy Spirit.  I don't know about you but I just don't know enough.  I am enjoying learning about this wonderful third person of the trinity. 

In Ephesians we are commanded to be filled.  Not the kind of filling that we can do to ourselves but the kind that only God can do. 

Only the Holy Spirit can FILL US! 

The word that is used in the Greek is "Pleroo" which has three meanings.


1. To be filled or moved along like a the wind in a sail
2. To be permeated like the flavor that salt adds or marinates into the meat.
3. To be controlled.


When the Holy Spirit fills us continually He wants to move us in the direction that God wants us to go, He wants us to be permeated with His flavor, the Flavor of Christ and He wants us to be controlled to do His will.


So if these are some of the things that the Spirit can do in us, what is the holdup?  Why aren't we continually filled to overflowing?  Something is blocking the filling!


This is a picture of a healthy artery and an unhealthy clogged artery.




Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer?  When there is blockage in the arteries then blood and oxygen can not get to the heart.  It will eventually die!


Just like the clogged artery there are things that can block the Holy Spirit's ability to work in our lives.  We must put ourselves in a position of openess and be receptive to the filling.


We must remove anything that blocks the Spirit's ability to FILL us up!

I found that I often stop the flow of the Spirit all by myself.  When I think that I am not ready, not capable or just don't want to do what I have been directed to do I stop it.  I block it.

Scripture tells us to not grieve or quench the Holy Spirit.  Have you ever thought that you could hurt his feelings?  This is a new concept to me. 

The Holy Spirit is a person so therefore we can hurt His feelings!
WOW!  So does this mean that I am hurting His feelings when I don't follow his nudges?  Is this true when he tries to "Pleroo "me in a direction and I resist? 

Whatever the blockage, whatever the past has been, may we open ourselves to be filled up to overflowing with His presence, power, and joy!

Holy Spirit,  I confess to you that I have not always welcomed you into my day.  I confess to you that sometimes you scare me and I do not want to fully allow you to "pleroo" me.  Today I am striving to understand and listen to your leadings and nudges.  Please don't give up on me.  Help me to understand the mind of Christ better.  Help me to allow you to control, flavor and move me.

Jann
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