Category: Living in the Spirit

Re:Verse passage – 1 Thessalonians 1:2-6 (day three)

“…constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope.”

Physicists have observed a state of existence called quantum entanglement, in which determining a particular characteristic of one particle will tell the observer specific details about the corresponding characteristic of another particle without the observer’s ever having to examine that other particle. The two particles are said to be “entangled,” even if they are light-years apart. All phenomena in the material realm have their antecedents in the spiritual realm. Human beings have a will because God has a will. Human beings draw life from community because life comes only from God, who exists in eternal community. And if hope sprang up in Paul continually, if love enfolded  him constantly, if faith buoyed him incessantly, it’s because dear friends in Christ entangled their lives with his.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Thessalonians 1:2-6 (day two) 

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, Vs. 6

Regional question for you: Where you grew up did you have connect the dot pictures, or dot to dot pictures? I confess that I had never heard of dot to dot until a two years ago. When I read this passage this morning I was thinking of the long line of faithful men and women who have served as faithful followers of Christ since the time of Paul. We all share the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives who has connected each of us together. We will never fully appreciate the grand design that the Lord is putting together until we reach Heaven, but don’t you imagine that it will look incredible. Think also about how Paul describes what he sees in the Thessalonians believers. They imitated what they saw lived out in other believers who had in turn lived out what they had received from the Lord. Again, the Holy Spirit has helped shape our faith by allowing us to see others live out this great testimony. Think of who the Spirit has connected you to, and to whom you are being called to connect.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day seven)

And do not get drunk with wine – Ephesians 5:18a

It all begins with a taste. One taste, one drink, one more… dissipation and drunkenness. Could it be that restoration begins with a taste?

O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! – Psalm 34:8

[…] like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. – 1 Peter 2:2-3

When we taste the goodness and kindness of the Lord, two things happen. One, we clearly see that we will never be able to replicate the same type of goodness. We see our brokenness. Two, we long for more. When we taste that goodness, our brokenness begins to be put back together, and we realize it is through more of that taste that we will be restored. Taste and see!

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day six)

This is no surprise, the Holy Spirit’s end game is our transformation into the likeness of Jesus, but often that is not what we think of when reading Paul’s words, “be filled by the Holy Spirit.”

Instead of transformation, we tend to think possession; an intermittent movement of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. While He may do that, and often does, I don’t believe that is what Paul means at all. Paul is alluding to a way of life, the steady drinking from the fountain of God’s revelation through the Holy Spirit that a rewires our way of life.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is hearing and following the Word of God.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day five)

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,”

What does being filled with wine (drunkenness) cause?  A loss of self-control. What does being filled with the Holy Spirit cause? Self-Control. Self-control is easily evidenced in our relationship with God and our relationships with others.  Debauchery is self indulgence/glorification at the expense of others- I will do what I want so I can feel good at any cost to others.

Self-control provided by the Spirit will guide the believer to glorify God (in our text this week thru singing) and building others up by our speaking (remember last weeks text). A spirit filled person desires to praise God and build others up in speaking and singing with a thankful heart. That is the focus every believer needs- which comes only by the constant filling of the Holy Spirit.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day four)

In Proverbs 1:7, we learn that, “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” In our Re-verse passage in Ephesians 5, Paul says in verse 15 & 16, “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk – not as unwise people but as wise – making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” We understand that so well today and the more we become saturated and intoxicated with the Spirit of God, the more we are sober-minded and able to tread carefully in this reckless and careless world. There is nothing wise about getting drunk. Those who do so will lose control and wreck their lives and the lives of others. When we are drunk on the Spirit of God, then He is in control. The result is a heart that sings, worships, encourages others towards good works, and gives thanks for all things. Then you will be a Christian who dwells with others in humility and with the fear of Christ. Let’s practice the fear of our Lord Jesus every day. Jesus is coming again soon. Don’t you want to be found faithful when He comes? Pray that the Spirit of Christ will dwell in you until overflowing and give you the power to walk in wisdom.

Minister of Community Missions and Evangelism
First Baptist Church of San Antonio
Byron Pitts

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day three)

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation.”

Paul said drunkenness will do it. Luke said hard labor will do it. Jesus said even a church service will do it. What were they talking about? They each warned against distraction – distraction from the difficult, yet vital inner work of reflection, discovery, and transformation. In this passage, Paul points to the use of substances as a means of diverting the mind’s attention from God’s activity. Elsewhere, Luke highlights the way Martha used arduous domestic duties as an alternative focus to Jesus’s teaching. And in Matthew’s gospel, the Lord himself noted in that not even the formal worship of God substitutes for the inner work necessary for reconciliation with a sister or brother. Enlisting the Sprit’s help for soul-work isn’t easy. Diversions are ready to help you forget.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day two) 

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

I am a doctor. My grandmother would hasten to add, “just not the kind that can help people.” However, today, I think I can help. If I could give one prescription to just about everyone I know, it would be: SING MORE. Feeling down, not a problem: SING. Feeling great, excellent: SING. Everything in between, I’ve got you covered: SING.

I don’t want to be flippant, but I take scripture to be completely true, and this isn’t a suggestion. God has designed a release valve for us, and it is wise that we avail ourselves of it. It is cathartic and healthy. it builds community, and it follows the example of Jesus (Matthew 26:30). Every age, every stage, this is for you. This is one of the signs that we are a Holy Spirit-filled people. Our singing should overflow from our heart’s condition. Stop believing the lie that you can’t, or that you shouldn’t, or it is for others. Scripture does not affirm that. Sing More. Sing at home, sing at the office, sing at the gym, and by all means sing at church.