So I’m
sitting in front of an empty glass candy jar right now and it’s kind of sad
because I have no candy to put in it. What’s
even sadder is it means I have nothing sweet (or sour, my favorites) to chew on. I must remedy that soon! So the jar is empty simply because it hasn’t
been filled up. And it can’t be filled
up because there is nothing with which to fill it up. I know this sounds redundant, but think about
the simplicity of what I’ve said.
Now let’s compare that to the spiritual lives
we wish we had as Christians. You know,
it seems we can’t move ahead spiritually without complicating the journey:
seven steps for prayer, five steps to understanding the Word, stand on your
head, twinkle your toes in the air, pat your belly and sing ‘Amazing Love’ to
the tune of Yankee Doodle to be more intimate with Christ Jesus. Or perhaps we’re just feeling so empty… What I’m saying is maybe it isn’t so
complicated.
We need
to get close to God, the source of the Spirit.
We need to open our lid up or the candy’s just gonna fall all around us
but not in us. We need to allow the
candy in instead of running away from it.
We need to be willing to allow others to enjoy the candy inside of us by
tasting of God’s goodness through us. We
need to be filled so that the world has a way to find salvation through the
Lord Jesus Christ. We need to seek God
with every fiber of our being and be filled with the Spirit He promised us. (Jl.
Seek God:
And you shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jr. 29:13
But if you shall seek Jehovah
your God from there, you shall find Him,
if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Dt. 4:29
Seek Jehovah and His strength;
seek His face continually. 1Ch. 16:11
…If you seek Him, He will be
found by you… 1Ch. 28:9
And those who know Your name
will put their trust in You; for You, Jehovah, have not forsaken those who seek
You. Ps. 9:10
…those who seek Jehovah shall
not lack any good thing. Ps. 34:10
Be Filled:
…be filled with the Spirit, Ep. 5:18
And I say to you, Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. And he who seeks finds. And to him who knocks it shall be opened. For what father of you, if
the son asks for bread, will he give him
a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will
he give him a snake for a fish? Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he give him
a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask Him? Lk. 11:9-13
And when they had prayed, the place where they were
assembled was shaken. And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. Ac. 4:31
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Ac. 13:52