Hey there, I'm so glad you stopped by this week! Lee Anne Dyer is our contributor this time and (by the power of the Holy Spirit!) she has written a very authentic and challenging post. For those of you who don't know Lee Anne, she is the wife of Justin Dyer (the worship leader at our home church, Bethel Baptist Church in Cherry Hill, NJ) and the mom of three young children. Lee Anne has a serious desire to please the Lord, to raise children who love the Lord, and to edify the body of Christ. Suffice it to say, (by the power of the Holy Spirit!), Lee Anne is a rockstar! I am so thankful for her willingness to serve the Lord (and all of us) through her post this week.
So with that, I give you Lee Anne:
“By the power of the Holy Spirit…” (page 98).
Did any of you try to complete that sentence from chapter 5?
After I read the sentences people had posted on Kyle’s Facebook wall, I was a little intimidated. So I started small. “By the power of the Holy Spirit, I didn’t yell at my eight year old this morning when he was S-L-O-W once again in getting his shoes on for school.” (Trust me that was ALL the Holy Spirit!). “By the power of the Holy Spirit I was genuinely happy for a family member who won an all- expense paid trip to Mexico” (SO could have been jealous). “By the power of the Holy Spirit I have forgiven an individual who said some very hurtful things to my husband.” (Satan tries to bring those thoughts back at the worst times, but the Holy Spirit can have victory EVERY time!) It was actually a very exciting exercise to revisit the times that the Holy Spirit has done things in my life that I could have completely messed up in my own strength! Of course, I could make a list of those messy times too, so I am thankful Kyle didn’t ask for that! WHEW!
Kyle quoted the part of Galatians 5:25 that says:
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit”.
For me, as a young mom, I take a LOT of steps each day! That means I need a LOT of the Spirit!! I found it very telling to look back at my responses to “By the power of the Holy Spirit...” and see if my responses where from last month, last week, or recent days. Kyle says “You can’t live by the Spirit if you only acknowledge his presence once a week when you come to church.” Oh boy. I need Spirit help for that Every. Single. Day!
As if that is not enough to keep us on our faces before God asking for continuous power, we move to Chapter 6. Kyle says on page 104: “A belief is more than what we say.” This takes me back to 8th grade. I am thankful there is no room for pictures on this blog because my 8th grade picture would have you all turning off your screens! One of my teachers, Mr. Tom Horton, used to say at least once a day, “Your actions speak so loudly, I cannot hear what you are saying.” Read that again if you need to. Get it? We can’t claim to have faith in Christ if our lives don’t back it up COMPLETELY.
Kyle refers us to Hebrews 11. He says on page 106, “Faith should have a story attached to it.” I would take that a step further, and say faith should have an ongoing story attached to it. Day after day, moment after moment, ALL or NOTHING. This brings us full circle. We are only capable of this with the complete strength from the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord, for providing a way to follow you that does not rely on ME!
No pressure, but I thought it would be encouraging if, in our responses this week, we shared at least one sentence that starts with “By the power of the Holy Spirit…” Maybe you haven’t commented yet -this could be your week! I am excited to hear how the Holy Spirit is/has been at work. If you are coming up blank, I have a simple solution: Ask God. He gives freely!
Okay, so I love this idea. Let's do it! "By the power of the Holy Spirit..." Go! Let's give our God glory for what He's done and what He's doing in our lives. Lee Anne said it perfectly, so I'm just going to repeat her:
Maybe you haven’t commented yet -this could be your week! I am excited to hear how the Holy Spirit is/has been at work. If you are coming up blank, I have a simple solution: Ask God. He gives freely!Okay? So that's it (for now). Check back throughout the week to read and respond to other members' comments and questions. Then check back again next Wednesday to hear from our next contributor, Laura Camp!
10 comments:
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I am doing this blog and not the things that pile up around the house. I really enjoyed the part of this book when Kyle talks about Christ telling the disciples that it is better for him to go so that the Holy Spirit could come into them. I never really thought of it that way before, how the Old Testament says "God with us" and how the New says "God in us". How much better is it to have him in us! I also loved Kyles story about how he was moving his desk and his son wanted to help. And said "Dad, I could easily push it fine by myself". We need to recognize God's power and strength and let Him carry our burdens. I am really enjoying this book.
Hi All!
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I did not panic and the heat did not become unbearable when my Amtrak train broke down in the tunnel just outside NY on Tuesday with no air conditioning. We were stuck for over an hour in 90 degree weather, but God got us through it and I am thankful for that. One of the biggest concerns was getting air down there in the heat. It’s a miracle that God kept the temperature comfortable throughout the whole time. Very spooky experience, but knew God was with me the whole time giving me a tremendous peace regardless of the circumstances. I don’t know how many others on the train were believers, but everyone seemed very calm and at peace the whole time.
I also like the story about the little boy trying to help his dad move the furniture. I can so relate to that story. More and more these days, I am learning to continue to give all my burdens to Him. In return He is giving me a peace I did not know existed. Dawn
This book just keeps getting better. As I continue reading I notice I am making more and more notes. LOVE IT!!! Weak is strong (Chapter 6)…..wow this is a hard one. I am a Firefighter, a male dominant profession. I can’t be weak, right? No I need to be STRONG, I have to be able to do the job just like the men do. I also run on an ambulance as an EMT, how would it look if I cried after every bad call? The truth is, I DO! . “That’s what we do most of our lives-we try to reinforce this perception that we really are strong. That we’ve got out stuff together and we can handle anything that comes our way.” I do not have my stuff together; there are things I just can’t handle on my own. It took me a long time to admit my weaknesses but I am better for it and I am finding new ones every day.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I did not go nuclear on my family member this weekend. I said it numerous times “I am new at this.” But this weekend I had an Ah Hah moment. I will give you a brief explanation. My Aunt and Uncle came down for Memorial Day. They never had children, a choice they made. Aiden was holding the door open trying to talk to me while I was outside. After telling Aiden to shut the door my Aunt yelled at him and used a four letter word that I do not allow. I took a deep breath and told her “to watch her language around my children.” Every part of me wanted to snap! I excused myself to the back bedroom where I started to pray. As I sat there asking God to help me, to suppress my anger, and to make me tolerant of my Aunt and Uncle, I noticed something. After sometime I was no longer praying for myself. I was praying for them! For God to help them, to guide them. I was able to walk back out with no anger but hope and peace in my heart! Wow, it was that easy!
The part I really loved was Spiritual Breathing……let me tell you this really works. Breath out the clutter and the darkness so there is more room to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I have been doing this the last few days and it is wonderful. I am aware of the Holy Spirits presence in every step I take.
Thanks so much Lee Anne, what a great post!!!
Indeed, what a great post Lee Anne! Thank you!
My immediate response to that question was one of reflection: "By the power of the Holy Spirit I was able to completely and easily forgive my husband... and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I can easily choose to forget the pain of hurtful years. By the power of the Holy Spirit we have a family today that brings us much happiness and fulfillment."
My response for today would be: "By the power of the Holy Spirit I was able to care for our two very young granddaughters and serve lunch to our crew with pleasure and joy,"
And, as this month comes to a close and I am reviewing my personal finances, preparing to pay my American Express bill, "By the power of the Holy Spirit, HE has made my money go farther than I could have dreamed."
Why would anyone "want to walk when they can ride" :)
Yahoo!!!! Huge!!!! :)
I teared up just reading your post! Can't imagine seeing what you see at work! Love how prayer changed your heart. The Holy Spirit section was completely convicting for my self-sufficient personality as well. Your honesty is refreshing!!!!
Great post LA! Very challenging! Why is it that we KNOW it is best to let the Holy Spirit lead us, yet we will often step out and try to control things on our own? "By the Power of the Holy Spirit I will relinquish my daughter and her children to Jesus." He is the Only One who can repair life and make it better. "By the Power of the Holy Spirit I will live BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT.....in all things!"
All I can say about Chapters 6 & 7 is WOW!!! This really hit me. I underlined so many sentences and paragraphs!! Here's a good one: "Paul points out that trying to live the Christian life out of your own power is ridiculous. Why would a person do that? Why would you walk when you can ride?" Yep, that got to me alright. I need to constantly reinforce that life includes God AND Jesus AND the Holy Spirit.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I am alive, despite a cancer diagnosis.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I am able to help my autistic son get all the help he needs.
Praise God <3
I love you so much Am! :)
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I recognize my serious, straight-up, daily NEED for the Holy Spirit. Whenever I get a little confident in my flesh - bam! God usually lets me smack the ground - sometimes gently, sometimes not-so-gently. But either way, I am beyond grateful. God has taught me to invite and appreciate his discipline because I know, I know, I know (!) He loves me and He is refining me for His glory. With every skin of my knees, He lovingly reminds me, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5, NIV
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